What Is a “Soft Addiction?”

Soft addictions can encompass a variety of different behaviors that have mild aspects of addictive qualities. Bad habits, compulsive behaviors, reoccurring thought patterns, and minor obsessions can all fall under the category of a soft addiction. These levels of addiction are often considered to be behavioral actions that become habitual and have an unhealthy consequence that follows them.

Do I Have a Soft Addiction?

The idea of a soft addiction can be challenging to understand if you are new to the term. Reviewing the following examples can help provide you with a deeper understanding of the concept of soft addictions, what situations may be considered a part of this category, and whether you might have one.

Imagine you are a father to a small family, and you have a highly successful accounting job. You are working your way to the top of the company and want to give your work everything to help you get there. Your boss is currently asking you to work late hours, come in on days off, and take upon extra projects. You feel compelled to say yes and devote yourself to your work. Meanwhile, your family is at home and rarely sees you.

While devoting yourself to work is not always a bad thing, in this situation, it appears to be taking up a majority of your life. You are lacking the maintenance of balance within your life and are letting other areas fall behind. This is a characteristic of an addiction. While the addiction may not be as severe as an addiction to a substance, the addiction to work is still disrupting your everyday life.

Imagine you are struggling with a soft addiction to shopping. When you feel stressed, overwhelmed, happy, angry, or any heightened emotion, your go-to action is to buy yourself something. You see ads for things and instantly feel compelled to purchase the item. It is nearly impossible to walk into a store without leaving with something. You find that most of the items you purchase do not provide you with long-term pleasure. This may lead to financial issues or a lack of storage area if these habits continue.

This would be considered a soft addiction because you are dismissing the long-term benefit of waiting to purchase something. You fall into the satisfaction of immediate gratification. There are potential issues that can arise and affect your everyday life from this behavior. However, it is hard to stop shopping when you feel compelled to purchase items consistently.

If you are in a situation similar to the two described above, you may have a soft addiction.

Dangers of Soft Addictions

While soft addictions may not have the same effects as addictions to substances, the effects can still negatively impact your life and be important to address. Feeding into these behavioral soft addictions will reinforce the behavior that is causing an imbalance in your life. Our minds can quickly adapt to the idea of frequently participating in these behaviors and create off-putting sensations when the desire for these behaviors is not fulfilled.

Giving in to these habitual behaviors can slowly lower your sense of self-control and increase the chances of you engaging in other impulsive actions. This can potentially increase your likelihood of using substances and developing an addiction to substances as well. If you are not maintaining overall balance in your life, a variety of other external factors can come in and influence you in negative ways. 

Soft addictions can also be a danger to your mental health. Going back to our first example, feelings of family stress and lack of support would likely arise. With our second example, financial wellbeing and emotional regulation would likely be compromised. If you are developing addictive tendencies to social media use, you may feel obligated to live up to high expectations that you compare yourself to online. Each of these scenarios can cause emotional damage and negatively influence your mental health.

Overcoming a Soft Addiction

When working to overcome a soft addiction, you will likely find that treatment options are often not available or not recommended if the case is mild. Although full recovery may not be needed, you may greatly benefit from counseling or therapy services to help you overcome these obstacles. Overcoming these addictions is similar to escaping a bad habit. Using techniques to alter your negative habits and implement new alternatives is one of the best solutions. 

Determine your reasoning behind the compulsion and observe why you may be feeling that desire. Soft addictions often resemble something that is lacking in your life. You try to fulfill that hole where you can; however, giving in to these addictive tendencies will not make you feel better. Discovering a focus you feel you have been lacking when moving forward can give you a healthy direction to follow.

Soft addictions are compulsive behavioral traits that influence the behavior in a negative way. These behaviors often become habitual and can cause your lifestyle to be out of balance. While these addictions may not need a form of recovery or severe treatment, they are still essential to address. Discussing these soft addictions with a mental health professional can help you to overcome these obstacles and re-establish a sense of balance within your life. Reviewing some examples of soft addictions can help you to understand what this type of addiction is and see if you are struggling to overcome a soft addiction of your own. Many dangers may arise from these addictions when you allow them to continue taking control. Work through them now to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To learn more about soft addictions, reach out to Dream Recovery at (949) 732-1960.