Addiction vs Obsession -

Understanding the Difference Between OCD and Addictive Behaviors

1. Nature of Thoughts and Behaviors

The actions involving Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are compulsive rituals intended to alleviate the severe anxiety created by intrusive, obsessive thoughts. 

• These compulsions (cleaning, checking, counting) are not behaviors undertaken for the enjoyment of the behavior, it is implemented in order to lessen distress. 
• Individuals with OCD know that many of their compulsions are unreasonable or unnecessary and are nevertheless compelled to engage in them just to relieve the anxiety they cause. 

In sharp contrast, addictive behaviors arise from the desire to experience positive pleasure or escape negative feelings. 

• Whether using substances to achieve the euphoric high or participating in gambling to experience the thrill of winning, addiction is powered by the brain system. 
• The individual engages in the addictive behavior with the positive experience in mind, and eventually develops a craving and dependence on that behavioral outcome which reinforces the behaviors. 
• Unlike compulsions associated with OCD, addictive behaviors are pleasurable at the outset, regardless of their later relevance to harm or consequences.

2. Control and Awareness

Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) often demonstrate good awareness and understanding when it comes to a sense of control in their lives. 

• Individuals with OCD often have full awareness that their unusually obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational or extreme and they often feel strong internal pressure to perform these rituals to eliminate their anxiety. 
• There is tension between awareness and their action, which causes extreme distress as they feel compelled to perform behaviors they know they would never normally engage in, if not under distress. 

With addiction, there are different levels of awareness of harm. While some individuals may see they are harming their health or relationships or freedoms, the intense craving for the pleasure to be derived from the action or substance often leads to poor judgment. 

As addiction leads to poor choices, it often results in decreased self-awareness and self-choice, leading to limited ability to face or manage consequences

3. Psychological Roots

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has its psychological roots in the severe anxiety from intrusive thoughts causing high levels of dread or discomfort.  

• People with OCD experience compulsive behaviors as coping mechanisms to manage their anxiety or prevent any perceived negative incidence.  
• Unlike the experience of motivation in which a person engages in a pleasure-seeking task, obsessive-compulsive behaviors are still task-based and non-pleasurable and are squeezed into a role of personal obligation rather than personally satisfying task completion. 

Addiction happens exactly because of the desire to experience gratification.  In this case, a substance can stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain. An individual can engage with a (addictive) substance or behavior that triggers the pleasurable response of dopamine in the brain that subsequently produces feelings of satisfaction or euphoria. 

The pleasurable responses create an increasingly conditioned stimulus that a person will utilize quietly when that feeling of stress, discomfort, or emotional pain is perceived. Often, this goes back to habitually craving and compulsively moving toward that addictive behavior or substance.