Let’s say a person is addicted to the Internet, or to Cocaine, or whatever.
If the source of their current addiction were suddenly removed - let’s say the Internet went down forever, or all Cocaine disappeared from the Earth -
Would these addicted people become addicted to something else to fill the void? I have taken some substance abuse classes, and I deal with both an addiction to the internet, and a dependency on Xanax, so I’ve always been curious, but I’d like to hear from people here who know more than I do.
Like, in my own case, if the Internet were destroyed forever, and the pills were removed, is my brain wired that I’d need to become addicted to something else? Would I start gambling or drinking or something?
I don’t think it’s that your brain is “wired” to be addicted. But I think your life situation can drive you towards addiction, and if your current addictions are removed, but your situation doesn’t change, you will find something else to become addicted to, like alcohol.
According to Dr Drew about 10% of the population is susceptible to addiction. There are certain things that can trigger the addiction pathways and it is very common to switch addictions, from alcohol to drugs or even activities like gambling, shopping, or sex.
I don’t know about the physical/chemical side, but if you are using a substance or addictive activity to deal with (or avoid dealing with) issues in your life, then you’re going to need to find a substitute when you give it up.
One of the most common transitions is that people who lose significant amounts of weight (those who were using food as a drug) have a strong tendency to transition to a shopping/spending addiction. I have personal experience with this.
There have also been recent studies that show a correlation between bariatric surgery and alcoholism.