Addictive behavior

What it means

When an activity, substance, object, or behavior becomes a major focus of a person's life, excluding other activities, or has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially, it can be considered addictive behavior. A person can become addicted or compulsively engaged with anything.

Several behaviors, besides ingesting psychoactive substances, produce short-term rewards that may lead to persistent behavior despite knowledge of adverse consequences, such as diminished control over the behavior.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Addictive behaviour