According to the National Library of Medicine, a process addiction is any addiction that falls into the category of doing something repetitively despite the harm that it does to people. Many times scientists classify things into two types of addictions, drug addictions and process addictions. The line between these two types of addictions is a very fine one. Some psychological addictions fall into the category of process addictions.

What are the Classic Process Addictions?

The classic process addictions are addictions to things that people due compulsively such as:

• Gambling – which is the inability to stop betting on things even though it causes financial harm to you.
• Sex – this is the addiction to the feeling, the act, and the endorphins released during a sexual encounter,
• Shopping – this is the addiction to purchasing and having things that you purchased. Some people get a rush from buying the things that they want even if they do not have the money or don’t need the item.
• Shoplifting – this is an addiction to the adrenaline rush people get when they get away with shoplifting regardless of what the consequences are.

One can form a process addiction to hallucinogens when they become addicted to the ritual or behavior of taking the drug, not just the effects of it.

These are all addictions to actions. In recent years the definition of process addictions has been expanded slightly to include some psychological addictions to different drugs. Psychological addiction is sometimes classified as a process addiction. It is the addiction to taking the drug rather than to the physical effects of the drug.

How do Hallucinogens Fall Under Both Categories of Addiction?

Hallucinogens fall under both drug addiction and process addiction. Since most hallucinogens are not physically addictive, they fall into the categories of psychological and process addictions. This is because it is not only the effects of the drug that are addictive but the process of taking them as well.

Some people develop elaborate rituals when it comes to taking hallucinogens and become addicted to the feeling of those rituals. They are also addicted to what happens while they are on the drug. Although, hallucinogens do not exactly match the typical process addiction, it matches many of the characteristics of one.

When someone takes a hallucinogen, it is often originally for the mental experience that they have on the drug. This is similar to people who are addicted to the experience of gambling or the experience of shoplifting. They are addicted to what they see, feel, and hear while they are on the hallucinogens rather than the chemicals themselves.

Types of Treatment for Hallucinogens Abuse and Addiction

How to Find Help for a Process Addiction to Hallucinogens

Process addictions, like psychological and behavioral addictions are very difficult to break. Since hallucinogens have process addiction characteristics and psychological addiction characteristics, it is difficult to separate which addiction a person is suffering from.

Both types of addiction are extremely difficult to break. It takes months, sometimes years to fully get over either a process addiction or a psychological addiction. Only some addictions treatment facilities accommodate both process addictions and psychological addictions. Fortunately, these treatment facilities are easy to find. All you have to do is call 800-411-9312 (Who Answers?) .