In today’s modern world, the fine line between habit and addiction has been diluted. People don’t like being considered addicted, and this dilemma of acceptance delays reality.
On the other hand, people, habits could turn into addiction whereas addiction is not easy to get rid of.
Habit vs Addiction
The difference between Habit and Addiction is that habit is a repetitive behavior but under control, whereas addiction is also a repetitive behavior but with no control. Habits could become an addiction if someone loses control over his actions. Anything which is done under limits is healthy so considering these habits are healthy whereas addictions are self-degrading and unhealthy.
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Habits are repetitive behavior under control which makes a man’s routine, habits are more healthy. It’s easy to change habits as anything could influence and could change the habits.
People’s morning routines provide the finest representation of habits. Cleaning teeth, taking a bath, drinking coffee, and other morning rituals are just a few examples.
Addictions are also repetitive behavior under no control. Individuals will, for the most part, make a sacrifice in their lives in these situations because they feel obligated to follow a product or activity.
Because of their addiction to a substance or a behavior, people have a difficult time making decisions.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Habit | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Habits are healthy | Addictions are not healthy and could have various ill effects depending on the addiction. |
| Control | Habits are under control and make a man’s routine | Habits turn into addiction when someone loses control. |
| Change | Habits could change by changing routine | Getting rid of addiction is not easy, many try and many fail. |
| Acceptance | Habits are something that nobody’s ashamed of because they are not bad. | People who are addicted sometimes can’t accept that they are addicted, acceptance is never easy. |
| After effect | Habits are built and broken, they don’t affect when someone changes their routine. | Addiction could have many serious after-effects which can directly cause a behavior change. |
What is Habit?
A habit is defined as a routine or activity which is done on a regular basis that becomes more difficult to break the longer it is practiced. People’s morning routines provide the best examples of many habits.
Brushing teeth, showering, making coffee, and other morning rituals are just a few examples. For people, the sequence of these behaviors might become predictable over time.
People can acquire beneficial habits or “logical addictions” in a variety of ways, according to a Forbes article. These types of good habits, on the other hand, can only emerge when people are more aware of their actions.
The study discovered that “as ‘rational addicts,’ people are able to analyses the advantages and disadvantages of their current behavior, taking into consideration that its ramifications for the future,
yet nevertheless choose to involve,” according to the report.
It’s important to look at how habits have an influence on decision-making to grasp how they work.
In an interview with Harvard Business Review, the author and reporter of the New York Times highlighted the effects of habit in the workplace.
“About 40- 45% percent of whatever we do on daily basis feels like a decision of ours, but it’s a habit, not a decision,” he said. This sentiment is more likely to explain the kind of unconscious process we go through when we make decisions.
During continued, “As behaviors grow more automatic and routine, they become more difficult to break afterward.” It’s critical that folks “diagnose the trigger and the reward” when they’ve identified an unhealthy habit.
People can then work successfully toward forming new behaviors.
What is Addiction?
Addictions are far more potent than habits. People will, for the most part, make sacrifices in their lives in these situations because they feel obligated to follow a substance or activity.
Although it is difficult to define addiction, the American Psychiatric Association has offered a basic explanation for the causes of some addictive behaviors.
“People with addiction (severe disorder usage of substances) have an extreme effect on using a certain substance, such as drugs or alcohol, to the point that it takes over their lives,” stated the organization.
Resulting, persons who are involved in something have different brain functioning and abnormal patterns of thinking.
People with addictive characteristics are often known of their health issues but still choose to participate in problematic, dangerous behaviors.
However, addictions mostly do not have to be focused on the usage of substances. Certain behaviors, according to research published in the article of International Preventative Medicine Journal, things can be just as addictive.
The research has stated that a “behaviorally addicted person has particular signs and will undergo the same consequences brought due to addiction to drugs and alcohol and other behaviors.”
National Institution for Drug Abuse investigates the brain works of people who are addicted to something more thoroughly.
“Surges of dopamine in the reward system which promotes the reinforcing of pleasurable, however, unhealthy behaviors like consumption of drugs, leading people to repeat the activity over and over,” according to the group.
Main Differences Between Habit and Addiction
- Habits are under control and make a man routine whereas Habits also turn into addiction when someone loses control.
- Habits could change by changing routine whereas changing or getting rid of addiction is not easy many try and many fail.
- Habits are something that nobody’s ashamed of because they are not bad whereas addictions are of many types and most of the addictions are not good and are not taken healthily by society.
- Habits are built and broken, they don’t affect when someone changes their routine whereas Addiction could have many serious after-effects which can directly cause a behaviour change or ill effects on the body.
- Conclusively habits are much healthier compared to addiction, nothing done more than required does have negative effects or in words is unhealthy.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563219301931
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452214007787
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
