December 2016

Any long-term activity program usually consists of many embedded in subprograms. Besides, the subprograms can be divided till one comes to the point of a simple action. Such action can be compared with a prick made by a needle. So, we prick a needle to our hand and immediately get a pain reaction. However, the example can be complicated a little. If we do it to test our pain threshold, then we have everything in order and we get what we actually expect. We can prick ourselves accidently and experience some unpleasant feelings, which will make us understand that this action was mistaken and we’ll try to avoid such situations in future. Nevertheless, there’s at least one more way.

We often hear that we shall learn to enjoy our life. It means we shall get out of the world around us some elements that may influence our reward system even a little. Running ahead of the story, I tell you that such dullness and natural deficiency of positive emotion can cause people fighting the consequences of alcohol addiction have a relapse. On the other hand, such automation has advantages. Routine saves us from stress. In this regard, we can give an example of an inclination to a compulsive behavior when a person repeats habitual actions many times because he or she suffers from anxiety. Thus, this person tries to get rid of an uncontrolled stress by a ritual of routine automated actions. The alcohol addiction is sometimes described with a similar type of compulsion within the disease model framework concept.