A compulsive behavior is an action that a person feels “compelled” or motivated to do over and over again. Although these compulsive actions may seem irrational or meaningless, and may even result in negative consequences, the individual experiencing the compulsion feels unable to stop himself.
The compulsive behavior can be a physical act such as washing your hands or locking the door. It can also be a mental activity, like counting objects or memorizing phone books. When harmless behavior becomes so draining that it negatively affects yourself or others, it could be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
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A compulsion is different from an addiction. The first is an overwhelming desire (or sense of physical need) to do something. An addiction is a physical or chemical dependency on a substance or behavior.
People with advanced addictions will continue their addictive behavior even when they understand it is harmful to themselves and others. Alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking and gambling are perhaps the most common examples of addictions.
Two key differences between compulsion and addiction are pleasure and awareness.
Compulsive behaviors, like those involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder, rarely result in feelings of pleasure. Addictions usually do. For example, people who compulsively wash their hands take no pleasure in doing so.
On the other hand, people with addictions "want" to use the substance or engage in the behavior because they hope to enjoy it. This desire for pleasure or relief becomes part of the self-perpetuating cycle of addiction.
People with OCD are typically self-conscious about their behaviors and are troubled by the knowledge that they have no logical reason for doing them. On the other hand, people with addictions are often unaware of or unconcerned about the negative consequences of their actions.
Typical of the denial stage of addictions, individuals refuse to admit that their behavior is harmful. Instead, they are “just having fun” or trying to “fit in”. It often takes a devastating consequence to make them aware of the reality of their actions.
Unlike compulsions and addictions, which are exercised consciously and uncontrollably, habits are actions that are repeated regularly and automatically. For example, although we may be aware that we are brushing our teeth, we almost never wonder why we are doing it.
Habits develop over time through a natural process called “habituation”. Repetitive actions that should be consciously initiated eventually become subconscious and are habitually performed without specific thought.
Good habits, like brushing our teeth, are behaviors that are consciously and intentionally added to our routines. While there are good habits and bad and unhealthy habits, any habit can become a compulsion or even an addiction.
In other words, you really can have “one too good thing”. For example, the good habit of exercising regularly can become an unhealthy compulsion or addiction when done in excess.
Common habits often turn into addictions when they result in chemical dependency, as in cases of alcoholism and smoking. The habit of having a glass of beer with dinner, for example, becomes an addiction when the desire to drink turns into a physical or emotional need to drink.
Of course, the main difference between a compulsive behavior and a habit is the ability to choose to do it or not. While we can choose to add good, healthy habits to our routines, we can also choose to break unhealthy old habits.
