The connection between chronic anxiety, pathological narcissism, depression, obsessive-compulsive traits and alcoholism and drug abuse is well established and common in clinical practice. But not all narcissists, compulsives, depressives, and anxious people turn to the bottle or the needle.
Frequent claims of finding a gene complex responsible for alcoholism have been consistently cast in doubt. In 1993, Berman and Noble suggested that addictive and reckless behaviors are mere emergent phenomena and may be linked to other, more fundamental traits, such as novelty seeking or risk taking.
Psychopaths (patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder) have both qualities in ample quantities. We would expect them, therefore, to heavily abuse alcohol and drugs. Indeed, as Lewis and Bucholz convincingly demonstrated in 1991, they do. Still, only a negligible minority of alcoholics and drug addicts are psychopaths.
What has been determined is that most addicts are narcisstic in personality. Addictions serve his purpose. They place him above the laws and pressures of the mundane and away from the humiliating and sobering demands of reality.
They render him the center of attention - but also place him in "splendid isolation" from the maddening and inferior crowd. Such compulsory and wild pursuits provide a psychological exoskeleton.
They are a substitute to quotidian existence. They afford the narcissist with an agenda, with timetables, goals, and faux achievements. The narcissist - the adrenaline junkie - feels that he is in control, alert, excited, and vital. He does not regard his condition as dependence. The narcissist firmly believes that he is in charge of his addiction that he can quit at will and on short notice.
Adult attention deficit disorder, or adult ADD, can be a very frustrating condition to have. Almost all of the initial research and focus for the attention deficit disorders was focused on children and adolescents, but adults are just as likely to have the condition as youths.
The disorder normally makes itself apparent during childhood, with difficulties at school being one of the most common hallmarks of the condition, which helps to explain why so much focus has been on children with the disease. But children with attention deficit disorder grow up to be adults with attention deficit disorder.
If you are an adult and you are having trouble focusing at work, difficulty listening to people in everyday conversations, find yourself interrupting people a lot, losing things frequently, are easily distracted from tasks, are easily frustrated or find yourself feeling over stimulated often, you may have adult attention deficit disorder.
Treatment for the disorder mirrors the treatments used for children with the condition. The first step you need to take if you suspect you may have an adult attention deficit condition is to see a doctor. There are other disorders that can mimic an adult attention deficit condition, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, or bipolar disorder, and it is important that these be ruled out before trying treatments.
Most health professionals will agree that there are also a number of non-medication based steps you can take to alleviate some of your symptoms. Getting regular vigorous exercise has been shown to help a lot of people with ADD. Also a diet high in lean protein is recommended. Keeping lists, writing notes, breaking large tasks down into smaller parts and taking other similar steps to counter your disorder will certainly help as well.
Medication is also another option. Talk with your doctor and decide together what method is best for you.
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