Behavioral and Chemical Dependencies

The behavioral and chemical dependencies were shown to have a common origin and predictable developmental trajectory. The following were specified; vulnerability to dependence, criteria for dependency choices, benefits from use, three developmental stages, breadth and speed of progression, personal patterns formed by age at acquisition and whether arousal was acute or chronic, depth of dependence, severity of consequences, and rules for quitting, relapse, and substitutions between dependency choices. The model holds for cults, gambling, opiates, orgasm, overeating, work, sedatives and stimulants, and extends to aggression/violence, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and depression. Dependencies are means to adjust recurring episodes of excessive arousal to functionally adaptive levels. They are learned and become problematic only if over generalized. Depth of dependence is a personal variable and is not a property of the dependent object. Control over the dependent response is essential to its exercise for advantage. Implications for society were identified.