Transfer Addiction: Risks, Signs, and Prevention
Overcoming an addiction to drugs or alcohol is a great step toward a healthier future with more potential for happiness and success. However, some people are tempted to replace drinking or drug use with something else, and if this isn’t carefully dealt with, the consequences can be grave. Known as transfer addiction, this can look like a lot of different things. Consider, for example, someone who successfully quits gambling but immediately becomes hooked on shopping too much. While they’ve managed to move on from gambling, they’re not living in a healthy manner.
One key component of addiction treatment is teaching patients to focus on healthy behaviors, such as exercise and eating well, as they shed the baggage of unhealthy addiction. However, it’s important to find a sense of balance in all of this and learn to live without drugs or alcohol without diving head-first into a problematic relationship with something else.
Whether it’s replacing alcohol for drugs, turning to drinking after overcoming a habit of overeating, or becoming obsessive about counting calories and exercising after overcoming opioid addiction, transfer addiction can be a dangerous thing. Let’s explore more about this condition, why it happens, and how to avoid replacing one addiction with another by seeking professional help from an addiction treatment center in California like Resurgence Behavioral Health.
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What Does Transfer Addiction Mean?
At its simplest, transfer addiction happens when someone’s addictive behaviors shift from one substance or behavior to another activity or substance that is also potentially harmful. The signs of transferring an addiction are widespread and can include things like:
- Obsessively focusing on a new activity
- Neglecting responsibilities
- Justifying the new behavior
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when unable to do the new activity
- Increased tolerance and a need for more of the new activity
- Continuing a new activity despite the consequences
- Losing interest in other activities
- Shifting social circles
- Being secretive and denying the problem
- Mood fluctuations or emotional disturbances
Transfer addiction is, unfortunately, a common problem for a subset of patients who have successfully kicked an addiction to another substance or behavior and traded it for another. The Obesity Action Coalition, for example, says studies estimate up to 30 percent of patients who are compulsive eaters and then have bariatric surgery end up displaying signs of this condition, such as turning to gambling or shopping instead of eating. That’s why a key component of addiction treatment is helping patients find healthier, more productive ways of living – and avoiding picking up some other substance after giving up another.
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What Are Replacement Behaviors for Addiction?
To better understand addiction, it’s good to first learn more about the basic biology of addiction, especially how drugs, alcohol, and behaviors can affect the brain and lead to a problem. The National Institutes of Health says people are motivated to do healthy things by brain processes and neurochemicals that make them feel good when they do something, such as exercising or eating.
Additionally, the brain helps people think through the consequences of a potential action and avoid dangerous or problematic things. However, when someone is addicted to something, their brain can react differently and fuel a desire for more of the substance or activity. For example, they might no longer feel the same pleasure in a past favorite activity and instead feel drawn to drink or gamble to feel the same old thing.
Some people who stop drinking or using drugs will be at risk of transferring their addictive behaviors to something else, like exercising too much, overeating, or turning to sex or gambling to get the same rush of dopamine and adrenaline that they used to experience from the past substance.
A 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health looked at 137 people admitted to residential addiction treatment in South Africa’s Western Cape province. Researchers followed up with the patients three months later. They found that 36% had transferred or replaced their former primary substance of use with some other behavior or substance—only slightly less than the 40% who had avoided this condition and maintained abstinence.
Can Some Addictions Be Healthy?
It’s, of course, a good thing when someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol stops using these substances. It’s a good idea to focus on a healthy lifestyle by making exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep a part of your daily routine. That’s why it might seem like some addictions could actually be healthy.
Consider, for example, becoming “addicted” to exercising or counting calories. While these behaviors by themselves are indeed healthy, an obsession with them can cause some of the same problems that the person was experiencing when they were drinking or using drugs.
On his website, Peter Attia, MD, says it can be hard to label when something that can be a healthy behavior shifts into an unhealthy addiction. Exercise is a prime example of this because it is a healthy, important thing for people.
However, working out can trigger the same brain processes that gambling, drugs, or alcohol activate, and this sense of euphoria can fuel someone’s emerging addiction with exercise as they stop using some other substance. If someone can’t work out one day and starts to feel withdrawal symptoms, or if they are obsessing about exercising, planning workouts, and logging activity, they could be showing signs of an unhealthy preoccupation with exercise.
Healthy eating is another example because it’s one thing to eat nutritious, balanced meals, and it’s something entirely different when someone is obsessed with counting calories to the point of harming themselves physically.
How to Avoid Transfer Addiction?
Overcoming drug addiction is an important step on the road to a more balanced, brighter future, but it’s even better to avoid dependence entirely. So, how can this be avoided? A lot of it comes down to trying to focus on moderation.
Developing a routine of exercise and healthy eating is a great idea, but don’t obsess about it all the time, and don’t make it your driving motivation for getting through each day. Another key way of avoiding this condition is to avoid using other substances after you’ve quit something you’re addicted to.
For example, if you were a heavy drinker who got through rehab and no longer drinks, don’t start experimenting with drugs or medication. If you were a compulsive eater who got bariatric surgery, don’t turn to drinking alcohol to feel the same rush of adrenaline that you used to get from excessive eating. Another key component of this is to assess yourself—if you’re unhappy or stressed overall, you could be at a higher risk of picking up this condition when you quit drinking or using drugs.
Avoid the Risks of Transfer Addiction with Help from Resurgence
Overcoming addiction is one of the best things a person can do in their lifetime, and it’s the right way to unlock the potential of a better future without alcohol or drugs. However, trading one substance for another can be harmful or even life-threatening, and the risk of transfer addiction shouldn’t be ignored as you or your loved one seeks help for an addiction.
It’s important to turn to professionals for help—both during addiction treatment and in ongoing support and therapy afterward to ensure the new choices you’re making after addiction are healthy and beneficial.
In California, Resurgence Behavioral Health’s team understands the complexities of treating addiction. Together, we can help you get better while still avoiding the problems of a potential drug or alcohol addiction down the road. Learn more about how we can help by calling us at 855-458-0050 today.
External Sources
- Obesity Action Coalition – Transfer Addiction Following Bariatric Surgery
- National Institutes of Health – Biology of Addiction
- National Library of Medicine – Substitute Behaviors Following Residential Substance Use Treatment in the Western Cape, South Africa
- Peter Attia – MD – The Dangers of “Healthy” Addictions
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Individualized treatment programs delivered in a comfortable, relaxed setting promote healing in your recovery journey.
