Enough Comparing! Addiction is Its own Thing. Reply to Matthews

Abstract

Both Matthews and I see addiction as the outcome of developmental processes that arrive at diverse levels of dysfunction for different individuals at different stages. Matthews characterizes "late-stage" addiction in terms of lost control and extreme automaticity, a degree of dysfunction he calls a "disorder" and compares to another disorder -- depersonalization. I don't mind the label "disorder." Yet addiction is no more like depersonalization than it is like other conditions, most notably obsessive-compulsive disorder. Automaticity is never pure or total. My dual focus on the phenomenology and neuroscience of addiction has helped me capture these critical details and differences. In fact, I think we've had enough of comparing, classifying, and defining addiction. It's time to recognize addiction as a thing in itself, unlike anything else.