Common Myths in the Behavioral Addiction Field

Abstract

There is no shortage of controversy and debates within the field of behavioral addiction. In this paper, five myths are outlined concerning various behavioral addictions. These are: (i) behavioral addictions can occur concurrently, (ii) addictions such as videogame addiction are associated with other comorbidities and are therefore not separate disorders, (iii) ‘addictions’ are equivalent to ‘disorders’ in DSM-5 and ICD-11 nomenclature, (iv) very excessive behaviors are addictions, and (v) socially condoned excessive activities and activities engaged in willfully cannot be classed as behavioral addictions. It is argued that views based on these myths depend upon how behavioral addictions are defined in the first place. It is concluded that any behavior which has severe and longstanding clinical impairment and comprising core components of addiction (i.e., salience, conflict, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, and relapse) should be conceptualized as a behavioral addiction.