By Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb
At the risk of sounding like an old Seinfeld monologue, have you ever noticed how every few years there seems to be a psychological diagnosis from which everybody is suffering? In the eighties, everyone had anxiety. Then, everybody seemed to be depressed. Lately, any friend, family member or partner who annoys us is labeled a narcissist. Finally, any behavior in which someone engages more than we think they should, is labeled an addiction. Besides personally finding it annoying to hear people throw around various clinical diagnoses without professional training, pathologizing each other falsely is not healthy for any of the individuals concerned.
Over the past several months, the phrase “cell phone addiction” has become quite prevalent. If a friend or family member is on their cell phone too often for our taste, they are often labeled as having cell phone addiction. There is no doubt that any excessive behavior can become problematic, and cell phone use is no exception. But, are we truly accurate in applying the term “addiction” so freely?
The terms addiction and dependence have very specific diagnostic criteria, and any person who has had the unfortunate experience of having close contact with someone with an addictive process knows all too well that it is a painful, serious, matter. Addictive processes interfere with relationships, responsibilities, finances, and psychological well-being.
Indeed, there are folks who use their cell phone excessively. However, in the large majority of cases this excessive cell phone usage is a maladaptive coping attempt to deal with feelings of anxiety, insecurity, depression, isolation, and/or boredom. In other instances, the behavior is akin to a child who receives a new toy, and initially ignores all his/her other toys to focus on the new one. At times, novelty can be a bit consuming. What is most helpful in such circumstances is to determine the source of the extreme cell phone use. Rather than calling the behavior an addiction or obsession, focus on what you can do to address the source of the behavior. As with anything else, once the cause is identified and managed, the symptoms lessen and eventually disappear. This process may involve discussion with the person in question or even some professional help.
No doubt, we can all agree that the best approach in these situations is to determine what is truly troubling an individual, and get that taken care of.
Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb is a licensed psychologist, author, media personality, and public speaker, who has an active private practice in Western New York providing psychotherapy and assessments for individuals, couples, and families. Learn more and contact her directly for an article idea you’d like to share with her. To make an appointment with Dr. Taublieb, call 716-834-1505. Learn more at www.dramybeth.com.
