Do Particular Compulsive Behaviors Mirror Particular Drugs?

[bcubed]

First: this thread takes a lot of the ideas from Micutzul's thread: "Is Love a Dangerous, Addictive Drug?" http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...ight=love+drug Also, having yet to have my lizard experience addiction to opiates or cocaine, some of the parallel is inferred from other's experiences, so confirmation/refutation would be welcomed.

At the casino/dog track with my dad, we mused on the fading of horseracing for dogs, and dogs for slots. I always looked at it from the casino's side: too much expense (particularly with horses) for action that only occurs once every 15-20 minutes. But a particular name of a racing dog ("Magic Coke" or similar) led me to think about how many gamblers were known to use cocaine, and led me to revise that. Gambling (from experience) is a very "bingey" high, very much about "chasing the rush." Usually after "sleeping it off," my lizard loses the desire to gamble, but has on occasion found it hard to stop while in the middle of gambling. Given that, I decided that 1. much of the move to slots, etc, is consumer-driven, by a need for more frequent "rushes" 2. compulsive gambling shares traits with cocaine addiction.

Love, on the other hand, is blissful at first, then fades a bit to a low-grade glow after a while. Breaking up, however, is acutely painful, especially if one is taken by surprise and hasn't had a chance to begin emotionally distancing one'sself (essentially a "taper.") Thus, love seems more akin to an opiate, or (possibly) alcohol.

My lizard isn't sufficently knowlegable about other compulsive behaviors (bulimia, to pick one) to add anything, but would welcome coments from others who do!