Generally, hobbies or special interests are seen as positive outlets to release stress from a busy schedule or to broaden our connection with friends and family. The always-positive nature of these interests is now coming into question. During the 1980s, the psychiatric community began to consider that some interests when taken to extremes might qualify as addictions. Shopping, exercise, television, games, and so forth were heard in conjunction with addiction (e.g., shopping addiction, exercise addiction).

Although these behaviors are harmless pastimes or healthy pursuits for many, there are signs that indicate you've crossed the line into addiction:

• You put the behavior above being with family and friends.

• A feeling of euphoria drives you to continually seek the desired behavior.

• Mood swings may become apparent in connection with the behavior.

• You may obsess over the behavior, spending excessive amounts of time planning and engaging in the behavior.

• Expenditures connected with the behavior may damage your credit or deplete financial reserves, even to the point of bankruptcy.

• Tolerance is built up around the behavior. In other words, you will feel the need for more and more of the activity to get the same “high” feeling.

• Your job or schoolwork may suffer because of more time and focus going toward the addictive behavior.

When these signs begin to accumulate in your life, you need help. It may be hard for someone to distinguish between having an exciting hobby and an addiction. Any new interest can seem to take over for a time until the new “wears off.” Think of what happens when a child gets a new game for his birthday: for the next week, his parents can hardly get him away from the game to the dinner table. The difference between this and a behavioral addiction is that not only does the new not “wear off,” it gets worse and it can seemingly take over a person's life.