<p>As I pointed out in <a href="https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/19767/7604">Technical term for &quot;hidden addictions&quot;</a>, the term <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/addiction-what-is-it/" rel="noreferrer">addiction</a> is defined as <strong>not having control</strong> over doing, taking or using something <strong>to the point where it could be harmful to you</strong>. Often it can start with a habit but then it becomes an addiction because there is a <strong>compulsion</strong> to continue the habit.</p>

<p>You can continue with your daily life without carrying out a task which is habit, but if you are addicted to doing it you have a feeling of necessity to do it otherwise you cannot function.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Addiction is most commonly associated with gambling, drugs, alcohol and nicotine, but it's possible to be addicted to just about anything</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So to answer your question, there can be good habits but there are no good types of addiction as they affect your life to the point where you "cannot live" without the addiction.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-15T13:43:16.883Z
Glasser (1976) wrote a fairly comprehensive book on Exercise Addiction that used the term to refer to both healthful and detrimental compulsions to exercise, I believe based on the idea that there could be a chemical/withdrawal component to an exercise regimen that was otherwise health promoting, and that it in fact could help someone maintain the regimen. However, the concept of positive addictions has been criticized and largely abandoned since then (Landolfi, 2013).
PhiloT
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-14T23:30:26.830Z
2018-06-14T23:30:26.830Z
Chris Rogers
<p>Many more things than I previously thought can be considered addiction, so I was wondering whether an addiction is always bad</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-15T10:06:55.347Z
Sleep can be considered an addiction, and its not bad at all :)
Enoque Duarte
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-08T19:59:18.653Z
This is a really mind-opening question. For example, could a person be addicted to defensive driving, responsible parenting, or being on time? "You've got to help me, doctor! My friends keep teasing me for eating 'healthy' but I can't sustain a change. I think I might be addicted to broccoli, carrots, and whole grains, can you help?"
Robert Columbia
<addiction>
Are there any types of good addiction
stwykd
# Are there any types of good addiction

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-14)

Many more things than I previously thought can be considered addiction, so I was wondering whether an addiction is always bad

**Tags:** addiction

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Sleep can be considered an addiction, and its not bad at all :)  
> **username_2**: This is a really mind-opening question. For example, could a person be addicted to defensive driving, responsible parenting, or being on time? "You've got to help me, doctor! My friends keep teasing me for eating 'healthy' but I can't sustain a change. I think I might be addicted to broccoli, carrots, and whole grains, can you help?"  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-06-14. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

As I pointed out in [Technical term for "hidden addictions"](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/19767/7604), the term [addiction](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/addiction-what-is-it/) is defined as **not having control** over doing, taking or using something **to the point where it could be harmful to you**. Often it can start with a habit but then it becomes an addiction because there is a **compulsion** to continue the habit.

You can continue with your daily life without carrying out a task which is habit, but if you are addicted to doing it you have a feeling of necessity to do it otherwise you cannot function.

> Addiction is most commonly associated with gambling, drugs, alcohol and nicotine, but it's possible to be addicted to just about anything

So to answer your question, there can be good habits but there are no good types of addiction as they affect your life to the point where you "cannot live" without the addiction.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Glasser (1976) wrote a fairly comprehensive book on Exercise Addiction that used the term to refer to both healthful and detrimental compulsions to exercise, I believe based on the idea that there could be a chemical/withdrawal component to an exercise regimen that was otherwise health promoting, and that it in fact could help someone maintain the regimen. However, the concept of positive addictions has been criticized and largely abandoned since then (Landolfi, 2013).  

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