YOU’RE NOT ADDICTED, but...

A bad habit may not totally trash your life, but it can still cause you problems. Here’s what may really be going on – and what to do.

INTENSE CRAVINGS

People do become addicted to food, meaning they cannot stop overeating despite dire consequences. If you can’t stop noshing on something when it’s in front of you, but it hasn’t taken over your life, those are cravings, which are only one symptom of food addiction. “Research has shown that the specific combination of fat and refined carbs found only in junk foods like pizza and brownies is more associated with symptoms of food addiction as compared with foods that are naturally high in fat (eg, meat) or carbohydrates (eg, fruit or whole grains),” says Erica Schulte, a researcher into food addiction.

If you fear that your craving for certain foods is tipping towards addiction, then going cold turkey, while most difficult in the first three to five days, may help that craving wane, she says.

MISUSE

If your compulsion to scroll through Instagram or check texts is getting in the way of meaningful conversations or making you fall behind at work, you could have a misuse issue. “Misuse means the behaviour causes problems, but it’s still controllable – whereas addiction is a compulsion that is no longer easily controlled,” Dr Dunn says. Use tech tools to fight back: Changing the display to grayscale from colour may make the screen less alluring, says clinical psychologist Dr Andrea Bonior. Tools on your devices (Screen Time on Apple products; Google’s Digital Wellbeing on Android) set time limits on apps and let you know when you’ve hit your cap.

INERTIA

You cue up Netflix to watch one episode of The Crown, and the next thing you know, it’s 4am and you’ve powered through the entire season. This is a case of inertia, Dr Bonior says. “The technology is set up to suck you in – they give you a dramatic sneak peek, or it automatically starts to play the next episode.” To interrupt the momentum, “give yourself a limit of two or three episodes, and then have a phone call, a bath or another treat planned for the moment that last episode is over,” she suggests.