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I actually took the time to translate an article

2007-06-06 10:52:40

(Score:5, Informative)

by Vintermann (400722) on Thursday December 14, @09:56AM (#17236452)

(http://vintermann.paranoidkoala.org/)

on this. I quote myself [paranoidkoala.org]:

The official diagnosis systems ICD and DSM currently have identical criteria

for addiction to alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco. Addiction to gambling,

sex, internet etc are not mentioned, but psychologists who care about these

addictions obviously use equivalient definitions.

The diagnosis systems mention 6-7 possible symptoms which can be classified

into three groups:

- increased tolerance and/or abstinence problems

- signs of loss of control (strong craving/ compulsiveness or drinking more

than planned or failed to cut down on use)

- damaging effects (social, health or work-related)

Currently no "symptoms" are mandatory. The addiction diagnosis demands that one

has at least 3 of 6 symptoms through the previous year (ICD-10) or 4 of 7 at

one point in life (DSM-IV). One does not need to have symptoms from all three

groups, for instance is lack of control not a prerequsite.

Compared to regular medical diagnoses, it's remarkable that the important

boundary between healthy and ill is set at an arbitrarily chosen number of

symptoms (3 out of 6 or 4 out of 7)