Behavioral vs. substance addictions

In the WHO's ICD-11, only two behaviors are classified as disorders due to addictive behaviours: gambling disorder and gaming disorder.¹ In DSM-5-TR, gambling disorder is the only behavioral condition in the addiction chapter; internet gaming disorder is listed for further study.

Recognized

Gambling disorder (ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR); gaming disorder (ICD-11).

Classified elsewhere

Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder is in ICD-11 as an impulse control disorder, not an addiction.

Not formal diagnoses

Problematic social media use, compulsive shopping, and work-related compulsions are areas of active research and debate.

Different conditions

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions requiring specialized care; they are not addictions.

The core features overlap: impaired control, growing priority, and continuation despite harm.² Reward learning, cues, and craving are involved in both. Differences include the absence of a drug's direct chemical effects, and — for behaviors like eating or using the internet — the fact that complete abstinence may not be possible or desirable.

Calling everything an "addiction" can trivialize serious disorders, or push people toward treatments that do not fit. Calling nothing an addiction can dismiss real suffering. GAREP tells you, on each page, how a pattern is classified and how strong the evidence is — and you do not need a label to deserve help.