What is the difference between addiction and habit?

When it comes to addiction, the only thing at play – is the primitive instinctive part of our brain. This part of the brain acts without reason or thought toward the past or the future. Addiction stops us from thinking – and just gets us acting. Addiction starts when a substance creates a physical change in your brain. This physical change is related to the neurotransmitter chemicals that bridge the gap between brain cells that enable messages to be relayed from one brain cell to the next. The physical change also involves creating new pathways or connections, called neuropathways, between brain cells. Those changes in your brain make you feel like you’re starving for that substance or behaviour and that you’d die without it.

Changing a behaviour helps to create new neural pathways, by repeating the new behaviour; neural pathways form stronger connections. To maintain these strong connections it is important to reinforce them with repeated use. Your new change of behaviour has now formed a healthy habit to create a better life for yourself.