Addiction as privilege

Technically, addiction is the result of your body becoming dependent on pleasure-producing substances to the degree that discontinuing the substance causes profound physiological disturbance.  We could stretch the definition beyond usability by attempting to shoe-horn substances like water or food.  What is meant is quite clear, however.

People attempt to widen the definition of addiction to include behaviors, such as gambling or sexual activity.  As a psychotherapist it is useful to ask the purpose of such a re-definition.  The answers seem clear. There is an implication of reduced power to control one's behavior due to some sort of physical dependency.  "Sex addicts", for example, don't simply enjoy sex, they "must" have it or some sort of withdrawal and physiological disturbance must result. Consequently they are not somehow as responsible for controlling their behavior as the rest of us non-addicts.  The same reasoning applies to "gambling addiction" or "food addiction".
Thus defining oneself as an addict of some kind implies a lesser responsibility and blame for the behaviors involved.  If one simply "can't" (not "won't) control their behavior, they can't be blamed.  They want to consider themselves "ill", not morally culpable.  They should get a free pass  for their behavior, no matter how damaging it may be to themselves or others.

Our innate responses to stimuli fall along a normal curve, with the majority in the mid-range, and with extremes at the tail end of the curve.  We respond to sudden noises with a wide range of reaction, from nearly placid disinterest to sudden leaps and shouts.  One has only to watch the reaction of new-born infants behind the viewing glass to flash photographs to observe this range, and it is clearly innate.  But just because our response lies toward one of the extremes does not imply an "illness" or disorder of some kind.  People who have relatively extreme reactions learn to moderate them.  We do not allow people to have a free pass to hurt someone just because they are more easily angry or frightened than others.  The law makes no exceptions, nor should it.