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Cocaine and heroin are addictive. But smartphones, shopping, gaming and even work can also become compulsive. In Good Shape explores how everyday habits can spiral into addiction and what helps people regain control.
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00:06a line at a party a little weed with friends drugs can harm your health and they can be
00:13addictive it magnifies your emotions a hundredfold far more than alcohol or any natural high
00:19you don't do drugs watch out addiction can lurk anywhere including right here on in good shape
00:40sometimes the only way forward is a fresh start our reporter is on his way to meet someone who did
00:46exactly that martin seifat he moved away from the city in part to escape his cocaine addiction
00:52for more than a decade the drug controlled his life today he's clean so what does a cocaine high
00:59feel like it magnifies your emotions a hundredfold far more than alcohol or any natural high if we
01:06had some here and both took it we'd click instantly we'd be laughing getting along and having amazing
01:12conversations martin was 19 when he snorted cocaine for the first time at a nightclub a woman he liked
01:20offered it to him before long he was using it regularly one morning i woke up and had to go
01:27to work i felt sick and exhausted probably because i'd only slept for an hour i saw some cocaine left
01:33on my nightstand got up took it and went to work suddenly work seemed easy i was focused alert and
01:41completely concentrated that was the moment when cocaine became part of my everyday life
01:49but it didn't stop there soon martin was using regularly even at work
01:56i'd keep three four five lines under my keyboard at work nobody noticed when i had the office to
02:03myself i'd move the keyboard snort a line and keep working soon he was spending up to 800 euros a
02:10week
02:10on cocaine he forged qualifications to get better paid jobs and turned to petty crime to finance his
02:16habit at that point you're in the final stage of addiction where you'll end up either in prison
02:23or dead people struggling with addiction can find help at counseling centers here at rosa 12
02:30specialists support people with a wide range of addictions
02:33most people we see here use more than one substance alcohol and cannabis often play a role too
02:41they might take one drug to party or stay awake and another to calm down at night
02:46eventually that becomes a vicious circle
02:51martin was eventually arrested and received a suspended sentence
02:55he went through rehab several times his wife michelle nearly left him
02:59but when she saw him starting to change she gave him another chance
03:04he'd stolen from me so i told him to buy me a safe with his first paycheck
03:08we also agreed to keep drug tests at home
03:12that way if he had a runny nose or a cold he could take a test
03:16and i wouldn't worry he'd relapsed
03:21today martin visits schools to talk about the dangers of cocaine
03:25becoming a father became another reason to stay clean
03:30i wouldn't say i did it only for my family
03:33you have to look after yourself first before you can take care of your family
03:38today martin is drug free
03:40far from the nightlife where his addiction began
03:43he's built a new life here in the countryside
03:49am i addicted according to the who these are the criteria
03:53a strong desire or even compulsion for a substance or activity
04:00impaired control you can't stop or cut back
04:06withdrawal symptoms when you go without
04:08erasing heart
04:10sweating
04:11or stomach cramps
04:13tolerance
04:14you need more and more to achieve the same effect
04:19neglecting other interests
04:20activity
04:21or your social life
04:22and
04:24continued use despite the harm to your health
04:26and it doesn't have to be an illegal drug
04:29addiction can lurk almost anywhere
04:35what if i told you that you might be an addict
04:38but you don't know that you're an addict
04:40and this is what you might be addicted to
04:43sugar i know this stuff is so sweet so innocent
04:46we even give it to our kids all the time
04:48so can it really be that bad the answer to that question
04:52is a bitter pill to swallow
04:55we are biologically rigged to want sugar
05:00to figure out why let's rewind a couple thousand years to when we were hunter
05:04gatherers in nature
05:06sweetness means sugar a quick source of energy
05:10being able to taste sweetness helped our ancestors to focus on high energy foods
05:15and that improved their chances of survival
05:18and to make our love for sweets even more deep-seated and powerful
05:21evolution has come up with another cruel trick
05:24sugar is one of the very few foods to trigger the release of dopamine in the body
05:29you can see craving in the brain
05:33there's a dopamine rush that follows pretty much most substances that are abused
05:39and you see that actually happening quicker for sugar
05:44than for some drugs of abuse
05:47it's easier to in in animal studies it's easier to addict animals to sugar than it is to cocaine
05:53dopamine is kind of like the chemical version of positive anticipation
05:58the body releases the neurotransmitter when we're winning a game
06:02having sex or doing drugs
06:05sugar actually activates the same reward pathways as opioids
06:09though to a lesser degree
06:11sugar doesn't cause the same physical withdrawal symptoms as opioids do
06:15but most experts agree it also leads to dependence
06:19causing cravings and overconsumption
06:22and the more sugar you eat the more you need to get the same high
06:27so yes sugar is addictive
06:31sugar is part of everyday life and so are our smartphones
06:34on the go at meals even late at night our phones are often within reach
06:40brain researcher manfred spitzer says the consequences can be severe
06:45digital media harm brain development and that also affects education
06:51and above all digital media harm our health with devastating consequences for society as a whole
07:01for 10 years leo spent up to 12 hours a day online
07:05watching a series or playing a computer game really calmed me down
07:13i could switch off and forget about my other problems it distracted me from them and from reality
07:19leo struggles with depression and panic attacks
07:23for years no one realized his internet use might be part of the problem
07:28eight weeks ago he came to the psychosomatic clinic for treatment
07:31about the field specializes in treating internet addiction
07:39it mainly affects young men who struggle with the transition into adulthood
07:44the real world can feel frightening or painful so they retreat into a digital one a place where gaming
07:49pornography or streaming on computers or smartphones can become addictive
07:55so leo's addiction became so severe that everything else in his life took a back seat
08:00i started several vocational training and university programs but dropped out of everyone within six months
08:08so why is it so hard to put down our smartphones
08:13digital media can be addictive because the internet satisfies our need for new information
08:18social media satisfies our need for connection and computer games satisfy our need for competition
08:25all three activate the brain's dopamine reward system
08:30that's beneficial in some ways but can also lead to addiction
08:34take this for example this image comes from a study on cocaine addiction and its impact on the brain
08:41and this one comes from a study on social media addiction
08:46so addictive behavior isn't limited to substances
08:52fast moving images can also be a problem
08:55the brain can handle about one image per second
08:59anything faster becomes harder to process
09:02here in the first third of this waveform we see the typical processing patterns involved in perception
09:08memory and the brain's initial evaluation of the image
09:11when the sequence speeds up these more complex processes disappear because the next image arrives immediately
09:19the brain is left making only simple judgments thumbs up thumbs down yes no i like it i don't like
09:25it
09:26as a result thinking becomes simpler and more superficial
09:32our brains weren't built for the constant pace of the digital world
09:36for leo the endless stream of content made it hard to sleep
09:41for about five years now i've needed medication to sleep
09:45in the morning it can take me an hour or two before i really feel awake
09:51too much screen time can affect how the brain develops
09:55the brain develops differently at different stages of life
09:59in early childhood social skills are developing and babies who spend too much time in front of a screen
10:04can develop symptoms of autism teenagers who don't spend time on activities like soccer music
10:11theater or hands-on projects may struggle to develop perseverance
10:16that can make it harder to complete school vocational training or university
10:20and eventually affect their careers
10:23in the end it can affect their whole lives
10:27at the clinic leo is learning to take control of his media use
10:32at first that wasn't easy
10:36for the first two weeks we had to hand in all our devices our phones and laptops and we're given
10:42a
10:42simple push button phone
10:44we're going to be able to take control of our devices at least i could still make calls
10:48but it was tough because i suddenly realized how often i reached for my smartphone or laptop to watch something
10:55and suddenly i couldn't do that anymore
11:02the treatment follows a method used by bertha wilde and his team
11:08the goal isn't to stop using the internet we need it for all sorts of things patients first
11:14go through withdrawal then learn to avoid the triggers behind their addiction such as pornography
11:19gaming streaming or social media giving up those habits feels like a major sacrifice
11:25and that's what our therapy addresses
11:30so when does internet use become an addiction
11:36addiction addiction isn't about how much time you spend online it's about losing control
11:41if you spend more and more of your time online and start neglecting important parts of your life
11:47like your health relationships work school or university that's a warning sign
11:53and if you continue despite those negative consequences
11:57that's when we might diagnose an internet addiction
12:03today leo is building new relationships and rediscovering life offline in sports for example
12:11i really enjoy being active with other people laughing and having fun together
12:18exercise and a good workout are a great way to relieve stress and anxiety
12:24things are looking up leo is no longer glued to a screen
12:30he's happier and making plans for the future i'd love to play the guitar in a band i started about
12:38five
12:38years ago and now i have the time and motivation to practice again i'm working hard to make it happen
12:46internet addiction is a growing problem for leo recovery began when he reconnected with real life
13:03i'm sebastian and play esports i'm mike banica and wanted to be an esports player
13:08sebastian wehmeyer is 20 and competes in germany's virtual bundesliga he's one of the country's top players
13:21it's good to want to compete with the best to keep improving and show what you can do
13:29he trains about four hours a day and even more before tournaments
13:34he's also studying computer science a scholarship has helped him balance both
13:39but what happens when gaming takes up so much of your time sebastian says he's always been in control
13:49i always managed it pretty well i'd finish everything for school
13:55and after that in my free time i spent a lot of time playing
13:59it's a lot to use e-sports has become a global phenomenon professional gaming tournaments attract
14:08millions of viewers especially in countries like south korea china and the united states
14:18but chasing the dream can have a downside gaming no longer dominates mike's life
14:25but for years his dream of going pro came at a cost
14:33at some point everything else starts to disappear and gaming takes over
14:40games reward players who put a lot of time into them
14:44some pros train for up to 14 hours a day
14:48many amateurs try to keep up some develop an addiction mike was one of them
14:54at his lowest point he rarely left his room
15:02one day my mom came over and tried to get me to go to work
15:05it was only about 50 meters away but i just couldn't make myself go
15:13mike lost his job and drifted away from friends
15:16his life revolved around gaming and the dreams of going pro
15:24if your role model games for eight or more hours a day you think that's what you have to do
15:30to
15:30reach their level sebastian plays for a professional club his coach phil does
15:39more than just analyzes matches he also makes sure sebastian stays on top of his studies and other
15:45responsibilities his club and scholarship are his support system they also help cover the costs of
15:53in-game purchases
15:54as an e-sports player you're almost forced to spend money on the game
16:03but usually the club covers the costs
16:08so what's his advice for young gamers
16:13school should always come first don't neglect it
16:17and make sure gaming stays a hobby not the center of your life
16:25it took four months in a clinic and a long break from gaming for mike to rebuild his life
16:31now gaming is just a hobby he also left university and trained as a chimney sweep
16:39i wanted a fresh start something that would get me away from the screen
16:45mike also co-founded an organization that helps prevent media addiction
16:50that includes teaching how to play e-sports responsibly
16:57don't take on more unless you can handle what you're already doing
17:02sebastian wehmeyer and mike bannecke one is living the dream shared by many gamers
17:08the other learned how quickly that dream can take over your whole life
17:19finja is 27 and recovering from a shopping addiction for years shopping controlled her life
17:28for example i bought a treadmill that i've probably only used two or three times
17:34i have a gym membership and don't need a treadmill at home
17:41finja doesn't want to say how much money she spent during her addiction
17:45but she'll be paying off the debt for years to come
17:50she has her spending under control now but resisting the urge to shop is still a daily challenge
17:58sales and discounts are especially hard to ignore
18:03whenever there was a big sale i tended to go overboard
18:07sometimes i completely lost track
18:10i'd get five to ten packages a day and often they just sit there and opened
18:18for finja shopping was a source of pleasure
18:21but she often spent more than she could afford and hit her purchases
18:26both signs of a shopping addiction
18:31i never talked about it with my friends but in my relationship we argued about it constantly
18:38the packages kept arriving and i couldn't really explain it because a lot of the things that i
18:43bought just didn't make sense
18:46it's estimated that hundreds of millions of people around the world struggle with compulsive buying
18:52god and emons heads the center for behavioral addiction in berlin and treats people with shopping
18:57addiction
18:59it affects people of all ages some of our patients are young adults but we also see people in their
19:0560s or 70s
19:07what they buy varies widely too from clothes and cosmetics to electronics and secondhand items
19:14it can be almost anything
19:17shopping too much might not seem like an addiction but it activates the same reward systems in the brain as
19:23a substance addiction
19:28it's not just about buying something a lot of it is also about searching for products and deciding what to
19:36buy
19:37shopping often means going out spending time in stores during that process chemicals like dopamine and serotonin are released into
19:46the brain
19:48they make you feel good and can distract you from problems in everyday life
19:56for finja therapy helped she still has forgotten purchases stored in her basement
20:02but these days she's focused on letting things go rather than buying more
20:08instead of throwing things away i'd rather have them go to someone who can actually use and enjoy them
20:16not every shopping spree turns into an addiction
20:20but paying attention to our spending habits could help prevent an addiction that's more common than most people think
20:29you can become addicted to almost anything hard as that may be to imagine
20:39a relaxed run something that's important to alexander baden but for years work always got in the way
20:46i worked 60 to 70 hours a week late into the night to meet every deadline
20:54somewhere along the way i stopped taking care of myself
20:59anke domai knows that feeling the biology teacher was constantly preparing lessons
21:05she even turned her school's 200 square meter garden into a green learning space for students
21:11i wanted to share my enthusiasm that was my goal to make lessons exciting and bring in something special
21:20but afterwards i'd really feel it once class was over i'd go from full speed to completely exhausted
21:29and often the rest of the day was basically lost
21:34eventually both of them reached their limits and sought help at a psychiatric clinic
21:40but experts say the warning signs often appear much earlier
21:45people who regularly work during their free time neglect hobbies and spend less time with family and friends
21:52may be at risk
21:55physical pain poor concentration and declining performance can also be warning signs
22:01so
22:07at the clinic patients first learn to pay attention to themselves again and to their own feelings and needs
22:18today archery helps anka switch off for a while her attention is focused on just one thing
22:26it's a good feeling
22:29the focus is the focus shifts to what i'm doing to the present moment
22:33when i'm doing archery i don't think about anything else
22:36it's not perfect
22:39come on come on
22:43alexander is now confronting the pressure that once pushed him to his limits
22:49therapy has helped him recognize the warning signs he ignored for years
22:55He was exhausted, but never gave himself permission to stop.
23:08Chronic exhaustion develops gradually.
23:11As it grows, people often lose motivation for both work and activities they once enjoyed.
23:18That's what we call burnout.
23:19And if burnout isn't treated, it can become much more severe.
23:30Burnout can even lead to depression.
23:34Therapy also helps patients reconnect with something many had lost, joy.
23:39For some patients, singing therapy can help.
23:49You really do feel that joy, that sense of happiness.
23:53It's very different from what I learned as a child.
23:57A lot of people probably recognize this.
24:01My parents grew up during and after the war, and the message was always, don't be too hopeful
24:07or too happy, because something bad could happen.
24:10That mindset can stay with you for a long time.
24:15Alexander takes part in gong therapy.
24:25Through sound therapy, patients reconnect with the feelings they may have buried for years.
24:39At first, he didn't take these sessions very seriously.
24:45I have to say, this was the therapy where I cried the most.
24:48It was the most emotional for me.
24:52Today, we know that therapy isn't just about talking about a trauma or understanding where it comes from.
24:59You have to experience it.
25:02You have to truly feel it.
25:07At the end of the session, Alexander draws his emotion.
25:11The erupting volcano reflects a realization that has changed his life.
25:17I grew up in a family where achievement was extremely important.
25:21Success was how you earned recognition, maybe even love.
25:25But I've learned that's not true.
25:29Learning to respect their own limits is key.
25:34One of my biggest changes has been learning to treat myself with more kindness.
25:41Alexander is determined not to fall into this same pattern again.
25:47Sometimes I just say, it's five o'clock, the work phone goes off, and it's time for my family and
25:51sports.
25:52Sportzeit.
25:56Work, exercise, family, it's all good.
25:59As long as there's still time for In Good Shape.
26:02Take care, see you next time.
26:07You and I are all ready for it.
26:09Make the…
26:10…
26:10You