Halloween’s later this month. What does that mean to you? It means lots of things to me. Costumes, parties, cute little kids trick-or-treating, and interesting decorations are just some of the things I associate with Halloween.
And candy. Lots and lots of candy. Even though I’ve been an adult for many, many years, I still haven’t shaken my love for candy. I like it just as much, if not more, than I did when I was a little kid. It looks like this abiding love of candy isn’t going to end anytime soon, either.
Does this mean that I’m addicted to sugar? I’m not sure. I do know that I crave chocolate at times. When I eat this chocolate, my cravings subside and I feel better. That does sound like an addiction, although it frightens me to admit that.
Do I need this chocolate to function? I guess it depends on what you mean by function. Personality-wise, I’m more pleasant if I satisfy my cravings with chocolate. I’m not cranky with cravings when I’m eating the chocolate, and afterwards, I continue to be more pleasant. This is probably because I’m experiencing a high off the endorphins or whatever other chemicals triggered when I eat the chocolate.
So, yes, I just say the word “high” when referring to chocolate, so it does sound somewhat like an addiction. On the other hand, I don’t think I actually physically need chocolate to function. My chocolate cravings might make me unpleasant, but they don’t cause me to shake, feel faint, or feel other ill effects. If I stopped eating candy, I don’t think I’d feel any extreme negative physical effects. This is unlike people who abuse drugs or alcohol, who might feel such symptoms if they withdraw from the substances they abuse.
Based on this physical evidence, I don’t think that I’m addicted to sugar physically, although it appears that I have some sort of dependence on it. But I’m just one person. Just because I don’t think that I’m personally addicted to sugar doesn’t mean that I don’t think that sugar additions are real. Maybe other people experience other symptoms and are addicted. Alcohol and drugs have different effects on people. Why can’t sugar?
