Behavioural Addictions

Understanding Process Addictions: Signs, Examples and Getting Help

By Craig Bilton, Addiction specialist · 16 September 2026 · 15 min read

Process addiction is a broad term used to describe a pattern in which a behaviour becomes difficult to control and continues despite harmful consequences. People commonly use it when talking about gambling, gaming, sexual behaviour or pornography use. These difficulties deserve to be taken seriously, although they do not all have the same clinical definition or treatment needs.

Perhaps you keep returning to something you intended to stop. Perhaps the time, money or secrecy involved is beginning to affect your relationship, work or health. You may be concerned about someone close to you and unsure how to raise it.

You do not need to settle on a label before asking for help. Insight Recovery Network supports adults experiencing difficulties with gambling, gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour and pornography use. We can help you understand the pattern, address its impact and build a practical plan for change.

This article is primarily for adults and people supporting them. It provides education, not an individual diagnosis. Concerns about children or adolescents need an age-appropriate assessment.

What are process addictions and behavioural addictions?

“Process addiction” describes a broad idea rather than a single diagnosis. “Behavioural addiction” is another commonly used term, but everyday language and formal diagnostic categories do not always match.

In the World Health Organization's ICD-11 classification, gambling disorder and gaming disorder sit within disorders due to addictive behaviours. Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder is classified separately as an impulse-control disorder. Keeping those distinctions clear helps avoid treating every difficult or repetitive behaviour as the same condition. WHO clinical diagnostic guidance

When you contact IRN, terminology should make the conversation clearer. It should not become a barrier. You might say, “My gambling is affecting our finances,” or, “I keep using pornography when I have decided not to, and it is affecting my sleep.” Both give us something concrete to explore with you.

Our first conversation focuses on your circumstances and the support you need. Where a formal diagnosis or medical assessment is appropriate, we can discuss that alongside your recovery support.

When does a behaviour become a problem?

Enjoyment, frequency and strong interest do not tell the whole story. The more useful questions concern control, consequences and the place the behaviour occupies in your life.

Consider these prompts:

• Control: When you decide to stop, pause or keep to a limit, what happens?
• Impact: What is happening to your sleep, health, finances, relationships or responsibilities?
• Priority: What are you repeatedly giving up to make room for the behaviour?
• Persistence: Does the pattern continue even after consequences you wanted to avoid?
• Change: What have you already tried, and where does the plan tend to break down?

These are conversation prompts, not a diagnostic test. There is no score here and no threshold that you need to reach before your concern counts.

Try describing a recent example rather than judging your whole character. “I stayed up until three again and missed work” is more useful than “I have no discipline”. Specific information helps you and a practitioner identify where support is needed.

Gambling addiction and gambling-related harm

Gambling disorder involves impaired control, gambling taking increasing priority and continuing despite negative consequences. Harm can also occur before someone meets the criteria for a disorder. Debt, distress and difficulty paying for essentials deserve attention in their own right. WHO: gambling

Concerns may include trying to recover losses through more betting, borrowing to gamble, or spending money needed for household commitments. The NHS describes these as reasons to consider getting support. NHS: help for problems with gambling

The immediate priority may be protecting essential spending and reducing access to gambling while arranging treatment. NHS advice includes bank gambling-payment blocks and self-exclusion. These practical barriers work best as part of a wider support plan; they do not resolve every financial, emotional or relationship consequence by themselves.

For a fuller explanation of warning signs, assessment and treatment options, read Gambling Addiction: Signs, Harms and Treatment.

Gaming disorder

Gaming can be enjoyable, social and important to someone's identity. WHO describes gaming disorder in terms of impaired control, gaming taking precedence over other activities, and continuation despite consequences severe enough to significantly affect functioning. The pattern would normally be evident for at least 12 months. That diagnostic timeframe is not a reason to postpone help when harm is already occurring. WHO: gaming disorder

Useful questions include whether gaming is repeatedly displacing sleep, education, work, relationships or basic self-care. A discussion should also leave room for what gaming provides: friendship, achievement, relaxation or an activity the person values.

Treatment goals can be individualised. The NHS National Centre for Gaming Disorders describes work on gaining control over gaming and increasing other activities. Its approach does not assume that every person must permanently give up all gaming. NHS National Centre for Gaming Disorders

Sex addiction and compulsive sexual behaviour

“Sex addiction” is a term people may use when sexual behaviour feels out of control. The recognised ICD-11 diagnosis is compulsive sexual behaviour disorder, or CSBD. It concerns persistent difficulty controlling repetitive sexual behaviour that causes significant distress or impairment. WHO clinical diagnostic guidance

A high sex drive alone does not establish CSBD. Distress arising entirely from moral disapproval is also insufficient for the diagnosis. A careful assessment should avoid turning normal variation in sexuality into an illness. Kraus and colleagues: compulsive sexual behaviour disorder in ICD-11

If you are seeking help, you should be able to discuss your experience respectfully and without being pressured to adopt a label. You can ask a practitioner how they distinguish impaired control from differences in desire, personal values or relationship expectations.

Understanding a difficulty does not remove responsibility for consent or the impact on others. A partner does not owe sexual access, forgiveness or participation in treatment. Where there is coercion, violence or an immediate risk of harm, safety takes priority over relationship repair.

Pornography use: what makes it problematic?

People use “porn addiction” to describe different experiences. Some are struggling with repeated loss of control and disruption to daily life. Others are distressed because pornography conflicts with their values or an agreement within their relationship. Those concerns can overlap, but the same label does not establish the same clinical problem.

Someone calling themselves a “porn addict” may or may not meet the criteria for CSBD. Shame and guilt alone do not establish that diagnosis. Kraus and colleagues

For an initial conversation, focus on what you want help with:

• “I am losing sleep and struggling at work.”
• “I keep returning to it after making a clear decision to stop.”
• “We have different expectations, and our conversations keep becoming arguments.”
• “I feel ashamed and need help understanding whether the behaviour itself is harmful.”

These examples describe different needs. Assessment should make room for the behaviour, its consequences, sexual wellbeing, personal values and the relationship context. It should not begin with a promised diagnosis or a predetermined programme.

A respectful discussion can acknowledge a partner's hurt without treating every disagreement about pornography as proof of addiction. It can also take loss of control seriously without presenting sexuality itself as a problem.

What about shopping, social media, work and food?

These behaviours are sometimes included in lists of process addictions. Such a list can be useful for starting a conversation, but it should not imply that every item has the same diagnostic status or evidence base.

If spending, scrolling or work is causing difficulty, describe the actual pattern: missed bills, disrupted sleep, relationship conflict or repeated inability to keep to your own limits. Ask for help with that problem rather than relying on an online label to explain it completely.

Eating difficulties need particular care. Binge eating disorder is an eating disorder with its own assessment and treatment approach. NHS guidance describes guided self-help and CBT, and advises against dieting during treatment because it can make binge eating harder to stop. A generic instruction to “abstain from food” or follow a restrictive addiction diet is inappropriate. NHS: treatment for binge eating disorder

Understanding your own pattern

A useful practical exercise is to examine one recent episode in detail. This is a way to prepare for a conversation, not an explanation that applies to everyone.

Write down:

1. What was happening beforehand? Include the situation, time, access and how you felt.
2. What did you expect the behaviour to do? For example, provide distraction, excitement, connection or relief.
3. What happened during and afterwards? Include both the immediate experience and the later cost.
4. Where could support have changed the next step? Consider a person to contact, a practical barrier or a different activity.

For example, someone might notice that unplanned late-night browsing repeatedly follows an argument. Their plan could include addressing the conflict with support, changing the evening routine and deciding who to contact when the urge returns. That is more specific than making another broad promise to “be better”.

There is no need to assume that every behaviour has one hidden cause. The purpose is to identify useful information and bring it into assessment.

What your first conversation with IRN can cover

You can come to Insight Recovery Network without a diagnosis or a fully formed plan. We begin by understanding what is happening and what you want to change. A first conversation can explore:

• the behaviour, its history and its impact;
• immediate safety, health, money or safeguarding concerns;
• your previous efforts to change and what helped;
• your mental and physical health, medicines and substance use;
• relationships, responsibilities and available support;
• your goals and preferences for care.

Other conditions and medication effects can matter. For example, assessment of compulsive sexual behaviour should consider whether a change is better explained by a manic episode, a medical condition, medication or substance effects. Kraus and colleagues

Tell your GP or prescriber about a sudden or marked change in behaviour, particularly after a medicine change. Do not change prescribed medication on the basis of this article.

You can also ask who will have access to your information, what confidentiality covers, and what circumstances require safeguarding action. Clear answers are part of choosing appropriate care.

What treatment and support can involve

Treatment should be matched to the specific difficulty. Evidence for one condition should not be presented as proof that the same programme works equally well for every behaviour.

Psychological treatment

For gambling-related harm, NICE recommends gambling-specific cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), with individual treatment when group treatment is declined, unavailable or unsuitable. NICE guideline NG248

The NHS gaming service also offers CBT-based treatment, alongside work with families where appropriate. National Centre for Gaming Disorders

Research on compulsive sexual behaviour includes a randomised trial of group CBT in men assessed using the then-proposed hypersexual-disorder criteria. It found improvements, but the population and diagnostic framework limit how broadly those findings can be applied. It does not establish that every person distressed about pornography needs the same treatment. Hallberg and colleagues, 2019

Ask a prospective therapist about their relevant training, assessment approach, evidence for the proposed treatment and how progress will be reviewed. A provider should be able to explain why their approach fits your needs.

Practical changes and ongoing support

Agree practical steps that address the difficulty you are experiencing. These might involve gambling-access barriers, a planned device routine, protecting essential spending or arranging a regular support conversation.

Choose steps that are specific and workable. Decide what will happen when the usual plan is difficult to follow. Avoid making a partner the sole person responsible for checking, restricting and managing another adult's behaviour.

Peer support may be another part of the plan. Ask about the group's approach and whether it feels respectful and useful to you. It should not require you to abandon appropriate professional care.

Choosing the level of care

Ask whether the proposed support can be delivered safely in the community, whether specialist assessment is needed and what would justify a more intensive setting. Request a clear explanation of fees, practitioner qualifications, treatment goals and arrangements if your needs change.

An expensive residential programme is a consequential decision. The recommendation should follow an individual assessment and consideration of suitable alternatives.

What can you do now?

You do not have to solve every part of the situation today. Start with a manageable action.

Describe one concern clearly. Write a few sentences about what is happening and what it is costing you. You can take these to an appointment if speaking feels difficult.

Arrange a conversation with IRN. Contact Insight Recovery Network about gambling, gaming, sexual behaviour or pornography concerns. We can discuss your needs, explain the available support and agree a suitable next step.

Address an immediate practical risk. Depending on the situation, that might mean seeking gambling self-exclusion, protecting money for essentials or arranging sexual-health advice. Choose the action with professional support where the decision is complex.

Make a plan for the next difficult moment. Name someone you can contact, where you can go and what you will do before returning to the behaviour. Keep the plan realistic enough to use.

Tell us what you have tried before, what helped and what did not. That gives the conversation a useful starting point and helps us consider support that fits your circumstances.

Supporting a partner or family member

Start with an observation and its impact: “I am worried because bills have gone unpaid,” or, “We keep losing sleep over this, and I think we need help.” Avoid trying to settle a diagnosis during an argument.

You can offer help arranging an appointment while setting limits around your own money, time and wellbeing. You are allowed to seek support even if the other person is not ready to do so.

Consider what you need independently: information, financial advice, a confidential conversation or help deciding which boundaries are realistic. Rebuilding trust, where that is wanted and safe, should not depend on promises alone.

Joint conversations are not always the safest starting point. If you fear a partner's reaction or experience intimidation or coercion, seek individual support first. Couples work should not be used to pressure someone to remain in an unsafe relationship.

IRN's article on support for families affected by addiction explores family needs and support options in more detail.

How Insight Recovery Network can help

Insight Recovery Network works with adults affected by process addictions and related behavioural difficulties, including gambling, gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour and problematic pornography use. You can contact us directly. You do not need a GP referral to start a conversation.

Our support can help you:

• Understand the pattern: explore what is happening, when it tends to happen and how it affects your life.
• Build a practical recovery plan: identify triggers, workable boundaries, support and steps you can use in daily life.
• Address the wider impact: consider relationships, family concerns, routines and the consequences that need attention alongside behaviour change.
• Choose suitable support: discuss individual support, a structured recovery programme or treatment options according to your needs and circumstances.

If you are a partner or family member, you can also approach us about your own concerns. You do not have to manage the situation alone or wait for the other person to be ready to seek help.

Explore IRN's online recovery programme, or speak with us about your situation. We will explain what support involves and whether it is appropriate for you before you decide how to proceed.

IRN provides private recovery support and treatment guidance. Formal clinical diagnosis, prescribing and emergency care remain with the appropriate healthcare professionals. Where those needs arise, recovery support should work alongside the relevant care.

Other support options

Free and NHS support may also be useful alongside, or as an alternative to, private support. The NHS gambling support page explains public treatment routes; GamCare's National Gambling Helpline is available on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day. The NHS National Centre for Gaming Disorders publishes its current eligibility and referral information. Eating-disorder concerns need an appropriate healthcare assessment. These options do not prevent you from contacting IRN directly about the behavioural concerns discussed here.

When help is urgent

If someone is in immediate danger, has seriously harmed themselves, or you cannot keep yourself or another person safe, call 999 or go to A&E. In England, for urgent mental-health help that is not an immediate emergency, call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option, or request an urgent GP appointment. Elsewhere in the UK, use your local urgent mental-health service. NHS urgent mental-health guidance

For someone to listen, Samaritans is available free on 116 123, day or night. This is listening support, not a replacement for emergency care. Contact Samaritans

Do not wait for a website enquiry response in an emergency.

Taking the next step

You may still be unsure what to call the problem. Start with what you know: a behaviour is taking more from your life than you want it to, or someone you care about needs help.

Insight Recovery Network can help you put the situation into words and work towards a practical plan. Whether the concern is gambling, gaming, sexual behaviour or pornography use, you can start with a confidential conversation about what is happening and what you want to change.