University of Valencia Study Warns Against Overdiagnosing Everyday Habits as Addictions

A recent study from the University of Valencia has sparked debate in the medical community by warning of the dangers of overdiagnosing everyday activities as addictions. Published in Nature Reviews Psychology, the study—titled “To the addiction hammer, every habit looks like a nail”—criticizes the growing tendency among some healthcare professionals to label high-frequency behaviors such as dancing, running, or even using technology as clinical addictions. According to the researchers, this trend risks trivializing the experiences of individuals with severe substance dependencies

Víctor Ciudad-Fernández, the study's lead author and researcher at the Polibienestar Institute, outlined how this overdiagnosis process unfolds. “First, someone observes that a person engages very frequently in an activity (dancing, playing games, using their phone) and assumes that this must be an addiction. Then, a questionnaire is created by repurposing criteria for alcoholism or drug addiction and adapting them to the new behavior. The questionnaire is then applied and, naturally, it ‘confirms’ what was initially assumed,” Ciudad-Fernández explained in an article published by the University of Valencia

The study highlights that activities ranging from listening to music to using artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT are increasingly being compared to substance abuse disorders, despite significant differences in their impact on daily life. While acknowledging that some behaviors—such as gambling or problematic technology use—can indeed become harmful, the researchers caution against conflating passionate engagement with debilitating addiction. They emphasize that true addiction involves a loss of control, negative impacts on health and relationships, and an inability to stop despite adverse consequences

Ciudad-Fernández warns that the indiscriminate use of the term 'addiction' can have severe consequences for both patients and the broader field of addiction research. “If we start calling almost everything an ‘addiction,’ the term loses its meaning, and the suffering of those with a serious disorder is trivialized,” he said. The study also references research where professional tango dancers were labeled as 'addicted,' raising concerns about the validity and utility of such broad diagnostic criteria

The report further notes that over-pathologizing normal behaviors not only generates unnecessary alarm but may also create financial incentives for unscrupulous actors to profit from unnecessary treatments. This trend, according to the study, reflects wider social pressures to pathologize pleasure and prioritize productivity. OG Lab’s editorial perspective is that this development highlights the need for precision in medical language and diagnosis. Overdiagnosis not only risks undermining trust in addiction medicine but could have long-term effects on public health policy and the credibility of healthcare professionals. The cannabis industry and broader wellness sectors should track this trend closely, as it may shape future regulatory and clinical approaches to both substance and behavioral addictions