Is unsustainability an addiction?
Not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. Not everyone who gambles is a gambler. Not everyone who eats is a binge eater.
What makes an addiction is ambiguity. When we know, we shouldn’t have another drink, but we can’t help ourselves to take another one nonetheless. When we know, we have no money left and still gamble. When we eat the second pizza, although we know, it harms our health.
To feel ambiguous, we need to
- know that we should act otherwise and
- what that better action might look like.
Unsustainable behavior then can be considered to be an addiction. We know what to do better but don’t.