Addictions without a substance, with very real impact
Some addictions need no substance at all. The brain can get hooked on behaviors with the same force it gets hooked on a drug — and with consequences just as devastating, or more so, for your finances, your relationships and your mental health. According to the OEDA 2024 report on behavioral addictions, 53.8% of the Spanish population aged 15 to 64 took part in some form of gambling in the past year, and an estimated 1.4% of the population shows problem gambling.
Among adolescents the figures are even more alarming: between 2% and 2.9% meet the criteria for pathological gambling, which amounts to roughly 58,800 minors at risk of gambling addiction in Spain. Pathological gambling (gambling disorder) is formally recognized as a disorder in the DSM-5, just like substance dependence.
At Charlas Adictivas we support people with behavioral addictions with the same integrative, human approach we bring to substance dependence. In person in Madrid and online across Spain. The first conversation is free.
What is a behavioral addiction?
A behavioral addiction is a pattern of behavior the person cannot stop, even though it is clearly causing negative consequences. The neurobiological mechanics are the same as in substance addictions: the brain links the behavior to a massive, repeated release of dopamine, and ends up needing it more and more often to feel the same satisfaction — or, in advanced stages, simply to feel "normal".
The key difference from substances is that these behaviors are part of everyday life (everyone uses a phone, many people watch porn, online betting is legal in Spain and available 24/7), which is why the line between "they do it a lot" and "they have a problem that needs professional help" is especially hard to draw.
Types of behavioral addictions we work with
Gambling addiction and pathological gambling
Online casinos, sports betting, roulette, poker, slots, bingo, compulsive lottery play. Gambling is probably the most studied — and financially most devastating — behavioral addiction. Many people come to a conversation after losing thousands or tens of thousands of euros, piling up debt, borrowing from family, and sustaining lies to their partner for years. That financial devastation is why pathological gambling has significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation than many substance addictions.
Sex and pornography addiction
Compulsive pornography use (hours every day), sex with strangers in high-risk patterns, escalating use of prostitution, intrusive sexual fantasizing that interferes with daily life, compulsive infidelity. This is not a moral issue: it is a compulsive pattern the person cannot stop. We approach it from community, not from judgment.
Technology and phone addiction
Compulsive social media use, non-stop consumption of short-form content (endless scrolling, shorts, TikTok, Reels), online gaming that crowds out the rest of life. It especially affects teenagers and young adults, but also adults with anxiety or insomnia who use their phone as a tranquilizer.
Compulsive shopping
Buying as a way to regulate emotions. Online shopping has multiplied this problem: packages arriving every day, revolving credit card debt, immediate guilt afterwards, and then starting all over again. The cycle is almost identical to gambling addiction — with products instead of bets.
Work and trading addiction
Working compulsively as a way to avoid feeling or to control anxiety. Speculative trading (cryptocurrencies, options, Forex), with its 24/7 availability and variable-reward dynamics, is in essence a modern extension of pathological gambling.
Signs that a behavior has become an addiction
Practical criteria (adapted from the DSM-5):
- Loss of control: you can't stop even when you try
- Hiding it: you've lied to your partner or family about how much you do it
- Continuing despite the damage: there are clear financial, work or relationship consequences and you carry on anyway
- Tolerance: you need more and more time, intensity or money
- Emotional withdrawal: when you can't do it, you feel anxious, irritable or empty
- Dropping other activities: you've given up things that used to matter to you
- Mental preoccupation: you think about it far more than you'd like
- Failed attempts to stop: you've tried to quit several times without success
If you tick four or more, it's worth working on it professionally.
The data: behavioral addictions in Spain
- 53.8% of the population aged 15–64 took part in some form of gambling in 2024
- 1.4% shows problem gambling
- 2–2.9% of adolescents meet the criteria for pathological gambling (~58,800 minors)
- Online sports betting is the fastest-growing form of gambling among young people
Source: Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions (OEDA), 2024 Report on Behavioral Addictions, DGPNSD, Ministry of Health.
Who you'll talk to: our community team
Ruy Arroyo Ozores
Community director · Trained in addiction support
Addiction support specialist with more than 20 years living with active addiction and more than 13 years in recovery. Creator and host of the Charlas Adictivas podcast. Interviewed by the Community of Madrid and the Why Not Foundation.
Salva Rivero
Facilitator with lived recovery experience
Support facilitator with extensive professional experience, whose story is told in episode #22 of the Charlas Adictivas podcast.
Rocío León
Community team member
Professional specializing in supporting participants in recovery.
Our approach
We approach behavioral addictions with the same evidence-based, integrative model we use for substance addictions, adapted to the particularities of each behavior:
- One-to-one support to understand what that behavior is regulating and to build sustainable alternatives.
- Support groups with other people going through the same process. Reducing shame — especially intense in behavioral addictions like sex or gambling — is healing in itself.
- A support community with the podcast, live sessions with Ruy Arroyo and tools for moments of behavioral craving.
- Work with the partner or family where appropriate, especially in gambling and sex addiction cases where relational damage is a central part of the problem.
Stages of the recovery process
1. Initial assessment (free)
A first session to get to know you, understand the specific pattern of the behavior and its impact on your life. We decide the approach together.
2. Stopping and containment
Working on effectively stopping the behavior. With behavioral addictions this usually calls for concrete blocking strategies: self-exclusion registered with DGOJ gambling operators, filters, deleting apps, controlling access to money, closing trading accounts.
3. In-depth support
The real work: what that behavior was covering up, how to regulate emotions without it, how to repair what was damaged (debt, relationships, self-esteem).
4. Relapse prevention
Especially critical with behavioral addictions, where the trigger is often literally one click away.
5. Maintenance
Ongoing support through the Charlas Adictivas community.
Support for partners and family members
Behavioral addictions — especially gambling and sex/pornography addiction — tend to cause very deep relational damage: lies accumulated over years, broken trust, severe financial impact on the partner. We offer specific guidance for partners and family members who are trying to understand what has happened.
How to get started
The first conversation is free and comes with no obligation. A member of our team will listen to your situation and explain clearly what we can offer you.