Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 50
unrelated to the addictive relationship, denial, and significant impairment in personal,
professional, and family life.
In the different modalities of addictions, the individual seeks to obtain immediate
gratification, presents serious difficulties assessing long term consequences and obsessive
rumination about that relation arises (during the times in which there is absence of
contact).
The time devoted to the newly established relationship tends to increase in frequency and
intensity, which leads to losing interest in other activities that formerly elicited a certain
pleasure. At a later time, the addictive relationship is characterized by denial of the
problem. Although the environment or the relationship in itself point to something negative,
the individual cannot stop carrying out the activity and comes up with all types of
rationalizations and justifications in order to make sure nothing will interfere in carrying it
out.
Despite the attempts to help by family and friends, the addictive relationship continues its
course and starts to show its destructive effects at the personal, family, and social levels.
Recently, the definition of ―addiction‖ has widened. In fact, the current broadening of the
definition of addiction has led to diagnosing patients who are not hooked on any substance
as addicts. In fact, different authors are starting to talk about ―behavioral addictions‖ or
―psychological addictions‖ to refer to a wide scope of addictions without drugs (Echeburúa,
2003 Lejoyuex, McLoughlin, &Adès, 2000 Marks, 1990).
As has happened sometimes with cults, however, the media tend to treat these ―new
addictions‖ with sensationalism. According to Lejoyuex, McLoughlin &Adès (2000) the
addictions without drugs more often described are kleptomania, trichotillomania, pyromania,
pathological gambling and compulsive shopping.
On the other hand, such research shows that in these types of addictions, high levels of
impulsivity and sensation seeking can bring on a higher risk of developing an addictive
pattern.
According to Marks (1990), the common points between drug addiction and behavioral
addiction are: (1) a desire to carry out a counterproductive activity (2) a state of tension
when the activity cannot be carried out (3) a release of tension after carrying out the
activity (4) a new desire to carry out the activity after a variable period of time elapses (5)
a presence of particular external indicators for each addiction and (6) a pleasurable tone in
the initial moments of the addiction.
Other authors (Echeburúa, 2003 Larger, 2001) further widen the scope of addictions
without drugs including: the addiction to food, to shopping, to work, to sex, to the Internet,
or to physical exercise. However, there is not currently sufficient research to enable
establishing specific diagnostic criteria in most of them. Some of these categories are too
wide, not specific enough, does not show sufficient empirical consistency or the greater part
of studies lack sufficient rigor or cannot be extrapolated (DeAngelis, 2000 Tejeiro, 2001).
Widening the notion of addiction therefore implies that any type of pleasurable activity or
relationship can end up being addictive. The essential element in addictive types would not
so much be the substance or the addictive object (toxic or not) per se, but rather the type
of relationship that the individual establishes with that object, an exclusive relationship that
is absorbing and damaging to the individual and his environment.
Although the research inconsistencies, the idea that certain activities or relationships can
become addictive seems plausible in therapeutic terms and in certain people and under
certain conditions, generating significant personal, family, professional, and social
impairment.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 51
In the field of cultic involvement, once the addictive relationship is established in the current
member, it is possible to observe a particular set of symptoms. Regarding the symptoms
that would allow for the presence of ―cultic addiction‖ to be determined, the following
criteria have been tentatively proposed (Cubero, 2001) these have been extracted from
clinical records of the patients that have sought out our services, which at the present
moment add up to 1,170 cases.
1. Excessive time dedicated to group (at least one of the following criteria): a) the time
dedicated to the group tends to increase progressively b) time dedicated to the
family, work, or social relationships decreases excessively.
2. The subject reacts with great irritability and/or anxiety when unable to attend
meetings or group activities.
3. Subject manifests intense affiliation feelings toward the group and its members.
4. Changes in attitude toward people in his previous environment (at least two of the
following): a) cold and distant attitude, b) lies, c) fear, and d) hostility.
5. Unmeasured self-criticism of his pre-cult past.
6. Conceding excessive importance to the group, this does not adjust to reality.
7. Tolerates and justifies personal exploitation in different areas for example, work,
economic, or sexual.
8. Increase of daily activities as a consequence of the growing dedication to the group.
9. Experiences of great euphoria or enthusiasm.
10. Tendency to a monothematic discourse.
11. Behavioral changes that stand out that are in accordance with group norms or habits
(at least two of the following criteria): a) in dressing or personal care, b) in
language, c) in hobbies, d) in sexual behavior.
Addictive Relationships
Addiction is a psychiatric concept. It is not a psychopathological entity that we can find
within psychoanalytical conceptions neither is cultism a problem that has elicited great
interest among psychoanalysts.
In Freud‘s work we cannot find any specific text dedicated to the study of addiction,
although there are isolated or brief references in several of his writings. Some of his
observations merit our attention. This is the case of the possibility of addictions without
drugs. In fact, Freud was the first psychoanalyst to highlight that there was a certain
relationship between drug addictions and those without drugs, especially in relation to the
problem of pathological gambling, as a result of his study of Dostoevsky (Freud, 1928).
In his first writings, after the period in which he experimented with cocaine as an analgesic,
Freud suggested that compulsory masturbation would be the first addiction and that the rest
of addictions (to alcohol, tobacco, morphine, etc.) came as substituting formations (Freud,
1897). He observed, as well, that under the influence of toxic effects the adult regresses
behaviorally to a childish mental functioning, weakening the barrier of repression and super-
ego self criticism (Freud, 1912, 1928).
Moreover, among the effects of the toxic object, Freud emphasized suppressing repression,
manic triumph, decrease of self-criticism, and destruction of sublimation processes. He
established interesting parallelisms between intoxication and other manic states, where
intoxication allows the triumph of the pleasure principle over the reality principle (Freud,
1912, 1928).