Written by Ash Jones, Gambling Access Lead

The language we use in our professional and personal lives carries a lot of weight. It shapes how people understand us, how we conceive of ideas, and how we convey these ideas to others.

This is particularly important in the work we do at Ara. Language is the foundation of everything we do: how we create space for our clients to open up, how we respond to their needs, and how we build meaningful connections.

An aspect of language we often have to navigate is labels, particularly something like “addictive personality”. For some, it provides a useful shorthand for making sense of behaviour and risk. For others, it feels reductive, even self-defeating.

So what does this label really mean, and how might we use it more thoughtfully?

Understanding the Label

Addictive personality isn’t a clinical diagnosis, yet it persists in popular language. It’s often used to describe traits thought to make someone more vulnerable to compulsive or repetitive behaviours – things like impulsivity, perfectionism, sensitivity, or difficulty with moderation.

Many clients recognise aspects of themselves in this description. They might say, “I’ve got an addictive personality, I can’t do anything by halves.” For some, that phrase becomes a framework for understanding: a way of naming patterns, recognising triggers, and staying alert to risk.

Used this way, the label can feel affirming. It can help turn self-observation into self-awareness. But, as with most labels, context matters. What may be a helpful label to some can be harmful to others.

The same phrase can help one person and harm another.

The Risk of Oversimplifying

The problem with addictive personality as a descriptor is that it flattens a complex experience into a single idea. Addiction isn’t born from personality alone. It emerges through an interplay of biology, psychology, environment, and life events.

When the term is used uncritically, it can sound deterministic – as if addiction were inevitable for certain people. That sense of inevitability can quietly feed shame, fatalism, or hopelessness. Clients may believe their recovery is limited by who they “are,” rather than what they do or experience.

Even casual comments – “You’ve got an addictive personality, don’t you?” – can land heavily. They imply fixity, reducing a person to a trait. This is why awareness of the language we use is so important, as is passing this awareness on to clients. When we use language to describe someone else’s experience, we risk taking ownership of that narrative. When we allow people to define their own terms, we return that power to them.

What the Research Says

The general trend in psychological research is that addictive personality isn’t a singular concept. Rather, it’s made up of numerous traits that present in varying degrees to produce what we see as an addictive personality. These include:

• Higher impulsivity and sensation-seeking, which correlate with greater vulnerability to substance use and gambling.
• Neuroticism, such as tendencies toward anxiety or emotional sensitivity, which can also increase susceptibility, particularly under stress or trauma.
• Conscientiousness and resilience, although these often act as protective factors.

 However, it’s worth repeating that these trends and personality traits don’t cause addiction on their own. They exist in a much larger world of factors – too many to name here. For example, our past experiences play an essential role in our reactions to addiction as well as our susceptibility to it.

 So rather than a single addictive personality, what we see are complex human beings with particular ways of responding to their world. Recognising this complexity allows us to offer support that’s compassionate, individualised, and free from assumptions.

“The concept of an ‘addictive personality’ offers an attractive and intuitive construct … however, despite the intellectual and practical appeal, it remains controversial, with researchers and practitioners heavily debating its fundamental validity” – Donna L. Roberts, The Addictive Personality: Myth or Cornerstone of Prevention and Treatment? (2019)

When the Label Helps

For some, the concept of an addictive personality offers clarity. When used self-referentially, it can be a starting point for reflection.

“I know I tend to go all in,” someone might say. “That’s just how I’m wired.” In these cases, the phrase isn’t a limitation but rather a lens. It helps identify patterns and build strategies for balance.

Our role isn’t to correct the language but to explore it: What does addictive personality mean to this person? Is it an explanation, a warning, or a piece of identity? What emotions sit beneath it?

By asking rather than assuming, we keep the conversation open. We can validate the person’s sense of self-understanding while gently introducing alternative perspectives.

When the Label Hinders

At times, however, the phrase becomes a barrier. If someone believes that their personality makes relapse inevitable, it can erode confidence and reinforce shame. It echoes old moral narratives: that addiction reflects weakness, not response to distress. 

In these moments, it helps to shift the focus from personality to patterns, from identity to behaviour. We can talk about coping mechanisms, emotional regulation, and resilience. These are specific, observable, and, most importantly, changeable.

Respecting Lived Language

One of Ara’s core values is meeting people where they are. And that includes their language.

People in recovery often draw on a mix of personal insight, community language, and wider cultural understanding. Some may find empowerment in saying they have an “addictive personality.” Others might reject that label entirely. Our role isn’t to decide which is right, but to listen carefully to what each person finds meaningful and affirming.

If a label helps someone make sense of their journey, we can work with it, while gently widening the conversation. If a label feels limiting, we can help unpack it, offering alternative frameworks that emphasise agency and hope.

Ultimately, it’s about shared language built on trust. We don’t have to correct; we can collaborate.

The Complexity of Language

Labels are important, whether we like them or not. They speak to our need for patterns and definitions, as these are how we intrinsically make sense of the world around us. But language (and labels) are complex: the idea of an addictive personality can help us to define a series of experiences in response to stress while also being an overly simple way of doing so.

Therefore, our challenge is to hold both truths at once:

• Certain traits can influence our vulnerability to addictive behaviours.
• No one is defined or confined by these traits.

By keeping this balance, we remain open to the full humanity of the people we support, and to the possibility of change that always exists within them.

Final Thoughts

Language is one of the most powerful tools we have in support work. It can heal or harm, clarify or obscure. The difference lies in how thoughtfully we use it.

When it comes to the idea of an addictive personality, the invitation is simple: stay curious. Ask what the phrase means to the person using it. Explore it with them. Honour its usefulness, but never mistake it for the whole story.

At Ara, we believe recovery isn’t about fixing personalities. Rather, it’s about nurturing potential, rebuilding connection, and rediscovering identity beyond addiction.

Because behind every label is a person: complex, capable, and always more than the words used to describe them.