Addiction is universal, striking every demographic on the planet equally. There are certain types of people in certain vocations who would seem to be more prone to addiction than others. One of these groups of people is technical thinkers, such as technicians and engineers. There have been studies and inquiries into why this personality profile may be more prone to addiction than others, even if just slightly. The consensus is that there are certain tenants of a technically mind that lead to addiction, such as:

• The extreme intellect of a technical mind looks for ways to relieve boredom. Because a technically minded person, such as a technician or engineer, makes short work of any linear task or problem solving, they often run into situations where they are bored and seeking mental stimulation. This can lead to experimenting with addictive substances and behaviors that even an intelligent person can find themselves craving uncontrollably.
• Technically minded people are intelligent but still vulnerable. Certain parts of their brain are highly developed, but typically, other parts are undeveloped and somewhat “wet behind the ears,” which makes them susceptible to addiction despite their frequent perception of themselves as infallibly logical.
•  It is very common for a technically minded person to be a bit stunted when it comes to emotional reasoning. Their technical brain is overdeveloped and their emotional faculties are undeveloped. This can be problematic for a technically minded person who is addicted, because they do not navigate changes to their thinking or their behavior well. They are used to having everything under control, and are unequipped to deal with being out of control.
• Technically minded people are prone to having inhibited dopamine production, meaning the chemical in their brain that indicates pleasure is produced in short supply. This may simply be due to how overdeveloped their unemotional faculties are. This often means that when they encounter something that gives them immense pleasure, such as an addictive substance or activity, they overuse it to a fault and become addicted.

Engineers and technicians are quintessential examples of the technical mind. Their professions depend on the highest form of technical reasoning, which is the ability to foresee, execute and troubleshoot technical processes smoothly and efficiently. They are high achieving, problem solving, linear thinking personalities who serve an important purpose in our society. They are also typically people who do not value emotional reasoning very highly and can be prone to boredom, rigidity and emotional dysfunction.

Technicians and engineers are high achieving. Because their thought patterns are so linear and non-circular, they are high functioning when it comes to productivity and can make short work of things that would take other people much longer. This efficiency and speed in task completion makes them a very valuable asset to the work force.

They are also natural problem solvers when it comes to matters that are technical. Even the smallest of technical functions and operations stand out to them in a way they do not stand out to people of other talents. They are intuitive with machinery and technology, and are able to manipulate it without much effort.

These talented individuals tend to have some quirks and some detriments that go along with their abilities. Probably the worst of these is their stunted emotional faculties. Because they are so linear thinking, they tend to view linear, technical reasoning as logical and emotional, circular reasoning as illogical, despite the fact that mental health experts and psychologists recognize the need for both faculties to be functioning in order to achieve true logic. Because of this, technicians and engineers, as well as other technical professionals, can become emotionally stunted and unavailable. They often become incapable of change, seeing their way of thinking as the only acceptable way.

Technical minds can also be prone to boredom. Because they are so often only willing to follow a linear train of thought, they can be somewhat limited in scope in other ways. Their boredom can also get them into trouble as they become highly experimental in order to entertain themselves.

New light is being shed on addiction constantly, and all new information is pointing in a similar direction. Where society used to label addicts as incapable people, studies are now showing that addicts tend to be very high functioning people who have wrongfully channeled their energy and focus into a harmful behavior or substance. There is no demographic of society that is free of addiction. It literally strikes every group, denomination, class and socio-economic bracket. One group in particular that is hit hard by addiction are those in technical professions or vocations, such as technicians and engineers. This type of linear thinking individual is susceptible to addiction for a number of reasons.

The commonality between different cases of addiction in high functioning people is that their brains have been found to not produce as much dopamine as the rest of our brains. Dopamine is the neurological chemical produced by pleasure. It has been found that high achievers, thrill seekers and addicts alike have this quality in common. They live in a more extreme way than the rest of us because they have to do more to achieve the rewarding chemical dopamine. Because strong technical minds fit into this category, they are easy candidates for addiction. In some ways, they are more susceptible to addiction because of how left-brained and linear they are. It is not uncommon for a professional such as a technician or engineer to have all of their high-functioning capabilities compartmentalized into their technical skills, leaving their personal lives largely unexamined. When someone does not think cognitively or critically about their emotional life, addiction may have a stronger foothold.

These are all generalizations, but have statistically been found to be true. Technically minded individuals can be prone to serious addiction denial and can require professional assistance in separating themselves from it. The old adage about an engineer never being wrong applies to addiction as well. Technically minded people can be very stubborn in their addiction. If you have a technically minded person in your life who is in denial about their addiction, do not hesitate to seek the services of a professional interventionist or addiction treatment center.