Rethinking Addiction

[Faith No More]

So, I found this Ted talk on addiction, and given that people here have experience with it and it's a heartfelt speech, I thought I'd share it here to see what people thought.  My only critique would not to discount the "chemical hooks," as he puts it, but overall, I think it's a great message.  It's only roughly fifteen mibnutes, so if you have the time, give it a watch.

[Napoléon]

As a self-aware addict, I think he's spot on. I don't look at what I'm addicted to as though it is that thing that I need. I don't do it for that. I do it for the release. I do it because for a short while it gets me out of where I am in my life right now. I do it because I don't have those 'bonds' he's talking about. I'm 100% sure if I did I wouldn't be an addict.

[Handprint]

I wrote about this very topic in my Tumblr blog.

http://lurkerinthenight.tumblr.com/post/...-the-cause

My thoughts are contained there.

[Napoléon]

This forum makes me laugh sometimes. A thread like this gets barely any attention, but a thread literally about shit, people jump on like flies on... well.. shit.

Not a criticism, just an observation.

Anyway, I also wanted to say that I think his point about 'bonding' and connections goes for more things other than just addiction. I think it's doubly the case for depression, for instance. Hell, depression is almost always (in my experience) linked very closely to addiction. Find me an addict who isn't depressed. So his talk, his actual point, is far deeper and covers a lot more than just addiction. It touches on the real reason why people get addicted IMO.

I think the chemicals hooks referred to, are actually a symptom, not a cause. I've always thought this. I'm not a scientist so my discounting of such might be completely baseless, I don't know the ins and outs and I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about, I'm sure I'm probably completely wrong. But personally I don't look at addiction and just think it's either something you have the capacity for or you don't. Like, a lot of people I know say addiction is something that 'just happens' in the brain, like a switch being turned on for 'chemical' reasons.

That just doesn't make sense to me. For instance, one example I can think of is smoking. A lot of people are addicted to cigarettes right? Some people just can't stop (so they say). But I can pick up a fag, chain smoke like a motherfucker, and never touch one again. I've never felt any inclination to smoke, even after having several cigarettes. Now, I literally had this discussion the other day with someone who works in a doctors practice and likes to think they know it all medically, their response was "oh well your brain is wired differently". However on a night out, when I'm in a different sort of mindspace (when I'm pissed, basically), that's the only time I ever really have a want for it, a craving if you like. I've always found it difficult to comprehend why someone, or rather how someone, could be in some way predisposed to addiction, and others would be seemingly immune? Is it just a 'chemical imbalance'? That seems way too simplistic to me.

I see smoking addiction for many people as habitual, rather than deeply rooted in depression or such like. A lot of people say they smoke due to 'stress', the funny thing is, smoking regularly actually makes you more stressed. Hence I can see how the vicious cycle of addiction begins. But I think smoking addicts are so for different reasons to alcoholics, for example. Smokers in general don't seem as unhappy people as what alcoholics do, for instance. I don't think it's just about 'chemicals in our brain'. I really think the reasons for addiction are more to do with social factors than to do with chemical or neurological ones.

Just my take anyway.

[abaris]

This forum makes me laugh sometimes. A thread like this gets barely any attention, but a thread literally about shit, people jump on like flies on... well.. shit.

Well, you know - there are so many opinions on addiction that it's really hard to find the gems within the piles of shit. I can't say into which part the above falls, since I know too little about the topic to have an informed opinion, other than being a nicotine addict myself.

The only thing I do know is, that the first step has to be you, wanting to get rid of your addiction. If that's not the case, the best expert won't be of much use.

[Napoléon]

The only thing I do know is, that the first step has to be you, wanting to get rid of your addiction. If that's not the case, the best expert won't be of much use.

This is actually what the video addresses.

Interventions don't work for this exact reason, as the guy said himself. Putting pressure on those relationships someone does have, is not conducive to helping someone stop. In many senses it has little to do with wanting to stop, and a lot more with having the people around you who are supportive and give you a reason to.

[abaris]

In many senses it has little to do with wanting to stop, and a lot more with having the people around you who are supportive and give you a reason to.

Yes, sure. But it's still oneself, who has to make the first step. Who has to have the wish to kick the habit. The above is only the reason for that wish - one reason, in my opinion.

[Napoléon]

Yes, sure. But it's still oneself, who has to make the first step. Who has to have the wish to get rid of the habit. The above is only the reason for that wish - one reason, in my opinion.

This is precisely what the video is trying to say we need to rethink though. I have to question whether you actually watched it?

What you're saying directly implies it's solely up to the addict. Like it's all his responsibility. Like he got himself into such a mess and he has to dig himself out.

Sure, it ultimately is down to them, but this shouldn't be the approach or mindset when dealing with addicts. It's not about "oh it's them who has to make the first step and that's that" or "they have to want to stop". These attitudes aren't conducive any more than saying "murderers shouldn't murder". No shit, tell us something we don't know.

[abaris]

What you're saying directly implies it's solely up to the addict. Like it's all his responsibility. Like he got himself into such a mess and he has to dig himself out.

No, no, no. That's not what I mean. The only thing I'm saying is that the best drug experts won't have much of a success if their patient isn't prepared to get rid of his addiction. I never would throw words like responsibility around and I'm certainly not a bootstrap guy. Addicts are ill in the same way as suffering from any other illness. But in the same way as with any other illness, the patient has to accept the doctor and the treatment to make it work. And since this is usually about escaping reality, a better reality is certainly an important step on the way.

[Clueless Morgan]

This guy was on the Point of Inquiry podcast in March talking about exactly this subject, if anyone is interested in a longer-format interview with him:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/johann_har..._on_drugs/