tijaco

There is something about addiction that intrigues me. We can get addicted to any number of substances or actions. But are we really addicted to the substance or action itself, or are we just trying to connect with something? Some addictions can be great when maintained. Being addicted to a job that you enjoy. Being addicted to keeping a good sleep schedule. Being addicted to eating healthy food. Being addicted to giving back in your community. We don’t call these addictions because they are good. Addiction has a negative connotation that doesn’t make sense in these contexts. Perhaps this says something about humans’ insistence that things should be better than they are – a kind of growth gene that we all share.

And in this case, is an addiction really some series of mental hooks in the brain or is it simply the sum of our routines? To use an analogy from psychedelics researcher Robin Carhart-Harris, as we create a habit for something it is as if we are sliding down the same ski slope time and again. Over time, we find it more and more difficult to take a different path because we tend to fall back into the same groove. And so, the question should be asked, are the mental hooks that seem apparent in each of these substances real, or simply just a product of our habit being maintained?

Then, there is the connection theory that is offered by Johann Hari in both his books ‘Chasing the Scream’ and ‘Lost Connections’. In these books, examples were offered showing that, in many cases, excessive drug use and even depression and anxiety can be sourced back to a loss of connection in that person’s life. This lack of connection most often came from the lack of a cohesive and supportive community. In an overworked and underpaid society, many of these problems can be traced back to neoliberal policies and a failed political structure.

As is the case with many issues, once we deconstruct addiction, it seems far less complex. And as is with many issues, the solutions revolve around poverty and education.

Should we offer every person a solid start to life, there is no doubt in my mind that addiction would drastically decrease. If we offer people good, critically minded education, they can go on to solve the relevant problems of their world.

It seems fitting to invoke the saying: “If you show a man how to fish, you’ll feed him for a day. If you teach him to fish, you’ll feed him for a lifetime.”

Our society barely shows people how to fish. The society in which I want to live gives people a fishing rod, teaches them how to fish and at the same time makes sure they wouldn’t starve if they fail.