MythOfSisyphus

Just read an interesting article on the roots of addiction; according to the author the answer isn't what you'd think. The theory is that the cause isn't chemical hooks but poor socialization- we drink or drug because we lack the connections to other people that we need to function.

I can't comment on the veracity of this but my gut feeling is that there's a lot of truth to. Maybe read the article and see what you think?

canguy

I'd agree.

Obvious point would have to be that it may explain the potential of SR to help the addicted.....a sense of community, an opportunity to bond to some degree

Spacegoat

I'm in agreement. This was comprehensively scoffed at over on the F&F forum.

Perhaps they took it personally but I don't think the article looks to blame (IIRC)

Hawks

I think it has merit.

Actual physical addiction to alcohol is pretty rare.

Most people stop drinking well before that stage.

Although that doesn't stop many people self labelling as "addicts"

The psychic change that alcohol brings about is the biggest hook

Social situations -- confidence in liquid form.

A feeling of comraderie, fitting in, ability to talk to the opposite sex, dance, sing etc

Emotional retardation - self soothing in liquid form

Emotionally mature people can handle being told off by the boss at work..... Not alcoholic folk, we go home and drink away the crappy feelings , of course that is just one example.... We'll drink away pretty much anything....money problems, marital problems etc

Thought provoking post

Thanks

Eshgham

I agree - but I don't think it's just relationships with people. Religion, exercise, power ... whatever. If you take something very seriously, & "bond" with it, you protect it and are less likely to succumb to an alternative addiction.

MythOfSisyphus

Yeah, I think it's an instant shortcut for socially awkward or introverted types, and easy way to relax and lose one's inhibitions. I can absolutely say that if you allow it to, alcohol will crowd out other people, leading to more alienation. I used to make a beeline for the liquor store after work and just sit home getting plastered. Never made any effort to socialize unless it was getting together with other people to drink.

I don't want to minimize the addictive elements of chemicals like booze and drugs. But as the article implies addiction might be more of a social/people problem than an issue with chemical keys to the brain.

Dee74

Interesting.

I stand on the other side with this, as i did when the article was discussed here:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...gton-post.html

I can't link because it's a commercial site under our rules but there's (what I think is ) a good rebuttal out there by Peg O Connor.

Google 'Peg O Connor likely cause addiction' to get the link.

D

LonelyShadow

This article reads like it was written by someone's AV

FreeOwl

my personal experience suggests that the theory in that article has merit - but I don't believe it is a black and white "THIS is the real reason behind addiction".

I believe that the isolation and lack of connection is a very big element involved in almost all addiction, but I don't think it's a simple as "give a person good connection and community, and they will suddenly drink / use like a normal person".

We are not lab rats in a tank with cocaine water. We are human beings, and we are far more complex than that.

My own addiction has endured and progressed through periods of both isolation and connection. Honestly looking back on my life, even when I was very well supported I had patterns of alcohol and drug use that can only be seen as unhealthy. Was loneliness and lack of connection a part of my addiction(s) over the years? definitely. Is it the holy grail that - if properly addressed - renders me 'normal' again? I really doubt it. don't want to find out.

FreeOwl

Brilliant.

awuh1

I really liked the article Myth. It's a well written article that presents empirical evidence that a more meaningful life has less need for chemical alteration.

neferkamichael

I believe the article has a lot of merit, but I don't believe it explains anything about the roots of addiction. It certainly doesn't explain why infants are born addicted to various chemical substances, I mean, infants don't have a social life in the same sense as the article refers too. I think it was in a sidebar of a National Geographic Magazine that I read many years ago, a bear was found dead on a trail in a forest in Washington state that had a white substance all over its face and paws. Turns out the bear found a kilo or so of cocaine, probably from an airplane drop, and had eaten about half of it. It's doubtful the bear had ever used cocaine before and in just one sitting so to speak killed itself. The bear had the choice to quit but didn't. I left a crack rock on the kitchen counter one time and when I came back to it later it was covered with roaches, I kid you not. I'm a big believer that addiction is strictly a physical thing.

jazzfish

A study with a unique opinion in a highly lucrative industry - I'm shocked.

There are plenty of well-adjusted, loved, highly social people that became addicted. Heck, my addiction took hold when I was at my most social! I liked the feeling alcohol gave me and I loved the camaraderie of the pub - I guess too much. My addiction was caused by taking too much of an addictive substance for too long. To say otherwise would do me a disservice as to what is required to get better.

Dave36

What about nicotine addiction. That's pure physical addiction. You can say people start smoking to fit in but it's not a social lubricant.

Tang

Nice example. The last time I drank was that very situation.

ClearMind

I have to say I agree with this article. It's an eye-opener for sure. It makes you think.. how many times have we heard "you can't quit on your own?". Maybe all this means is that we need human connection to be able to slow and eliminate addiction. An increased social support network, over and above the environment we've become accustomed to during the depth of our addictions. An interesting line.. the opposite of addiction is not sobriety.. it is human bonding. Interesting stuff for sure.. gonna try to find out more about it.

jazzfish

Taking Dee's lead, I Googled an article entitled "Looking for ‘Likely’ Cause of Addiction Won’t Get You Far". From the article:

"Instead of trying to answer a question that is a false dichotomy, let’s instead ask and answer questions about intersections and multiple causes. Addiction is a highly complex set of phenomena that cannot be reduced to one cause, which means there is not one solution or treatment. It may not be possible to untangle these factors because they become stuck together." (My underline)

ClearMind

I did read the Peg O'Connor article, it made a lot of great points, especially concerning the complexity of our human brain and the inability to truly localize traits resulting directly from addiction. I think that some of it may be nit picky though. For instance, Peg says that although environments matter enormously, they do not necessarily cause the addiction. But she does concede that environments are enormously important. I do understand that the cause can be important, but for myself, personally, I am less concerned with the cause as I am with the overall impact of the environment to me. I think, speaking for myself, I am more concerned with how things are right now over what may have caused it in the past.

She also doesn't really get into why gambling addicts exhibit much of the same in way of addictive habits and traits as a person addicted to a chemical such as heroin, which would seem to be on par with the Hari article. At any rate, some very good points made and certainly a great couple of articles to read. Thought provoking! Thanks for posting that, OP!

ArtFriend

Jazz - I haven't read the article, but the excerpt you posted makes a lot of sense. And that is why there are so many treatment modalities. One size does not fit all.

p.s. why did you name your AV George and why will you hug, pet, caress, etc. him? I named mine Beelzebub (Bub for short) and we don't play well together

sugarbear1

New question: What is it that makes this lack of connection to others?

I think the article is thought provoking, but it still doesn't answer the question.

I know that connecting to others aids in my recovery, but I wasn't able to get there without looking at me and my behavior (via the 12 steps) and then doing something about it.

Where does this lack of connection happen? How and why and wow, so many more questions to ask!