Video: LifeRing's Martin Nicolaus on the Medical Model of Addiction
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Video: LifeRing's Martin Nicolaus on the Medical Model of Addiction
LifeRing co-founder Martin Nicolaus presents A Medical Model of Addiction including an enlightened look a substance abuse and addiction recovery in his talk at the Psychiatric Grand Rounds at the Eric Martin Institution in Victoria, BC, October 5, 2010
If you wish to editorialise this video, please do not post comments unless you have watched it in its entirety.
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All of the the things in this video, except maybe the part about the alcohol industry has been known for decades. The pharmacology, brain chemistry and biology of addiction is nothing new. I took psychology courses in the way back and it was well documented that you could get an animal addicted as easily as a human.
What that proves is that raw addiction itself is not a spiritual issue, if it were then why would animals get addicted as easily as humans? The question then is does a spiritual path make it less likely that a person will use their body as a poison processing plant. I believe that a spiritualy fit person is much less likely to do those things, that is why a spiritual path works for some.
Another question is, if you were to teach the addict the pharmacology, biology and brain chemistry of addiction would it make a difference? I knew all of these things but did it anyhow. I think the problem of addiction goes much deeper in the psyche than the biology of it all. The real issue is why does a person set themselves up for addiction again and again when they know what the end result will be?
What that proves is that raw addiction itself is not a spiritual issue, if it were then why would animals get addicted as easily as humans? The question then is does a spiritual path make it less likely that a person will use their body as a poison processing plant. I believe that a spiritualy fit person is much less likely to do those things, that is why a spiritual path works for some.
Another question is, if you were to teach the addict the pharmacology, biology and brain chemistry of addiction would it make a difference? I knew all of these things but did it anyhow. I think the problem of addiction goes much deeper in the psyche than the biology of it all. The real issue is why does a person set themselves up for addiction again and again when they know what the end result will be?
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Good an evil, evil being a seductive negation? Take crack for example. Crack after a while apparently offers a 15 minute release from the desire for crack. It's literally giving everything for nothing. The 'evil' although I hesitate to call it that in that it gives it a too concrete sense, is found in a negative movement away from an enduring something to a frail, temporary nothing. We suffer because we have knowledge of good an evil, hence are involved in a spiritual struggle as well whether we want to be or not. Within this context, human addiction is perhaps more complex and significant than animal addiction.
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Originally Posted by kanamit 
He debunks the legacy disease model
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Originally Posted by BackToSquareOne
All of the the things in this video, except maybe the part about the alcohol industry has been known for decades. The pharmacology, brain chemistry and biology of addiction is nothing new. I took psychology courses in the way back and it was well documented that you could get an animal addicted as easily as a human.
What that proves is that raw addiction itself is not a spiritual issue, if it were then why would animals get addicted as easily as humans? The question then is does a spiritual path make it less likely that a person will use their body as a poison processing plant. I believe that a spiritualy fit person is much less likely to do those things, that is why a spiritual path works for some.
Another question is, if you were to teach the addict the pharmacology, biology and brain chemistry of addiction would it make a difference? I knew all of these things but did it anyhow. I think the problem of addiction goes much deeper in the psyche than the biology of it all. The real issue is why does a person set themselves up for addiction again and again when they know what the end result will be?
What that proves is that raw addiction itself is not a spiritual issue, if it were then why would animals get addicted as easily as humans? The question then is does a spiritual path make it less likely that a person will use their body as a poison processing plant. I believe that a spiritualy fit person is much less likely to do those things, that is why a spiritual path works for some.
Another question is, if you were to teach the addict the pharmacology, biology and brain chemistry of addiction would it make a difference? I knew all of these things but did it anyhow. I think the problem of addiction goes much deeper in the psyche than the biology of it all. The real issue is why does a person set themselves up for addiction again and again when they know what the end result will be?
As for the issue of education in addiction that you mentioned - I'm unsure of how effective it is in preventing addiction. I too was aware of all this, and agree with your suppositions. I do, however, find this knowledge to be VERY helpful in my recovery.
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Originally Posted by davaidavai
Good an evil, evil being a seductive negation? Take crack for example. Crack after a while apparently offers a 15 minute release from the desire for crack. It's literally giving everything for nothing. The 'evil' although I hesitate to call it that in that it gives it a too concrete sense, is found in a negative movement away from an enduring something to a frail, temporary nothing. We suffer because we have knowledge of good an evil, hence are involved in a spiritual struggle as well whether we want to be or not. Within this context, human addiction is perhaps more complex and significant than animal addiction.
That is a very interesting post. The animal once addicted is operating off of brain circuitry altered by the substance. It doesn't attach a right or wrong label to it. The human, even with altered brain circuitry still has a sense of right and wrong.
Don't know if anyone else has experienced this but I always had a subliminal sense that I was doing something very wrong whenever I drank to excess. It could very well be that there is a lot more to the spiritual side of the coin than one would think.
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Originally Posted by DayTrader
Interesting..... I suppose we all see what we want to see in things. I heard a good argument but not necessarily a debunking.
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Originally Posted by BackToSquareOne
That is a very interesting post. The animal once addicted is operating off of brain circuitry altered by the substance. It doesn't attach a right or wrong label to it. The human, even with altered brain circuitry still has a sense of right and wrong.
Don't know if anyone else has experienced this but I always had a subliminal sense that I was doing something very wrong whenever I drank to excess. It could very well be that there is a lot more to the spiritual side of the coin than one would think.
Don't know if anyone else has experienced this but I always had a subliminal sense that I was doing something very wrong whenever I drank to excess. It could very well be that there is a lot more to the spiritual side of the coin than one would think.
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Originally Posted by kanamit
He actually says that pretty much word for word. I'm simply presenting this video. I don't necessarily agree with him.
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