A very good TED talk on addiction. Obviously, it’s simplifying a lot but the general thrust is enormously better than the pablum we usually get fed on addiction. That show “Intervention” he mentions, God, it makes me want to do a shot of heroin when I catch a glimpse of it.
6 responses to “On Addiction”
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Thanks for the link. Liked the talk.
What about alcohol use in FSU? Is it the same as American or Portuguese drug addicts?
The speaker sounds very persuasive when he describes lack of connections and isolated rat cages, yet many alcoholics in FSU seemed to inhabit a ‘normal rat hole’, even if it were not a ‘rat paradise.’ They had jobs, families, (grand)children, pets, but kept drinking too much anyway. Surely, a paradise cannot be the required condition for lack of self-destruction in human beings. Otherwise, people as a species wouldn’t survive the evolutionary process or even life a century ago which was harder than life we have today.
Btw, the third story in the anthology you started reviewing (love those posts!) “A Jury of Her Peers” shows lack of connections is not merely a modern problem.
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Alcoholism is low self-worth, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame, incapacity to express emotions. It’s loneliness inside, not outside. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and lets people express who they really are. That’s why there are people who become chatty, people who become sad, and people who become aggressive when they drink. What they conceal from the world comes out thanks to alcohol. You can be alone in a crowd because you are afraid or incapable of expressing what you really are.
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This is the simplification. Connection is not a simple matter of surrounding yourself with people and work. You can live with a large family but still feel disconnected and misunderstood. It’s the same in India where family networks are very strong but families become the place of alienation for many.
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Exactly. Alcohol liberates the true self. I knew a guy who couldn’t have sex unless he was drunk. His sexual self only came out if he broke down the inhibitions with drinking. He was gay, and in his community it was unacceptable.
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The term addiction connotes something that has become maladaptive, and possibly, might even be disrupting the person’s life in one way or the other. Addictions can be hard to deal with, however, there are ways around it. Firstly, it is important to ask questions such as what leads me to this addiction? For many addictions, there is an underlying cause. For example, a person might drink a lot when they think of how much they have been bullied. They are drinking and might be addicted to drinking as a way to express their grief, but the drinking is a symptom of their worrying about their bullying. if they stop worrying about the bullying, they’ll stop drinking, you get the gist. Secondly, forums where people with similar addictions gather can be useful, so long as they do not praise the addiction and say it is okay. You can see how they are coping. Additionally, people who used to formerly have the addiction, but who no longer have it, can be a great resource, because you can ask them how they overcame it. Just google the addiction and google for people who have overcome it. Lastly, God is the King. God is able to help us to overcome many of the things that tie us down and weigh us down, yes, even addictions.
The Bible says in Hebrews 2:18 in reference to Jesus:
“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted”.God is able to help, and he would love to connect with you.
If anyone reading is interested in building a relationship with God, I have a post on that here: https://christcenteredruminations.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/how-to-build-a-relationship-with-god/
There is much more to know about God. I post frequently on my blog about topics related to God. You are welcome to follow my blog to keep up with my content. https://christcenteredruminations.wordpress.com/
-All the best. May God bless you.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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