The subject of addiction will come up at least once in our lives. I believe the main reason is our very physiology — how our bodies are structured. The second reason is how we came to perceive addiction as a society. The @thecryptofiend wrote a post recently that inspired me to delve into the subject a bit more. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so. The subject of short-term satisfaction, which he analyzes thoroughly, goes hand in hand with the concept of addiction.
We are all more or less victims of our environment. Mother nature has gradually catered for this situation, making sure to equip us with an array of survival responses. Thing is, human societies have changed tremendously with our bodies not being able to catch up to the process. The mechanism of satisfaction, the very thing that gives meaning to our life, has gone berserk due to the overwhelming stimuli that constantly pops us around us.
If you are a hunter and gatherer roaming free in the savanna, you will most likely spend your day chasing a giraffe or sleeping. There is not much really going on in your brain other than finding food. This is who we were just 100.000 years ago and for about 95% of our entire existence as a species. Evolutionary wise this places to about... yesterday.
Our brains have not changed almost at all for hundreds of thousands of years. Theoretically, one could take a "caveman" and teach them basic things about our society and they would do just fine. Eventually they themselves would become addicts to just about everything much like a child entering a candy shop with an empty stomach.
Whether one examines substances or concepts, the theme of addiction echoes the same constituents. Our brains like to get accustomed to habits and they will do anything to 'keep something going' by any means possible. One can easily get addicted to their career as much as they can get addicted to alcohol. For others it is family or the need to travel. The spike of endorphins in our system makes us almost impossible to resist. In a way addiction acts much like an instinct rooted to what we call life-meaning. This is the main reason after all why it is so hard to resist.
Addiction is like a food craving on steroids. The only difference is that the craving becomes the central theme in one's life.
The peculiar thing about addiction is that substances or concepts alone do not inherit any addictive qualities. What ultimately leads to addiction is the emotional void humans seek to fulfill. As social animals we seek gratification from our peers. If we don't get it, we resort to alternatives that serve as a quick fix to the problem. The body quickly adopts to a given habit or substance and instead of resolving the underlying issue it gets hooked to the alternative.
We all know how our nifty hand-held devices have become the new crack. If at one point they suddenly vanish from from the face of the earth (e.g due to a solar flare) most people will literally go insane. Our lives have become so connected through these gadgets that we basically structure our entire identities through them. Whether we socialize about our career or entertainment, the concept is so widespread that even if one chooses to opt out, they will be damning themselves to social isolation.
Trying to resolve issues of addiction becomes problematic due to the fact that we are all more or less hooked on some degree on one or several concepts. Sitting in front of the computer for example has become the new smoking but more or less everyone does it. Another one is being fixated on a problem so much that it becomes a mental issue. This is how most brilliant innovations came to be but we choose to see that as dedication rather than addiction. This is how one can reach perfection in their respective career considering how much competition there is around. An illicit substance can harm our health as much as fixating in body image and constantly working out. One cannot simply escape addiction
At the end of the day, how we picture addiction is rather a matter of narratives under a given social consensus. It is not something that can be objectively defined.
One could say that finding the middle path to the equation solves the problem. Nonetheless, this is harder than one might think since what constitutes average behavior for one might not be for another. Body physiology differs from person to person. Our lives are quite different even though we face similar issues from time to time.
I believe that addiction as a concept is nothing to be afraid. Much like death, it will occur at one point. It's negative connotation stems from pop-culture critique — mainly due to the historical demonization of some substances. Neurobiology has demonstrated though that this notion is nothing but the tip of the iceberg. Our minds are prone to addiction to a certain degree because it ultimately provides meaning and motivation for one's life.
If an alien visited earth they would conclude that we are all addicts collecting weird green papers with faces and numbers on them. For us though, structuring our life around money is something everyone inevitably owes to do if they are to survive. Part of the reason people go mental over addiction is the loss of control they potentially can face. It is a form of hypochondria that relates directly to our inevitable demise.
Now, here is the real question. If everyone is "hooked" on the same concept to the point it becomes a cultural meme — at what point it shape-shifts from addiction and into a "cultural revolution"?
Interesting.
I think from my perspective it becomes a true addiction or dependency when it has a negative impact on your life.
That said from a purely neurological (rather than social) standpoint I think you are right.
Stimulation in terms of sensory input itself is a dependency in this way - it is incredibly hard to sit and do nothing and I wonder what impact this has on our mental health.
Simple, we are all nuts!
Haha well said!
I wonder to which degree can addictions control one's sensory experience and drives them to act in a certain manner (even against one's own self interest which happens very often).
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
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"If an alien visited earth they would conclude that we are all addicts collecting weird green papers with faces and numbers on them. " Haha, good angle!
You liked that huh? :)
Me too.
I find it fascinating to wonder how an intelligent alien life form would see the human race if this ever happened.
They would probably look at us as we look at bees building their hives, some animals driven by instinct. What we call rationality and thinking is nothing more than a complex puzzle of instinct and reactions, that at some point allowed the species to survive.
And we are now like a machine that completed it's task and keeps running without purpose/direction.
Absolutely!
Mass hysteria and cultural revolution are very hard to tell apart, and who am I to judge the difference? I do, though, don't worry 8-).
BTW there are so many social-media-addicted people riding bicycles in traffic in The Netherlands, while completely absorbed by what's on their little screens, that we are seeing some evolution in action. <evil grin>
But... do you?
wait until we get them sculpted on our retinas.
When I felt addictions or compulsive behaviour or every-day things were becoming a drag I used to go to a forest for a week or two and live off the land. I only brought clothes and a knife. You find out really quickly what you personal addictions are that way.
Compulsive behaviour can be kept when it is useful, like never forgetting your keys or closing the front door properly, and unlearned when it bothers you.
All in all, I don't mind addictions much, as long as they don't mess with my quality of life. Some addictions seem to enhance that, even. "Addictive expectations", like bricks usually falling downwards and walking usually moving you forwards, those you can't do without, or you would have to rethink everything every time. The The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt, an old SF-novel, says some interesting things about that.
Reminds me my time in the army. I used to live off snakes and mushrooms at one point. Really takes our mind away from everything (even army stuff).
another one added on my reading list
Strangely, the "quotes" under the chapter headings in the edition I have tell more about Null-A thinking than the novel itself, if I remember correctly. A quick scan of those is fun.
will definitely check them out
Great read on a touchy subject for many...
indeed.
Interesting read! Followed.
its so true.......
Are we not all hooked?! " what ultimately leads to addiction is the emotional void humans seek to fulfill" - so true. So True
What an article close to my heart. Being an addict myself, and working in an industry with addicts (vaping/ecigarettes), has been a really interesting experience. What blows my mind the most is how many people will come in because they "can't quit" smoking, but they also say they "aren't addicted," and that always is a source of frustration for me, in that obviously denying a problem is not the first step to recovery, and I find that to be generally disconcerting. I want to help people to be successful as much as possible, but sometimes just realizing and accepting that addiction is real and that we are in turn effected by it is so huge.
I'm not ashamed to be an addict. I found it quite freeing to admit it, quite honestly. Once I admitted it, not only did I find my behavior changing, but also my relating to others changing.
I am a very addictable person...when I started smoking cigs when I was 19, I feel like I was addicted at the first one I smoked...unlike others who feel it took them a while. My brain is just wired to get hooked.
I can become psychologically addicted to just about anything through my own compulsivities, as well...the things that a person "can't get addicted to," well...yeah you can. It's possible. Not for everyone all the time, but at some point someone will probably be afflicted with some sort of addiction.
Also--the societal acceptance of certain addictions over others is interesting to me, as well. For example, food addictions in the south are often accepted...to a certain extent, alcoholism is accepted, caffeine addiction is definitely acceptable...it's such a complex topic, and one people don't always like to discuss, but it's so important.
Thank you for sharing this here. Upvoted and following you now.
Thank you sharing your story. Indeed we need to exorcise the demon of judgments and just accept who we are.
I'm addicted to Fishing, is that bad? Good post!
I think it is important to start off a post like this by defining what addiction is. I am not sure your addiction to fishing is a real thing. It sounds like something you enjoy, as do I. But we are not dependent on it. However, on the flip side...
I am totally dependent on oxygen, I cannot live without it. So am I addicted to Oxygen?
The whole war on drugs and all of our "battles" with addiction is very skewed.
Did you see the 16 year old kid who DIED from a caffeine overdose the other day?
Caffeine is a drug, it is dangerous, it kills people every year, but still some parents think its cute that their children drink Coffee.
Or how about the guy who was "addicted" to buying BMW cars? He owned like 50 of them, hid 42 of them from his family and wife for years. He generated huge debts and even went to prison... Is that an addiciton? Or is he just a con-man?
At the same time, my father is hopelessly, helplessly addicted to alcohol something serious. It is literally maniacal.
Lastly...
I do not own or carry a cell phone. I never have. I never will.
So I think that it is also important not to enable jerks, just because they say they are addicted to something.
Yes you are
Everything can be dangerous in high dosages. Even oxygen. (which can also give you a high)
So it's not addiction :) Thanks!
Bad and Good are relevant. Depends from what scope your are judging the situation.
I can't stop thinking about fishing. I love it :)
The aliens would indeed view us a great collective of addicts clamouring for the next thing to satisfy our cravings. The norm being enforced so much that even now people who don't conform are singled out and targeted.
This was a great read. The last sentence refering to at what point does an addiction become a social norm makes me want another blog on the subject. I've always been fascinated with how and why certain behaviors are considered acceptable while others are not. Tying the addiction aspect to it sheds a whole new light on the subject. At least for me anyway! Followed!
I once read that addiction is typically a high impulse graph and a quick drop-off after a short period of time.
This is a great read. I know too many people who's self esteem is largely dependent on facebook likes..... i can see that it had a negative effect on their behaviour if they post something and its ignored by their so called facebook friends...... we are all addicts...... im now addicted to steemit... being a new member i'm learning so much more than i ever have from a public blogging forum x
thank you for commenting. At the end we all have to choose our addictions wisely x
"Our minds are prone to addiction to a certain degree because it ultimately provides meaning and motivation for one's life." And if that meaning is channeled into a $800 handheld device........ Wowzers.
right huh? :)
I should make an app named The American Dream. People simulate productive activities they could be doing in real time...
lol. yes. do that.
Very interesting. It is amazing how we as a culture rely on technology for everything. It is crazy to think about the amount of time we would have on our hands without it.
indeed. perhaps we would care more about each other
When I think about addiction, I first think of something negative. Great point of view, loved reading your article, thanks!
glad you liked it.
It is a Biblical truth that all of us, because of the sin nature, battle bondage. The one who is given to fits of anger is in as much bondage as the one who is controlled by a drug.
great post.
ahhhh I keep looking at my phonE!!! !!!!! first thing in the morning !
Nice write up! So good :)
Addiction can take over a family, from generation to generation, there is help, that work, if the desire is there, Narcotic's Anonymous or AA. Might be an olive branch, to those who struggle.
i believe these groups create yet again another form of addiction.