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Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the
by ewokone 6y ago
Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc....
Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the difference between passion and addiction.
My 50 cents here.
- 3np 6y agoThat really hit close to home, thanks.
- thih9 6y agoInteresting to see sport on the list, I never thought about it this way. If anyone else is interested: https://aeon.co/ideas/how-people-with-sports-addiction-are-like-drug-addicts https://aeon.co/ideas/how-people-with-sports-addiction-are-l...
- Deivuh 6y agoMakes sense, back a few years ago I was so into weightlifting that I would spend around two hours at the gym. And whenever I had to skip or move my workout from my schedule because of an early meeting or an errand I would be very irritable for the rest of the day.
- dmos62 6y agoI get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?
- hhjj 6y agomaybe lack of calibration?
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoFor many people, isolation is a stressor.
- soulofmischief 6y agoThe Rat Park experiments showed us that well-socialized rats were less likely to develop addiction to cocaine than socially deprived rats. "Researchers had already proved that when rats were placed in a cage, all alone, with no other community of rats, and offered two water bottles-one filled with water and the other with heroin or cocaine-the rats would repetitively drink from the drug-laced bottles until they all overdosed and died. Like pigeons pressing a pleasure lever, they were relentless, until their bodies and brains were overcome, and they died. But Alexander wondered: is this about the drug or might it be related to the setting they were in? To test his hypothesis, he put rats in “rat parks,” where they were among others and free to roam and play, to socialize and to have sex. And they were given the same access to the same two types of drug laced bottles. When inhabiting a “rat park,” they remarkably preferred the plain water. Even when they did imbibe from the drug-filled bottle, they did so intermittently, not obsessively, and never overdosed. A social community beat the power of drugs." https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-tea...
- asiachick 6y agoThe Rat Park experiments were debunked
- TheSoftwareGuy 6y agoHow?
- shawnz 6y agoThere have been some failures to reproduce the results. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park#Follow_up_experiments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park#Follow_up_experiments
- spicybright 6y agoThis is very much debunked, but keeps getting propagated because people like the results. It's never been able to be re-produced.
- samus 6y agoMy guess (haven't read the book): humans are social creatures, and too much company with just our own thoughts is not healthy in the long run. It might not cause addiction by itself, but it's definitely a disrupting factor for mental health. Interaction with other humans can help to interrupt unhealthy thought loops and help people to reflect on their state of mind.
- Galaxity 6y agoWell, isolation commonly causes loneliness, depression, boredom, etc. Primary causes of doing things that can be addictive to relieve them.
- girvo 6y agoI didn’t care how lonely I felt if I had heroin, and being involved in that “scene” meant meeting and interacting with people who were in similar (crap) situations to myself, which we bonded over.
- amelius 6y agoSmoking and socializing seem to go together, though. At least, that's how it appeared to me at a distance from observing other high-schoolers.
- slumdev 6y agoIt also makes someone look 63% cooler.
- dilap 6y agoBumming a cigarette is how my mom met my dad. I also used to smoke, and it really was, on the one hand, a great way to meet people, and on the other, to maintain casual friendships w/ the people who happened to be around you (e.g., people working in the building next door). Still, not worth it on balance. But I miss it.
- snarfy 6y agoIf you go to conventions to network, the smoking section is the best place to meet people.
- zamfi 6y agoPerhaps those who suffer from isolation find solace in both cigarettes and the socializing that occurs with their use?
- spodek 6y agoAs a New Yorker near some of her favorite places, who also picks up litter every day, I see the plastic these places generate, as will people 500 years from now. I wish they would find an addiction that doesn't pollute so much. Not that they're any different from Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and peers, but they certainly contribute their share.
- derwiki 6y agoI know SF was made fun of for this, but the ban on plastic drinking straws made sense. Now all the boba shops use compostable straws and they’re fine.
- winkeyless 6y agoFeel bad about this too. Blue Bottle uses compostable cups which sets an example
- melomal 6y agoI was thinking the same about this whole post. At the end of the day it sounds like it is more aligned with addiction based on the sugar side of the drink. Big Gulp probably have the same ravaging followers too it's just not as on-trend though.
- jimmygrapes 6y agoI learned this ages ago as HALT: hungry, angry, lonely, tired.