If you want to understand the world around you, if you want to understand the people around you, and if you want to understand yourself, you have to understand how addiction works.
WHY? Because modern society is an addiction factory. Technological progress has meant progress in making substances and experiences more and more addictive. Addiction -- meaning a pathological relationship to a substance or experience -- is at work to some degree in EVERY SINGLE PERSON.
As I've said many times before, addiction runs on a spectrum -- from healthy involvement with something to unhealthy use to out of control addictive use. It's a spectrum, and you are on it.
Ultra-processed food. Alcohol. Various legal and illegal substances. Social media. Video Games. Pornography. Gambling. Think about this: Each of these things has been subject to immense research and development over the last 40 years or so, making the experiences more intense and immersive, and the substances more pure and strong.
Just one example: I'm old enough to remember the Christmas when my cousin got a NEW THING -- a video game that you hooked up to the TV. It was called "Pong" and it consisted of a dot that moved around, and two straight lines that represented a "paddle" that you used to keep the "ball" from going to the edge of your side. We played it for a few hours, and then got bored with it.
This was 40 or so years ago. Compare Pong to how amazing, immersive, and creative video games are now. They are so amazing and immersive that in Asian countries, for example, it continues to be a thing that young people get so absorbed in these games that they don't eat, drink, or go to the bathroom ... and they
die.
40 years. That's all it took for video games to go from being boring and weird things to amazing and highly addictive things that take control of peoples' lives.
The neurochemical patterns that create what we know of as "addiction" have been shown to appear in our involvement with an ever-growing list of things. And, as our society becomes ever more stressed-out and unhappy, the lure of addictive substances and behavior continues to grow.
And understand this: There's no sign that the technology that makes things more powerful, immersive, and addictive is going to let up. There's too much money to be made. Yes, the drug and alcohol industries are multi-billion dollar a year industries. But so is ultra-processed food, so is gambling, so is video gaming, so is social media, so is pornography. There are billions and billions of incentives for companies to use the best
science and technology to get -- and keep -- you addicted to their thing.
So YES ... everybody needs to know about this stuff. Unless you live under a rock, or in an isolated jungle somewhere, you need to be REALLY aware of how addiction works, and what you need to recover from it. Here are 10 key things people
need to know about addiction.
1. Addiction can happen to anybody, and you can be addicted to (almost) anything. As mentioned above, it's not just substances anymore. Anything that keeps you in a heightened state of pleasure by bathing your brain in dopamine will lead you into the "pleasure
/ pain loop" that creates addiction. The brain adjusts to dopamine overstimulation (pleasure) by downregulating dopamine levels, thereby bringing you to a state of pain. This leads to cravings for relief from this state of low affect, and so the cycle continues.
2. Modern society primes us for
addiction. First, because it is dull beyond belief. All of our needs are met within the confines of our homes. Comfort is everywhere, and it's cheap. This makes us weak, susceptible to fall into temptation. We will pursue anything that makes us feel some excitement, some pleasure or arousal. Resist this. Our world also primes us for addiction by creating ever-more stimulating distractions and pleasures. Technological development makes everything smaller, faster, and more powerful --
including digital distractions, ultra-processed foods, and drugs.
3. Transforming your life by fighting poor habits / addictions is NOT about willpower. Will power is fleeting and short lived. It's not sustainable. To truly quit any addiction, you need to understand the mechanism of addiction and
have systems to fight it. You must work to create a life for yourself that you don't feel the need to escape from. (See #6)
4. You get into addictions from a desire to escape pain, not from a desire to seek pleasure. Once you find out a substance or activity can reduce pain, you will keep coming
back for more. Don’t fall for this illusion. In truth, it does not actually relieve pain, it just distracts and numbs you to it. It replaces it with craving.
5. To quit any addiction, you need 3 things: a) To get your dopamine levels to baseline b) To replace your sources of dopamine with stable,
healthy, and natural sources that can be controlled c) Hyper vigilance, constantly being aware of your behavior at all times. This is 95% of the battle.
6. Your goal in recovery is not simply to "be sober." Just stopping the bad behavior has never been -- and will never be -- enough. It will
ALWAYS (eventually) start up again. Your goal must be to build the kind of life you don't feel the need to escape from ... and the mindset that you never need to indulge again. This is what will keep you from relapsing six months down the line. This is what will build a fortress of recovery around your life.
7. When you stop using your "drug" you will feel terrible for the first few weeks. This is because the brain is now in a deficit of dopamine and is in a pain state of low baseline dopamine. You will feel depressed, irritable and anxious. You have to ride it out. It only gets better.
8. Hyper Vigilance is crucial for recovery. You must ALWAYS be aware of your internal states, your behavior, and your surroundings. If you are aware of what triggers you, you will fight it better. Without awareness you are a ticking time bomb waiting to relapse again. Does this sound like a lot of work? Of course it is! This is why so few people find long term recovery, and why most people are miserable.
9. You can't recover by yourself. Isolation breeds addiction ... and genuine community breeds health and recovery. Always have a partner -- ideally more than one -- during recovery. This is to help be accountable or to help be aware of what you are feeling or doing. Doing it yourself is virtually impossible -- it will become very
lonely and depressing. You need to see hope, you need to feel companionship. This is the key.
10. Focus on doing today right, then tomorrow focus on doing it again. Over and over. Don’t plan out 30 days, 90 days. It doesn’t work like that. Do one day right. Then use the momentum to move forward
everyday. This will keep you consistent and positive. This is your road to recovery.
