’s recent short story “Addict” we meet a character whose entire life is defined by a single word “addict.” Why, as contemporary humans, do we have such selective memory when it comes to the term “addiction”? How else should we describe the reliance on coffee in the morning, or being obsessive about going to the gym, or being sold potent psychotropics via bingeworthy television while we’re scrolling through our phones?
If those who consistently consume alcohol and recreational drugs are “addicts,” what do we call the reality of living forever within our screens? What do we call the careerists, workaholics, digital media narcissists, and incessant consumers of the world? And what is it about the term “addiction” that is so often primarily related to the use of “illegal” substances?
Good point re: less about "legal" vs. "illegal" and more about morality. Although if I were sitting at the bar with you I'd order a whiskey & consider how much legality is related to various forms of morality.
LOVE to read your personal anecdote about how you reacted to your fintech job creeping into your life ... it's one of the hardest things to not just know oneself like that but to actually follow through with the knowing.
Addiction is interestingly linked to disorders of compulsion such as OCD. It's where a dependency becomes a compulsion, is one way to break it down. Nymphomania or gambling addiction are illustrative because they are behavioural rather than substance based, so as you say, many functional junkies around us are thriving while addicted to work and money and power and shopping and validation. Society is A-OK with that.
But some people are just going to want to hack their own dopa or sert or gaba systems for pleasure or self-medication (or both) and substances really deliver that kind of thing. From coffee to validation to meth, you get that reward loop, it's just that with meth that loop will become a death spiral way faster than with Instagram likes. As mentioned by another commenter, addiction is when you cross the line where the compulsion is damaging your life and the lives around you, and you still can't stop. That's when you start realizing there is probably a disorder underlying the addictive behaviour.
Love it. Behavioral versus substance based is a clear and wise distinction to make.
I am curious what you think about the explosion of compulsion disorders, not because they don't exist but at a certain point the diagnoses can seem to become eternal, as you well know. To me it seems kind of connected to the manys ways we like to use chemicals (even when that comes to playing sports / making love / etc.) to hack our dopamine, serotonin, etc.
This is one of those hard truths that, unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies also know far too well: people like chemical solutions to existential problems.
It's like that Rick & Morty episode where they've figured out how to market the chemicals related to human purpose and joy: "come home to the impossible flavor of your own completion. Come home to Simple Ricks." Hot damn it's a winner:
I don’t know if it’s the relation to illegal substances as much as it’s often a moral judgement.
People tend to use “addicted” to point to a moral failing; a weakness.
This is why some organizations tend to use the term “dependency” in at least some contexts: https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-vs-dependence/
Personally, I tend to think of the word addiction when need for the behavior/substance starts to have harmful effects.
As far as I know, my morning coffee isn’t harming me and I know I can delay it when I’m bikepacking.
When I saw my last fintech job creeping into my life and consuming my thoughts and family time, I thought about addiction and took action.
Good point re: less about "legal" vs. "illegal" and more about morality. Although if I were sitting at the bar with you I'd order a whiskey & consider how much legality is related to various forms of morality.
LOVE to read your personal anecdote about how you reacted to your fintech job creeping into your life ... it's one of the hardest things to not just know oneself like that but to actually follow through with the knowing.
Addiction is interestingly linked to disorders of compulsion such as OCD. It's where a dependency becomes a compulsion, is one way to break it down. Nymphomania or gambling addiction are illustrative because they are behavioural rather than substance based, so as you say, many functional junkies around us are thriving while addicted to work and money and power and shopping and validation. Society is A-OK with that.
But some people are just going to want to hack their own dopa or sert or gaba systems for pleasure or self-medication (or both) and substances really deliver that kind of thing. From coffee to validation to meth, you get that reward loop, it's just that with meth that loop will become a death spiral way faster than with Instagram likes. As mentioned by another commenter, addiction is when you cross the line where the compulsion is damaging your life and the lives around you, and you still can't stop. That's when you start realizing there is probably a disorder underlying the addictive behaviour.
Love it. Behavioral versus substance based is a clear and wise distinction to make.
I am curious what you think about the explosion of compulsion disorders, not because they don't exist but at a certain point the diagnoses can seem to become eternal, as you well know. To me it seems kind of connected to the manys ways we like to use chemicals (even when that comes to playing sports / making love / etc.) to hack our dopamine, serotonin, etc.
This is one of those hard truths that, unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies also know far too well: people like chemical solutions to existential problems.
It's like that Rick & Morty episode where they've figured out how to market the chemicals related to human purpose and joy: "come home to the impossible flavor of your own completion. Come home to Simple Ricks." Hot damn it's a winner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4Ou3xFeGk&ab_channel=BlooLatte