Let's talk addictions

SalvadorAllende said:
Damn that is really nice to hear.
Family and friends for me... not opioid but I used to have pretty self destructive behaviours.
Now when I'm starting to feel like that I just call my parents or hang out with a friend. If I'm really fucked up I do a videocall with my nice and nephews and the world is good again.
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Don't get me wrong, I still need one from time to time(herniated discs don't just stop hurting), but I used to take five a day without fail. Now it's like three a week and only when I really wrench my back the wrong way.
 
Oblivian said:
I'm not sold on a lot of what he says. I think these are complete bullshit in many cases.
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Most of his stuff is fine for the layman, but he has a history of plagiarism, harassment, exaggerated claims, and burying his (shoddy) sources.

That said, his messages tend to resonate with people and aren't usually harmful.
 
SalvadorAllende said:
Good talk for a guy who has been studying the subject for years, travelling all around the world:



Cliffs:
- He states that almost everything we know about addiction is wrong.
- People take heroin in the form of morphine a lot for medical issues but don't become addicted. So the level of chemical addiction is overrated.
- Most of the knowledge about addiction comes from studies who are about 100 years old. Basically rats with clean water and water with a drug. They chose the drug.
- In the 70s, a professor did an experiment called "Rat Park" where the rats had everything (cheese, tunnels, other rats, sexual partners, etc). He put both waters. None of the rats drank the drugged water.
- Isolated rats were overdosing at about 100% rate. The ones in "Rat Park" had a 0% rate.
- 20% of US soldiers in Vietnam used a lot of heroin. Once they got back in the US soil there was a concern about them becoming junkies. 95% of them just stopped using heroin without any rehab.
- Then he proceeds to explain addiction causes being "bonding" and "connection" issues. Since you can't connect with people you connect with the object of your addiction.
- We are used to treat former addicts like ex-convicts. Shame and stigmatize them.
- In the early 2000s, 1% of Portugal population was addicted to heroin. They tried to do the american way and failed.
- They decriminalized all treatment funds and use them to reconnect addicts to society. Instead of focusing only in residentail rehab and psychological treatment. They started a big employement program for addicts, for example, paying 50% of salary to their employer.
- The main objective was that every addict have something to wake up for, and build relationships with basically the world.
- 15 years later injection drugs were down 50%. Addiction, HIV infections, ODs, everything went down.
- Current society is addictive in many other ways too (smartphones, food, social media, etc). It's not only illegal drugs.
- Connections now through social media and technology are not as genuine as real life.
- Group interventions that threat addicts to cut them off does not work. The opposite way (unconditional love) seems to be way more effective.
- His conclusion: The opposite of addiction is connection.


I know a lot of you have some first or second hand experience with addiction. Would like to read your opinions about it.
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very, very good post. thanks for sharing. yes, i totally agree. being addicted to a substance is replacing human interactions and connections. i had to learn this the hard way, and it hurt a lot of my family members. i am just glad i finally saw the light at some point. hopefully those who were in my position, manage to find the light as well.
 
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IIIIIIII said:
very, very good post. thanks for sharing. yes, i totally agree. being addicted to a substance is replacing human interactions and connections. i had to learn this the hard way, and it hurt a lot of my family members. i am just glad i finally saw the light at some point. hopefully those who were in my position, manage to find the light as well.
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Nice to see that someone with first hand experience agree with this. Also awesome that you are on the other side of this.
 
Threetrees said:
Does this guy have any credentials related to the subject?
Besides anecdotal research?
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Yeah I call bullshit in some of his claims. Chemical addiction is very real. It also doesn’t affect everyone equally, some people will be gripped by it more quickly and easier than others. Sayings “some people get morphine at the hospital and don’t immediately switch to heroine” is stupid. That’s not the same as taking oxy for a week straight
 
I stay high on life. Most of the posters in here are addicted to touching themselves.
 
franklinstower said:
I had an addiction to alcohol and drugs by the time I was 18.

Ended up in trouble with the law and in a 12 step program where I had an intense encounter with God that removed my addiction and about 90% of my mental and emotional pain too.

Cant really disagree with anything the guy said in the TS other than that for me social connection is not all that important for my sobriety. Its all about a connecrion to God for me.
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God is good sherbro. I would have never put the bottle down without God
 
I hate to state the obvious but it all depends on the individual. Although both of my parents were alcoholics I didn't become one. I had my experiences with binge drinking when I was younger & going to bars & such but I never went through a period where I had to have a drink to get by. And once I reached a certain age I was able to reduce my drinking habits down to special occasions only or two or three times per year. Which is where I stand with drinking now.
I'm the same way with drugs as well. I've been prescribed two highly addictive substances in Adderall & Vicodin to take on a daily basis for years now & I don't abuse either one. In fact, I've turned down an increase to more potent pain medications like Percocet & Oxycodone not because my pain level hasn't increased over the years but because I just don't want to be on a higher level of narcotics.
I'm not saying that I'm immune to the disease of addiction, far from it. I've taken a peek down that particular rabbit hole & I've chosen to avoid traveling down it by using the same sort of discipline that kept me in the gym & on weight for my fights back in the day. My approach wouldn't work for everyone but thus far it's kept me on the right path when it comes to alcohol & drugs.
 
I’ve never had an addictive personality. I quit chewing cold turkey, quit most social media easily etc. Caffeine is about it and I keep drinking coffee because I enjoy it. If my doctor told me I really needed to quit I could do it no problem.

Self bragging over. Kudos to all of you who have kicked addictions and good vibes to those who are currently trying.
 
Lint said:
Weird that kurzgesagt took this video off of their channel, still here's a copy for all you ducky fans:

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They removed it (along with several other older videos) because they no longer think it is accurate and the sources used do not meet their current standards. They plan to revisit this topic citing better research. That channel has really high standards and they do their best to maintain it.
 
franklinstower said:
I had an addiction to alcohol and drugs by the time I was 18.

Ended up in trouble with the law and in a 12 step program where I had an intense encounter with God that removed my addiction and about 90% of my mental and emotional pain too.

Cant really disagree with anything the guy said in the TS other than that for me social connection is not all that important for my sobriety. Its all about a connecrion to God for me.
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Ah yes the old ruined my life and discovered God routine.

Let me ask you, how do you connect with God? Does he have a phone number you call or a Skype account? Or do you just make up all this connecting with God shit because your brain needed it as a way to escape your problems?

I hate the twelve step program and their insistence that you pretend like you have no control over your own choices and life
 
Was addicted to cocaine for a bit, then heroin, then disassocitives, then research chemicals, and now nothing. I didnt use 12 steps I dont like the religous aspect and I dont agree that you can never even have a beer again in your life, I just spent a LOT of time in therapy trying to figure out the void was I was trying to fill. The drugs triggered mania and I got shit done (yes even heroin), and it was the only way I THOUGHT I could be productive.

After some talking and getting past some issue (like feeling unsupported by family, not feeling like I was accomplishing much, feeling an emotional void) I dont need drugs anymore. I might still partake here or there, but for the most part its not 3x OD and 5 years straight it was. I did some transference to working out and combat sports, which also helps, but its again transferrence just because you are addicted to something positive and its less destructive doesn't mean you are not still addicted.

Working on NON transference (not that I will stop boxing and bjj but maybe not use it as a crutch), and to just be OK with whatever (within reason).
 
jgarner said:
Ah yes the old ruined my life and discovered God routine.

Let me ask you, how do you connect with God? Does he have a phone number you call or a Skype account? Or do you just make up all this connecting with God shit because your brain needed it as a way to escape your problems?

I hate the twelve step program and their insistence that you pretend like you have no control over your own choices and life
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jgarner said:
Ah yes the old ruined my life and discovered God routine.

Let me ask you, how do you connect with God? Does he have a phone number you call or a Skype account? Or do you just make up all this connecting with God shit because your brain needed it as a way to escape your problems?

I hate the twelve step program and their insistence that you pretend like you have no control over your own choices and life
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I got a meditation teacher and began the practice. About a week into it I sat down to meditate and was struck by a blinding white light. My body was shaking with the sheer intensity of the power that was flowing through me. I opened my eyes and I could not see my room. Instead I could see out into eternity, all filled with light and sheer joy and love.

When it ended my entire state of being and 90% of the intense pain I had at that time was gone and it never came back. I instantly understood Christian theology after that, knew Jesus, and and was filled with joy and love for the most part for over ten years straight. The intensity of joy was mellow after the experience but it grew and grew over the next 5 years (like being on a drug) until once again I was rocketed into the white light again only this time it lasted for over 3 hours of absolute ecstatic bliss and communion with everything around me.

That mellowed again but over the next 5 years it grew and grew until I was once again overcome by this incredible power that lasted over three hours also where I was not even aware of my existence as an individual person but instead existed as a whole at one with all things.

On the other side of each of these I experienced a radical shift in my state of being that was permanent but also grew over the next 4 or 5 years. Its like being in a river and drifting towards better and better states of mind and being but having no idea what it is leading to until it arrives.

Its wonderful.

This explains about 5% of how I would answer this question if a sincere person that was actually curious had asked.
 
franklinstower said:
I got a meditation teacher and began the practice. About a week into it I sat down to meditate and was struck by a blinding white light. My body was shaking with the sheer intensity of the power that was flowing through me. I opened my eyes and I could not see my room. Instead I could see out into eternity, all filled with light and sheer joy and love.

When it ended my entire state of being and 90% of the intense pain I had at that time was gone and it never came back. I instantly understood Christian theology after that, knew Jesus, and and was filled with joy and love for the most part for over ten years straight. The intensity of joy was mellow after the experience but it grew and grew over the next 5 years (like being on a drug) until once again I was rocketed into the white light again only this time it lasted for over 3 hours of absolute ecstatic bliss and communion with everything around me.

That mellowed again but over the next 5 years it grew and grew until I was once again overcome by this incredible power that lasted over three hours also where I was not even aware of my existence as an individual person but instead existed as a whole at one with all things.

On the other side of each of these I experienced a radical shift in my state of being that was permanent but also grew over the next 4 or 5 years. Its like being in a river and drifting towards better and better states of mind and being but having no idea what it is leading to until it arrives.

Its wonderful.

This explains about 5% of how I would answer this question if a sincere person that was actually curious had asked.
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Sounds more like a seizure to me than anything else. How would you know it's the Christian version anyways based off that? Seems like you're just believing something you wanted to believe in.
 
jgarner said:
Sounds more like a seizure to me than anything else. How would you know it's the Christian version anyways based off that? Seems like you're just believing something you wanted to believe in.
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Like I said - I told you 5% of what happened and the effects.


Edit---
I can say that it was not just joy that came and light --it was information. I "knew" Jesus after that and my entire view on life was changed. It took me about ten years to figure out that it was christian theology that had been download into me though because I was raised to believe that this was the one religion that had been so ruined and changed and warped that it had no power.

I spent about ten years walking my own path but reading mostly eastern spirituality books and such until I got lucky enough to meet a monk who taught me about christian theology. My experience with theology has not been prescriptive-- it has been descriptive. It described and describes what was already happening to me.

It also provides a map that makes it easier to navigate in what realm.
 
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You can cure addictions by destroying your oxytocin receptors. Use something smaller that a 16oz hammer.
 
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