A Perspective on Addiction and Connection

I categorise having an addiction either physical or mental behaviours associated to filling a void within a certain aspect of someone’s life. Often people misconceive people addicted to things as being self-inflicted, where often people are driven to addiction through their circumstances. Granted these people do have some control of what happens to them, but it is more to do with how they are mentally coping with their changing environment. The most prevalent case of addicts is people isolated in some way from society.

Addiction is a health issue.

I am a big believer in it being more a mental addiction rather than a physical hook. For example, people given morphine (essentially very potent heroin) in hospitals after severe injury don’t leave hospitals craving more, why is that? Surely the chemical hooks in hospital grade morphine would be stronger than that in any street heroin, if we use our current understanding of physical addiction.

Another misconception about addicts is that it eventuates in homelessness and breaks apart relationships. This is not the case, in fact the opposite. Most people become homeless, lose family and suffer through tragedy and then they become addicted to a substance or behaviour. And in their defence, who wouldn’t if they’d lost everything. The biggest causes for substance addiction are isolation, emotional trauma and homelessness.

Connection replaces addiction.

This is why connection to friends, family and community is so important. Addictive behaviours replace the emptiness people feel when they are alone or going through trauma, that’s why it becomes habitual behaviour. It is not the fact that an addict wants more of whatever they are addicted to, it is they are filling a void inside themselves with some sort of short-term external pleasure.

We are social beings by nature, sharing ideas and interacting with people produces the same sort of feeling that substances can mimic. This is why it’s important that we do not exclude people struggling with addiction from social groups.

I wouldn’t say I was addicted to marijuana; I smoked regularly for a year and a bit period three months of which I smoked every day. However I still went to university, played my sport, and did all the things I normally would have. The difference is that I was lacking connection, I felt that my friends didn’t really understand what I was going through and I felt that it helped me understand. Smoking helped shed light on my own problems, which I could’ve easily done by talking to someone about them.

Addiction replaces connection, when people feel like they are alone and disconnected from others. If you know anyone suffering from the health issue of addiction, talk to them about it, you’re doing more than you know.

Liam.