We Are All Addicts

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The subject of addiction will come up at least once in our lives. I believe the main reason is our very physiology — how our bodies are structured. The second reason is how we came to perceive addiction as a society. The @thecryptofiend wrote a post recently that inspired me to delve into the subject a bit more. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so. The subject of short-term satisfaction, which he analyzes thoroughly, goes hand in hand with the concept of addiction.

We are all more or less victims of our environment. Mother nature has gradually catered for this situation, making sure to equip us with an array of survival responses. Thing is, human societies have changed tremendously with our bodies not being able to catch up to the process. The mechanism of satisfaction, the very thing that gives meaning to our life, has gone berserk due to the overwhelming stimuli that constantly pops us around us.

If you are a hunter and gatherer roaming free in the savanna, you will most likely spend your day chasing a giraffe or sleeping. There is not much really going on in your brain other than finding food. This is who we were just 100.000 years ago and for about 95% of our entire existence as a species. Evolutionary wise this places to about... yesterday.

Our brains have not changed almost at all for hundreds of thousands of years. Theoretically, one could take a "caveman" and teach them basic things about our society and they would do just fine. Eventually they themselves would become addicts to just about everything much like a child entering a candy shop with an empty stomach.

Whether one examines substances or concepts, the theme of addiction echoes the same constituents. Our brains like to get accustomed to habits and they will do anything to 'keep something going' by any means possible. One can easily get addicted to their career as much as they can get addicted to alcohol. For others it is family or the need to travel. The spike of endorphins in our system makes us almost impossible to resist. In a way addiction acts much like an instinct rooted to what we call life-meaning. This is the main reason after all why it is so hard to resist.

Addiction is like a food craving on steroids. The only difference is that the craving becomes the central theme in one's life.

The peculiar thing about addiction is that substances or concepts alone do not inherit any addictive qualities. What ultimately leads to addiction is the emotional void humans seek to fulfill. As social animals we seek gratification from our peers. If we don't get it, we resort to alternatives that serve as a quick fix to the problem. The body quickly adopts to a given habit or substance and instead of resolving the underlying issue it gets hooked to the alternative.

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We all know how our nifty hand-held devices have become the new crack. If at one point they suddenly vanish from from the face of the earth (e.g due to a solar flare) most people will literally go insane. Our lives have become so connected through these gadgets that we basically structure our entire identities through them. Whether we socialize about our career or entertainment, the concept is so widespread that even if one chooses to opt out, they will be damning themselves to social isolation.

Trying to resolve issues of addiction becomes problematic due to the fact that we are all more or less hooked on some degree on one or several concepts. Sitting in front of the computer for example has become the new smoking but more or less everyone does it. Another one is being fixated on a problem so much that it becomes a mental issue. This is how most brilliant innovations came to be but we choose to see that as dedication rather than addiction. This is how one can reach perfection in their respective career considering how much competition there is around. An illicit substance can harm our health as much as fixating in body image and constantly working out. One cannot simply escape addiction

At the end of the day, how we picture addiction is rather a matter of narratives under a given social consensus. It is not something that can be objectively defined.

One could say that finding the middle path to the equation solves the problem. Nonetheless, this is harder than one might think since what constitutes average behavior for one might not be for another. Body physiology differs from person to person. Our lives are quite different even though we face similar issues from time to time.

I believe that addiction as a concept is nothing to be afraid. Much like death, it will occur at one point. It's negative connotation stems from pop-culture critique — mainly due to the historical demonization of some substances. Neurobiology has demonstrated though that this notion is nothing but the tip of the iceberg. Our minds are prone to addiction to a certain degree because it ultimately provides meaning and motivation for one's life.

If an alien visited earth they would conclude that we are all addicts collecting weird green papers with faces and numbers on them. For us though, structuring our life around money is something everyone inevitably owes to do if they are to survive. Part of the reason people go mental over addiction is the loss of control they potentially can face. It is a form of hypochondria that relates directly to our inevitable demise.

Now, here is the real question. If everyone is "hooked" on the same concept to the point it becomes a cultural meme — at what point it shape-shifts from addiction and into a "cultural revolution"?