Very good. Especially the role of learned helplessness and low agency. Both can be reversed.
Embracing the illness model is of course comforting. Far nicer to believe you have some predisposition or a chemical imbalance. This is not just encouraged by society but eagerly embraced by its adherents.
But any path to sobriety must first accept full responsibility otherwise it is just a pantomime.
We cannot run away from our needs, we cannot medicate ourselves to meaning. Some voids must be faced and sat with; substances - prescribed or not - are no long-term solution.
An excellent analysis, Adam. I really hope that many will see that needs aren't illnesses, and that seeing and classifying them as so only distracts from the essence of life.
This take is very important in combating addiction and dealing with depression. Capitalism will keep pushing 'solutions' to things that are nothing more than the discomfort of deviation ... from what live was originally meant to be.
We should return to life, not search for the most effective ways to sustain deviation.
You strike at the core of what plagues many of us - meeting our needs.
In order to so, in a holistically healthy way, we must restore our sense of agency and internal control.
This quote stuck with me:
“Instead of recognising your signal to meet your needs, the modern system pathologises it and offers a chemical solution, saying, “The problem isn’t in your unmet needs, your environment, or the structure of your life: it’s in your brain.”
To numb a pain signal without addressing the source is like removing the batteries from a fire alarm to stop the beeping while the flames continue to burn.”
The issues you’ve mentioned here speak to the reasons why I have been frustrated working as a psychotherapist under our current system. Sure, there are people who I can work with to help them uncover the needs that they’ve been repressing. However, there are also many, so many, who have been brainwashed to think that they need “fixing” (which I did write about in a recent article) and are determined that they absolutely need a medication (that may also be causing troubling side effects) or some kind of distraction in order to get by. I always laugh to myself a little bit when, at the same time, they say they feel fine and “don’t know what to work on in therapy”. Breaking through these barriers when our modern systems have trained us for “quick fixes” (and insurance companies push for “quick fix” therapy) makes it difficult.
Man… not sure I could like this post any more. Beautifully empowering brother and knowing your past that you’ve shared with us makes your words that much more meaningful
This is clear framing, kudos @Adam PT it’s a gorgeous read and sparks are flying right now, little entropy fairies causing insight and flaring fires to push back shadows and darkness.
if I can add, seems to me the irony is people are conditioned or choose to externalize their problems by projecting them onto the reality and people surrounding them, creating the tail-chasing dog or snake eating its own tail effect. The pill is meant to treat the dizziness, and not adjust the merry-go-round speed.
When it's framed like this, the outside reflecting the inside and vice versa, that hits the pause button long enough to recognize a feedback loop exists.
Personally this where and how I see this cycle getting back under control, steadily, without substances or chemicals. Seeing the loop slowing down and building a consistent yet flexible routine, that's healthy.
Personal perspective. I've never gotten prescribed and only ever self-medicated with weed, nicotine, and alcohol. It's out of out of shame and conditioning that I kept this to myself though many will have seen me when I was off the wagon. I've managed the past 20 years or so to, as you talk about in the essay, stay mostly 'Dry' but am not 'Sober' completely. I've careened from one bad night to the next, months or years apart, that way.
With age and having worked on myself, there is a set of practices I do now that's lifted me out of 'just white-knuckling the dry spells' and are making sober life way more attractive and substantially more real.
Two biggest shifts were 1. recognizing this way of living (if you can call it that) will kill me. 2. I can't lose the next day(s) to hang-over, recovery full of self-recrimination, regret and shame spirals.
Fuck I could on, there is a lot of framework, lessons, stories, and dark matter still for me to work with on this aspect of my life.
I think so, still a work in progress and learning as I go. Just read another great essay on sobriety today and can feel it pushing my mind to get in tune with that energy and concept more fully.
Glad you loved it, Alberto. I believe addiction is a behaviour that substitutes for unmet needs. Meet the needs and the behaviour becomes obsolete. The question then becomes ‘what are my unmet needs, and how do I find out what I don’t know?’ I have an article called “Shrink addiction into irrelevance” that might help.
But here’s another tool I found useful that helps break down where addiction might be coming from:
Yes, yes, yes! Scream this louder for those in the back. I’m working on a piece now that will show it’s a a very advanced coping mechanism for the brain. It’s not a limbic response, it’s prefrontal cortex.
@Adam PT I feel like you'd enjoy some of @Dan Foster ‘s writing. Especially the work her does through a particular Organisation (of which I'll let him reference just in case it's a “secret” of sorts)
I really enjoyed this Adam.. Such clarity of how others look for the quickest fix to their problems.. Rather than sit with themselves and go within. To understand what may be missing in their lives, their mindset and general health.
To offer Love and understanding for another person’s life and the difficulties they may have and experience, it is good to show a different perspective on how to live a better life.
Always, without judgment, only compassion for what others may not see.
Adam I love your writing and your exploration of self. When I read this piece I hear some of your declarative statements about agency and choice as powerful. But no less powerful are the declarative statements made by AA and the traditional recovery community. What I’ve found in my own experience was that they served me at a time when I needed them. I was powerful in many aspects of my life but couldn’t kick booze. The “powerlessness over alcohol” helped me focus on the fight at hand and surrender to the reality of it. The agency and choice I had later—and now—was in actually staying clean and sober—but only after I was able to use the prior to “get” sober.
I often refer to getting sober as a cover charge. We want in. But many don’t like the rude and naked work and noise of actual long-term recovery. So they bail and blame the process.
I’ve always believed that the lives of those living under the power of influence of alcohol and drugs—or any other “cope” are in fact broken. That doesn’t mean the people are broken people—but their lives have indeed become unmanageable. Ooh there’s that First Step. 😳
Use what you can. Leave the rest. I don’t understand those—like my good friend Bowen—that can’t just let it be. There are multiple paths to freedom just like there are multiple paths to jail or the cemetery. Pick one. Why would anyone else care which one you choose?
Awareness and reflection are major when identifying needs, but our modern lifestyle “in the fast lane” makes it hard to zero in on! Thanks for articulating so accurately Adam!
In my pocket is an entire universe of attentional junk food. It co-opts the ancient wiring of this brain with little hits of the good stuff if I'm not vigilant.
I understand these little hits aren't doing the same damage to the world around me as was my abusive relationship with booze and blow, but it's still a pernicious attack on this human experience.
May I be steadfast in my tolerance of discomfort and displeasure.
May I not seek constant comfort and stimulation.
May I truly embrace the full commitment I've made to sobriety.
Beautifully written! So thought provoking, and loved the ideas shared here around learned helplessness and low agency. Reminded me a bit of Johann Hari’s Lost Connections.
I do feel there is definitely some biological underpinnings in mental illness and addition, such as twin studies that provide strong evidence for the biological basis of depression, anxiety, and addiction, with heritability estimates typically around 40–50% for depression, 30–50% for anxiety disorders, and up to 50–70% for addiction.
My family has had mental health issues/addiction going back at least 3 generations on both sides.
That said I think there are far too many people who are on meds with no additional supports that might let them live medicine free. Or being provided any hope that one day they might be healed, in the same way we think about physical illnesses.
Very good. Especially the role of learned helplessness and low agency. Both can be reversed.
Embracing the illness model is of course comforting. Far nicer to believe you have some predisposition or a chemical imbalance. This is not just encouraged by society but eagerly embraced by its adherents.
But any path to sobriety must first accept full responsibility otherwise it is just a pantomime.
Hear hear, Spiff. Thank you.
We cannot run away from our needs, we cannot medicate ourselves to meaning. Some voids must be faced and sat with; substances - prescribed or not - are no long-term solution.
An excellent analysis, Adam. I really hope that many will see that needs aren't illnesses, and that seeing and classifying them as so only distracts from the essence of life.
This take is very important in combating addiction and dealing with depression. Capitalism will keep pushing 'solutions' to things that are nothing more than the discomfort of deviation ... from what live was originally meant to be.
We should return to life, not search for the most effective ways to sustain deviation.
Spot on feedback, Patrick. Thank you.
"We cannot medicate ourselves to meaning"--whoa, that just did something for me.
Glad it resonated, Alemdar, and congratulations on your sustained sobriety (seen your profile). Keep soaring!
Bam! What a fantastic read.
You strike at the core of what plagues many of us - meeting our needs.
In order to so, in a holistically healthy way, we must restore our sense of agency and internal control.
This quote stuck with me:
“Instead of recognising your signal to meet your needs, the modern system pathologises it and offers a chemical solution, saying, “The problem isn’t in your unmet needs, your environment, or the structure of your life: it’s in your brain.”
To numb a pain signal without addressing the source is like removing the batteries from a fire alarm to stop the beeping while the flames continue to burn.”
Wow, glad it hit, Mac. Thank you for your feedback 🙏
The issues you’ve mentioned here speak to the reasons why I have been frustrated working as a psychotherapist under our current system. Sure, there are people who I can work with to help them uncover the needs that they’ve been repressing. However, there are also many, so many, who have been brainwashed to think that they need “fixing” (which I did write about in a recent article) and are determined that they absolutely need a medication (that may also be causing troubling side effects) or some kind of distraction in order to get by. I always laugh to myself a little bit when, at the same time, they say they feel fine and “don’t know what to work on in therapy”. Breaking through these barriers when our modern systems have trained us for “quick fixes” (and insurance companies push for “quick fix” therapy) makes it difficult.
And it is brainwashing. Glad it spoke to you Jennifer, I appreciate the feedback.
Man… not sure I could like this post any more. Beautifully empowering brother and knowing your past that you’ve shared with us makes your words that much more meaningful
Osss brother. Thank you.
This is clear framing, kudos @Adam PT it’s a gorgeous read and sparks are flying right now, little entropy fairies causing insight and flaring fires to push back shadows and darkness.
if I can add, seems to me the irony is people are conditioned or choose to externalize their problems by projecting them onto the reality and people surrounding them, creating the tail-chasing dog or snake eating its own tail effect. The pill is meant to treat the dizziness, and not adjust the merry-go-round speed.
When it's framed like this, the outside reflecting the inside and vice versa, that hits the pause button long enough to recognize a feedback loop exists.
Personally this where and how I see this cycle getting back under control, steadily, without substances or chemicals. Seeing the loop slowing down and building a consistent yet flexible routine, that's healthy.
Incredible insight, The Last.
Are you speaking from a personal perspective or in general?
Personal perspective. I've never gotten prescribed and only ever self-medicated with weed, nicotine, and alcohol. It's out of out of shame and conditioning that I kept this to myself though many will have seen me when I was off the wagon. I've managed the past 20 years or so to, as you talk about in the essay, stay mostly 'Dry' but am not 'Sober' completely. I've careened from one bad night to the next, months or years apart, that way.
With age and having worked on myself, there is a set of practices I do now that's lifted me out of 'just white-knuckling the dry spells' and are making sober life way more attractive and substantially more real.
Two biggest shifts were 1. recognizing this way of living (if you can call it that) will kill me. 2. I can't lose the next day(s) to hang-over, recovery full of self-recrimination, regret and shame spirals.
Fuck I could on, there is a lot of framework, lessons, stories, and dark matter still for me to work with on this aspect of my life.
I think so, still a work in progress and learning as I go. Just read another great essay on sobriety today and can feel it pushing my mind to get in tune with that energy and concept more fully.
👊Power.
Indeed, persistence is a strength.
Loved it. It is simple but not easy. I think the key question is: where do we start from? What's the first step?
Glad you loved it, Alberto. I believe addiction is a behaviour that substitutes for unmet needs. Meet the needs and the behaviour becomes obsolete. The question then becomes ‘what are my unmet needs, and how do I find out what I don’t know?’ I have an article called “Shrink addiction into irrelevance” that might help.
But here’s another tool I found useful that helps break down where addiction might be coming from:
https://open.substack.com/pub/rehabitus/p/the-mechanics-of-addiction?r=3im45h&utm_medium=ios
Yes, yes, yes! Scream this louder for those in the back. I’m working on a piece now that will show it’s a a very advanced coping mechanism for the brain. It’s not a limbic response, it’s prefrontal cortex.
Awesome stuff, Blue. Following for the update.
Wow! Powerful word medicine. 🌪️🌈☮️ True soul food. 🙏🏽 Thanks for sharing! 🖖🏽
You’re very welcome, Jeanne
@Adam PT I feel like you'd enjoy some of @Dan Foster ‘s writing. Especially the work her does through a particular Organisation (of which I'll let him reference just in case it's a “secret” of sorts)
Much appreciated Sean
and, of course, vice versa for you, @Dan Foster
I really enjoyed this Adam.. Such clarity of how others look for the quickest fix to their problems.. Rather than sit with themselves and go within. To understand what may be missing in their lives, their mindset and general health.
This is the challenge: finding what is missing. But at the very least, we must start taking control of controllables.
To offer Love and understanding for another person’s life and the difficulties they may have and experience, it is good to show a different perspective on how to live a better life.
Always, without judgment, only compassion for what others may not see.
This super resonated, thank you so much for sharing. You've given me a lot to chew on here.
Thank you C.P.
Much appreciated.
Adam I love your writing and your exploration of self. When I read this piece I hear some of your declarative statements about agency and choice as powerful. But no less powerful are the declarative statements made by AA and the traditional recovery community. What I’ve found in my own experience was that they served me at a time when I needed them. I was powerful in many aspects of my life but couldn’t kick booze. The “powerlessness over alcohol” helped me focus on the fight at hand and surrender to the reality of it. The agency and choice I had later—and now—was in actually staying clean and sober—but only after I was able to use the prior to “get” sober.
I often refer to getting sober as a cover charge. We want in. But many don’t like the rude and naked work and noise of actual long-term recovery. So they bail and blame the process.
I’ve always believed that the lives of those living under the power of influence of alcohol and drugs—or any other “cope” are in fact broken. That doesn’t mean the people are broken people—but their lives have indeed become unmanageable. Ooh there’s that First Step. 😳
Use what you can. Leave the rest. I don’t understand those—like my good friend Bowen—that can’t just let it be. There are multiple paths to freedom just like there are multiple paths to jail or the cemetery. Pick one. Why would anyone else care which one you choose?
Awareness and reflection are major when identifying needs, but our modern lifestyle “in the fast lane” makes it hard to zero in on! Thanks for articulating so accurately Adam!
True story right there. Thank you for reading, A&A.
In my pocket is an entire universe of attentional junk food. It co-opts the ancient wiring of this brain with little hits of the good stuff if I'm not vigilant.
I understand these little hits aren't doing the same damage to the world around me as was my abusive relationship with booze and blow, but it's still a pernicious attack on this human experience.
May I be steadfast in my tolerance of discomfort and displeasure.
May I not seek constant comfort and stimulation.
May I truly embrace the full commitment I've made to sobriety.
Cheers for the read, Adam.
True and agreed. Brilliant words again, Damon.
Beautifully written! So thought provoking, and loved the ideas shared here around learned helplessness and low agency. Reminded me a bit of Johann Hari’s Lost Connections.
I do feel there is definitely some biological underpinnings in mental illness and addition, such as twin studies that provide strong evidence for the biological basis of depression, anxiety, and addiction, with heritability estimates typically around 40–50% for depression, 30–50% for anxiety disorders, and up to 50–70% for addiction.
My family has had mental health issues/addiction going back at least 3 generations on both sides.
That said I think there are far too many people who are on meds with no additional supports that might let them live medicine free. Or being provided any hope that one day they might be healed, in the same way we think about physical illnesses.
Thank you, Genevieve. It’s your last paragraph I’m aiming at ☝️