Loneliness kills.
Human beings are social animals.
Every day we do things to make ourselves feel good. In the morning we eat, do our ablutions, and some of us even exercise or have sex.
All of these activities feel good, and if they didn’t feel good we wouldn’t do them.
“Man does not live by bread alone” is a quote from the bible, but it reveals a larger truth: humans need more than food to survive. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tragedy-leads-study-severe-child-neglect/
If we are isolated from positive social contact with a moderate to large group then we don’t get the stimulation we need and end up in crisis.
Babies can’t defend themselves against a crisis, but teenagers and adults will seek out ways to simulate social contact. There are many things that can, to a limited extent, replace social contact, including:
Television programs
Facebook / social networks
Video games
Gambling
Fremium Games
Food
Pornography
Drugs
(
Some even hyperventilate about how social media and Internet companies are using the same tactics as casinos, threatening to turn everyone into Internet addicted zombies.
https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/persuasion-and-control
Some addictions cause more problems than others. The most damaging addictions are:
Sugar: obesity kills more than all other conditions.
Tobacco
Alcohol
Other Drugs
Gambling
Compulsive spending
Other Compulsive Behaviors
Addiction and addicts have long been demonized as degenerates and irredeemable people. The reality is that addiction is a socially mediated condition.
People who have access to friends and family who care for them and who have hope for the future are far more likely to recover and return to functionally healthy lives.
12 step programs only work for people who have a well developed support network. There are exceptions but they are extremely rare.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/02/144431794/what-vietnam-taught-us-about-breaking-bad-habits
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1775687/
If you are socially isolated you are at risk.
Your mind needs serotonin. What is our current ‘solution’ to drug addiction? We punish the addict, remove what little healthy social contact they have, and then we send them to jail and put them in a cage.
When they get out we act surprised that they return to drug use (if they even stop in jail).
Facebook, social media sites in general, and computer apps like email and other services have all looked to the casinos to learn the most effective ways to draw traffic.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/look-it-way/200903/the-addictive-personality
A certain portion of the population is susceptible to influence. In the past, this has been about 5-10%.
The social connection.
People with a social network of friends and family are far more resilient to addiction than those bereft. Like Beethoven wrote in his 9th symphony, the ‘Ode to Joy’ people with friends are full of joy, and those without friends are isolated, miserable, and alone.
People talk of Facebook addiction. If you don’t have impactful social relationships, the lure of Facebook can be irresistable. You dive in and get superficial recognition and notice, but there’s no depth. You’re like a popularity hound, always looking in the mirror and concerned with your outward appearance instead of what’s on the inside. You want to be ‘Popular’, like the song from the Broadway Musical ‘Wicked’.
If you are not socially integrated you are at risk. Most people who are not socially integrated are not addicts, but they are perhaps only one opioid prescription away from becoming an addict.
But more than this, they are at risk of losing all their money if they step into a casino, or spending too many hours of the day on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumbler, looking for the validation and acceptance they are missing but need in order to feel healthy.
Solutions that work:
At present, we are attacking addiction by regulating addictive substances. The ways we regulate include:
Taxes on products like tobacco and alcohol
Restrictions on gambling to certain cities or states
Restrictions on advertising
Completely banning hard drugs, and imprisoning people who use them.
The philosophy is that addictive substances are bad, and decreasing access will stop people from using.
This philosophy is fundamentally flawed.
People who are at risk will do anything to feel better. Restrictions and laws are barely even noticed.
Human dignity is not an option. It is a necessity for life.
It’s not the substances that are bad. As humans we want to blame objects instead of people. That’s supposed to be compassionate. The problem here is with people, and while the addicts share some of the blame, society should address the problem through inclusion and support instead of punishment and isolation.
In 2001, Portugal decriminalized drug use. Addicts were sent to counseling instead of jail. Instead of a criminal record that kept them from getting a job and destroyed their social connections, they were integrated deeper into society.
They results have been paradigm shattering:
Drug consumption has fallen by more than 50%
Overdose deaths have fallen more than 70%
Drug related crime is down more than 80%
New HIV cases have crashed
Portugal has saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars by addressing the real problem.
The rest of the West is catching up, and the rest of the world will follow soon after.
The sooner we arrive at this solution the better. Addiction is not fixed through punishment. Addiction is fixed through compassion, inclusion, and love. These solutions must be intelligently applied. Sometimes the love needs to be tough.
There will always be people who make serious mistakes. It’s part of being human. These solutions will not end human tragedy, but right now, instead of fighting the tragedies we are making things worse.
There’s no such thing as an addict. Only the lonely, crying out for compassion.
