(VIDEO) TED - Johann Hari: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

So happy this was shared with me. Only 15 minutes long but it's a topic very dear and near to my heart and this has given me a lot to consider and ponder.

https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong?language=en#

It's fascinating all the issues that we've started to reexamine in our society--gay rights, police/public relationships, incarceration rates and most certainly addiction, substance abuse, mental health and the War on Drugs in general. On that front, Portugal is a fascinating study, which this seminar spends quite a bit of time on.

[Springfield]

He was a guest on The Mike O'Meara Show podcast not long ago. A very interesting interview indeed, as he tackled everything from alcohol, to heroin, to gambling. It made a lot of sense to me.

I haven't watched the TED talk but I gather that the general concept is that people use drugs (and other vices) because they don't have a strong support group. They don't have a reason to get up in the morning and NOT shoot heroin.

[Major Harris]

Haven't read the link. But i can say with certainty that plenty of people that use hard drugs had plenty of supports they just made bad choices

[Springfield]

It's not that they don't have support.

It's that they feel that waking up and going to work at a thankless job, around people they hate, for money that barely gets them by is a vastly inferior option to shooting H. Added, the tasks that it will take to get them to a point where the option is better than shooting H are so far out of reach that shooting H is the best thing they have going.

[Major Harris]

It's not that they don't have support.

It's that they feel that waking up and going to work at a thankless job, around people they hate, for money that barely gets them by is a vastly inferior option to shooting H. Added, the tasks that it will take to get them to a point where the option is better than shooting H are so far out of reach that shooting H is the best thing they have going.

But you have to start. No one thinks shooting heroin is a better choice than keeping a job, until they get addicted to heroin.

And isn't going to work, around people you hate , making barely enough to get by, a pretty common situation? Certainly not exclusive to users of heroin. ..who might have a little more to get by on sans heroin.

[The 12th Commandment]

But you have to start. No one thinks shooting heroin is a better choice than keeping a job, until they get addicted to heroin.

And isn't going to work, around people you hate , making barely enough to get by, a pretty common situation? Certainly not exclusive to users of heroin. ..who might have a little more to get by on sans heroin.

Well it seems it's an issue you have fairly strong feelings about.  Why not take 15 minutes and see what this really smart guy says about it?  Can't hurt, may give you a perspective you hadn't thought of.

 

Something in the genetic makeup of some people seems to make them more susceptible.  I had my go around with the pain meds, all prescribed for a serious condition and above board.  I got dependent on them and then I quit. It wasn't that hard for me (wasn't that easy either) but I see how hard it is for other people that I know aren't inherently bad or weak. Something is going on there.  

[Major Harris]

Well it seems it's an issue you have fairly strong feelings about. Why not take 15 minutes and see what this really smart guy says about it? Can't hurt, may give you a perspective you hadn't thought of.

Something in the genetic makeup of some people seems to make them more susceptible. I had my go around with the pain meds, all prescribed for a serious condition and above board. I got dependent on them and then I quit. It wasn't that hard for me (wasn't that easy either) but I see how hard it is for other people that I know aren't inherently bad or weak. Something is going on there.

I do plan on watching it. Can't right now. I admittedly am purely speaking from personal observations of people in my life.

And I'll add this. ...i have a very addictive personality. It's the sole reason i never tried hard drugs.

[Gamebreaker]

I watched it and his thoughts are very interesting. I'd definitely like to look at his example of Portugal, who decriminalized all drugs, yet saw addiction drop 50%, in greater detail. I just don't think it's that simple, and our population is much bigger than theirs. 

 

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever asked him why famous or rich people always seem to get addicted to drugs. They have the wealth, and the means to do other more interesting things, why do so many of them end up in rehab? 

[Beygo]

I thought the presenter was excellent, very easy to listen too.  It's a provocative topic, it drives me crazy thinking how much money our state and federal government spends on convicting, incarcerating and destroying the lives of non-violent drug offenders.  

[pjfootballer]

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever asked him why famous or rich people always seem to get addicted to drugs. They have the wealth, and the means to do other more interesting things, why do so many of them end up in rehab? 

 

They have more money, so it's easier to afford.  I guess when you are wealthy and don't work, you pretty much run out of things to do.  A lot of the wealthy go to parties where drugs are easily ready.  I guess there is only so many times you can sit on your yacht, go to the Hamptons or go to Vale, that it gets boring. And, they can afford the rehab.

[balki1867]

They have more money, so it's easier to afford.  I guess when you are wealthy and don't work, you pretty much run out of things to do.  A lot of the wealthy go to parties where drugs are easily ready.  I guess there is only so many times you can sit on your yacht, go to the Hamptons or go to Vale, that it gets boring. And, they can afford the rehab.

 

I actually imagine the uber-wealthy are actually secretly very lonely people too.  Their lives are fundamentally different from ours.  I'm not trying to throw a pity party for these folks but most of them give up close personal connections to chase their fame and they end up in places where their personal connections (dating life, etc) are tied to their careers.  It's close to impossible for them to form genuine bonds with new people so they're stuck in lives where they can afford anything they want but real human interaction evades them.

[Gamebreaker]

That makes a ton of sense.

[mcsluggo]

one of my better friends committed suicide.  

 

He was always very driven, and really wanted to succeed, succeed well, and succeed fast (he came from a rough upbringing).  When he killed himself, his business was booming, and his wife, whom he had a great relationship with, was pregnant with his first child.  I am completely convinced that HE killed himself because he suddenly realized that he HAD succeeded, and everything was going great, and it still didn;t fill some hole in him.   its 15 years later now, and it absolutely breaks my heart to think about it still, and i'm crying like an overacting b-romance-movie love interest as i type this

[zoony]

"People who deal in absolutes always impress me"

-George Carlin

[Riggo-toni]

McSluggo,

All people who suffer from some sort of depression have one thing in common - they always believe there is one thing bringing them down and that if they could change that one thing they would be happy. Consequently, in such a strange upside universe, getting exactly what they want usually makes them unhappier, because it strips away that illusion.

[mrcunning15]

"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it" Oscar Wilde

[China]

"People who deal in absolutes always impress me"

-George Carlin

 

[Barney B]

All people who suffer from some sort of depression have one thing in common - they always believe there is one thing bringing them down and that if they could change that one thing they would be happy. 

 

I'd have no problem believing this is true for "some", but for "all", a cite would be helpful.

 

Thinking of my sister, she always seemed to lean more toward "everything" being wrong than one specific thing.

[pjfootballer]

Having gone through a major depression for about 3+ years up until a year and a half ago, I never for once thought it was one thing. I was like Barney B's sister in that "nothing" every went right for me in my mind.

 

Thank goodness I never started drinking or doing drugs. My addiction was self loathing.  I'd go to work, but I'd just come home, didn't feel like doing anything or going anywhere. Watching TV was my addiction, I guess. I only went out when it was absolutley necessary (groceries, gas, etc.).  I was a functioning depressee?

[Riggo-toni]

Ok my apologies. I should have said most or many.

As a Sith lord, I just felt more comfortable with absolutes.

[pjfootballer]

Ok my apologies. I should have said most or many.

As a Sith lord, I just felt more comfortable with absolutes.

 

Probably because Psychologists and Psychiatrists ask their patients "if there is one thing that you could change about yourself or your life."  I can see people having a defining moment that changed their outlook on life and put them in a depression, so your assertation isn't off. I was speaking merely of my own experience.