Ask most people what causes drug addiction , and they ’ll probably say drugs . According to this note of conventional sapience , the pharmacological prop of marrow like diacetylmorphine , cocaine and crystal meth act as chemical hooks which make users to become addicted once a certain level of consumption has been gain . While this may be true , it does n’t secernate the whole storey , and offers no explanation as to why some people feel the motivation to repeatedly utilise drug in the first place while others do n’t .
In other words , asJohann Harisuggests in this enlightening TED talking , “ everything you retrieve you do it about addiction is wrong . ” For instance , if your granny go into infirmary for a hip renewal , they ’ll probably give her several monolithic social disease of morphia – which is essentially just refined heroin – yet this does n’t mean she ’ll arrive out as an addict , or indeed ever feel the need to take opioid drugs again .
But if mere exposure to drug is n’t sufficient to create swaths of gerontological junkies , where does dependence actually from ? To respond this question , Hari points to a polar study direct by Canadian psychologist Bruce Alexander .
Known as theRat Park Experiment , the study revealed how rat kept in solitary confinement incline to choose for water that was twine with morphine over steady water , to the percentage point where they became physically addict and die of overdoses . In contrast , rats live in the Rat Park were able-bodied to interact with other rats and make habit of running bike , nesting areas and other facilities contributing to a positive life experience . astonishingly , these rats render a preference for pee over morphine .
These finding suggest that drug are often used to try and fill a void in a person ’s ( or a puke ’s ) liveliness , providing a variety of crutch for those who need one . Often this need stems from a lack of social fulfilment or link , and it is this , rather than chemicals , that drive a individual to drug .
Based on this evidence , Hari suggest that the dear way to allot with the problem of drug dependence is to embrace those suffer from the status rather than except or chastising them . After all , “ the antonym of addiction is not sobriety . The opposite of dependance is connection . ”
