Addiction ​

This video I feel summarizes addiction quite well.

Notes ​

• If you were perfectly healthy and wealthy and just as lazy as hell you might be able to just hire someone to carry you around to every anywhere you wanted to go, do anything that needed to be done, lift anything that needed to be lifted. This would have serious effects on your body, you'd lose muscle mass and become weaker and weaker over time to the point where you'd not just want your helper to carry, do, and lift everything, you would need that help. If your helper left you'd either hire a new one or struggle to get up off your ass and recover from the mess you'd made of yourself. That's addiction for you.
• That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen.
• We like to think of ourselves as immune from influence or our cognitive biases, because we want to feel like we are in control.
• Big believer in the Gabor Matè theory that all addiction comes from trauma. My personal experience with psychedelics is that they reintroduced me to true happiness and joy. Hard to explain to the uninitiated, but I think you understand. It’s not a sense of drug euphoria like opiates or a deadening effect like alcohol. It’s more of the universe saying, “Hey buddy, you seem kind of down. Remember all these good things? Think about how much you love your wife and kids. I’ll tell you what, here’s a shot of pure love and happiness directly from the tap. That should be a good reminder for you and jump start you back to feeling good."

Links ​

• onChange (2020)
• How long until we create the perfect drug, that has everyone addicted, all the time?
• Only successful approach to productivity is treating yourself like an addict
• How do you guys resist temptations? (2021)
• Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help? (2021)
• On Smoking (2021) (HN)
• Difference between "real" addictions (alcohol, gambling) and "fake" addictions (chocolate, browsing social media)
• Atmana - Tool to overcome digital addictions. (HN)
• Once an Addict, Always an Addict? (HN)
• Addiction (2021)
• Internet addiction and the habit of book reading (2021) (HN)
• James Franco Discusses His Sex Addiction & Sobriety (2021) (Reddit)
• How to know if you’re addicted (HN)
• Dr. Anna Lembke: Understanding & Treating Addiction (2021)
• YouTube Addiction (2023) (HN)