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The argument the author is making is that addiction is an outlier. Many many many people drink, snort cocaine, smoke cigarettes and in the author's case, use he

The argument the author is making is that addiction is an outlier. Many many many people drink, snort cocaine, smoke cigarettes and in the author's case, use heroin, and never develop addiction. I can understand why this infuriates people who've seen or known people who've died from an addiction but it's important for people to understand that alcohol, drugs, gambling, facebook, the internet, shopping, and everything that can turn into an addiction are not the problem. The problem is deep emotional pain from traumatic experiences.

ta8645 6y ago
You had me until your last sentence. There are people who are born with huge lung capacity, they are able to swim faster and longer than anyone else. We would never believe that it's emotional pain that is keeping everyone else from swimming as well. And people are born colorblind, they don't lose that ability because of emotional pain. Physics and our individual body chemistry at birth plays a deep role in our unique life experiences. There's every reason to suspect the same mechanism affects addiction proclivity.
- renlo 6y ago
  I think OP is saying that trauma leads to addiction, not necessarily the act itself; ie, shopping addicts are addicted to shopping because of past trauma not necessarily because of the act of shopping itself. As a prior nicotine addict I don't necessarily agree with this, as I have felt firsthand what the addictiveness nicotine feels like and I don't believe it's psychological (and, it seems like heroin may be similar)
  - datavirtue 6y ago
    If you have lower dopamine levels watching TV can be enough to get addicted. Any opiate is going to grab you. Some people cannot stop watching TV as it bumps up the pleasure enough for them to feel normal or not depressive. Some people get from seeing comments/likes on their FB posts.
- Cederfjard 6y ago
  I think it makes sense that people who, due to trauma or other lived experiences (in addition to those who are genetically predisposed), have a brain chemistry that leaves them not feeling as well as they could, would be more vulnerable to getting addicted to substances that make them feel better (or ”normal”, even).
- king_panic 6y ago
  Look up Gabor Mate
- pcthrowaway 6y ago
  Take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park . It's not conclusively relevant to humans, but it does at the very least cast doubt on the models historically used to understand addiction.

ta8645 6y ago

You had me until your last sentence. There are people who are born with huge lung capacity, they are able to swim faster and longer than anyone else. We would never believe that it's emotional pain that is keeping everyone else from swimming as well. And people are born colorblind, they don't lose that ability because of emotional pain. Physics and our individual body chemistry at birth plays a deep role in our unique life experiences. There's every reason to suspect the same mechanism affects addiction proclivity.

renlo 6y ago
I think OP is saying that trauma leads to addiction, not necessarily the act itself; ie, shopping addicts are addicted to shopping because of past trauma not necessarily because of the act of shopping itself. As a prior nicotine addict I don't necessarily agree with this, as I have felt firsthand what the addictiveness nicotine feels like and I don't believe it's psychological (and, it seems like heroin may be similar)
- datavirtue 6y ago
  If you have lower dopamine levels watching TV can be enough to get addicted. Any opiate is going to grab you. Some people cannot stop watching TV as it bumps up the pleasure enough for them to feel normal or not depressive. Some people get from seeing comments/likes on their FB posts.
Cederfjard 6y ago
I think it makes sense that people who, due to trauma or other lived experiences (in addition to those who are genetically predisposed), have a brain chemistry that leaves them not feeling as well as they could, would be more vulnerable to getting addicted to substances that make them feel better (or ”normal”, even).
king_panic 6y ago
Look up Gabor Mate
pcthrowaway 6y ago
Take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park . It's not conclusively relevant to humans, but it does at the very least cast doubt on the models historically used to understand addiction.