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If substances that trigger a dependency with a dangerous withdrawal like Methadone or Alcohol in hard cases are excluded, then addiction and even just drug use

by scns 3y ago

If substances that trigger a dependency with a dangerous withdrawal like Methadone or Alcohol in hard cases are excluded, then addiction and even just drug use is just trying to numb pain to me. It can be physical or emotional in nature. If the treated choose another activity, like excissive sports or work distract themselves again, how much is won? If this shortcut works, great.

Aurornis 3y ago
> then addiction and even just drug use is just trying to numb pain to me Drugs are rewarding and that’s why people use them. There are many medications that will dull the senses, numb feelings, and reduce emotions. Drug users don’t seek these out and become dependent on them, though, which is why they’re unscheduled. Ignoring the rewarding/euphoric effects of these drugs is a red herring. > If the treated choose another activity, like excissive sports or work distract themselves again, how much is won? Are you asking if doing a lot of sports or work is better than a lifetime of drug addiction? Because that’s not really a question. Drug dependence can be sustained for a while (“functional addicts”) but the cumulative long-term effects across many domains are undeniably worse than playing a lot of sports or doing a lot of work.
- scns 3y ago
  Check this out. They showed, in the 70s(!), that rats stop consuming opioids when the source of emotional pain is gone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_park
FollowingTheDao 3y ago
When we obtain pleasure from anything, we increase what it’s called “receptor density“. When you have higher receptor density and you stop doing the activity, those neurons don’t fire. And this is why in Taoism as well as Buddhism, the goal is to lose attachment to all things.
- jnathsf 3y ago
  >And this is why in Taoism as well as Buddhism, the goal is to lose attachment to all things. That's not my understanding of attachment in Eastern religions. It's focused on not being attached to the outcomes of your actions.
  - FollowingTheDao 3y ago
    The Tao is infinite, eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born; thus it can never die. Why is it infinite? It has no desires for itself; thus it is present for all beings. The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.
    - scns 3y ago
      Check out The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, he uses few words to say a lot: "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain." https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/195483926X/ https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/195483926X/
- nelox 3y ago
  So my goal should be to not have a goal. Wait.
  - FollowingTheDao 3y ago
    To be free from a prison, you have to walk out of the prison. So even your last step to freedom is dictated by your captor. A goal to end all goals. It is as easy as it sounds, do not even try to have no goal.

by scns 3y ago

Aurornis 3y ago

> then addiction and even just drug use is just trying to numb pain to me Drugs are rewarding and that’s why people use them. There are many medications that will dull the senses, numb feelings, and reduce emotions. Drug users don’t seek these out and become dependent on them, though, which is why they’re unscheduled. Ignoring the rewarding/euphoric effects of these drugs is a red herring. > If the treated choose another activity, like excissive sports or work distract themselves again, how much is won? Are you asking if doing a lot of sports or work is better than a lifetime of drug addiction? Because that’s not really a question. Drug dependence can be sustained for a while (“functional addicts”) but the cumulative long-term effects across many domains are undeniably worse than playing a lot of sports or doing a lot of work.

scns 3y ago
Check this out. They showed, in the 70s(!), that rats stop consuming opioids when the source of emotional pain is gone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_park

FollowingTheDao 3y ago

When we obtain pleasure from anything, we increase what it’s called “receptor density“. When you have higher receptor density and you stop doing the activity, those neurons don’t fire. And this is why in Taoism as well as Buddhism, the goal is to lose attachment to all things.

jnathsf 3y ago
>And this is why in Taoism as well as Buddhism, the goal is to lose attachment to all things. That's not my understanding of attachment in Eastern religions. It's focused on not being attached to the outcomes of your actions.
- FollowingTheDao 3y ago
  The Tao is infinite, eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born; thus it can never die. Why is it infinite? It has no desires for itself; thus it is present for all beings. The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.
  - scns 3y ago
    Check out The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, he uses few words to say a lot: "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain." https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/195483926X/ https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/195483926X/
nelox 3y ago
So my goal should be to not have a goal. Wait.
- FollowingTheDao 3y ago
  To be free from a prison, you have to walk out of the prison. So even your last step to freedom is dictated by your captor. A goal to end all goals. It is as easy as it sounds, do not even try to have no goal.