When looking to understand addiction, one usually falls into one of two camps. The first being the addiction is an end result of some sort of trauma that was experienced earlier in life and that we should look at the humanity of the situation. The second being that addiction is a choice. One chooses to go out and participate in the behavior.
Now I am not attempting to fully explain the nuance of addiction here. What I am however attempting to do is explain there is a mechanism that lives in all of us, that can be amplified by either one of the above camps. You see, what we're really dealing with here is a cause and effect relationship, part of which is also what makes humans and human behaviors one of the most complex systems on the planet.. I'll explain..
What I want you to do is pause what you're doing currently, and open a new google search for "habit cycle" or "habit loop" and click on the IMAGES tab. There you will see multiple ways of saying essentially the same thing. You see, the habit cycle is a real, human characteristic that affects every single person. And it works like this..
Cue/Trigger >> Craving >> Response >> Reward.
A cue or trigger is the engagement mechanism that pushes over the first domino. So for some it can be rooted in trauma, for others it can be a daily routine, but for the sake of understanding how it works it's best to stay surface level rather than getting caught in the minutia. We're all susceptible to it, consciously or not. The most famous example of this would be Pavlov's dog - being able to train a dog to salivate on command with the ringing of the bell.
Maybe you're a smoker or have quit - but while you were actively smoking, it may have been up to a pack a day. But then you went and stayed at your Aunt's for a week and didn't smoke once. How is this explained? The environment changes and the cues have been removed. You no longer have the craving, therefore there's no need for the response and reward of lighting up. Yet the moment you get home and step out on that back deck you go into robot mode and reach for your lighter.
You don't have to be a smoker to appreciate this. For me once it was chocolate covered pretzels. That combination of sweet and salty brings me to my knees every time. I would work long hours and at the time Zehrs was offering fresh made meal kits at a reasonable price. So on my way home I would pick one up, that and a small bag from the bulk section of chocolate covered pretzels. Just a few to nibble on. No harm in that. But the loop had been created.
The cue - pulling into Zehrs.
The craving - mouth starts watering
The response - detour down the bulk aisle
The reward - that sweet, sweet goodness.
But a small bag to nibble on turned into enough to get me down the road, then enough for the drive home, then enough for when I'm home also.
Now for the sake of discussion I'll indulge you now to say no I am not trying to make light of the struggle of addiction by comparing it to my sweet tooth. I am however trying to make a point that we can be quick to point the finger or cast judgement in haste towards a mechanism that exists in every one of us. The dysfunction of this mechanism has only been hijacked by an extremely powerful substance. It is worth noting however that sugar lights up the same reward pathways of the brain that cocaine does (seriously, google it.) In fact, if you are so inclined to view addiction as a choice, consider cutting out sugar and added sugar for a month.. You'd be surprised at the difficulty. Or try it with bread, or coffee.
Once again, it's not that any of these things are wrong, or bad, it's about understanding the deeper human mechanism of habit that fuels addiction in all of us.
So based on the letters this week, what we're really looking at is the cause and effect relationship that exists in the issue.
The call for compassion is most certainly warranted. The traumatic experience of the past causes emotional distress. That emotional distress is the cue that causes the need to want to numb those feelings or "escape."
This discussion of addiction being a simple choice is certainly misguided. For opioid users, it's the unbearable, flu-like symptoms of withdrawal that the damaged dopamine pathways of the brain send out, so that person is merely just trying not to feel sick. The cue is the unbearable symptoms, leading to the craving, not to get high but rather to not feel like crap - any one of us would make that choice.
Maybe it's the alcoholic who collects cans as their only form of income, only to return the empties to the beer store only to be asked if they want to cash that in for more..
Cue, craving, response, reward.
Understanding this lives in all of us and the struggle to overcome it is very real and some have just lost hope. They see no end to the hamster wheel. But there is still a way.
I believe I've been able to understand the human nature that lays in the root of addiction because of my experience owning CrossFit Orillia.
Look at the health craze that hits gyms every new year. Look at the fall off every February. Look over at your treadmill, it's that thing with the clothes hanging from it.
It's not that those people have lost motivation or lack will power, it's that without focus and the right tools and strategies in place changing our habits is HARD, but it's not impossible. It can be done.
So we can sit and postulate all we want, trying to figure out how someone ended up on the island of substance use disorder all we want, but we also need to figure out how to get them off the island.
At CrossFit Orillia we've created a lifeboat, and it's working. One person at a time. Some have claimed we've saved their lives. Others we haven't been able to help. But we're continually working on building a better and bigger boat. Because our gym is a clinical laboratory of human behavior, and the ability for exercise to boil to the surface all of your personality traits that affect your behavior is unparalleled in its efficiency and its efficacy. Don't believe me? Reach out to me at matt@crossfitorillia.ca and come see for yourself.
But remember this, we are all people, our needs differ by degree, not by kind, and it best not serve anyone figuring out how or why they ended up on the island of addiction, but rather help build more boats to get them off.
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