What Are You Addicted To?

Can you spot the habit loop of addiction in this story?

Replace:

• at work with in life

• out of my depth with worthless, and 

• watch Netflix with drink a bottle of vodka

And the addiction becomes much more severe.

But the blueprint remains the same:

Trigger (stress)
↓
Behaviour (TV/alcohol)
↓
Reward (relief)

Insight:

We each have behaviours that we tend towards when we feel stressed, low, tired, or bored - when we struggle to find pleasure in our immediate surroundings and wish to escape.

But what does it really mean to be an addict?

For the majority of addicts, the reward comes from making pain go away. This makes sense physiologically because the same part of the brain that processes pleasure also processes pain (nucleus accumbens). 

When the scales tip one way, the brain balances by pressing the lever on the other side (hence the blues after a high), increasing the desire for pleasure even more, and the cycle goes on…

Although addiction is regarded as a problem, addicts often use their addiction as a solution to a deeper problem. Addiction offers a way to escape a reality that they don’t want to be in. 

So how do we expand the things that bring us pleasure? 

In his TED talk on addiction, Johann Hari explains that the antidote to addiction - to the narrowing of things that bring us pleasure - is human connection.

Connection to the people and world around us.

If we can enjoy a good meal, a good conversation, a good album, a good walk, then we diminish our need to escape.

Tool:

Overcoming addiction involves:

1. Resetting our reward pathways by taking a break from the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

2. Becoming aware of our habit loops of addiction.

3. Working through our need to escape by understanding and solving the deeper problem.

RAIN is a model developed by senior meditation teacher, Michelle McDonald, to catch yourself when you feel triggered so you can stop yourself from falling into your usual addictive behaviours.

When you feel the temptation to give into a craving:

Some cravings are short, and others last longer, but all of them go away. 

When we restrain from reacting to our impulses, we will feel worse before we feel better. But each time we stop ourselves from giving in, we diminish the addiction. And each time we give in, we reinforce the addiction.

Prompt:

What are you addicted to?

1. Think of moments when you are bored, uncomfortable, or stressed.

2. What behaviour do you turn to?

3. How does this bring you pleasure or spare you pain?

Then, use the RAIN model to build space between your trigger and your usual reflex. When you feel the impulse, pause. Don’t act. 

This will give you the space to act more intentionally rather than reflexively, leading to a better solution to the problem you were trying to solve with your addiction.

Resources on Addiction:

Written by Dr Manu Sidhu 🩺

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