Addiction

Timeline

• 1960The approach evolved from the ethnographic exploration into the lived experiences and subjectivities of 1960s and 70s drug subcultures.
• 2010Between 2010 and 2023, drug use was one of only three risk factors worldwide whose age-standardized attributable DALY rate rose.
• 2023Anti-cocaine vaccine development has likewise not produced an approved product, and as of 2023 no pharmacological treatment for cocaine dependence had been approved.

Read

• Beautiful BoyDavid Sheff · 2007Book
• The HousemaidFreida McFadden · 2022Book
• Addiction and graceGerald G. May · 1988Book
• Twisted GamesAna Huang · 2021Book

Listen

• The Addicted Mind PodcastDuane Osterlind, LMFTPodcast
• Trapped: Understanding AddictionAhana WokhluPodcast
• Stories of AddictionPaul NoddingsPodcast
• Let's Talk Addiction & RecoveryHazelden Betty Ford Foundation Presents Let's Talk Addiction and Recovery wPodcast

Voices to follow

• Marc David Lewis@addictedbrain · XCanadian psychologist & neuroscientist (1951-)

Debates

• Is addiction primarily a brain disease or a behavioral choice?One view: Addiction is a chronic brain disease that alters brain structure and function, leading to compulsive drug seeking and use. · Another: Addiction involves voluntary choices and personal responsibility, even if influenced by biological and environmental factors.Open question
• Should addiction treatment always aim for complete abstinence?One view: Complete abstinence is the only path to true recovery, as any substance use risks relapse and continued harm. · Another: Harm reduction strategies, which aim to minimize negative consequences of substance use, can be more realistic and effective for some individuals.Open question

Glossary

• AddictionA chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences.
• Substance Use Disorder (SUD)A medical condition in which the recurrent use of alcohol or other drugs causes clinically significant impairment and distress.
• ToleranceA state where a person needs increasing amounts of a substance to achieve the desired effect.
• WithdrawalUnpleasant physical and psychological symptoms that occur when a person stops or reduces use of a substance.
• CravingAn intense desire or urge for a substance, often a key feature of addiction.
• RelapseThe return to substance use after a period of abstinence, common in the recovery process.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Threads 5

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Incentives & Rational Choice Economics

  Economics assumes people choose what's good for them. But someone with an addiction can clearly see the misery coming and still pick the drug. That breaks the whole 'people are rational' idea from the inside, and proves that what you choose isn't always what makes you happy.

• Criminal Law & Punishment Law

  Punishment assumes a person freely chose to break the law. But if addiction is a brain illness that hijacks the ability to choose, that assumption cracks. How do you punish a 'free choice' when the brain science says the choice wasn't fully free?

• Optimization Mathematics

  Your brain uses a chemical called dopamine to signal 'that was better than expected', nudging you to do it again. That's exactly the math a learning computer uses to improve itself. Addiction is that system gone wild, endlessly chasing a reward signal that's been hijacked.

• Terrorism and Violent Extremism Global Risks

  Getting radicalized usually isn't one big choice; it's a slow loop, like an addiction. Each hit of anger plus belonging feels good, so the brain wants more, and needs a stronger dose next time. It craves the next rush of certainty the way a body craves a drug.

• Advertising, Branding & the Attention Economy Media

  Slot machines hook people with random, unpredictable rewards, the same trick that keeps lab rats pressing a lever. Your feed, notifications, and game loot boxes run on that exact pattern. The attention economy is basically addiction science aimed at your phone.