VÍCIOS | COMO SE LIVRAR DELES (O Que Não Te Falam...) | EP. 01

Do you have any addiction? Do you live with someone who has it? There is a huge chance that you answered yes to both questions, as our society is not healthy at all.

Addictions are so common that they affect a huge portion of the world's population. And this has a huge impact on our lives – both individually and collectively. But what is an addiction, anyway?

What can we get addicted to? Does addiction have a cure? How to get rid of them?

It is this very important topic that we are going to talk about today. So come with me! To begin with, let’s understand what characterizes an addiction.

According to Canadian doctor Gabor Maté, an expert on the subject, addiction, also called dependence, is a constant behavior where the person finds temporary pleasure or relief, which generates negative consequences in the long term, and which, even so, they do not stop. or even if you try, you can't stop. We can get addicted to basically anything.

Such as shopping, food, gambling, habits considered healthy, cell phones, video games, sex, work and even water or music. And according to Gabor himself, the whole world is full of addictions and compulsions on almost all levels. And to make matters worse, there is an entire economy based on catering to these vices.

In other words, the system and companies want people to remain addicted in countless ways, as this is profitable. But why do these addictions arise, anyway? To understand this, we need to understand what benefits they generate in the very short term.

Common phrases among people with the most varied addictions show us a lot. They often say that that addiction “offered pain relief”, “generated a feeling of connection”, “gave a feeling of meaning” or even “being alive”. In other words, that addiction fulfilled some human need in that person, which they were unable to fulfill in any other way.

Therefore, a main part of addictions has to do with not being able to stand being present in your own life. And here we have a very important fact. When looking at a population of drug addicts, what is observed is that the more adversities in childhood, the greater the risk of dependence.

So, this shows that addiction is always related to childhood trauma and adversity. But be careful. It does not mean that any traumatized person will become addicted.

But yes, all addicts have gone through trauma. And it is not always possible to find out what this trauma was. Therefore, in other words, addictions are closely linked to emotional pain.

Right. And how are we dealing with those who are suffering from an addiction? Are we as family, friends and society acting well?

Are existing treatments really working? The entire current system is based on two factors: guilt and punishment. We believe that dependence is a choice, something for failure.

So, we want to punish them, with the intention that they understand and change. And so, we attack, shame and even place criminal records on many addicts. In other words, we create more barriers for them to feel connected to society and find meaning in life.

And, as we have already shown, one of the strong factors that lead many people to become dependent is exactly this feeling of disconnection, of lack of meaning in life. Therefore, it is obvious that this punishment system will not work. Quite the contrary, it will make the situation even worse.

And realize that I'm not just talking about the public system, laws and treatments. We as a society do this too. We do this as friends, family and even as ordinary citizens on a daily basis.

At every level, we look at addicts as failures who chose the wrong path. So, it is important that we break this myth. Addiction is not a matter of choice.

And it's not genetic either, as many people say. It is very common for addictions to run in the family, but it tends to be much more behavioral than genetic. For example, a person may have had an alcoholic father, who was absent and even beat him, and now, as an adult, he ended up becoming an alcoholic himself.

In other words, she had trauma and emotional pain and ended up finding some relief from that pain in drinking. There may indeed be a genetic predisposition. But this is different from genetic predetermination.

In other words, that individual is not programmed to have that same addiction. But what about the treatments, do they not work? Do healthcare professionals not know what they are doing?

According to Gabor Maté himself, who has already won an award for his work, we are failing even in the medical field. He says the average medical student in the United States doesn't tend to take a single class on emotional trauma. So, how can we expect these professionals to know how to deal with the root of the problem?

As the entire system is based on punishment, most health professionals continue to believe in this idea and act in this way. But if all this is wrong, then what can we do about it? Let's look at the case of Portugal.

In the 2000s, Portugal had one of the worst drug problems in Europe. 1% of the population was addicted to heroin, which is a type of hallucinogen. For years they tried this American model based on punishment, which punishes in different ways, stigmatizes and shames addicts more and more, and which is used by countless countries, including Brazil.

Result? The situation only worsened in the country. Troubled by this, one day the Prime Minister set up a committee with several scientists, led by Dr João Goulão, with the aim of finding solutions that would change this scenario.

The solution they found was that the government should decriminalize all drugs - from marijuana to crack. It seems absurd, doesn't it? But they didn't just do that.

And here comes the main point that would make the idea work. The government should also take all the money they spent on methods that isolate and disconnect addicts, and instead spend it on reconnecting them to society. And the basis of this idea of reconnection was a strong job creation program for dependents, and also microcredit so that they could create their small businesses.

The goal was to ensure that every addict in Portugal had a good reason to get up in the morning and get on with their life. And what was the result of all this? According to the British Journal of Criminology, injecting drug use fell by around 50% in Portugal.

Furthermore, cases of overdose and HIV among addicts are also reducing drastically. And, according to reports from addicts in Portugal, as they rediscovered a purpose, they also rediscovered relationships and bonds with society. All of this shows that the big problem with addictions is not related to the object of use.

Illicit drugs, shopping, gambling or even cell phones are not the problem. Proof of this is that if you have an accident, are hospitalized and need to take diamorphine for some time, which is a much purer and more potent type of heroin, you won't leave the hospital drooling in search of more doses. Therefore, the true root of addictions is emotional pain, the feeling of disconnection.

And this may seem contradictory, as we are living in a very connected era, right? But this is one of the big problems. Currently our connections are fragile.

We are not having deep connections even with our family and friends. We are afraid to have this deeper contact, to ask serious questions, to open our hearts, to truly listen, to reflect and to feel the other's pain. All of this involves a lot of empathy and compassion and we are not paying attention to that.

This disconnection is the great villain of our current society. It is what is behind the great evils of today, such as addictions, depression, anxiety, among many others. We talk a lot about individual recovery, and it has its role.

But we need much more of a social recovery. We need to rethink how we are living. Right.

And what can we do then? Well, the basis of everything is to improve our relationship with ourselves and also our relationship with others. We need to develop active listening, love, empathy and compassion.

Value more what really matters, such as family, friends, health, life and moments with each other. In addition to being less individualistic and materialistic, seeking to rescue that sense of community, where one cares about the other. All of this requires breaking paradigms and a certain effort, both individual and collective.

And there is no ready-made formula. Therefore, there is a solution, but it is undergoing a strong change. And action must always be based on love, empathy and compassion, which we seem to be losing more and more of.

And here are some more important tips. If you are experiencing an addiction and are unable to stop, first of all, seek professional help. But try to find someone who doesn't work with a view of blame and punishment.

Furthermore, try to surround yourself with people who encourage positive habits in you and stay away from those who encourage negative habits. Most likely you will need to rebuild your social life. It's work, but it will be worth it.

Also try to occupy yourself with positive actions. Read good books, watch good films, documentaries and lectures, do crafts and things that stimulate your creativity. Also practice physical exercise, sleep well and have a healthy diet, based on fruits and vegetables.

Also seek to develop self-knowledge. If you can, practice meditation and do breathing exercises. And in professional terms, look for a job that makes sense for you, even if you have to become your own boss or accept to earn less.

And also participate in volunteer work, as it helps a lot to expand our connection. All of this will completely change your view of yourself and the world around you. And if you know someone struggling with addiction, the way forward may be to try to show that you care, that you are there if that person needs you.

In other words, try to expand your connection with her. This is not easy at all and it will not be the magic solution to everything. But if we isolate those we love even more, there is a huge chance that the situation will only get worse.

Therefore, at every level we are working at, whether political, social or individual, the core message must always be: “You are not alone. We are with you” Remember: The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.

So let's broaden and deepen our connections. And do you suffer from any addiction? Is someone you love going through this?

Share your experience so others can benefit too. And remember to see the additional content below in the video description. That's it for today!

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