do addicts have a choice? (the atlantic)
“Eventually, addicts find themselves torn between reasons to use and reasons not to. Sometimes a spasm of self-reproach (“this is not who I am;” “I’m hurting my family,” “my reputation is at risk”) tips the balance toward quitting. Novelist and junkie William S. Burroughs calls this the “naked lunch” experience, “a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork.
In short, every addict has reasons to begin using, reasons to continue, and reasons to quit. To act on a reason is to choose. To make good choices requires the presence of meaningful alternatives. And making a series of good choices leads to achievements—jobs, relationships, reputations. These give a person something meaningful to lose, another reason in itself to steer away from bad choices.”
a philosopher weighs in on the addiction choice vs. disease debate in the nyt
(p.s. writing yourself a thank you letter is exactly something a person in recovery might do)
pressure, college admissions, and drug abuse among high school students in the nyt
“… some experts note that the survey does not focus on the demographic where they believe such abuse is rising steadily — students at high-pressure high schools — and also that many teenagers barely know that what they often call “study drugs” are in fact illegal amphetamines. “Isn’t it just like a vitamin?” asked one high school junior from Eastchester, a suburb of New York.”“
a philosopher on addiction in the huffington post:
I think many alcoholics are philosophers searching for a, or the, meaning of life. We often just looked in the wrong places for a long time. Addicts are frequently very philosophical; we tend to be armchair thinkers. Addicts struggle with issues of self-identity, self-knowledge and self-deception, the nature of God, existential dilemmas, marking the line between appearance and reality, free will and voluntariness, and moral responsibility. These are prompted by acute instances of self-examination and reflection about how to live well.“
you can start blaming yourself again: rethinking social contagion theory
photo: stephen beadles
