Addiction Is Not What You Think It Is
Nir’s Note: This article explores a new model for understanding addiction. I challenge the simplistic view that addictive products cause addiction. Rather, addiction is a confluence of three factors.
Gasoline is highly flammable. But without oxygen and heat, it will not combust. Fentanyl, Fortnite, and Facebook, are potentially addictive, but they don’t become addictions without other factors present. Thus, it is not accurate to say addictive products are the cause of addiction. Nor is it true that people’s personal tendencies necessarily define their destiny.
Addiction only occurs at the unfortunate collision of three factors:
- a product that relieves discomfort
- a person otherwise unable to cope, and
- a source of pain they are ill-equipped to handle.
Addiction is not mind-control. It is a confluence of factors. Take out any of the elements at the root of addiction and the product can be used in moderation. However, when all three conditions are present, the addiction can rage like lit gasoline.
