Nature of Addiction :: In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts

The alarm went off on my clock radio the other day, and I decided to listen and snooze. Instead a riveting interview with Dr. Gabor Maté awakened me. I do not have the transcript, but I will excerpt an open letter from him:

"I wrote "In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts" because I see addiction as one of the most misunderstood phenomena in our society. People -- including many people who should know better, such as doctors and policy makers -- believe it to be a matter of individual choice or, at best, a medical disease.

Addiction, or the capacity to become addicted, is very close to the core of the human experience. That is why almost anything can become addictive, from seemingly healthy activities such as eating or exercising to abusing drugs intended for healing. The issue is not the external target but our internal relationship to it.

Addictions, for the most part, develop in a compulsive attempt to ease one's pain or distress in the world. Given the amount of pain and dissatisfaction that human life engenders, many of us are driven to find solace in external things. The more we suffer, and the earlier in life we suffer, the more we are prone to become addicted. I believe there is one addiction process, whether it manifests in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients, the frantic self-soothing of overeaters or shopaholics, the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users, or in the socially acceptable and even admired behaviors of the workaholic.

Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill-fated struggle to overcome suffering through substance use. Both in their flaws and their virtues they share much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives we can trace outlines of our own."

Question: The title of your book has its origins in the Buddhist Wheel of Life. In the Hungry Ghost Realm, people feel empty and seek solace from the outside, from sources that can never nourish. In what ways is our culture trapped in this realm? What can society learn from drug addicts who take the feelings of lack that everyone has, to the extreme?

Gabor Maté: "Much of our culture and our economy are based on exploiting people's sense of emptiness and inadequacy, of not being enough as we are. We have the belief that if we do this or acquire that, if we achieve this or attain that, we'll be satisfied. This sense of lack and this belief feed many addictive behaviors, from shopping to eating to workaholism. In many respects we behave in a driven fashion that differs only in degree from the desperation of the drug addict."

Very interesting insights, I thought, but hey -- I'm not an addict -- ok, maybe a caffeine addict. Several days past and I knew deep within myself there was personal denial, maybe even self-deception. Then a paper by Irving Biederman came to my attention, and it all clicked -- yes, I am a knowledge addict.

So what's up with that? Let's break it down a bit:

"The pleasure of grasping a new concept triggers a biochemical cascade that rewards the brain with a shot of natural opium-like substances. The brain's craving for a fix motivates humans to maximize the rate at which they absorb knowledge. Biederman hypothesizes that knowledge addiction has strong evolutionary value because mate selection correlates closely with perceived intelligence. Only more pressing material needs, such as hunger, can suspend the quest for knowledge. The same mechanism is involved in the aesthetic experience providing a neurological explanation for the pleasure we derive from art. Biederman's theory holds that the greater the neural activity in the areas rich in opioid receptors, the greater the pleasure; however, repeated viewing of an attractive image lessened both the rating of pleasure and the activity in the opioid-rich areas. The quest for knowledge can never be sated -- as long as mu-opioid receptors remain unbound in the human brain."

So there are biochemical incentives to seek out novel experiences -- until we get "satisfaction," but what does that mean? Some believe it's the interaction of dopamine, the hormone secreted in the brain in anticipation of pleasure, and cortisol, the chemical released when we are under stress [e.g. Gregory Berns]. Biederman briefly mentions the role of neurotransmitter GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid (which one can buy at a health food store).

Clarity for the moment thus boils down to: opiates, aesthetic pleasures, and neuroscience. [The link herein goes to a PDF of: Irving Biederman & E.A. Vessel, Perceptual Pleasure and the Brain, American Scientist (2006), 94:249-255]

Oceanic Feeling

The Oceanic Feeling : The Origins of Religious Sentiment in Ancient India

vide Jeffrey Moussaieff's influence from Daniel H.H. Ingalls, professor of Sanskrit at Harvard, and Louis Renou, Indologist in Paris. Interestingly in his 1990 book _Final_Analysis_ he wrote, "[I] slowly began to free myself from a belief that they [Pali and Sanskrit texts] were 'the truth.' They were simply one among a myriad of beliefs that owed their power primarily to the fact that people were born into them, or had the ideas drilled into them over and over."

William James used the phrase "oceanic feeling" to describe mystical religious experiences.

Myths of PMA (not PMS ;-)

from: The 5 Myths of Positive Mental Attitude:

"Everyone who accomplishes anything - whether it’s earning a million dollars or becoming an award-winning actor - accomplish it the same way: by taking action.

Positive people have an edge because they believe the object of their desire is attainable. They come from a ‘can-do’ mindset. Their actions are not based on fear or scarcity, but based on possibilities. Thus, a positive attitude helps a person manifest their desires, not simply by dreaming about it, but by inspiring the person to take action.

It’s the action behind the attraction that makes the dream come true.

Even in external circumstances that seem out of our control, we can always control is our internal response. In fact, it’s the only thing we have absolute control over."

The only thing we could possibly have any control over: our inner awareness.

Defeat Brain Drain

Source: Mind Hacks: Ten Ways to Defeat Brain Drain

'Here are 10 ways you can beat brain drain.

1. Meditate -- By meditate, I mean sitting and closing your eyes for 20 minutes or so. Sit still and simply observe the thoughts that come into your mind. Don't try to solve any problems. Just watch and let go.
2. Take A Walk -- A brisk walk outdoors—especially in a park or someplace you are not familiar with will take your mind off your main task so it can relax. Pay attention to the scenes as you travel. Stop and smell the roses, as the cliche goes. Take a minute to see the beauty of panoramas.
3. Listen to classical music -- Sitting still with relaxing Mozart or Bach playing through headphones can transcend the brain drain. It will relax you while coaxing your mind to think about other things. (Editor: Here are some free classical music downloads.)
4. Read something entertaining -- There is nothing like a chapter of your favorite book to take your mind off the causes of your brain drain. Reading is an interactive action, so you keep your mind active, while relaxing at the same time. Tip: Use reading for 10-20 minutes as a reward for 30 minutes of focused work. Use an egg timer to keep track.
5. Reboot your brain with a caffeine nap. -- University studies show that drinking a cup of coffee and then immediately taking a 10-15 minute catnap gives you an energy boost. This is called a caffeine nap. I've found it works equally well for brain drain. (Just make sure you have something to do when you wake up, because you are going to be ready to rock and roll.)
6. Go to a movie. -- If you can fit in a two hour movie, at the theater, it is worth the time and money just so you can get away mentally and physically. Sitting in front of the big screen is a great way to take your mind off everything.
7. Listen to motivational CDs -- This is a tip I picked up from Steve Pavlina. When he's tired from intense thinking, he pops in a motivational CD. Although it might seem like this would be more work, it isn't. By listening, you can relax, and become almost passive, as the ideas and strategies gradually break the drain.
8. Play a sport -- Studies show that people who do a competitive sport such as tennis, basketball, golf, martial arts, or football are happier overall. To compete in the sport may make you tired physically, but will wake you up mentally. When you wake up mentally, brain drain stops being as big a problem.
9. Break down your project into bite-sized chunks -- Rome wasn't built in a day. Maybe you are trying to move your mountain in a day too. Take a half hour or an hour to take a close look at your projects. Are you trying to write a novel in one day, when it would be more practical to shoot for three pages of a novel a day? You might be in brain drain because you simply don't have sensible objectives.
10. Play a game -- Playing a game that gets you away from your draining thoughts is an excellent way to get past the sluggishness. You might prefer crossword puzzles or sudokus if you don't like video games. Either way, playing a game lets you know life doesn't always have to be so serious and focused. Make time for play too!

Remember, the good news is brain drain means you are using your brain at maximum capacity. The bad news is you are not giving your brain needed periods of rest. Rest is important for creative thinking and problem solving. Thus a series of short breaks between your work is necessary for you to work at a high level. So in planning your next intense project, be sure to scatter in several scheduled periods where you can take a break and give your brain some time to incubate.'

Hofstadter's _I Am a Strange Loop_

David Deutsch writes in his review: 'I Am a Strange Loop is supposed to explain that a mind is a near-infinitely extendable, self-referential loop of symbols that suffers – or rather, benefits – from the hallucination of being an "I". Furthermore (Hofstadter says paradoxically), that hallucination is itself an "I". Hofstadter's "strange loop" is a bit like an ordinary feedback loop, such as the images in a pair of parallel mirrors facing each other, but instead of merely depicting itself physically, it symbolically refers to itself. And unlike ordinary self-referential statements, like this one, the symbol inside a brain that refers to itself as "I" is not used by anyone else: it is someone. [...] Hofstadter embraces irrationality itself: "Our very nature is such as to prevent us from understanding our nature." '

Philo :: Metta

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -Philo of Alexandria