What is your cage?
“We live in the shelter of each other”- Celtic Saying
Johann Hari poses the question, does biology determine our vulnerability to addiction or is our lack of connections and meaningful relationships what encourages individuals to “bond” so strongly with substances? In his Ted Talk, he examines research and current approaches to addiction and emphasizes how much our “cage” can define our behavior.
The research he quotes is by Professor Bruce Alexander, a psychology professor in Vancouver, who conducted a series of experiments with rats. If you get a rat and put it in a cage with two water bottles- one with just water and one laced with either cocaine or heroin, the rat will almost always prefer the drug water and will almost always kill itself (overdose). This supports the many misconceptions about drugs: once you use drugs, all you want is drugs, and with no intervention a drug user will overdose.
Professor Alexander noticed this rat was in an empty cage with nothing to do except use drugs. Instead, he built a cage called the “Rat Park.” Rats were provided with loads of cheese, toys, tunnels, and most importantly, other rats- providing many opportunities for connection. They were given the same water bottle choices. In Rat Park, however, they didn’t like the drug water; they almost never used it, none of them used it compulsively, and none of them overdosed.
So, what if addiction isn’t only about our chemical receptors, what if it’s about our cage? What if it’s how we learn to adapt to our environment?
The Transformative Power of Human Connection
Johann continues with the idea that instead of using the name “addiction” we called it “bonding.” As humans, we have an innate need to bond. Not only is it in our nature, but it is viewed as the most essential survival strategy for human beings. If we’re happy and healthy, we are able to do that- bond and make connections. However, if we’re “traumatized, isolated, or beaten down by life” it makes sense to bond with something that gives us relief. This could be drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, social media/smart phones, shopping, etc. This is also a powerful reminder to challenge ourselves to look deeper than the addiction.
Now it is imperative to understand the “why.” Susan Johnson, the founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) therapy and a pioneer in understanding attachment, states that what studies show is vastly out of line with our culture’s established social and psychological ideas of adulthood: that maturity means being independent and self-sufficient.
We’re learning we cannot do it all alone. Secure connections are vital.
Science from all fields now shows that not only are we social animals, but we’re ones who need a special kind of close connection with others, and we deny this at our own peril. Having close ties with others is vital to every aspect of our health- mental, emotional, and physical.
Maybe addiction isn’t where you struggle, but you’re still feeling the emptiness and loneliness that stems from not feeling securely connected to others in your life. Maybe you’re examining your cage and realizing there are pieces missing. If you’re ready to explore these areas call Walls Counseling and schedule an appointment today.
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.”
- Johann Hari
This blog was written by:
Sarah Miller, MA, LPCC
Therapist