The Myth of Independence

The results are in. America is addicted.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 10% of Americans (20 million people) met criteria for a substance use disorder in 2021. Substance use disorders are more commonly known as addictions.?

SUDs have four categories of symptoms:

1. Impaired control
2. Continued use despite negative consequences
3. Use in physically dangerous situations
4. Physical symptoms (e.g., withdrawal, increased tolerance)

Or to paraphrase a few brilliant folks: powerless to stop using and life becoming unmanageable.

20 million people is a lot.

That has changed.

After 2022, 25% of Americans ages 12 and up now do. That’s 50 million people.?

This begs the question, how did we get here?

The answer: it’s complicated.?

You will have people go down the route of blaming Purdue Pharmaceuticals for lying to doctors and incentivising opioid sales, and they definitely have earned their share of blame. Others would blame the doctors who prescribed them without caution. Whether or not they were lied to, they could have looked into the science a little further, so we can blame them, too.?

Still other people lay blame on the cartels, but let’s be honest, if caffeine were illegal the same thing would be happening with that, because making things illegal only creates illegal markets for them. We would have black market coffee dealers everywhere.?

Others blame the addicts themselves, which if you haven’t been living under a rock, is not helpful or productive. Maybe the first few uses start as a choice, but eventually, choice is taken away from you. I don’t have the word count left to explain why that is true, but check out this talk or that talk if you want to know the details.?

The reality is that people have been using psychoactive substances since the beginning of human history and will continue to do so until it ends.

This is not a thought I share often, because it sounds like giving up. I promise I have the worst ability to give up of anyone I’ve ever met besides my wife. I think we just need to ask better questions. Or to quote a smarter man than me:

“Not why the addiction, but why the pain.” - Gabor Mate

Pain, whether physical, mental, or emotional, tends to be at the center of addiction. People don’t choose the repetitive use of chemicals or behaviors to cause themselves pain. They choose them initially for relief. The problem is that the relief is short-lived, and the consequences are long-term.

Addiction itself gets too much credit for being a problem and not enough credit for being a bad solution.?

It’s a bait and switch for our brains. We start out using a substance for relief from some kind of pain. Then, our substance starts to leave us feeling more pain when we don’t have it. Now, we are stuck using the substance to relieve the pain caused by the lack of the substance. It creates dependence in a way you can only experience, because no words will do it justice.?

This is a fundamentally human experience.?

It transcends addiction. While substances start out as a solution, as relief, as something helpful, they do not end that way. This is true of many human experiences. I could say the same of eating ice cream. Eating ice cream tastes good (even to a person like me who doesn’t enjoy most sweets). The initial experience is good. But if we eat ice cream regularly, especially without constraint, it becomes a physical health problem like obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular issues. Maybe people with a sweet tooth can have some sympathy for us addicts. This is also true for some relationships.

Ask anyone responsible for hiring people, and certainly anyone who has owned a business. The hiring process is generally too short to really get to know someone. But when the person works for you, you spend longer periods of time with them, and the consequences of their behaviors become apparent. Whether they work hard and improve your company culture, or they create a negative atmosphere or are not able to perform the duties of their job, the consequences are real. But we hire people based on resumes and interviews.?

Almost anyone can present well enough to make it through an interview.

But people can be helpful, great workers, intentionally deceptive in their interviews, positive coworkers, or unintentionally not a good fit. Those of us who own companies rely on our employees to make the business work, and therefore, we are dependent on them. And we don’t know who’s who until we spend enough time and experience enough outcomes.?

Don’t buy into the myth of independence.

Most of us shop for food at the grocery store, we did not create our own clean water systems, we did not build every road we drive on. We didn’t create the internet.?

There are countless examples like this I can use, but I want everyone to understand this simple truth:

Dependence on something or someone is innately human.

So next time you encounter someone in your life that has an addiction, maybe you can meet them where they are at with grace and kindness. That would be a great first step toward reducing the problems.

Us addicts aren’t so different from the rest of you after all.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can find us at centerforrenewedminds.com or call/text 330-826-1430.