Not only is addiction universal not only are all ofus in it but it's the essence of our being as humans. It's not something tobe disowned. You can't do that, because addiction ispart of our core being. It's part of who we are. Given that, what can we doabout addictive behavior? I can think of only twothings to do about it. The first is to try to move it, to try and shift itso that the forms of its expression are less harmful ratherthan more harmful. lt is better to be addicted to a twelve-step programthan to be addicted to alcohol. It is better to beaddicted to exercise than it is to be ad- dicted to smoking. You can makethose value judgments about addictive behavior.And that approach to addiction should not be discounted because, in fact,maybe that's the only thing that most of us can do.
The only other strategy is to try and get at the root of craving. TheOriental religions would have us believe that this ispossible through intense introspection and meditation and practice. I'm notso sure of that. I think maybe you can go a longway - you can get way down there - but if the origin of craving is indeedtied up with the origin of the universe, then I'm notso sure that it can be uprooted. I think all you can do is do the best youcan. I mean, go after it; try and contain it andunderstand it. The biggest mistake we can make is trying to disown it.
I don't think addiction is curable until the expansion of the universereverses and we begin going back to a single point. Butthat should not be a source of despair. That's part of who we are. What weneed to do is to accept that aspect of ourhumanness and work with it so that it's not destructive to ourselves or toother people. We also need to celebrate it for whatit is. Because it connects us with all other people, it's a source of greatcompassion and great empathy. It's a motivation towork with others to try to halt the kinds of destructive behavior that arehappening today. I can think of nothing moreimportant than that.
So don't let your perspective about addiction be limited by one group'sdefinition of it. It is the broadest and most importantproblem we face. It's something that all of us share, and it's whatconnects us to everybody and to the higher power. That'show it is.
Andrew Weil is a botanist, physician, and author. He is an expert onalternative medicine and an advocate ofmultidisciplinary health care and preventive education. Dr. Weil holds anM.D. from Harvard Medical School and isassociate director of the Division of Social Perspectives in Medicine atthe University of Arizona College of Medicine.
I agree with Dr. Weil that it would be preferable to transfer a destructive addiction to one considered less destructive. But who is to say what is a less dangerous addiction. Some people conceive that an addition that is none substance related is not dangerous. I feel that any addiction whether it requires the intake of substance or is an action should be deemed just as destructive to the person and those connected to them. Is it not possible that people with addictive behaviours to exercise, computer games, ect are doing it to have an internal chemical reaction. That in its self will become addictive?
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