[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: By the way Ann, re your recent photo upload: that's a splendid hound you have. I'm jealous. I am more of a cat lover myself but all domestic animals are endlessly fascinating. Much more enjoyable and rewarding than a colour TV! Those who do TM are supposed to keep pets out of the room when they are meditating as the creatures bleed away your psychic energy - if MMY is to be believed. I am of the belief that we are more likely to be the ones sucking the psychic energy off of animals. They deign to come into our lives, to take on our baggage, to give us unconditional love and to remain steadfast and loyal through thick and thin. I think, in that case, that I could afford to offer a little something to them in return in the form of "psychic energy" if, indeed, I actually had any of that in me to give.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
By the way Ann, re your recent photo upload: that's a splendid hound you have. I'm jealous. I am more of a cat lover myself but all domestic animals are endlessly fascinating. Much more enjoyable and rewarding than a colour TV! Those who do TM are supposed to keep pets out of the room when they are meditating as the creatures bleed away your psychic energy - if MMY is to be believed.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Re "I would hate for anyone to call me "right wing": A European "right-wing" conservative would have views far closer to a typical American Democrat than to a Republican. Eg, the right for a woman to be able to opt for an abortion is almost universally accepted over here. But I would never label myself either right or left. Maybe I'd opt for something paradoxical like a "right-wing anarchist" or a "left-wing libertarian" but these right/left distinctions seem ever more pointless. We need a radically new politics as no one now trusts mainstream politicians. This disengagement from the established parties is usually presented as a crisis by the MSM but I regard it as a healthy sign that people are no longer willing to be taken for granted . And to be fair to the Natural Law Party at least they were thinking outside the box.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
Re "I would hate for anyone to call me "right wing": A European "right-wing" conservative would have views far closer to a typical American Democrat than to a Republican. Eg, the right for a woman to be able to opt for an abortion is almost universally accepted over here. But I would never label myself either right or left. Maybe I'd opt for something paradoxical like a "right-wing anarchist" or a "left-wing libertarian" but these right/left distinctions seem ever more pointless. We need a radically new politics as no one now trusts mainstream politicians. This disengagement from the established parties is usually presented as a crisis by the MSM but I regard it as a healthy sign that people are no longer willing to be taken for granted . And to be fair to the Natural Law Party at least they were thinking outside the box.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Re "I'm pretty right wing when it comes to this stuff, I admit it.": It's funny how people feel the need to apologise for being right wing. I regard both "wings" as equally deluded. (My heroes are maverick outsiders - but paradoxically a society of radical individualists would be a healthier community.) And the idea that drug taking is an individual's private choice fits the libertarian approach which people usually regard as right wing. Back in the sixties the same attitude would have been regarded as dangerously left wing. Interesting. But I have my biases and I would hate for anyone to call me "right wing", maybe that's my left wing talking.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
Re "I'm pretty right wing when it comes to this stuff, I admit it.": It's funny how people feel the need to apologise for being right wing. I regard both "wings" as equally deluded. (My heroes are maverick outsiders - but paradoxically a society of radical individualists would be a healthier community.) And the idea that drug taking is an individual's private choice fits the libertarian approach which people usually regard as right wing. Back in the sixties the same attitude would have been regarded as dangerously left wing.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Re "I have read something related to this.": Yes, that sounds like the same territory I was suggesting. The problem with heroin addicts is that it's too late to investigate their natural production of endorphins when they're already hooked as their chemical self-regulation has already been shot. My main point was that as rates of alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, ADHD, anxiety and depression, sex addiction, computer addiction, porn addiction, self-harming fads, and gambling are all rising it's unlikely to come down to brain chemistry simply requiring a Prozac boost. It suggests it's today's society that is engineering isolated individuals (consumers) who are trying to escape from their sense of emptiness and estrangement via compulsive, immediate-reward behaviour. It's the young who are at the sharp end of recent changes and I don't envy them their future. On a side note: if you knew who supplied PSH with his heroin would you tell the police? Most likely. If I knew someone was selling *contaminated* drugs causing deaths in the community then I would certainly let the authorities know. Me too. But otherwise, I'd regard a mutually agreed transaction between PSH and his dealer as a private affair conducted between consenting adults. I suspect that's a minority opinion! It could be complicated but off the top of my head I probably would be a tattle tale. I am not a fan of drugs or the drug culture (illicit or legal) so I would probably let the police know who it was. Drug dealers are enablers of the worst sort. They don't actually care about anything except making money. Consequently, so much of what these people busy themselves with is mere profiteering and at the expense of so many lives. I know the addict is the one ultimately making the choice to administer a toxin of their choice but that doesn't mean the enabler is without some aspect of collusion and therefore often the destruction of another life. I'm pretty right wing when it comes to this stuff, I admit it.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
Re "I have read something related to this.": Yes, that sounds like the same territory I was suggesting. The problem with heroin addicts is that it's too late to investigate their natural production of endorphins when they're already hooked as their chemical self-regulation has already been shot. My main point was that as rates of alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, ADHD, anxiety and depression, sex addiction, computer addiction, porn addiction, self-harming fads, and gambling are all rising it's unlikely to come down to brain chemistry simply requiring a Prozac boost. It suggests it's today's society that is engineering isolated individuals (consumers) who are trying to escape from their sense of emptiness and estrangement via compulsive, immediate-reward behaviour. It's the young who are at the sharp end of recent changes and I don't envy them their future. On a side note: if you knew who supplied PSH with his heroin would you tell the police? If I knew someone was selling *contaminated* drugs causing deaths in the community then I would certainly let the authorities know. But otherwise, I'd regard a mutually agreed transaction between PSH and his dealer as a private affair conducted between consenting adults. I suspect that's a minority opinion!
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
Re "I have read something related to this.": Yes, that sounds like the same territory I was suggesting. The problem with heroin addicts is that it's too late to investigate their natural production of endorphins when they're already hooked as their chemical self-regulation has already been shot. My main point was that as rates of alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, ADHD, anxiety and depression, sex addiction, computer addiction, porn addiction, self-harming fads, and gambling are all rising it's unlikely to come down to brain chemistry simply requiring a Prozac boost. It suggests it's today's society that is engineering isolated individuals (consumers) who are trying to escape from their sense of emptiness and estrangement via compulsive, immediate-reward behaviour. It's the young who are at the sharp end of recent changes and I don't envy them their future. On an side note: if you knew who supplied PSH with his heroin would you tell the police? If I knew someone was selling *contaminated* drugs causing deaths in the community then I would certainly let the authorities know. But otherwise, I'd regard a mutually agreed transaction between PSH and his dealer as a private affair conducted between consenting adults. I suspect that's a minority opinion! ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: The brain produces endorphins - "endogenous morphine" - naturally. I've wondered if some peoples' brains produce less of the goodies than others' which would make those deficient in endorphins more likely to succumb to opiate addiction. Never seen any discussion on the topic. I have read something related to this. It involves overeaters or those who require more of something to get the same kind of satisfaction as someone who only imbibes smaller amounts of the same thing (food, alcohol, etc). Scientists have determined that the over-imbibers/eaters are those with a lack of chemical in the brain responsible for registering pleasure and so one piece of chocolate cake might fulfill one person (with the proper amount of this chemical), it would take half a cake for the one lacking this sensory feedback mechanism to register the same reward/benefit of the former. Not having looked further into this at this point, I can not tell you which chemical or chemicals were responsible for this but I am sure endorphins are part of the equation. But, that said, I don't think I'm buying the author's thesis: "This means that alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, adhd, anxiety and depression, et al are all disorders of the brain and as such need the treatment of a medical doctor first." There's been a huge rise in rates of all these addictions and disorders over the past decades so I think the primary cause is the sense of alienation of modern humans. We're estranged from nature, the clan and the community; until we realign our relationships with each other no other treatment is going to be more than a temporary fix.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: The brain produces endorphins - "endogenous morphine" - naturally. I've wondered if some peoples' brains produce less of the goodies than others' which would make those deficient in endorphins more likely to succumb to opiate addiction. Never seen any discussion on the topic. I have read something related to this. It involves overeaters or those who require more of something to get the same kind of satisfaction as someone who only imbibes smaller amounts of the same thing (food, alcohol, etc). Scientists have determined that the over-imbibers/eaters are those with a lack of chemical in the brain responsible for registering pleasure and so one piece of chocolate cake might fulfill one person (with the proper amount of this chemical), it would take half a cake for the one lacking this sensory feedback mechanism to register the same reward/benefit of the former. Not having looked further into this at this point, I can not tell you which chemical or chemicals were responsible for this but I am sure endorphins are part of the equation. But, that said, I don't think I'm buying the author's thesis: "This means that alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, adhd, anxiety and depression, et al are all disorders of the brain and as such need the treatment of a medical doctor first." There's been a huge rise in rates of all these addictions and disorders over the past decades so I think the primary cause is the sense of alienation of modern humans. We're estranged from nature, the clan and the community; until we realign our relationships with each other no other treatment is going to be more than a temporary fix.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Another Interesting "Take" on Addiction
The brain produces endorphins - "endogenous morphine" - naturally. I've wondered if some peoples' brains produce less of the goodies than others' which would make those deficient in endorphins more likely to succumb to opiate addiction. Never seen any discussion on the topic. But, that said, I don't think I'm buying the author's thesis: "This means that alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, suicide attempts, phobias, adhd, anxiety and depression, et al are all disorders of the brain and as such need the treatment of a medical doctor first." There's been a huge rise in rates of all these addictions and disorders over the past decades so I think the primary cause is the sense of alienation of modern humans. We're estranged from nature, the clan and the community; until we realign our relationships with each other no other treatment is going to be more than a temporary fix.
