Five thoughts, ideas, insights, or quotes to power up your mind to think differently and creatively about life and who we are. Put all previous thinking away and open up a brand new world of the Supermind. YOUR SuperMind.
This week – Addictions.
Since the turn of this Century the number of people caught up in some addiction or other has been rising steeply. And not just the previous well know types such as drugs, smoking, and alcohol. This modern era has spawned fresh ones such as social media and gambling addictions have become rife. Addictions are harming millions of lives and so SMS has to look into this epidemic.
1. Pace of addiction keeping up with pace of life?
You know it, I know it. The sheer speed of life has ramped up to crazy levels in the last few decades. We work longer hours than ever before and have to travel further to that job. Even though COVID helped people work from home more, their busy domestic lives have crashed into heavy working schedules. Add to that the whole FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) mindset driven by social media, we feel the need to go everywhere to drink up everything life has to offer because, well, everyone else seems to be. How on Earth do we deal with all that energy sapping, mind draining lifestyle? We drink, take drugs, smoke, and are on our mobiles every few minutes So…
Is the ridiculous pace of life the source of the new pace of addictions?
2. Addicted to something.
There is a well known idiom that says we are all addicted to something. That it’s part of our emotional structure. All it takes is for a trauma or crisis or extended intensity for a switch in that structure to flip for some and they focus on something that helps mask the pain or pressures. This dilutes their ability to deal with their issue in a manageable way. As a result any bad or stressful day sees them turn to the bottle, the pill, the slot machines, or the promiscuity. Its simply a normal genetic reaction out of control. Or is it?
Are we approaching addiction the wrong way as a natural part of us?
3. Less about the pain, more about the pleasure.
Like above, traditional thinking is that addictions originate from a painful event or unceasing difficulties, The chosen addiction offers a route or escape from the inner or outer struggle. So smoking 40 a day or taking cocaine quells the pain enough (or completely) it has to be repeated. And if that alleviates the tension/hurt enough it needs to be repeated, sometimes multiple times a day, to keep the awful emotions at bay. But, here’s the rub. Now the situation has switched…
Addiction then is more about the pleasure feeling than the pain smothering,
4. Addictions we now function with.
We have all most likely heard of the functional alcoholic. The large drinker who has a high dependency on alcohol but can still function reasonably in life. Yes they drink most days but they hold down a job, manage their money, keep their house clean, and so on. In short, they are not out of control on the stuff. What we are now seeing is the so called ‘accepted and less harmful’ addictions that also are functional ones – using mobile phones and social media all day or accessing online betting sites. Behaviours that are not abnornal but their over use has moved into the addictive scale.
Are we developing functional addictions that are almost accepted by society?
5. Looking for an instant fix.
The modern world is fast paced…and most things are available at the click of a button, In an instant you can buy a car, book an exotic vacation, get tickets for a concert, or order your weekly shop. And almost in the snap of your fingers the tickets, car delivery date, groceries have turned up. The modern mindset has become embedded like this – what I call Internet Attitude. I want it, I want it now, and I want it with me quickly. That’s why with everything available, people can become addicted so easily. They are always a click or two of a button away from what they are desperate to have.
We can get it in an instant and get addicted to it just as quickly.
Ok, that’s another SuperMind Saturday done. Thank you for being here for the SuperMind time. Keep thinking about these. We need more minds thinking about this issue and the others issue on SuperMind Saturdays. Why? Because it’s needed. Because the world requires new thoughts and ideas. Perhaps YOURS!!
See you next time for more super thinking.
Photo Attributions – free to use under Pixabay Content License by Anestiev and TFWF2020.
