Back when I was struggling to quit weed (over a decade ago), I discovered a problem facing millions:
The available help was super boring, and even less helpful.
As you know, I usually bully Narcotics Anonymous.
But, although I reckon the advice NA is giving sucks (and hanging around people with the same addiction doesn’t solve a damn thing), I also see people getting something from attending a meeting or two, even if only to hear wild stories…
They ain’t boring.
So instead, my finger is pointed directly at Psychology Today’s boring definition of addiction:
“A state where one cannot stop engaging in a behavior or using a substance despite it causing harm.”
Yawn…
Damn near fell asleep just writing that out.
And, I doubt that sentence has ever helped a living soul.
Another boring example would be the American Psychological Association, which describes addiction in the most dull and obvious way possible:
“A condition where the rewarding effects of a substance or behavior compel a person to repeatedly pursue it, despite harmful consequences…”
You see what I’m saying?
There isn’t a human over 12 who doesn’t already know this…
It occurred to me that helping people wasn’t just about getting your philosophy right. It was about explaining your solution in an anti-boring way. Speaking of which, I reckon philosophers make it less boring.
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy & Psychiatry says:
“Addiction is a failure of self-control, shaped by a complex interplay of personal choices and environmental influences.”
Although true, and slightly more interesting, they are still shooting blanks when it comes to helping humans who actually drink alcohol or smoke weed every day, in my humble (yet correct) opinion.
The exact people I wanted to help were NOT being helped.
So, I burst onto the scene in 2009 with my piping hot take. It was so simple that I could explain it to the drunkest of stoners, during a single elevator ride in a casino:
Your addiction is an UNTRUE belief that you need something external to numb your anxiety or stimulate your boredom.
That’s it.
Doesn’t matter if your chosen flavor of addiction is weed, alcohol, or eating mattresses like that one chick did on the “My Strange Addiction” show from 2010.
Addiction is always an attempt to escape boredom or numb anxiety.
Since then, we’ve helped thousands.
It goes to show that real-world (anti-boring) solutions exist. There are hundreds in the Quit Weed Program, designed strictly for people who want to quit weed.
Link to the full program yonder:
But if you are addicted to something else?
Hit reply and let a bro know, so I can lovingly shove you in the right direction…
Keep Reality Real,
Tristan Weatherburn
https://tristanweatherburn.com
Get monthly brain training to help you quit dumb shit, get shit done, and change the human you are being, with Evolve Already.
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