"In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts"
“Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do
believe
they can all be traced to Painful experience. A Hurt is at
the centre of all
Addictive Behaviours. It is present in the gambler, the
Internet addict,
the compulsive shopper and the workaholic. The wound may not
be as
deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be
entirely hidden—but it’s there. As we’ll see, the effects of early stress or
adverse experiences directly shape both the psychology and
the
neurobiology of addiction in the brain.”
“It is impossible to understand addiction without asking what relief theaddict finds, or hopes to find, in the drug or the addictive behaviour.”
“Far more than a quest for Pleasure, chronic substance use is the addict’s attempt to Escape Distress…Addictions always originate in pain, whether felt openly or hidden in the unconscious. They are emotional anesthetics.
― Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close
Encounters with Addiction
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