Myths of Addiction

This is a recent talk I presented at the South African College of Applied Psychology Festival of Learning and at the University of Cape Town Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health addictions forum.

In it I dispel the myths that: 

• Addiction is caused by drugs, 
• once an addict always an addict, 
• addiction is progressive 
• abstinence is required to initiate treatment or for remission.

I feel strongly that if we allow these myths to continue, we will not develop practical and helpful treatment modalities or public policies. At the end of the talk I made some suggestions regarding treatment. Comments and criticisms are welcome!

Mind & Life XXVII - Craving, Desire and Addiction

The Mind & Life Institute is an initiative that aims to alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing. They aim to bring together scientists, contemplatives and scholars to deepen our understanding of the causes of suffering.

Part of their strategy is to hold dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This years dialogue focused on craving, desire and addiction. A group of scholars from the fields of neuroscience, Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, psychiatry and the social sciences gathered at Dharamsala to share their ideas and gain a deeper understanding of addiction.

The speakers were: Marc Lewis, Kent Berridge, Thupten Jinpa, Nora Volkow, Vibeke Asmussen Frank, Matthieu Ricard, Wendy Farley and Sarah Bowen. Brief biographies and their topics, as well as the program, can be downloaded here.

I have watched each of the talks and summarised them. None of this is my original work, but rather was done so that I can have a reference for myself, and I have made this available to you simply to help you choose which talks you may wish to watch in full and for academic purposes. All the videos are available in their entirety here. My summaries can be seen by clicking on the days below:

Day One
Marc Lewis - Craving, Dopamine and the Cycle of Addictive Behaviour 

Day Two
Kent Berridge - Brain Generators of Intense Wanting and Liking

Thupten Jinpa - Psychology of Desire: A Buddhist Perspective

 

Day Three
Nora Volkow -The Role of Dopamine in the Addicted Human Brain  

Vibeke Asmussen Frank - Beyond the Individual: The Role of Society and Culture in Addiction.

Day Four
Matthieu Ricard - From Craving to Freedom and Flourishing: Buddhist Perspectives on Desire 

Wendy Farley  - Contemplative Christianity, Desire and Addiction.  

Day Five
Sarah Bowen - Application of Contemplative Practices in Treatment of Addiction 

Day 4 - Mind and Life XXVII - Craving, Desire and Addiction

Dr Matthieu Ricard

Dr Wendy Farley

You can view the videos here.

The point of this summary is not to replace the complete video and nor is it fully comprehensive, but rather the intention is to give a brief overview of proceedings so as to assist the reader in determining which sessions they would like to watch in full. 

Day Four of Mind and Life XXVII - Matthieu Ricard discusses From Craving to Freedom and Flourishing: Buddhist Perspectives on Desire and Dr Wendy Farley talks about Contemplative Christianity, Desire and Addiction.