Did you notice some of your less healthy habits increased during lockdown? I’ve found that when we isolate ourselves, we tend to lean into our biggest weakness. Whether it’s binge-eating, substance abuse, social media, pornography, compulsive shopping, or any other activity that we know is harmful to use in the long-term but provides relief in the short-term, being disconnected from others leads us to seek connection in all the wrong places.
Addiction is an elusive beast, and the “remedies” are as controversial and varied as the habits themselves. But one thing we do know is that isolation is a killer for a lot of people trying to replace destructive habits with healthier ones. We’re designed for connection, and without it, our brain goes into fight-or-flight mode as our instincts scream at us that we’re separated from our community or tribe and therefore place our chance of survival at risk. The comfort offered from immediate gratification calms this stress in the short term, but in the long run does more harm than good.
In the late 1970s, a group of researchers placed a bunch of rats in empty, separate cages and gave them two options for hydration. The first option was water, the second option was water laced with either heroin or cocaine. They quickly found that the rats would invariably choose the water with drugs in it over the regular water, and would almost always abuse this option over and over until they met a very early death. The conclusion they came to (the researchers, not the rats) was that heroin and cocaine are so chemically addictive that a user would choose it over life itself.
Then another researcher came along and observed the environment these rats were operating within. Nothing to do and no other rats. Just themselves, the water and the drugs. So they created an exciting pen filled with cheese, coloured balls, tunnels to run through, and most important of all, other rats to play with. They called this place “rat park”, and again they offered the two options – normal water and water laced with drugs. What they found was that they almost never used the water with the drugs in it, none of them used it compulsively, and none of them ever overdosed. The lesson from this was that the substances themselves were not the cause of the problem, but rather, a suboptimal solution to the innate need for purpose and connection (Serderer, 2019).
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It’s connection.”
– Johann Hari
While the human and rat experience may appear different, my work facilitating SMART Recovery groups has given me a pretty clear indication that the isolation of lockdown has been catastrophic for many people struggling with substance abuse. People have developed habits with alcohol and illicit substances they never had before, and what’s worse, once the restrictions eased, the habits still remained for many of them. Research shows that one in five Australians reported an increase in alcohol consumption during lockdown, despite pubs and clubs being closed. Research also shows that despite zero access to live poker machines, 11% of Australians actually increased their gambling, and half of those who did reported it at problematic levels (Hronis, 2021). The lack of purpose and connection has led a lot of people into some dark places, and the road to recovery invariably involves some form of reconnecting to a healthy social setting.
My personal experience has shown me the importance of this. A number of years ago, I was in a situation where I was doing very little that was productive and isolating myself from most people. On paper, I had little to complain about – enough money, plenty of free time, and place next to Bondi Beach. Yet week after week, the same pattern would occur. I’d end up going crazy with boredom and isolation, and it would lead me off on a path of chemical self-destruction and deeper and deeper down the spiral of shame, thinking that my willpower was weak and I was morally deficient. What I didn’t realise at the time was that I was asking my brain to do battle with itself against one of the most fundamental human needs – connection. This battle was one that I could never win - evolution had been stacking the deck since the dawn of time. It wasn’t until I found connection through a positive work environment and actively broadened my social circle that I was able to move past this cycle.
If you’re finding that your less helpful habits are on the rise, I’d encourage you to seek out positive connection with other people and help eliminate that need for an artificial substitute. What that looks like is up to you. Whether it’s spending more time with friends and family, volunteering at a local organisation, getting involved in a local sports team, finding new people and things to do through apps like MeetUp – the opportunities are endless. As Johann Hari says in his brilliant TED Talk, “the opposite of addiction is not sobriety – it’s connection” (Hari, 2015).
References
1. Hari, J. (2015). Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong. TED Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs&t=7s
2. Hronis, A. (2021). If you’re drinking or betting more in lockdown, you’re not alone. But watch for these signs of addiction. The Conversation. 11th August. https://theconversation.com/if-youre-drinking-or-betting-more-in-lockdown-youre-not-alone-but-watch-for-these-signs-of-addiction-165621
3. Serderer, L.I. (2019). What does "Rat Park" teach us about addiction? Psychiatric Times. 10th June. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction
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