The Myth of Normal 181

Chapter 16 Show of Hands: A New View of Addiction We are long overdue for a new perspective—both because our understanding of the neuroscience underlying addiction has changed and because so many existing treatments simply don’t work. —Maia Szalavitz[*] Having delineated what addiction is and isn’t, and recognizing its impetus and function in people’s lives, I’d like to offer a new working definition, one I believe is truer and more powerful than its antecedents. In eschewing genetic determinism, it entails the possibility of healing. I should issue a caution, though. While more precise and more hopeful, my definition is also more ecumenical—it makes addiction’s “big tent” even bigger. You might just find yourself under it. Addiction is a complex psychological, emotional, physiological, neurobiological, social, and spiritual process. It manifests through any behavior in which a person finds temporary relief or pleasure and therefore craves, but that in the long term causes them or others negative consequences, and yet the person refuses or is unable to give it up. Accordingly, the three main hallmarks of addiction are short-term relief or pleasure and therefore craving; long-term suffering for oneself or others; and an inability to stop.