Dr Bruce Alexander was the researcher who agued that drugs were not the cause of addiction. He was the mind behind Rat Park, an experiment conducted in the 1970’s to counter the earlier experiments done with single rats in cages. The single rats were given the choice between a vial of water and a vial of drugged fluid. It wasn’t long before the isolated rat would die form the drugged fluid, having chosen it over the clear water. The impact of the substance ingested, on the brain, was studied over and over again. These studies were the foundation for our current understanding of addiction.
Dr. Alexander disagreed. So he created Rat Park, a rat utopia where rats could play, make out, scrap, eat, whatever rats do to live out their lives. The same two vials were placed in the park. Almost none of the rats chose the drugged vial.
His claim was that the rats who died from the drugged vials while in isolation did not do so from the drug itself. Rather, the drug was a coping mechanism for the complete and debilitating isolation that the rat was experiencing. The rat was unable to partake of its innate life activities and was disconnected from the rest of its intended culture. Thus addiction set in to its final end. Isolation caused the addiction.
From his experiments, he wrote his book “The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in the Poverty of Spirit”. A brilliant title as I hope you will see from the experience of that isolated rat.
In his book, Alexander presents his hypothesis that addiction is really a consequence of disconnection. He presents some very compelling arguments of how our social evolution. through conquest and colonization, has dislocated and displaced many groups of people based on their various cultures and other traits. He argues that while most of these groups had substance use as a part of their cultural practices, it only became problematic as people were displaced and separated from cultural norms. Substances transformed into coping with disconnection and isolation.
Now many scientists since Rat Park have argued that Dr. Alexander’s experiment could not be replicated for a variety of reasons. Many attempts were made with mixed results. Some of the experiments did replicate the initial Rat Park while others did not. So there is a somewhat valid argument against Dr. Alexander’s claims…if one only looks at the clinical work done. I argue that his work contributes to our evolving understanding of what addiction really seems to be.
In fact, when you step back and view the bigger picture, Dr Alexander’s experiments support his hypothesis. Disconnection, displacement, isolation, are so common in our society that we seem to be insensitive to it all. We are used to it. Like in a previous article in my blogs, we are like frogs in the boiling water. We don’t even know we’re in it. We are in fact living in a society that fosters living in isolated cages.
And, if drugs were the actual cause of addiction, wouldn’t using any drug the first time, cause immediate addiction? Stats Canada provides evidence to the contrary. Almost half of our population report using substances regularly and about half of us have tried something at least once. Yet studies consistently show that only 15-20% of people who use substances develop addiction. No, it is more than just the drug itself.
I argue in favour of Dr Alexander’s conclusions as part of a bigger picture, but not the complete picture.
Some very good research has evolved from the initial isolated rat experiments. We have undeniably determined that substance use, in fact many things, alter the construct and functioning of the brain. We have discovered the roles of many neurotransmitters and receptors. We have discovered the creation of neural pathways in learning and in the development of habits. We have discovered much about neuroplasticity; the adaptation process the brain undergoes when damaged or even when learning new information. We have discovered the importance of meaning and emotion in the formation of schemas, memories, thought processes, behaviour and so much more. So there is no denying that the brain most obviously and definitely plays a role in the development of addiction. Most importantly, we are learning that we don’t know nearly enough to actually define addiction itself. But we are getting there.
From the 1800’s onward, we have treated addiction as some sort of moral failing. We have focused on treating personal “shortcomings” as the way to recover. Medicine did step in with almost no knowledge and mostly guess work creating interventions that would rival some horror movie plots. Most thankfully we have evolved from those somewhat barbaric attitudes and interventions to an era of medical progress that more accurately addresses the issues that occur in the brain and the rest of the body as addiction to substances and other processes sets in.
Or have we really evolved from those old ways of thinking? While science has evolved, it seems the majority of attitudes towards addiction have not, at least not as quickly as the science. We are still arguing back and forth about various beliefs about choice, physical, spiritual and cognitive causes and consequences. Despite all of the progress that has been made. This bickering has contributed and exacerbated the impact of addiction in our society. It is proving to be one of the biggest barriers to employing facts into treatment and policy.
Enter again, Dr Bruce Alexander and his Dislocation Theory of Addiction. Also enter Dr Gabor Mate, another experienced medical professional who have both dedicated their lives to addictions across the board. Both of these gentlemen have an understanding beyond the science of the brain. Both argue the environmental influences that contribute to the creation of addiction.
In his book “The Myth of Normal: Truama, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture”, Dr Mate argues that indeed, our culture is the perfect storm for the issues that are occuring. I find that his arguments are collaborative with Dr Alexander’s arguments about disconnection and displacement. Dr Mate argues that our culture is at least a major contributor to addiction:
“In a laboratory, a culture is a biochemical broth custom-made to promote the development of this or that organism. Assuming the microbes in question start out with a clean bill of health and genetic fitness, a suitable and well maintained culture should allow for their happy healthy growth and proliferation. If the same organisms begin showing pathologies at unprecedented rates, or fail to thrive, it’s either because the culture has become contaminated or because it was the wrong mixture in the first place. Whichever the case, we could rightly call this a toxic culture – unsuitable for the creatures it is meant to support”. (Mate 2022)
For me, this paragraph illuminates what we have been missing, and avoiding when considering addiction. It is like we are in a petrie dish and the culture in which we were intended to thrive has turned sour somehow. In this case, it is we who have polluted the culture and turned it toxic. It is through the lack of knowledge and our irrational willingness to keep moving towards the precipice while believing it is the salvation to our woes.
Our society is rife with examples of this disconnection. Colonization, oppression, war, the never ending striving for power, end stage capitalism and the exclusion of unwanted groups, are all the characteristics of the toxic culture in the petrie dish we are existing in. All of these characteristics have been the blueprints for institutional, political and public policies; policies which we widely and quite mistakenly accept as our salvation. Policies which are actually creating that precipice we are careening towards.
There is no question in my mind why my case load, and the case loads of all of my colleagues treating substance use and mental health, were three and four times what they were supposed to be. It does not surprise me that even my own profession is replete with developing unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance use. The climbing rates of mental health and substance use health issues in our society seem to be a natural consequence, not only of the neural pathways developing in each of us, but of the increasing toxicity of our own culture.
How do we change all of this? How do we heal in a place where trauma is such a “normal” occurrence?
Well, like we coach in addiction counselling, we do the opposite. Of course, I’m over simplifying here but it is the most effective intervention that we are aware of. It does start with us individually.
A new thought, feeling or behaviour expressed from one person, can start a ripple effect. It’s like throwing a pebble in the pond. The ripples spread as far as the eye can see. The pond begins to change, it has to as the ripples have their impact on the surface of the water. Another pebble, more change. Another pebble, more change.
Science is most definitely having this impact on our toxic culture. Not just the science of the brain but social science as well. We are just beginning to understand the nature of us within the petrie dish just as we are beginning to understand the petrie dish. Magnified, the petrie dish is the pond and then it is our world. We just have to be very careful, and well informed about what pebbles we are tossing into the pond… because, everything has an effect. I believe that science is at least one of the most important pebbles.
Our spirituality is most definitely included in that evolution as well, as we begin to become more aware of who we are and where we are in the universe. I believe that science is spirit manifest, but that’s a whole nuther topic for discussion another time. However, Dr Alexander mentions the “poverty of spirit” in his book. When you consider the displacement and isolation of those singular rats, it’s not hard to imagine the disconnection and isolation we as people have experienced through the issues I have mentioned earlier. We are experiencing that poverty of spirit on many levels.
It is almost natural that we choose the simplest form of reprieve, medication, and solution for trauma, pain, anguish and loneliness. It fits our toxic culture at this point. It is a form of normal in this culture. In fact, we encourage substsance use through our media and our social discourse; “Get baked” “Relax” “You’ll belong” “medicate” “you’ll have great sex” etc etc.
And then we turn on those who do become addicted. We scapegoat them/us as the pariah of society. We chalk them/us up as the cause of societal woes. And then wonder why they/we hide, lie and manipulate to maintain their/our medication. We wonder why they/we get angry and defensive with us as we continually berate them/us, label them and conveniently throw them into the wastebasket of our toxic culture. We cast them/us into isolated cages, disconnect them/us from love and acceptance, and expect them/us to somehow “get better”. (see what I did there?)
I think we are beginning to understand that we have actually defined disconnection and isolation as normal. I think we are waking up and realizing that the water is boiling, the culture is toxic. We are waking up to the fact that with the knowledge, and the wisdom that comes from that knowledge, we can actually change the nature of the culture we have created. Eventually we can create that “new normal” we are apparently so afraid of, but so desperately need.
Mental illness is normal in a toxic culture. Substance use as a coping tool is normal in a toxic culture. Addiction is a symptom of what we have accepted as normal. It is not the cause of our societal woes. In that sense, I think Dr Alexander is right. It isn’t the drug that causes addiction. As Dr Mate describes so expertly, it is the toxic culture we have somehow created and accepted as normal. When you step back, I think its easy to see that all of it is symbiotic. We just have to look at it that way.
Just as there is no one way for people to recover from an addiction to substances or other processes, there is no silver bullet for our society. Consistent with the laws of nature, our society is symbiotic and must include all aspects for any changes to be made and maintained. A person suffering from addiction and other mental health issues is a microcosm – a mirror of our society. We can’t expect one to change without the other.
References:
Mate, G., M.D. with Daniel Mate (2022) “The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture” Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
Alexander, B.K. (2008). “The Globalization of Addiction; A Study in the Poverty of the Spirit” Oxford University Press.
https://www.ccsa.ca/canadian-drug-trends
ontario.cmha.ca/addiction-and-substance-use-and-addiction/
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