Wise Ways To Happiness

Mindfulness–An Ancient Antidote for All Addictions

Posted by George Shears | Filed under Mindfulness and Addiction

Introduction

A fundamental causal factor in all human behavior is a strong propensity to seek pleasure and to avoid pain.  This, in fact, is a key characteristic that humans share with ALL sentient beings.

This compelling motivation is clearly a double-edged sword.  While, it’s absolutely essential to our survival, it is also the basis for massive human suffering, along with major destructiveness to other species and to our planetary environment.

As Dr. Gabor Maté has argued very eloquently in his recent book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, the vast majority of modern humans are afflicted by some form of addictive behavior.  Although these addictions cover an extremely wide gamut, there is now strong neuroscience evidence that they have much in common, including that they are all mediated by the same basic brain chemistry.

My personal observations as a psychotherapist are very congruent with those of Dr. Maté.  They led me to the conclusion many years ago that human behavioral addictions, defined in this broad way, are as diverse as behaviors themselves.  In other words, no matter what behavior you might name, it’s highly likely that SOMEONE engages in it addictively.

Terminating Reactions as the Common Denominator of All Addictions

I have postulated that these widely diverse behavioral addictions arise through the formation of what I call “Terminating Reactions” (TR’s).  I define a TR as any behavior that grows in strength–or in its probability of recurrence–through a process of “negative reinforcement” to the point of becoming highly automatic.

In learning theory, “negative reinforcement” is defined as the strengthening of a behavior that occurs as a result of it being followed in time by the cessation of a negative condition.  A TR, then, is any behavior that effectively terminates a painful or unpleasant experience.  Each time that such a sequence recurs, the behavior–whatever it might be–gains an increment of strength and becomes increasingly automatic in its occurrence.

Common examples of simple TR’s are scratching an itch, swatting a mosquito, squinting one’s eyes in bright sunshine, fidgeting in various ways, foot or leg jiggling, beard stroking, hair-twisting, repetitive eye-blinking, etc., etc.

A further basic principle of learning theory specifies–somewhat counter-intuitively–that once such a behavioral response has gained a modicum of strength (i.e., probability of recurrence), its strength will then continue to increase optimally through what is called “partial reinforcement” or “intermittent reinforcement.”

That is, a TR will tend to develop what is called increased “resistance to extinction” if it is successful in terminating a painful or unpleasant experience only part of the time.  As a matter of fact, the more intermittently successful it is–up to a certain point–the more resistant to extinction it will tend to become; that is, the more one is likely to repeat it even when it doesn’t terminate an unpleasant experience.

For example, if you’re yelling at your kids and they don’t stop doing what annoys you, you are likely to yell at them repeatedly–perhaps more loudly–until the annoying behavior stops.

TR’s, then, are very much like seeds from which all addictive behaviors tend to grow very lawfully, naturally and systematically.  Other things equal, the more effective they are in terminating pain/unpleasantness–at least on some occasions for at least a short period of time–the stronger and more automatic they will tend to become.

In my experience, TR’s range from being quite benign (e.g., the common “movement addictions,” mentioned above) at one extreme to those that are highly malignant (e.g., full-blown substance addictions to heroin, nicotine, alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, etc.) at the other end of the spectrum.

I’m convinced that ALL addictive behaviors fall into the general category of TR’s; moreover, I confidently predict that ongoing neuroscience research will continue to show that they are all similarly mediated by highly overlapping brain processes.

Those that include the use of drugs, however, are unique in directly activating brain chemicals, such as endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, rather than purely through mental/behavioral processes.  For this reason, I regard them as intrinsically more deeply ingrained and resistant to change.

The Power of Mindfulness in Deconstructing Terminating Reactions

Over 25 centuries ago, in what is now part of Nepal, Prince Siddhartha Gautama (later known as the Buddha) made an astounding discovery about the basic nature of all human suffering.  Moreover, he discovered a radical form of what might accurately be called “psycho-technology” as a means of eliminating this suffering.

He presented these discoveries in the form of what he called “The Four Noble Truths:”

1. All humans experience suffering.

2. All of this suffering results inevitably from becoming attached to impermanent internal and external objects of all kinds, none of which can bring lasting satisfaction.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable only through a process of decoupling from all sensual craving and conceptual attachments.

4. There is an Eightfold Path that anyone can follow that leads to the cessation of suffering, and the practice of Right Mindfulness is a key practice on this path.

After making this discovery, the Buddha then spent the remaining 45 years of his life instructing and guiding his followers in learning how to implement it effectively.

Within this elegantly simple, and yet very profound, framework, all forms of human addiction can be readily understood as instances of attachment to pleasurable experiences and/or the avoidance of those that are unpleasant.  This is clearly the essential basis of all TR’s, as defined above.

As the Buddha personally discovered through intense meditative experimentation over a period of five years, Right Mindfulness provides a very powerful way to overcome all attachments or addictiveness.

This Right Mindfulness entails the development of three crucially important components:  1) concentration power; 2) sensory clarity; and 3) equanimity.

People who develop and consistently apply these three aspects of enhanced awareness to all forms of experience are gradually able to perceive clearly the fine-grained arising and passing of all mental phenomena without becoming attached to them. To the degree that this occurs, they become increasingly  free from all the forms of automatic behavior that inevitably result in suffering.

Modern neuroscience research has also documented that this disciplined practice of mindfulness results in significant brain changes–especially in the left prefrontal orbital cortex–that are known to mediate increased feelings of love, compassion, and equanimity.

Noah Levine’s Recovery from Severe Drug Addiction

There is now abundant evidence that mindfulness can be applied very effectively as an antidote to all forms of addictive behavior–including major substance addictions.  One outstanding example of this has been documented by Noah Levine.

In his first book, Dharma Punx, Noah  details how, as a teenager, he hit “an emotional rock bottom” in a padded detoxification cell after years filled with violence, drugs, and multiple suicide attempts. It was at that point that he followed his father’s advice and began practicing vipassana (mindfulness) meditation “out of a place of extreme drug addiction and violence.”

As a result of his ongoing dedication to this practice, he successfully recovered from his addiction.  He then went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling psychology and  has helped found several groups and projects including the Mind Body Awareness Project, a non-profit organization serving incarcerated youths.

Noah shares some of his experience of a “transformed punk rocker” in this YouTube trailer for his film, Meditate and Destroy:

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: By clicking on the following link, you can  get a FREE self-guided program in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, including 6 audios in mp3 format.

Related posts

• Mindful Eating As Food for Thought
• Practicing Mindfulness--Some Basic Assumptions
• Mindfulness as a Master Skill--Part II, Sensory Clarity
• The Truth of No-Self--A Key to Realizing True Happiness
• Mindfulness as a Powerful Way to Reduce Suffering and Increase Fulfillment

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Tagged : addictions, antidote for addictions, gabor mate, mindfulness

Comments (3) | May 28th, 2010