I’ve noticed a trend in addiction. I wonder if anyone out there is an expert or knows. I tried looking up the pattern, but didn’t find anything. Have you heard of the pattern?

The pattern

Every addiction involves a pleasure. Gambling makes some people feel like a winner. Alcohol makes some people feel social. Social media makes you feel connected. Sugar tastes sweet. Heroin makes you feel euphoria. Each pleasure is unique.

The giving you an intense but short peak, it seems to me that addiction overall decreases exactly the pleasure the addict wants and thinks he or she is getting more of. They get less of it.

Gambling addicts feel like winners, but actually lose money.

Alcoholics feel social, but the people they meet don’t meet them authentically and they end up losing friends and family.

Social media addicts feel connected, but are actually isolated, sometimes to the point of suicide.

Sugar addicts taste sweetness from things where sugar is added, but their taste buds lose sensitivity, making things without added sugar taste bland.

Heroin addicts get euphoria from their hit, but the rest of their lives become miserable. Even the euphoria of the hit goes away.

Cigarette addicts smoke to calm themselves, but the cigarette causes the jitters they have to calm.

How the pattern relates to sustainability

Regular readers know how I see our polluting behavior as an addiction. If we think polluting behavior creates a better future, connects us with family, creates prosperity, and so on, the pattern seems to fit. It’s ruining our future, tearing families apart, undermining the root of prosperity (the natural world), and so on.

• ← Efficiency and democratization backfiring
• Have we lost the imagination to improve life without fossil fuels? →