How Loneliness Plays a Key Role in Addiction

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In 2017, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 1 in 12 American adults had a substance use disorder (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2018). A substance use disorder is defined by Mayo Clinic as a disease in which an individual’s brain and behavior cause them to lose control over their use of a given drug or medication (2017). The addiction crisis in America is devastating and, getting increasingly worse. However, despite addiction being so common, few Americans actually understand it. In my second year of college, I took a drug education course in hopes to gain a better understanding of addiction and how it works. Upon finishing this course, my curiosity turned into a passion. I found that so much I thought I knew about addiction was wrong, and I wanted to do everything I can to make sure others aren’t as misinformed as I was. Something that completely shifted my view on addiction was a study widely known as “rat park.” 

In the 20th century, several studies were done with rats and heroin in an effort to understand addiction. Many experiments involved putting a rat in a cage and supplying it with two bottles of water: one plain and one laced with heroin. The results showed that the rat will obsessively drink the heroin water until they die from an overdose. However, in the 1970s, American psychologist Bruce Alexander performed his own version of this experiment, with a twist. He put rats in cages with regular and laced water, same as before, except this time the rats were together in little communities. The rats were free to play and socialize as they pleased. Interestingly, these rats didn’t like the heroin water. Some rats would partake, but only on occasion. There were no addictions or overdoses. 

Why didn’t these rats like the heroin water? Well, this experiment highlights a very common misconception on addiction. Many people, myself included, were led to believe that once these rats tried the heroin water, they would keep on drinking it. We’re often taught that if you use a drug once, you’re hooked. You’ll spend the rest of your life chasing that high. This is not necessarily the case. Many substances that are commonly abused are because of how effective they are at taking away our feelings of loneliness and discomfort. As we learn from rat park, the problem isn’t necessarily within the drugs themselves, but the conditions that drive a person to repeatedly abuse them.

With the advancement of technology, people are becoming more and more disconnected. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to decrease your feelings of loneliness and connect with others around you.

These include:

  • Volunteering

  • Visiting a friend (furry friends count)

  • Spending time with nature

Connection is contagious. When you connect with others, they, in turn, connect with you, thus leaving the world a slightly happier place. So join a club or talk to a stranger, you just might save someone’s life. 

If you want to learn more about rat park and addiction, check out this TED talk


References

Davis, T. (2019, Feb 18). Feeling lonely? Discover 18 ways to overcome loneliness. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201902/feeling-lonely-discover-18-ways-overcome-loneliness 

Mayo Clinic. (2017, October 26). Drug addiction (substance use disorder). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112 

Recovery Centers of America. (2020, January 31). How Loneliness Fuels Addiction. Retrieved from https://recoverycentersofamerica.com/blogs/how-loneliness-fuels-addiction/ 

Sederer, L. I. (2019, June 10). What does “rat park” teach us about addiction? Psychiatric Times. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 18-5068, NSDUH Series H-53). Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/ 

TED. (2015, July 9). Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | Johann Hari [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs&t=7s

Karla Lassonde