Addiction Book Tries To Help Us Unlearn What We Think We Know
A new book is trying to turn addiction on its head by getting us to unlearn what we think we know about things like substance use. Author Nzinga Harrison synthesizes the latest science on addiction’s roots and share her thoughts on how to tackle the crisis. Harrison, a board certified psychiatrist, co-founded Eleanor Health before Covid as a means to help people toward recovery from addiction. About 20 million individuals struggle with alcohol and drug addictions, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, though the true number is likely higher. Younger people in the generation Z population have a somewhat different experience with addiction than those 2-3x their age. Many 15-25 year-olds have grown up watching their parents drink and have turned instead to more readily available substances, like vaping. Some have become addicted to both drinking and drugs. The challenge for families and the health system going forward will be to continue to define addiction, unravel stigma and attitudes about it being a choice — when it isn’t — and to help people learn behaviors to help them avoid, cope, manage and recover.
Harrison, who spoke here during my “6 Stories of Resilience” show back in 2020, (link here), has been sharing this book to add to the collection of so many great articles, research and novels about addiction. It’s worth checking out.