In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

by Gabor Maté

Addictions, even as they resemble normal human yearnings, are more about desire than attainment. In the addicted mode, the emotional charge is in the pursuit and the acquisition of the desired object, not in the possession and enjoyment of it. The greatest pleasure is in the momentary satisfaction of yearning.

Thus, we might say that three factors need to coincide for substance addiction to occur: a susceptible organism; a drug with addictive potential; and stress.

These, then, are the traits that most often underlie the addiction process: poor self-regulation, lack of basic differentiation, lack of a healthy sense of self, a sense of deficient emptiness, and impaired impulse control.