Addiction / Verslawing

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“In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoner of addiction and the prisoner of envy.”

Ivan Illich

Is any addiction a result of weakness? Is the cure for any addiction to be found in one’s own inner strength? I will answer affirmatively to both of these questions. Addiction is not only found in drugs, liquor, sex and cigarettes, we tend to forget that addiction has many forms. Addiction is, in fact, any habitual repetition of an excessive behavior by someone who is either inept or either reluctant to stop that behaviour, despite the harmful costs of that specific addiction. Addiction may, therefore, be physical or psychological. Just imagine all the computer game addicts, social media addicts, movie addicts, now compare that to the sex, alcohol, smoking and narcotic addicts. We become addicts of so many things in this world, we crucify and label those taken up into rehabilitation centers, forgetting very easily that we ourselves may be addicts to something for which there is no rehabilitation center but ourselves. Carl Jung took it all together very nicely, and this I ask of you to continuously keep in mind, for he said that every form of addiction is bad, it does not matter whether the narcotic is alcohol or morphine or idealism. Think therefore before you point to people in rehabilitation centers, at least they know they have a problem and are making the effort to address it and work on it, while so many others fail in both these regards.

Are you any different, cyberspace addict,
to the one sniffing his cocaine?
Well, here is my verdict:
Any form of addiction is insane.

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“In ‘n verbruiker samelewing is daar twee onvermydelike slawe: die slaaf van verslawing en die slaaf van afguns.”

Ivan Illich

Is verslawing, ongeag watter tipe verslawing ons van praat, ‘n resultaat van swakheid? Is die kuur vir enige vorm van verslawing te vinde in jou eie innerlike wilskrag en vermoë? Ek sal op albei antwoord deur te sê: Ja, ek glo so. Verslawing is nie net te vinde in dwelms, alkohol, seks en sigarette nie. Ons is geneig om te maklik te vergeet dat daar baie ander vorme van verslawing is. Verslawing is inteendeel enige gewoontevormende herhaling of enige oormatige gedrag deur iemand wie of onwillig of onbekwaam is om daardie gedrag te staak, ongeag die skadelike koste van daardie spesifieke verslawing. Verslawing kan ook of fisies of psigies wees. Dit is soos die psigoanalitikus, Carl Jung, gesê het, enige vorm van verslawing is sleg – dit maak nie saak of dit narkotiese middele, alkohol, of idealism is nie.

Dink maar aan al die sosiale media verslawers, fliek verslawers, rekenaar speletjie verslawers – vergelyk hulle nou met diegene wie verslaaf is aan seks, alkohol, rook en narkotiese middele. Ons kan so maklik verslawend raak aan so baie dinge in hierdie wêreld… Ons kan ewe maklik andere kruisig en etiketteer wie aan ‘n verslawing ly, veral diegene wie opgeneem is in inrigtings, maar dan gemaklikheidsonthalwe vergeet da tons self verslawend kan wees aan iets waarvoor daar geen rehabilitasie sentrums is, behalwe onsself nie. Dink alvorens jy jou neus optrek en neerkyk op mense in rehabilitasie sentrums, immers doen hulle moeite om te werk aan hul verslawing – kan jy dieselfde sê?

Tot watter mate verskil jy, sosiale media verslawer,
met iemand wie verslaaf is aan kokaïne en heroïen?
Net so is daar geen verskil tussen ‘n lyk en ‘n kadawer…
Ek wonder of jy my punt kan insien?