Types of Addiction: A Trauma-Informed Perspective | THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE S2 E6 P3 | Being True To You

Turning now to the third category of addiction, which is euphoria of plants. When people get high, they are usually getting high off of substances derived from plants, whereby some part of a plant is extracted, refined, and processed for euphoric consumption. Common plant-derived addictions refined into a product are coffee and tobacco, sugar, flour, and cacao, cannabis, kratom, cocaine, and heroin, and wine, beer, and liquor. Plant-derived addictions are substance and drug addictions essentially. Sugar-related addictions, alcohol products, and legal plant substances can either be purchased or they can be made at home. Now illegal substances that are derived from plants such as street drugs are often found on the streets and produced by underground suppliers. These plant-derived drugs are often preferred because the supply is more consistent, affordable, it's more secretive, autonomous, and effective, at least in the moment. Now there are a number of immediate perks and benefits from plant-derived substances. People use drugs to cover up painful memories from the past, to self-medicate stress and discomfort in the moment, and to relieve fears and worries of the future. Sugar indulgers and alcohol and drug users experience euphoric highs to peaceful and relaxing lows, increased focus and drive for particular things, and enhanced creativity, confidence, and purpose. People believe that these plant-produced substances are helping them. They didn't mean to become addicted. They were trying to ease their suffering, find relief, or just feel better. But over time they become addicted, and not just to the drug, but also to the ritual, the lifestyle, the network, and the duties of the addiction. So when they come to recognize the consequences, they still feel that the benefits outweigh the pain and problems that await them in sobriety. However, there are just as great a number of costs and consequences. Plant-processed substance addictions take more lives faster than any other addiction. Substance addictions take a huge toll on the physical body, causing major immune deficiencies, dehydration, severe organ damage, sleep deprivation, and brain damage. Substance addictions progressively inhibit and weaken the mindset, personality, and character of a person as well, creating issues throughout one's life. Now, the opportunity in learning about common plant addictions is to rediscover your relationship to plants, and to discover a whole world of nourishing plants, vegetables, herbs, and spices. To learn how to prepare these plants for eating, cleansing, and healing, and to engage and preserve these plants in their ripeness, and to move away from the manufacturing of powders and flowers, smoke products, and fermented beverages that are often just bleached, dyed, and then heavily contaminated through the production process. All right, for the last point to mention today is number four, escape through drugs. Similar to just mentioned, the next category of addiction are the synthetic and pharmaceutical grade drugs produced above ground and underground. Synthetic pharmaceutical and designer drugs mimic the psychoactive properties of molecules derived from natural plant, fungi, and even animal species for medicinal, therapeutic, and recreational purposes, as well as for business profits and other private agenda purposes. Now, of course, this depends on the chemist and manufacturers. There are certainly benevolent-willed chemists dedicated to finding legit medicines to help support people's mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. However, there are also malevolent-run chemists that are contracted with mafia who are running their own underground agendas to control, exploit, and even to depopulate civilian life. Regardless of the chemist's original intentions, though, these drugs make their way into the hands of big pharma corporations and underground drug trade runners, ensuring benefits and results on the surface so as to maintain their clientele, but contaminating these substances on a microscopic level to ensure they are addictive and sometimes even poisonous enough to cause death. A great book to better understand the history is called Fentanyl Incorporated, how rogue chemists are creating the deadliest wave of the opiate epidemic. The book speaks to many of these synthetically created drugs and the impact on our society today. These classifications of drugs include stimulants such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, nicotine, and caffeine. Depressants like alcohol, benzodiazepines, opiates, and barbiturates. Psychiatric medications like antipsychotics and antidepressants. Over-the-counter drugs like dextromethorphan or DXM, and then there are the steroids and performance enhancers, as well as inhalants such as aerosols, gasoline, paint thinner, and different types of glue. And lastly, a large group of designer and psychoactive synthetic drugs such as spice, bath salts, ketamine, LSD, PCP, 2C-B, ecstasy, and fentanyl. The benefits of pharmaceutical grade synthetic drugs is that it is easier to measure and assure potency, consistency, and scalability of these medicines without hurting the sustainability of certain species. And evidence shows that pharmaceutical and synthetic drugs do have an effect on the body's systems and symptoms, and many people have reported positive benefits. However, each medicine has a degree of negative side effects as well, and one of those negative side effects is that these medicines are prescribed as the only option and can easily become maintenance medications of which a person becomes addicted. In some cases, people can become physically addicted, which is the case with most pharmaceutical medication. For a list of side effects, check out any pharmaceutical drug insert and you will see a list of nearly every symptom known to man mentioned. So I will just say, when it comes to drug addiction, awareness plus integration is power. Becoming aware of how these drugs are made, why these drugs are made, how they are being used in society, their impact on the human mind and body, their impact on you specifically, and seeing the illusion behind the solution. Just this awareness alone will help you to level up. The integration aspect entails identifying personal blocks and burdens, letting go of attachments, and continuing to refine and temper oneself, or however you see your ongoing personal process unfolding. All right, I will stop here for now, and then I will continue with the next four categories of addiction in part two. To integrate this episode, you can start to identify addictive patterns or addictions that you see in your life from the first four categories of addiction mentioned, and then you can start to journal about each one to increase self-awareness and self-understanding. Thank you, as always, for watching. I look forward to seeing you in part two on the types of addiction.