In Johann Hari’s book “Chasing The Scream” he reflects on how environment has a larger effect on drug use than the addiction itself. For Example he talks about Bruce Alexanders rat experiment. “The rats in solitary confinement and the soldiers in Vietnam weren’t being “hijacked” by the chemicals at hand. They were trying to cope with being dislocated from everything that gave their lives meaning and pleasure. The world around them had become an unbearable place to be – so when they couldn’t get out of it physically, they decided to get out of it mentally.” The experiment itself proved that rats that were isolated were more likely to rely on morphine. Meanwhile the ones in the modalert 200mg rat park living with other rats did not feel the need to go for the morphine water. Bruce also explains how it is not addiction itself but people trying to escape real life and fill a void. He states, “todays flood of addiction is occurring because our hyper-individualistic, frantic, https://www.health-e-child.org/ crisis-ridden society makes most people feel social (ly) or culturally isolated. Chronic isolation causes people to look for relief in addiction… because (it) allows them to escape their feelings, to deaden their senses- and to experience an addictive lifestyle as a substitute for a full life.” People aren’t getting the attention somewhere in their lives so they lean towards drugs to help. Bruce explains how the culture you are in plays a huge role in to taking drugs. That it is not the chemical you are addicted to but the void you are filling.

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