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Addiction, Loneliness, and Rats?
What rats tell us about friendship and addiction
Abby
9/26/20242 min read
I don't need to find examples of the data for you to agree that we are the most connected, yet lonely generation earth likely has ever seen. With a touch of a button or a "Hey Siri, call..." we can talk to just about anyone, anywhere.
At D4LC our mission is to give people tools to thrive. So, although we aren't a "mental heath" organization, we are always keeping track on people thriving.
And many of us are not.
Anxiety and suicide rates are increasing, yet access to and awareness of mental health resources are too.
Now, I'm not saying those resources aren't helping - I've had a therapist, Todd, and he was great - but clearly those are reactive solutions, not preventative ones .
This morning I was listening to a video featuring Simon Sinek, and this clip caught my attention:
If you can't watch the video right now, heres the summary:
There was a study done with rats who had options of water laced with addictive drugs. When rats were alone in the cage, they tried both kinds of water, realized what the drug water did, got addicted, then overdosed. Then, they did a second trial. This time, they added many rats. All the rats tried enough of the water where they could have gotten addicted.
But they didn't.
What this study infers is that those who are lonely are more susceptible to addiction, especially because we are social beings.
Simon then relates this and the known addictive properties of technology/social media, especially on young minds and poses the question:
Are kids getting addicted then getting lonely, or are they already lonely and therefore extra susceptible to addiction?
Either way, we don't need research to tell us that being a good friend and having good friends are important.
My challenge to you is talk to 3 of your friends today, give them a call at the minimum, and do our favorite TLC team dinner and meeting tradition: High-Low-Buffalo
Ask about a "high" (something positive recently), ask about a "low" (something negative that's happened recently), then ask about a "buffalo" (a weird, random, or funny story from the week)