Moby may be the most famous electronic musician of our day. He talked about addiction in a recent interview, and he made a lot of sense. Here’re some excerpts:
I’m clean and sober now, but I’ve spent most of my adult life not being that. What fascinates me about addiction and obsessive behaviour is that people would choose an altered state of consciousness that’s toxic and ostensibly destroys most aspects of your normal life, because for a brief moment you feel okay. It’s a response to the human condition that, when it works, is incredibly effective.
See, addiction isn’t as puzzling as many in the recovery culture like to make it out to be. Drugs offer an altered state of consciousness, and to some people at some times, this is preferable to dealing with reality.
One of the reasons I don’t drink or do drugs anymore was because it stopped working and it was inhibiting my ability to have a decent life. And that’s one of the only things that matters. It’s why crack addicts eventually stop smoking crack, because it makes them sick and prevents them from having a good life. It hurts them and it hurts the people around them.
Is addiction a disease, or is it a matter of choice? Testimonials like this indicate that it’s a matter of choice. At the point that the drugs stopped working, that is, when the user perceived the costs as outweighing the benefits, he stopped. Diseases don’t respond to matters of costs and benefits, but the human mind does.
The perfect way of looking at it for me is… junk food is very seductive, but I know if I eat a lot of junk food — even if it makes me happy in the short-term — it won’t make me happy in the long-term. Whereas, healthy food might not be as seductive, but I actually enjoy eating it and it creates a state that can be sustained and I can experience happiness for a while. And I feel like almost everything in my life can be looked at that way. Is it quick, desperate, obsessive grabbing happiness? Or is it patient, long-term sustainable happiness?
And this just nails it home. It’s a choice between short term pleasure and long term happiness. In this quick interview, Moby has covered the most important points of a mature view of substance use and addiction. If you can orient your mind to look at addiction in this way, you may find that a positive lasting choice to change your substance use habits will follow very shortly.
read the full interview here.
Great find! Will check out the remainder of the interview. Thanks for the post!
Thank you so much, great interview as I was looking for testimonials or examples of people who have changed and how. Moby is an awesome guy and I respect his words and personal views on the topic. I am so grateful for the information you are putting out into the world. I struggle with drugs and alcohol and am searching to find a way out of the cycle and damage its causing. My father died two years ago from not being able to make better choices, one of the last things he told me was that he felt trapped. Everyone around him saw a better life for him but he never saw that for himself so he perished as a result. My usage has gone up a lot since his passing, I am looking to be happier just as you explained, and substances offer a great momentary happiness, but I feel empty afterwards and luckily when I am worn out from using theres a voice deep inside that says theres a better way. I am on a quest and fairly open about my struggles although I am still using. I am working with a therapist learning to be more compassionate towards myself and to make better choices. He has been a great advocate for choices. I have wanted to somehow find a way to be clean and present and to process all my pain without going back to AA. I was sober in AA for 4 years in my 20s but began to resent their concepts of disease and powerlessness although there were aspect to the program that helped me. I dont see going back there as an option that will work for me. I am in a different place now and want to be empowered to feel in control of my life.
I so completely appreciate what is being offered here as I do believe I have a choice everyday and I can believe there is something better for me out there and I dont need to ruin my life to this. Perhaps the greatest lesson I will come to appreciate learning from my dad is that I actually do have a choice, as he would only want me to be happy just as we wanted for him to be. Thank you again for putting into words something that has been a very personal struggle for me and so many, for revealing another way a happy fulfilling life can be achieved and for all the work you put into yourself to get here. Choice is awesome.