The Power of Addiction and The Addiction of Power: Gabor Maté at TEDxRio+20

Summary

In this TED Talk, a medical doctor from Vancouver discusses the profound impact of addiction, exploring its roots in pain and the human desire for relief. He delves into the psychological and neurological aspects of addiction, highlighting the role of dopamine and endorphins in seeking comfort and escape. The speaker also draws parallels between personal addictions and global issues, urging individuals to find inner strength and community support to overcome emptiness and effect positive change.

Takeaways

• 😔 The speaker, a medical doctor, works with severely addicted individuals in Vancouver, Canada, and confronts the reality of their early deaths due to various health issues and accidents.
• 🤔 The speaker poses the question of why people are so afraid of life that they cling to addiction, which provides temporary relief but long-term harm.
• 💊 The script discusses the nature of addiction, suggesting that substances like heroin, cocaine, and alcohol are sought after for their painkilling effects, indicating an underlying need for relief from emotional pain.
• 🧠 It highlights the role of brain chemistry, particularly dopamine and endorphins, in addiction, suggesting that those who are addicted may have underdeveloped reward and attachment circuits due to early life trauma.
• 👶 The importance of early life experiences in shaping brain development is emphasized, with abuse and neglect leading to a susceptibility to addiction in later life.
• 🎵 The speaker shares personal experiences of distraction and addiction through work and shopping for classical music, illustrating how non-substance addictions can also control one's life.
• 🌱 The concept of 'hungry ghosts' from Buddhism is introduced to describe the human tendency to seek fulfillment from external sources rather than addressing internal emptiness.
• 🌿 The script points out the interconnectedness of human suffering and environmental destruction, suggesting that societal addictions to consumerism and power mirror the self-destructive behaviors of addicts.
• 💪 The speaker contrasts the emptiness-driven pursuit of power by historical figures like Napoleon and Hitler with the inner peace and rejection of earthly power demonstrated by spiritual leaders like Buddha and Jesus.
• 🌟 The importance of finding inner light and wisdom is stressed as the key to personal and societal transformation, rather than relying on external authority figures.
• 🤝 The script concludes by advocating for the inherent cooperative and generous nature of humanity, as demonstrated by the sharing and commitment to a better world at the conference.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the speaker's talk about addiction?

The main theme of the speaker's talk is the power of addiction and its underlying causes, focusing on the relief it provides from pain and the emptiness it attempts to fill in people's lives.

Why does the speaker consider himself a failure as a doctor?

The speaker considers himself a failure because his patients, who are heavily addicted, die at a young age from various health issues related to their addictions.

What does the speaker suggest is the real question in addiction?

The speaker suggests that the real question in addiction is not 'Why the addiction?' but 'Why the pain?', implying that understanding the cause of pain is essential to addressing addiction.

What does the speaker reveal about the patients he works with in Vancouver?

The speaker reveals that his patients in Vancouver are heavily addicted to various substances, including heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and crystal meth, and they suffer from numerous health issues and often die young.

What is the speaker's personal experience with addiction?

The speaker shares that he has never used drugs but has experienced addiction through work and an obsession with buying classical music CDs, spending excessive amounts of money and neglecting personal responsibilities.

How does the speaker define addiction?

The speaker defines addiction as any behavior that provides temporary relief or pleasure but causes long-term harm and negative consequences, which a person cannot give up despite those negative outcomes.

What is the significance of dopamine in the context of addiction?

Dopamine is the incentive and motivation chemical in the brain. Addicts often seek substances that trigger a dopamine release, providing a sense of motivation and excitement, which they may lack in their lives.

What does the speaker suggest is the root cause of the pain that leads to addiction?

The speaker suggests that the root cause of the pain leading to addiction is often related to early life experiences, such as abuse and neglect, which can affect brain development and lead to a susceptibility to addiction.

How does the speaker relate the concept of 'hungry ghosts' to addiction in society?

The speaker relates the concept of 'hungry ghosts' to addiction by suggesting that people in society, like the mythical creatures, have an inner emptiness that they attempt to fill from the outside through various addictions, rather than addressing the core issue.

What message does the speaker convey about the potential for change and overcoming addiction?

The speaker conveys that change and overcoming addiction require looking inward and finding one's own inner light and nature. He emphasizes that external forces, such as those in power, are often part of the problem and cannot be relied upon to create meaningful change.

How does the speaker connect the personal experiences of addiction to broader societal and environmental issues?

The speaker connects personal experiences of addiction to societal and environmental issues by suggesting that the same underlying emptiness and attempts to fill it externally are evident in our treatment of the environment, such as overconsumption and pollution.

Outlines

00:00

😔 The Tragedy of Addiction and the Quest for Relief

The speaker, a medical doctor from Vancouver, Canada, discusses the profound impact of addiction on his patients' lives. He describes the various substances they are addicted to, such as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and crystal meth, and the severe health issues that result, including HIV, hepatitis C, and various infections. The doctor emphasizes the early deaths of his patients due to suicide, overdose, and violence, highlighting the power of addiction and the difficulty in overcoming it. He also touches on the psychological aspects, suggesting that addiction may be a coping mechanism for dealing with the fear of living and the pain of existence. The speaker questions why people are afraid of life and suggests that understanding addiction involves looking at what it provides to the individual, such as temporary relief from pain and a sense of peace and control.

05:01

🤔 The Roots of Pain and the Broad Spectrum of Addiction

This paragraph delves into the reasons behind the pain that leads to addiction. The speaker points out that substances like heroin, morphine, codeine, cocaine, and alcohol are all painkillers, and the real question should be why there is so much pain in the first place. He shares insights from Keith Richards' biography, where the musician describes his addiction as an escape from self and a search for oblivion. The speaker relates this to his own experiences with non-drug addictions, such as work and shopping for classical music, which led him to neglect his family and lie about his obsession. The concept of addiction is expanded beyond drugs to include consumerism, sex, the internet, and more. The speaker introduces the Buddhist concept of 'hungry ghosts' to illustrate the never-ending quest to fill an internal emptiness from external sources.

10:06

🧬 The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Brain Development and Addiction

The speaker explores the connection between childhood trauma and brain development, suggesting that the environment significantly shapes the brain's growth. He discusses how abuse and neglect can lead to underdeveloped brain circuits responsible for motivation and pain relief, making individuals more susceptible to addiction. Two experiments with mice are cited to illustrate the importance of dopamine for motivation and endorphins for the experience of love and attachment. The speaker argues that addiction to drugs is often a result of an attempt to compensate for the lack of these chemicals due to early life trauma. He also shares a personal story of feeling unwanted and becoming a workaholic and a music collector, which affected his relationship with his children.

15:14

🌳 The Parallels Between Personal and Global Addictions

In this paragraph, the speaker draws parallels between personal addictions and global issues such as environmental destruction and the exploitation of resources. He discusses the historical trauma of indigenous peoples and their high rates of addiction, mental illness, and suicide as a result of land dispossession and generations of abuse. The speaker challenges the audience to consider the addictions of those in power, such as wealth and power, and how these addictions contribute to global problems. He contrasts these power-hungry individuals with figures like Buddha and Jesus, who rejected earthly power, and encourages the audience to find inner strength and light to effect change, rather than relying on those in power.

Keywords

💡Addiction

Addiction is a complex condition characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences. In the video, addiction is explored as a powerful force that drives individuals to seek relief from pain and suffering through substances like heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. The speaker uses the term to discuss not only substance addiction but also other forms of addiction, such as to power or consumerism, illustrating the broad scope of addiction in human life.

💡Pain

Pain, in this context, refers to both physical and emotional suffering. The video emphasizes that addiction often arises from a need to escape or numb the pain experienced by individuals. The speaker mentions that drugs like heroin and cocaine are sought after for their painkilling effects, and the underlying question becomes why these individuals have such a profound need to escape their pain.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system. It is released in response to pleasurable activities and is implicated in the addictive process. The script explains how drugs can artificially stimulate dopamine release, creating a temporary sense of pleasure or relief, which can lead to dependency as the brain seeks to recreate this sensation.

💡Endorphins

Endorphins are natural painkillers produced by the body that also contribute to feelings of love and attachment. The video discusses how a lack of endorphin receptors in the brain can lead to a diminished capacity for experiencing love and connection, which may make individuals more susceptible to seeking these feelings through addictive substances.

💡Trauma

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can have lasting emotional effects. In the script, the speaker connects trauma, particularly childhood abuse, to the development of addiction. The idea is that individuals who have experienced trauma may turn to substances as a means of coping with or escaping from their painful memories and emotional scars.

💡Power

Power, in the context of the video, refers to the control or influence someone has over others or a situation. The speaker contrasts the addiction to power with substance addiction, suggesting that those in positions of power may also be driven by a need to fill an inner void, often leading to destructive behaviors and a disregard for the well-being of others.

💡Consumerism

Consumerism is the idea of acquiring goods and services in ever-increasing amounts as a measure of economic growth and success. The video script uses consumerism as an example of an addiction that reflects the broader societal tendency to seek fulfillment through material possessions, rather than through meaningful connections or personal growth.

💡Human Nature

Human nature refers to the fundamental characteristics and tendencies固有的特质 and tendencies of human beings. The speaker argues against the common view that human nature is inherently competitive, aggressive, and selfish, instead suggesting that humans are naturally cooperative, generous, and community-minded. This perspective is used to encourage finding solutions to global issues from within, rather than relying on external authority figures.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The video implies that by recognizing and addressing our own inner emptiness and finding fulfillment from within, we can develop greater empathy for ourselves and for nature, leading to kinder and more sustainable behaviors.

💡Self-Reflection

Self-reflection involves looking inward to examine one's own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The speaker encourages self-reflection as a means to understand and overcome addiction. By finding 'the light within,' individuals can address the root causes of their addictive behaviors and cultivate a healthier, more balanced approach to life.

💡Community

Community refers to a group of people sharing common values or interests. The video emphasizes the importance of community in overcoming addiction and addressing larger societal issues. It suggests that by connecting with others and working together, individuals can find support, inspiration, and the collective strength to create positive change.

Highlights

The speaker is a medical doctor who works with very addicted people in Vancouver, Canada.

Many of his patients die young from various health issues and overdoses.

Addiction is powerful and the speaker questions why people can't be forced to give it up.

One patient said they are more afraid of living than dying, highlighting life's challenges.

To understand addiction, one must look at what it provides, like temporary relief from pain.

Addicts often lack peace, control, and calmness in their lives, which drugs provide.

The speaker argues the real question is not 'why addiction?' but 'why the pain?'

Drugs like heroin, cocaine, and alcohol are all painkillers that soothe pain.

The speaker shares Keith Richards' perspective on addiction as an escape from self.

The speaker personally relates to the desire to escape one's mind through distractions.

His definition of addiction is any behavior that provides temporary relief but long-term harm.

The Buddhist concept of 'hungry ghosts' is used to illustrate the emptiness people feel inside.

Many addictions exist beyond drugs, including consumerism, sex, internet, shopping, and food.

The speaker's patients are in pain due to a history of abuse and trauma.

Brain development is shaped by a child's environment, impacting their susceptibility to addiction.

Experiments with mice show the importance of dopamine and endorphins for motivation and attachment.

Drugs provide a temporary dopamine hit, but the real issue is why brains are vulnerable to addiction.

Abuse in childhood can stunt the development of brain circuits related to love and attachment.

The speaker's own experiences with workaholism and music addiction illustrate the desire to fill emptiness.

He argues that addiction is a way to fill the void from unmet childhood needs.

The speaker challenges the audience to consider society's larger addictions to oil and consumerism.

He calls for finding inner light and wisdom, rather than relying on the empty promises of the powerful.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the cooperative, generous nature of humanity and our potential for positive change.

Transcripts

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Peter Ščigulinský

I've come to talk to you about addiction, the power of addiction,

but also addiction to power.

As a medical doctor, I work in Vancouver, Canada,

and I have worked with some very, very addicted people.

People who use heroin, they inject cocaine,

they drink alcohol, crystal meth and every drug known to man.

And these people suffer.

If the success of a doctor is to be measured by how long his patients live,

then I am a failure

because my patients die very young, relatively speaking.

They die of HIV, they die of hepatitis C,

they die of infections of their heart valves,

they die of infections of their brains, of their spines,

of their hearts, of their bloodstream.

They die of suicide, of overdose, of violence, of accidental deaths.

And if you look at them, you call to mind

the words of the great Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahvouz, who wrote:

"Nothing records the effects of a sad life as graphically as the human body."

Because these people lose everything.

They lose their health, they lose their beauty,

they lose their teeth, they lose their wealth,

they lose human relationships

and, in the end, they often lose their lives.

And yet, nothing shakes them from their addiction.

Nothing can force them to give up their addiction.

The addictions are powerful and the question is: why?

And as one of my patients said to me:

"I'm not afraid of dying," he said, "I'm more afraid of living."

And the question we have to ask is: Why are people afraid of life?

And, if you want to understand addiction,

you can't look at what's wrong with the addiction;

you have to look at what's right about it.

In other words, what's the person getting from the addiction?

What are they getting that otherwise they don't have?

What addicts get is relief from pain,

what they get is a sense of peace, a sense of control,

a sense of calmness, very, very temporarily.

And the question is why are these qualities missing from their lives,

what happened to them?

If you look at drugs like heroin, like morphine, like codeine,

if you look at cocaine, if you look at alcohol,

these are all painkillers.

In one way or another, they all soothe pain.

And that's why the real question in addiction

is not, "Why the addiction?," but, "Why the pain?"

Now, I just finished reading the biography of Keith Richards,

the guitarist for the Rolling Stones

and, as you probably know, everybody is still surprised

that Richards is still alive today,

because he was a heavy-duty heroine addict for a long time.

And in his biography, he writes that the addiction

was all about looking for oblivion, looking for forgetting.

He said, "The contortions that we go through

just not to be ourselves for a few hours."

And I understand that very well myself,

because I know that discomfort with myself,

I know that discomfort being in my own skin,

I know that desire to escape from my own mind.

The great British psychiatrist R.D. Laing said

that there are three things that people are afraid of.

They are afraid of death, of other people and of their own minds.

For a long time in my life, I wanted to distract myself from my own mind,

because I was afraid to be alone with it.

And how would I distract myself?

Well, I've never used drugs, but I've distracted myself through work,

and throwing myself into activities.

And I've distracted myself through shopping;

in my case, for classical compact music, classical compact discs.

But I've been a real addict that way.

One week, I spent 8,000 dollars on classical compact discs,

not because I wanted to,

but because I couldn't help going back to the store.

And as a medical doctor, I used to deliver a lot of babies.

And once I left a woman in labor in hospital

to get a classical piece of music.

I still could have made it back to the hospital on time,

but once in the store you can't leave,

because there are these evil classical music dealers in the aisles:

"Hey buddy, have you listened to the latest Mozart symphony cycle?"

"You haven't? Well..."

So I missed the delivery of that baby,

and I came home and I lied to my wife about it.

Like any addict, I would lie about it and I would ignore my own children

because of my obsession with work and with music.

So I know what that escape from the self is like.

My definition of addiction

is any behavior that gives you temporary relief, temporary pleasure,

but in the long term causes harm, has some negative consequences

and you can't give it up, despite those negative consequences.

And from that perspective, you can understand

that there are many, many addictions.

Yes, there is the addiction to drugs,

but there is also the addiction to consumerism,

there is the addiction to sex, to the internet,

to shopping, to food.

The Buddhists have this idea of the hungry ghosts.

The hungry ghosts are creatures with large empty bellies

and small, scrawny necks and tiny little mouths,

so they can never get enough,

they can never fill this emptiness on the inside.

And we are all hungry ghosts in this society,

we all have this emptiness,

and so many of us are trying to fill that emptiness from the outside

and the addiction is all about trying to fill that emptiness from the outside.

Now, if you want to ask the question of why people are in pain,

you can't look at their genetics.

You have to look at their lives.

And in the case of my patients, my highly addicted patients,

it's very clear why they are in pain.

Because they have been abused all of their lives,

they began life as abused children.

All of the women I have worked with over a 12-year period, hundreds of them,

they had all been sexually abused as children.

And the men had been traumatized as well.

The men had been sexually abused, neglected,

physically abused, abandoned

and emotionally hurt over and over again.

And that's why the pain.

And there is something else here too: the human brain.

The human brains itself, as you've heard already,

develops an interaction with the environment.

It's not just genetically programed.

So the kind of environment that a child has

will actually shape the development of the brain.

Now, I can tell you about two experiments with mice.

You take a little mouse and you put food in its mouth

and he'll eat it and enjoy it and swallow it,

but if you put the food down a few inches away from his nose,

he will not move to eat it;

he will actually starve to death rather than eat.

Why?

Because, genetically, they knocked out the receptors for a chemical in the brain

called dopamine.

Dopamine is the incentive and motivation chemical.

Dopamine flows whenever we are motivated,

excited, vital, vibrant, curious about something,

when we are seeking food or a sexual partner.

Without the dopamine, we have no motivation.

Now what do you think the addict gets?

When the addict shoots cocaine,

when the addict shoots crystal meth or almost any drug,

they get a hit of dopamine in their brain.

And the question is,

what happened to their brains in the first place?

Because it's a myth that drugs are addictive.

Drugs are not by themselves addictive,

because most people who try most drugs never become addicted.

So the question is,

why are some people vulnerable to being addicted?

Just like food is not addictive, but to some people it is;

shopping is not addictive, but to some people it is;

television is not addictive, but to some people it is.

So the question is, why this susceptibility?

There's another little experiment with mice

where infant mice,

if they are separated from their mothers will not cry for their mothers.

Now what would that mean in the wild?

It means that they would die,

because only the mother protects the child's life and nurtures the child.

And why?

Because genetically they knocked out the receptors,

the chemical binding sites in the brain, for endorphins

and endorphins are indigenous morphine-like substances;

endorphins are our own natural painkillers.

What morphine or endorphins also do is they make possible the experience of love;

they make possible the experience of attachment to the parent

and the parents' attachment to the child.

So these little mice without endorphin receptors in their brains

will naturally not call for their mothers.

In other words,

the addiction to these drugs and of course the heroine and the morphine,

what they do is they act on the endorphin system;

that's why they work.

And so, the question is,

what happens to people that they need these chemicals from the outside?

Well, what happens to them is, when they are abused as children,

those circuits don't develop.

When you don't have love and connection in your life,

when you are very, very young,

then those important brain circuits just don't develop properly.

And under conditions of abuse, things just don't develop properly

and their brains then are susceptible when they do the drugs.

Now they feel normal, now they feel pain relief,

now they feel love.

And as one patient said to me: "When I first did heroine," she said,

"it felt like a warm soft hug, just like a mother hugging her baby."

Now, I've had that same emptiness, not to the same degree as my patients.

What happened to me is that I was born in Budapest, Hungary,

in 1944, to Jewish parents,

just before the Germans occupied Hungary.

And you know what happened to the Jewish people in Eastern Europe.

And I was 2 months old when the German army moved into Budapest.

And the day after they did, my mother phoned the pediatrician

and she said,

"Would you please come and see Gabor because he is crying all the time."

And the pediatrician said, "Of course, I will come to see him,

but I should tell you, all of my Jewish babies are crying."

Now why?

What do babies know about Hitler or genocide or war?

Nothing.

What we were picking up on is the stresses and the terrors

and the depression of our mothers

and that actually shapes the child's brain.

And of course, what happens then

is I get the message that the world doesn't want me,

because if my mother is not happy around me,

she must not want me.

Why do I become a workaholic later?

Because if they don't want me, at least they are going to need me.

And I'll be an important doctor and they are going to need me

and that way I can make up

for the feeling of not being wanted in the first place.

And what does that mean?

It means that I am working all the time,

and when I am not working, I'm consumed by buying music.

What message do my kids get?

My kids get the same message that they are not wanted.

And this is how we pass it on, we pass on the trauma,

and we pass on the suffering, unconsciously,

from one generation to the next.

So obviously, there are many, many ways to fill this emptiness,

and for each person, there is a different way of filling the emptiness,

but the emptiness always goes back

to what we didn't get when we were very small.

And then we look at the drug addict and we say to the drug addict,

"How can you possibly do this to yourself?

How can you possibly inject this terrible substance into your body

that may kill you?"

But look at what we are doing to the earth.

We are injecting all kinds of things into the atmosphere

and the oceans and the environment

that is killing us, that's killing the earth.

Now which addiction is greater?

The addiction to oil? Or to consumerism?

Which causes the greater harm?

And yet we judge the drug addict

because we actually see that they are just like us

and we don't like that.

So we say, "You are different from us, you are worse than we are."

(Applause)

On the plane to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro,

I was reading the New York Times, on June 9th,

and there was an article about Brazil

and the article was about a man called Nísio Gomes,

a leader of the Guarani people in the Amazon,

who was killed last November and you probably heard about him.

And he was killed because he was protecting his people

from the big farmers and the companies

that are taking over the rainforest and destroying the rainforest

and that are destroying the habitat of the native Indian people here in Brazil.

And I can tell you that coming from Canada the same thing has happened over there.

And many of my patients are actually First Nation's Indian people,

native Indian people in Canada, and they are heavily addicted.

They make up a small percentage of the population,

but they make up a large percentage of the people in jail,

the people who are addicted,

the people who are mentally ill,

the people who commit suicide. Why?

Because their lands were taken away from them,

and because they were killed and abused for generations and generations.

But the question I ask is,

if you can understand the suffering of these native people

and how that suffering makes them seek relief from pain in their addictions,

what about the people who are perpetrating it?

What are they addicted to?

Well, they are addicted to power,

they are addicted to wealth,

they are addicted to acquisition.

They want to make themselves bigger.

And when I was trying to understand the addiction to power,

I looked at some of the most powerful people in history.

I looked at Alexander the Great, I looked at Napoleon, I looked at Hitler,

I looked at Genghis Kahn, I looked at Stalin.

It's very interesting when you look at these people.

First of all, why did they need power so much?

Interestingly enough,

physically they were all very small people,

my size or smaller; actually smaller.

They came from outsiders,

they were not part of the major population.

Stalin was a Georgian, not a Russian; Napoleon was a Corsican, not a Frenchman;

Alexander was a Macedonian, not a Greek; and Hitler was an Austrian, not a German.

So a real sense of insecurity and inferiority.

And they needed power to feel okay in themselves,

to make themselves bigger,

and in order to get that power, they were quite willing to fight wars

and to kill a lot of people, just to maintain that power.

I'm not saying that only small people can be power-hungry

but it is interesting to look at these examples,

because power, the addiction to power, is always about the emptiness

that you try and fill from the outside.

And Napoleon, even in exile on the island of St. Helena,

after he lost his power, he said, "I love power, I love power."

He couldn't think of himself without power.

He had no sense of himself without being powerful externally.

And that's very interesting when you compare it to people

like the Buddha or Jesus,

because if you look at the story about Jesus and Buddha,

both of them were tempted by the devil

and one of the things that the devil offers them is power, earthly power,

and they both say no.

Now why do they say no?

They say no because they have the power inside of themselves,

they don't need it from the outside.

And they both say no because they don't want to control people,

they want to teach people.

They want to teach people by example and by soft words,

and by wisdom, not through force; so they refuse power.

And it's very interesting what they say about that.

Jesus says that the power and the reality is not outside of yourself but inside.

He says the Kingdom of God is within.

And the Buddha, before he dies and his monks are mourning and crying

and they are all upset,

he says, "Don't mourn me," he says, "And don't worship me.

Find a lamp inside yourself, be a lamp unto yourselves, find a light within."

And so as we look this difficult world with the loss of the environment

and global warming and the depredations in the oceans,

let's not look to the people in power to change things,

because the people in power, I'm afraid to say, are very often

some of the emptiest people in the world

and they are not going to change things for us.

We have to find that light within ourselves,

we have to find the light within communities

and within our own wisdom and our own creativity.

We can't wait for the people in power to make things better for us,

because they are never going to, not unless we make them.

They say that human nature is competitive, that human nature is aggressive,

that human nature is selfish.

It's just the opposite; human nature is actually cooperative,

human nature is actually generous, human nature is actually community-minded.

What we see here at this conference with people sharing information,

people receiving information, people committed to the better world,

that's actually human nature.

And what I am saying to you is,

if you find that light within, if you find your own nature,

then we will be kinder to ourselves

and we will also be kinder to nature.

Thank you.

(Cheers) (Applause)