In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
"...This insightful book explores the scientific and psychological causes of addiction, as well as the impact on the addicts treated at the Downtown Eastside Vancouver clinic where Mate is a physician. He widens the lens to address the larger societal problem--speaking also to the risks of more "high-status" addictions, such as wealth, power, and sex. He boldly challenges the War on Drugs, proposing a more holistic, constructive set of alternatives. A riveting, debate-provoking book about an illness that reaches all levels of society, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts provides a much-needed glimpse of hope from an innovator who is taking on addiction with startling clarity, vision, and wisdom"--Cover, p. 4.
Stats for nerds
22recommend
35mentions
27people
2015–2026years
71% recommend29% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I highly (and regularly) recommend reading Gabor Mate's "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts"
It's an enlightening read on addiction that will make you more empathetic for addicts of all types: gambling, substances, shopping, whatever.
Definitely worth a look if you find yourself asking "Why don't they just stop?"
https://www.amazon.com/Realm-Hungry-Ghosts-Encounters-Addict...
- I have never heard of someone on the streets directly for marijuana usage. Opioids are actually cheap to produce, expensive to buy.
The poverty is quite related to the costs, and I think that's where I challenge your take.
That said, the most compelling take i have heard in the first half of 'In the realm of hungry ghosts' by Gabor Mate`. He points out that we need to consider the fact that some people may be much more predisposed to opioid addiction, by either default wiring or by life experiences. In this case, is the freedom of the majority of folks to take what they want worth the risk to those who would suffer from it? I don't believe he supports the criminalization of the drug use, but he makes a good point that we need to think about this reality of different-risks.
The reason why I come back to legalization is that I cannot tolerate the fact we have such massive funding sources for the cartels (and police) in the illegal trade. It is deeply compelling to me that we would be better off without funding that society destroying business.
- I used to think that way, but I've recently gone though a series of personal experiences that led me learning a lot more about mental health,and tangentially, addiction, which encompasses a lot more than just drugs.
The book which shaped my thinking the most was In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by the Canadian physician Gabor Maté, who spent years working as the house doctor in housing for addicts. It's a hard book to read, one of the most difficult books I've ever gone through. But if you genuinely think that giving an addict temporary access to their addictive substance is enabling them, I suggest you read it and challenge that perception.
Also, one important thing you will note reading this book is that even the people actively working with addicts will often help them by directly giving them drugs (especially methadone) or even money for drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Because often, that is a step on the path to recovery, or at least, the path to getting though just one more day.
- In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté might be even more insightful then for you. Healthy and happy people don't take drugs or engage in excessive dopamine-based activities. This is not a trivial insight as it explains why only some people actually get hooked on drugs like Heroin as opposed to everybody which is what most people assume.
- > Addiction is the root issue, not overdosing
What is the root of addiction? This is the best book on it.
- Maté's book "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" helped me better understand my changed life — definitely fit more with my own struggles than Hari's also-good "Chasing the Scream" [which deals more with societal legalities].
