Drug addiction, love, and the higher power.
Steve Y Sussman, Michel Reynaud, Henri-Jean Aubin, Adam M. Leventhal
Evaluation & the health professions September 2011 DOI: 10.1177/0163278711401002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Key points | Argues that reliance on a Higher Power in recovery may operate as a substitute addiction, replacing the psychobiological functions of drug use via activation of mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways. |
Abstract
This discussion piece suggests that reliance on a Higher Power in drug abuse recovery programs is entertained among some addicts for its psychobiological effects. Prayer, meditation, early romantic love, and drug abuse may have in common activation of mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways of the brain and the generation of intense emotional states. In this sense, reliance on a Higher Power may operate as a substitute addiction, which replaces the psychobiological functions formerly served by drug use. Implications of this perspective are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Restructuring reward processing with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: novel therapeutic mechanisms to remediate hedonic dysregulation in addiction, stress, and pain. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca’s entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from ‘addiction’ | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypotheses Regarding the Mechanisms of Ayahuasca in the Treatment of Addictions | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant. | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |