Addiction is Really Not That Complicated

We seem endlessly fascinated by finding the next complicated solution to human suffering

Another model. Another theory. Another diagnosis. Another intervention

And the more sophisticated the explanation, the more intelligent we feel

But what if all this complexity is sometimes serving the ego of the person trying to help, rather than the person suffering?

We become so invested in what we know that we’re unwilling to look in a genuinely new direction

Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is admit

I don’t actually know what’s going on with this human being

And begin there

Not with another explanation

Not with another solution

But with the person

Perhaps the answers aren’t always complicated

Perhaps we’ve made understanding people complicated because we’re so reluctant to question what we think we already know