Rats, Addiction, and Friendship

It was a stunning Saturday afternoon, crystal blue sky and 70 degrees in February.

I reached out to an old friend via text:

Me: “Walk?”

Her: “I’m at the coffee shop downtown. Meet me here and we’ll walk home together!”

Me: “Great!” 

Now this friend is amazing.

She has done ayahuasca in Ecuador with the Pachamama alliance.

She is teaching Shakespeare to the inmates at San Quentin. 

She is a personal and executive coach on a spiritual journey and has something to offer the world like no one else I know.

"Have you ever heard of the Rat Park study?" she asked.

The Rat Park study was conducted in the late 1970s by Canadian psychologist Bruce Alexander, and it challenged existing beliefs about addiction.

Until then, addiction was solely attributed to the chemical hooks of substances.  

Alexander's study presented a different perspective: that environment and social factors play a significant role in addiction.

The initial studies put an isolated rat in a cage with plain water or heroin water.

Not surprisingly, given no other stimulus, the rats chose the heroin water.

Alexander wanted to try something different. To see if it was the isolation that was the problem.

He built a “rat park” and filled it with all of the activities, friends, and romantic partners a rat could want.

And these rats were also given the choice between plain water and drug-laced water.

Unliked their isolated counterparts, they showed no interest in the heroin-laced water.

This study suggested that social connection and a fulfilling environment could be strong antidotes to addiction.

We don’t “pop by” a friend’s house anymore.

Or have an impromptu cup of coffee with a neighbor.

Or even call someone out of the blue.

We are so busy, that all of these things seem “rude”.

This is terribly sad.

What are we so busy with anyway?

What could be more important than friends, family, connection?

This week, try popping by.

When you’re ready:

1) I highly recommend the same 2-hour course ($150) I used to get started posting on LinkedIn (affiliate link): THE LINKEDIN OPERATING SYSTEM

2) Book a call and let’s chat about how I can help: https://graysonhaydencall.as.me/