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What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

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251–260 of 302 posts

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#251
post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent commenter probably read this book: https://www.gitbook.com/book/hintjens/psychopathcode/details I read it to. The thesis is basically that - societal norms are designed to make it easy for normal people to notice psychopaths and avoid them. The book is pretty convincing, I'd give it a look. I didn't notice too many numbers or studies quoted in it, though. Presented without evidence though, parent commenter…

One aspect of a rule is that it serves as a test to highlight those who can't/won't follow it (a psychopath). But that's not the only function...

Very true, yeah.

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#252
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not always about recovery, but harm reduction.

best is the enemy of better, sometimes we can only do better and best is a pipe dream. I spent most of my life so far learning this.

And sometimes better is our best. I'm on Suboxone. I'm okay with that. Harm reduction is a good thing.

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#253
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way. I wonder if white people are the only racial group that demonstrate some kind of a preference for other members of their racial group, and if not, what the implications would be if one racial group stopped having such a preference and other racial groups did not follow suit.

That reads like a barely veiled attempt to justify racism as something that "everyone does". Because it's well-known that stereotyping works on everyone. And yes, black people can be racist against whites, or also against other blacks. But that doesn't justify anything. In the particular case of the US, it also ignores that white (men) overwhelmingly control the levers of power, answering your question with a resound…

I assure you I'm not trying to justify anything. I'm just speculating on the consequences of people behaving in certain ways.

Would you agree that white men have lost at least some of their control over the levers of power as you call them since the founding of this country when they had total control? Would you agree that it's perfectly possible for white men to lose even more of that power, perhaps even to the point where they are no longer the dominant political force, especially given the changes in demographics in the United States, and especially if white men display a low level of preference for members of their own race? Do you agree that is an outcome which many people consider to be extremely desirable and which many people are working toward achieving?

Assuming that other racial groups also show some preference for members of their own group, what do you expect would be the consequence to white people of this choice to show a low level of preference for other members of their own racial group?

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#254

OP here. An interesting takeaway I had was the importance of community. Does anyone know any non-profits or startups working to increase people's sense of community at a mass scale? It seems this is missing from large parts of the western world and has many consequences.

Uh, well, maybe not a popular answer here, but that is one thing churches are really good at.

With churches, there are a few problems that are intellectually repellent, meaning they won't solve for certain personality types.

Namely:

  1. artificial social heirarchy
  2. magical thinking
  3. group think
  4. rules without reason
Part of religion is often about imposing order on the irrational aspects of experience and reality, but there's a lot of centuries-old cruft and inertia behind the ones that exist.

When you take apart any given religion, and inspect individual parts, and place those parts within the context of a small, insular village, dispossessed of plumbing, medicine or indoor heating, any single part starts to make sense. But many are far, far away from that, and need not invest in superstition.

Morality is great, but in some cases morality without purpose translates to overbearing fear imposed with motive.

Mythology and folklore are good for illustrating practical principles and relationships between ideas, but some people refuse to consider whether the ant and the grasshopper never actually happened.

All this taken together, often tips the scales toward cognitive dissonance for some who think too deeply about bald facts. I don't have a solution to fix this, but I've seen what happens when smart people try to reimagine a modern religion that might fit current scenarios, and it's usually equally terrible.

Someone will eventually figure this modern community rationale problem out, but it's not something you can just fake or make up for its own sake. It's something that needs to (seem to) happen organically, on its own, and remain authentic. Sounds pretty difficult if you ask me.

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#255

OP here. An interesting takeaway I had was the importance of community. Does anyone know any non-profits or startups working to increase people's sense of community at a mass scale? It seems this is missing from large parts of the western world and has many consequences.

It reminds me of things Mother Teresa (who was at times a horrendous person, her Nobel acceptance speech is pretty disturbing and cruel) said about American/western society. She remarked that although a person in India might be radically more poor, even if they were starving in the street, they knew people would reach out to them and cared for them. In America, no matter how rich you are, you feel far more alone than…

I don't think I've ever seen someone starving in the street in the US. I totally disagree with the sentiment that Americans wouldn't help each other. There is a lack of community here and that would be a nice problem to solve, but we aren't heartless.

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#256
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prison system is highly privatized. Prisons with more people in them make more money and have a higher return on investment. Prisons that have repeat visitors can out compete prisons that do not. Therefore, there is a selection towards not keeping an inmate out of prison in the future. I hate how tinfoil hat-y this sounds, and I'm certainly no expert, so feel free to offer alternatives

The ACLU, using from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, says that "for-profit companies were responsible for approximately 7 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal prisoners in 2015" I don't think that count's as "highly" privatized. I personally think the incentives involved in the private prison system present major ethical issues, but I think we need to look at the incentives involved with the our leg…

While private prisons account for a relatively small percentage of total prisons in America, they're a multi-billion dollar industry, and they lobby for laws that affect all prison populations. So, in that sense, we do have a highly privatized prison system.

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#257

> Consequently, do not try to use legal consequences as a way to help people you love, and if possible, bail them out if they get arrested for drug crimes. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hold them accountable, but do so in ways that are less likely to lead to lifelong problems. Meaningful employment is an important factor in recovery — and few things are more harmful to the chances of getting a good job than having…

I've been thinking about similar things in the context of a basic income. If we were to just pass a law and guarantee a significant basic income I think it would have disastrous effects and fail miserably. A guaranteed income is a good goal, but before we do that we need to figure out how to replace meaningful employment with other meaningful activities. People need a purpose. If we can alter our culture and separate…

> I've been thinking about similar things in the context of a basic income. If we were to just pass a law and guarantee a significant basic income I think it would have disastrous effects and fail miserably. A guaranteed income is a good goal, but before we do that we need to figure out how to replace meaningful employment with other meaningful activities. People need a purpose.

I don't think so. I think people can find a purpose without us imposing one on them.

> If I can get anything I want from a replicator in the wall, what are my incentives to still better myself and work towards something?

Why do people get really good at chess when there is little extrinsic motivation in it? If some people just want to hang around, is that really a "problem" we need to address?

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been thinking about similar things in the context of a basic income. If we were to just pass a law and guarantee a significant basic income I think it would have disastrous effects and fail miserably. A guaranteed income is a good goal, but before we do that we need to figure out how to replace meaningful employment with other meaningful activities. People need a purpose. If we can alter our culture and separate…

> I've been thinking about similar things in the context of a basic income. If we were to just pass a law and guarantee a significant basic income I think it would have disastrous effects and fail miserably. A guaranteed income is a good goal, but before we do that we need to figure out how to replace meaningful employment with other meaningful activities. People need a purpose. I don't think so. I think people can f…

Does maintaining an opioid addiction count as a meaningful purpose? Who's to say it's not (as long as it doesn't harm anyone else)?

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#259
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ACLU, using from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, says that "for-profit companies were responsible for approximately 7 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal prisoners in 2015" I don't think that count's as "highly" privatized. I personally think the incentives involved in the private prison system present major ethical issues, but I think we need to look at the incentives involved with the our leg…

While private prisons account for a relatively small percentage of total prisons in America, they're a multi-billion dollar industry, and they lobby for laws that affect all prison populations. So, in that sense, we do have a highly privatized prison system.

And it is highly privatized in the sense that the amount of privatization in that sector should probably be zero. When incarceration is a burden rather than a business, incentives exist to prevent crime and reduce recidivism. Otherwise, there are incentives to invent crimes that did not previously exist and turn ex-convicts into "repeat customers".

Re: What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While private prisons account for a relatively small percentage of total prisons in America, they're a multi-billion dollar industry, and they lobby for laws that affect all prison populations. So, in that sense, we do have a highly privatized prison system.

And it is highly privatized in the sense that the amount of privatization in that sector should probably be zero. When incarceration is a burden rather than a business, incentives exist to prevent crime and reduce recidivism. Otherwise, there are incentives to invent crimes that did not previously exist and turn ex-convicts into "repeat customers".

And it is highly privatized in the sense that the amount of privatization in that sector should probably be zero.

I could only agree more if you removed probably.

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