What actually happens when someone is addicted to something? What's going on from a physical or mental point of view? An important point at the outset, is that adiction is heterogeneous for a lot of the reasons that we just described. Gambling addiction was one of the first examples i found in my research, going back to one thousand b c. You speak to somebody with a severe case of addiction, usually it's not enjoyable all ther.
Carl Erik Fisher is a psychiatrist, bioethicist and recovering alcoholic who has spent years tracing the history of addiction. His new book is The Urge: Our History of Addiction, a sweeping study of the issue and an urgent call for a more expansive, nuanced and compassionate view of one of society's most difficult challenges. In conversation with Carl is physicist, oceanographer and science presenter, Helen Czerski.
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