If you google things like "When does someone have a drinking problem?", the vast majority of sites will use a really weird and vague definition like "If you answer yes to more than 3 of these 7 statements, you might have a problem". I think this is because we want to draw a (pretty arbitrary) line between what we consider normal drug use and addiction, when in reality it makes more sense to say that everyone who drinks or smokes semi-regularly has a light addiction. Most people manage to more-or-less stagnate on this light addiction, although from my limited experience, I feel like people generally drink ever slightly more as they age, so it is just a very slow increase in addiction, others don't.
The reason why I think this is really important is because a) it reduces stigma; Most of us are more or less in the same boat and b) addicts don't have a fundamental different psychology or life experience. Yes, if you have trauma or a generally bad life experience, you are more likely to binge on drugs, but the reasons for this are quite obvious given the definition above: The narrowing of pleasure comes both from addiction as well as external circumstances.
I agree with you on the solutions though, we need more empathic care and therapy, harm reduction plans, and reduce poverty and the causes of extreme psychological trauma where possible.
Similarly trauma is also on a sliding scale.
Agreed that low-level addiction, even in cases that it may similarly be a form of escapism, is not necessarily caused by trauma. But I think that's actually why addicts are stigmatized. I just need a little more willpower today- a good night's sleep and some exercise is often enough- to avoid addictive behaviors. But for those suffering from severe addiction it's not helpful to think with that mindset. Understanding the root cause has opened me up to truly empathizing to those with addiction- something often lacking in our society.
It really changed my outlook on severe addiction.
Gabor Mate worked with those dealing with addiction for many years. In his book, Hungry Ghosts, he explains that addiction is an escape from deep psychological pain usually caused by childhood trauma.
The solution, then, is psychological help – something we do very poorly with for addiction right now. This is in part because psychologists often don’t understand the nature of addiction either.
And we can avoid making the problem worse by not trying to punish away pain and instead implementing harm reduction strategies.