There is another subset in the field around process or behavioral addictions. We are talking about compulsive behaviors such as sex addiction, gambling addiction and addiction to making money.
Years ago I simply called it greed, but after reading this thought-provoking piece in the Times I see how it is an addiction.
The author connects the out-of-control need to earn an absurd amount of money on Wall Street to his an earlier history of alcohol and drugs abuse. With the help of his counselor, he came to see that it wasn't so much about the money (millions of it) but what it represented — the desire for power — subconscious need to feed an emotional hunger that originated from his childhood and maybe even inherited from his father.
I've been meaning to read and write about Gabor Mate, an addictions doctor, who believes that at the root of all addiction is hunger — emotional or spiritual hunger (so did Jung, by the way).
So what is it we hunger for? And how do we go about filling the void?
Which maladaptive behaviors are compulsively and guiltily engaging it?
Which substances are we ingesting to self-medicate?
What's more distressing is that our market system is being driven by a bunch of sociopathic money addicts whose compulsive need for power causes people to suffer, not just in this country, but also around the world.
http://nyti.ms/1cGibh1
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