Stories of Addiction
Here's a link to an interesting story published today on New Scientist.com. New research shows that computer game-playing when taken to an extreme carries all the hallmarks common to other addictions. They used a few different means to gauge this, and one is the "startle" effect--those who startle easily are responding to various stimuli and are considered the "healthier" subjects; those who are fixated on gaming and cannot be "startled" are in essence held captive by the experience. There's much more to it than that, but I found it interesting. Here's the URL if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8327.
Crash stories
I've been noticing the theme of crashing--when things come tumbling down--a lot in my life lately. (Maybe because there's been some crashing right here around me.) When a crash happens, whether it's the loss of a job, the diagnosis of an illness, the failure of a dream, the loss of a marriage, or something else, noticing the themes and players involved provides rich ground for exploration. Questions might include
- Who or what caused the crash?
- What was involved in the crash?
- What was lost or gained in the crash?
- How did the crash serve the people involved?
- How did the crash solve a problem (even if unhealthily)?
- Who had agency in the situation--the person(s) affected, or the crash itself?
- What possible lessons could the crash have come to teach?
I'd like to test this out as I notice other peoples' crashes. But right now it is helpful in giving me some graspable tools to sift through my own.
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