Pull

What is addiction? Should it only refer to alcoholism and drug addiction, or are we also dependent on gambling, sex, food, work, smartphones, and even love? Carl Erik Fisher is particularly familiar with this ancient ailment — as a psychiatrist-addictologist and as a patient. For ten years, he conducted research and wrote this book, examining the multifaceted history of addiction — medical, political, philosophical, cultural, religious. Fisher aimed not only to study all possible medications and therapy methods but also to find out why a disease that has affected the lives of millions still evokes condemnation and misunderstanding. How do we fall into the trap of addiction, and why is it so difficult for us to escape it even in the face of death? Is it even possible to eradicate it? And what in our bodies resists recovery? One thing is clear: the journey to healing must begin with compassion. After all, only it will allow us to shift the focus from the disease to its victims and understand how to help them.