1st Edition
The Hand of Addiction A Transcontextual and Autoethnographic Becoming
The Hand of Addiction maps out addiction from an innovative and holistic perspective, challenging the pervasive discourses surrounding addiction in many fields. Using the metaphor of a hand, the author examines addiction through five conceptual lenses- biomedical, psychological, sociocultural, developmental, and spiritual.
The book successfully integrates Gregory Bateson’s understanding of the human hand, and further extends it to the study of Addiction, studying the relationships between the different fingers (lenses) to revel how the study of addiction so far has been myopic and compartmentalized. Using an autoethnographic approach, the author constructs a transcontextual mapping of the potential of addiction, and challenges what we claim to know about addiction, aiming to understand addiction from a novel perspective. The book also discusses practical strategies that can be used to support those with addiction in various forms.
An important contribution to the literature on Addiction Studies, this book will be of great interest to academics and postgraduate students in the fields of psychology, sociology, cultural studies and other related disciplines. It will also be relevant for those interested in the philosophy and ethnography of addiction, or those working in mental health.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Series Preface
Acknowledgments
01. Introduction
My Project
02. Biological—The Thumb
Hi, My Name is Wes, and I Am Infinite Possibility
History
Present Day
03. Psychological— The Index Finger
My Psyche, My Soul, My Breathe, My Psychology: ME
Early Psychoanalytic Approaches to Understanding Addiction
04. Sociocultural—The Middle Finger
Addiction: Language Matters
Cultural and Societal Impact
Earliest Usage of Psychoactive Substances
Western Prohibition and Legislation: A Brief History
The Real War on Drugs/Just Say No
Rat Park and Vietnam
Psychosocial Integration and Disintegration
Control Societies
Breeding Grounds of Addiction/Becoming Free
05. Developmental—The Ring Finger
Developmental Psychology and Understanding Youth
The Work/To Be Fully Seen
The Perfect Storm: Impulsivity, Risk-Taking, and Sensation-Seeking
Really Live This One Moment
The Dark Side of Sensation-Seeking (Unwielded Energy)
Becoming–Child
Be Cautious Where You Set Up Camp: Ecological Mind Traversing
06. Spiritual—The Pinky Figer
Addiction and Spirituality: A Brief History
Spinoza and Immanence
Addiction and Spirituality
My First Taste of the Divine
Defining God
Stones Rule/Music Saved My Soul
Live at Slane Castle/Perceiving the Plane of Immanence Once Again
Immanent Truth
You Never Wore the Necklace, it was Your Heart and Soul
07. Playing Jazz
The Pattern That Connects
08. Working With Addiction
Addiction Treatment Field
Everyone is an Addict
Understanding the Human First and Addiction Second
Transmuting Your Pain Into Alchemical Gold
Understanding Your Complexity
References
Biography
Weston Robins is the President and Founder of Eternal Strength Center for Radical Youth Work. He obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of West Georgia in 2022. He is currently working in the fields of youth work studies, addiction studies and broad-based critical psychologies as both a researcher, teacher and clinical practitioner.
