I’m currently in the freedom model outpatient program. If you are struggling, look into this program. I can’t give this program enough praise! It will change your life. I promise you!

Awesome perspective on a major problem. I had heard from other sources that isolation and labeling an addict is bad, but never with the reasons given here. Giving someone the power that they have the ability to consciously choose their future instead of telling them they have a hopeless lifelong problem, and then helping them reacclimiate into society, I think is a powerful combination to end the addiction cycle. Thanks for a GREAT talk Steven, stay strong!

This enlightening. I think the disease model really shames people whereas this feels empowering. Thanks.

A parent watching a kid fall on the playground. I love that analogy.

Wow this guy speaks against basically everything I’ve ever read or been taught. I don’t know how I feel about it but it got me thinking.

I loved this talk. It creates a new perspective and gives the power back to the individual. 💗

Maybe we should listen to recovered addicts more often than those in suits and their labs who say they know better. Thumbs up! And I also recommend listening to Marc Lewis, a scientist and former addict, he has the same approach. I also have a feeling that people who strongly oppose Steven's words are those who are attached mentally to the concept of disease and don't want to give it up and feel like the responsibility is on them again. Although nothing is easy and once you're hooked on something, it will take efforts and mental strength to battle the addiction, I personally prefer the thought of being able to fight it myself once and for all than to feel helpless and forever addicted.

My biggest challenge with his argument is the impact the users lifestyle has on everyone around them until they overcome. The label doesn't matter. The behaviour and it's impact definitely does. I truly believe that the opposite of "addiction" is connection. The smartest of us have learned through a great deal of trial and error how to maintain compassion towards users (these are good people making different lifestyle choices to our own) but also maintain strongly held boundaries for ourselves until a users choices demonstrate that having them close is safe, mentally, emotionally, physically or financially for us too. Because we're worth it also. A relationship, any relationship has to be reciprocal. A person can love you deeply, be willing to forgive you, accept you, embrace you and build a life with you but not willing to have your "choices" or even your label or lack of label affect their own lane.

I total understand what this guy is saying. U don’t label a smoker an addict for the rest of his life so why do u label a drug or alcohol addict an addict for the rest of his life. You basically box urself in with this mindset and this mindset is what makes u stay in the place of being An addict forever. An AA did not work for me or the 12 steps. That program needs to be updated. Ppl also need to be open minded about other ways of getting treatment to recover other then just AA or NA.. it’s not a one program fits all.

I spent years using without any treatment. Never heard of meetings. And when I went through withdrawal it was no good at all and i stole to get that rush again and get feeling better. No one had to tell me id feel better I knew the best hit was when i was sick. This is very bias based on his experience. When i eventually read a NA book it was CRAZY. I was reading who id been all those years. It was likr i wrote part of the book. Its crazy like literally I hared using and couldn't ever stop. Reading others went through the same thing was a game changer. I was no longer alone and on the fringe I now had a community. And i don't know what treatment he went to..... This guy is half right half the time. I appreciate and understand him but he's basing everything hes saying with or without research on his own experience....

I agree it is a choice, sometimes an easy choice, to escape the real negative feelings brought up by living on planet earth! When a person is diagnosed with a mental disorder, they may take on the label and think they cannot overcome it and get well. As a peer support worker I let peers know that their life can change, they may not always have depression or anxiety. Sometimes it is 'believing in yourself' or the higher power and changing your situation, learning coping skills and positive self talk, that takes away anxiety or depression. When life is better and the person happy or content, medication and drugs are not required. Though I know that mental disorders are sometimes helped by drugs or medication.

I really resonated with this! I’ve never heard any of this before! Thank you!🙏🏻

I have experienced an element of truth in what he says, and not. I couldn't stop on my own. I tried many times BEFORE thinking of myself as an addict. I once stopped using for nearly 3 months. It happened after finding a tribe of people that supported me in life, and that same group of people holding a gathering overseas. I wanted to connect with them there and I KNEW to do so I had to clean up my act and go to work to afford the trip. I was happy with my new choice and did extremely well. Then I relapsed. I suddenly needed local, physical help and had no one to help take care of me after a surgery. I started using again, thinking I could just stop. I told myself I would after 3 weeks, and 5 weeks later I was still using daily. I reached out for help from a leader in that group - a recovered addict. He sent me to NA. In that program, once I identified as an addict, I couldn't string more than about 30 days together without relapsing... They told me I had an incurable disease and one is too many and a thousands not enough and alcohol is a drug which would cause me to relapse. Funny how each time it was alcohol that lead me back to my drug of choice. I started acting like an addict and grew more miserable in recovery than I had ever been in active addiction. Sharing this made me a heretic. I became more isolated than before and the emotional pain I went through was nothing short of trauma. Likely relived stuff from my childhood. NA just didn't work for me. It turned me into an emotional mess and made it harder to quit using. I stopped looking for support and answers through recovery, where only their material is allowed, and I'm back to myself. I got strong in my choice to quit the substance I had problems with... Just yesterday I had drinks at a 4th of July party and my drug of choice was offered to me and I said no, I don't like who I become on it. So I have experienced a variety of manifestations with my addiction. When told I was powerless over it, I got worse. When told alcohol would lead me back, it did... So the power of suggestion did adversely affect me... But it was far more than just a choice to use because I liked it. I stopped liking it and wanted to quit, but was overcome by the obsession and compulsion to use. I would start the activity to use and know in the moment that I was going to do it and what the consequences would be. I would know I didn't really want it consciously, yet I'd watch myself do it anyway, KNOWING I would be upset with myself the moment I did it. I felt like I was on autopilot, heading towards a crash, knowing I was going to crash and just watching it happen as if I was paralyzed to take control. So on one hand yeah... The message can drive one deeper into addiction, but on the other... It's not as simple as you do it cuz you like it and you can just stop. I still have cravings. I just know where it takes me, so that one substance is my kryptonite... Rather than seeing myself as an addict, I see the fixation of my addiction as a substance that weakens me. Then I remain vigilant that alcohol and other drugs never get into addictive use... I have to hybrid these contrasting approaches and keep what works for me.

This was so damn refreshing. Thank you friend.

can see how that could be true.. if the more they focus on it being a problem the more it's unstoppable..

Great talk. Draws parallels with over-diagnosis of mental health disorders. Perhaps we should be cautious of accepting these labels that for some, valididates their behavior and makes it seem that they are destined to be ill for the rest of their lives. Belief is powerful and humans are resilient with more strength than they may know.

Disease ideology is unsubstantiated and more crucially it’s unhelpful. You don’t need to be chained to your addiction for life. I’m very much looking forward to my copy of the freedom model!

WOW! What an AWESOME MESSAGE -i have experienced similar things & agree "society" has made it worse

This has been happened to me. Before I want to rehab center I could stop using by myself without any help from anyone,but once I went to rehab center my mind change a lot. The stories of addiction, relapse prevention,mental disease etc kept my mind in confusion. Not knowing anything was better for me, truth to be told. Now there is a fear inside me that I can't stop using without any help from other's. So there is good reason to join rehab who works for them but for me it wasn't really a very good reason.

i totally agree with you here. i really think its the belief that its really addictive that affects how your going to feel. also I talk to the cells of my body. that seems to help to.

wow I never saw this ...Steven you should have told me and posted this link to my FACEBOOK ... This is fantastic .

Bro wish I had heard this years ago dude makes sense. I neber went to rehab did drugs form 14 til 35 10 months clean but just the idea of what he’s saying make sense. Once went to a methadone clinic and ppl were in there forever wqs the worse thing I did cause that’s when I started mixing drugs so he makes a valid point

THANK YOU.

I love this! Thank you!!!

I am am addict and I’m studying addiction treatment... the AA model works for some. This mentality works for others. Those that are naysaying these words...AA worked for you. It didn’t work for others. Brains are different. Be open minded and kind.

Very interesting perspective. I have noticed and felt it was counter productive the powerlessness some programs teach people dealing with addiction and the shame put on users. It keeps people in victim mode and shame mode. I've often wondered how can that help???? My son struggles with addiction and has for some years now. Knowing the philosophy of this program, maybe he would be willing to go through it because it empowers people.

Someone asked me in the reply and comments how do we talk to our own cells. Well for addiction it helps to talk out load so the cells can hear you. And theyll respond to what you say. Yout the boss of your body. You need to believe that this will work. Tell yourself how much your really grateful for being there try telling your body its already healed and have gratitude. And faith xxx

I love your talk°thank you so much for sharing

Wonderful I really enjoyed this talk

I work in a rehab facility and when someone says "I can stop anytime." I always respond with "youre right. What's stopped you?" I've found management isn't too keen on approaches that differ from the disease model.

Appreciate that you say most not all.

thank-you

A separate study published by the CDC and the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2020 found 3 out of 4 people who experience addiction eventually recover. "So that's huge, you know, 75%," Kelly said. "I think it kind of goes against our cultural perception that people never get better."

I’m a member of aa but I think this guy has some really valid points and thoughts on addiction which I enjoyed, but I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong way of looking at it. I think people need to overcome their addiction in whatever way works for them there’s not just one way. Addiction is by definition an illness. If you look up the term ill and read through fully, you will see there listed characteristics of addiction, a mental illness with physical presentations. Further evidence suggests it is often progressive, chronic, and can be fatal so if that doesn’t qualify it as a disease then I don’t know what does.

I know I am late to the party but just watched this and am in addiction counseling...could you post some of your sources...particularly the 9/10 recovery without treatment?

The argument on both sides of this isn't even needed. It's simple, if it works for YOU stick with it. We all don't operate on the same belief systems. If A.A works good ! If you require a different approach, then use it. Simple !

This is great, so true

This is fascinating because I'm just now concidering going back into rehab cuz I've been using and am convinced I can't stop on my own but he's right. I didn't feel like a real addict until after I went through rehab and if I do go back I could lose my son. Do I really need to go or can I stop on my own and not set myself back 2 years in recovery. Am I in denial or just have no self control?

Very interesting Steven. I will order your book. I am about to start helping at an addition organisation due to my interest in the field of addiction and I am glad I have stumbled upon this perspective as it's sure made me think. Thank you.

Easily the best talk on addiction I've ever heard, by far. I wish there were more people as insightful regarding addiction chose to speak out. I wish I had watched this 20 years ago before being polluted with the defeatest disease/12 step doctrine

3 of my kids have not gotten over it. Daughter age 50, son age 40 another son 35. Daughter had many treatments. None of sons did. Ruined, painful. lost lives. 😣😥

This is true to point, yes the label itself "addict" becomes your identity for many, this is why I hated AA, but he just makes it sound so simple.The brain goes through extreme chemical changes with drug abuse and many times its permanent damage, and help is needed by doctors, not rehab. The brain has to recondition itself to live in the real world, and the only way that is done is by replacing your substance (such as alcohol) in the setting you drank, lets say a rootbeer, when you actively keep doing this it will eventually create a new habit, and when you go into that place of past drinking the craving will be gone for booze, and the rootbeer is enough. A huge study was done about this.

This is really interesting. I can see the psychological basis for it in that rehab and addiction groups might effectively prime people with a particular mentality and create certain social norms that people internalise (e.g. that if you have a bad day, you will want to drink/whatever). The concept of being 'powerless' never sat well with me, surely you want people to believe that they are more, not less powerful than their addiction? Then, as the speaker says, if they relapse, it is characterised as a choice for which the user is accountable, not an inevitability that is beyond their control.

This is not maybe true it's 100% true the St. Jude Retreat saved my life, had I of gone to a 12 step rehab I have no doubt it would have killed me.

I am a recovery addict and I dont agree. Alot of the things he says happens in treatment, never happened when I was there. I know in my heart that treatment saved my life.

i really liked what he said about, we are in control and we can stop if we allow it to .

When WE USE IT...WE REALLY.HAVE THE...POWER!!!! BUT THERE ARE FACTORS TO ADDICTION...WE ARE CHASING A DREAM...A DIFFERENT FEELING OR A RELIEF FROM A FEELING...BUT WHO IS REALLY IN CONTROL? Since we ar all DIFFERENT...WE ACCEPT AND OR DENY PROBLEMS IN OUT LIVES..

From this, I do feel that I caused this due to me thinking I was doing the right thing with my son. Long story

I woulda gotten over mine when I was dead. I needed treatment.

So where do I get real help for my daughter?

Yes, I am the parent on the playground.

Im sick and tired of my cokaine addiction and I hate the fact that I keep going back no matter how much help I get....

I'm open to this fellow's idea, however I'm a little skeptical. I'm not a fan of the 12 step model, and I completely agree that it's counterproductive to tell people that they're powerless. On the flip side, this gent is assuming causation with correlation - that rehab is *creating* chronic relapse. I need to see data to be convinced.

Literature to study: Bouncing back by Alan Partridge

I wonder if this is the same for those that have a mental health disorder. I know some that were "addicted" , and they quit pretty easy, when they were ready to quit, and don't struggle, BUT they don't have a mental health issue.

Yea, our son

5 stars

i think you are right and wrong. Your case is like mine. When i was 19 i loved partying and blacked out and committed a crime. Bam I was an addict... Although I just drank on weekends. I was told over and over I was powerless so i began to drink. I havve gone on benders and have withdrawals. But after the withdrawal I am good. I love drugs but now I am at a point I am choosing to cut down or stop. Was a great option, not really now

Yup! My daughters got worse. One daughter is dead. The other is being drugged legally by her mental health doctor. He's her drug dealer now. It's horrible. Legal but not lawful.

Where did you get these statstics

If so many people get over it so why do we have In 2020, 91,799 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States

Do no t think thirds would work. But...

He must not know any of the chronic relapsers I know.

You may want to tell your buddies in TFM to get real. I can disagree if I like about workshop methods and payment. Shunning and blocking me is as bad as AA it is utter greed!!!!!!!!!!

What a man thinks a man becomes

lol working for a treatment center and helping addicted people recover is a huge maintenance for recovery.

Do not! And I mean -- NEVER -- participate in that all too common ritual of stating, "Numerous studies show this to be true..." without naming a single title of a paper and/or the research author. You've now by default made me believe you're either using embellishment or outright lying to push a narrative. Give credence and some credibility to your claim by offering at least one research study, if there's so many as you've just stated. Otherwise, just state the hypothesis or research question. I actually like your point but to not provide the work showing it is beyond off-putting. I've been in this field for a while and can state from experience, observation and research that 1 in 10 people diagnosed w a severe addiction to a substance that have been abusing for at least 5-yrs, which is the standard measurement of time to determine if a person is considered a long-term addict stops using, with or without treatment. 10% success rates do not exist. Period. I call BS.

If you are truly chemically dependent, you would understand that at a point , the physical withdrawal is not what’s horrifying anymore. It’s the mental. The sheer thought of having to get out of bed in the morning bc your brain stops producing dopamine. You have no ambition or motivation to open your eyes and get out of bed. It seems like the most difficult thing in the entire world the thought of having to get up, brush your teeth, take a shower and - go to work? That’s the terrifying part of this. These chemicals literally take away your motivation for living.

I tried doing it myself, could not do it. Treatment and AA saved my life honestly, it’s not what this guy is making it out to be, then again I understand it doesn’t work for everyone. To each his own.

I don't have much knowledge about the subject. But during most of the video you just bashed the current model of treatments in rehab and only at the end you mentioned freedom model. I think telling addicts that they are addicts makes reality sink in and they would try their best to avoid relapse. A lot of things in this video didn't make sense to me like the part you compared addiction with homosexuality and feminism. We can't normalise addiction for the greater good of society. The freedom model you boasted about might have worked for you and few others.

Who paid for all the treatment. I hope that you were not one of those people that decided to start doing drugs then have Other people pay for you to live and get well. Im sure you had good insurance.

addiction treament creates addicts. how do addicts first come into contact with treatment options??? they werent addicts before. seriously screwed up opinions from this guy.

People make choices. Ive been on my own since i was 16. I had to work. Mommy and daddy Never babyed me. I learned real quick no one was going to pay my rent. Put me on there cell phone plan. Put me on there insurance plan. And feed me. That was my choice. Im 60. Ive never once asked anyone for help. I learned a trade and worked hard. 60. 70. hour work weeks. What i see today is these kids want it all handed to them.

The information & statistics given at the beginning of this talk are extremely inaccurate. The purpose of identifying as an addict is also being misrepresented.

The last studies he spoke of is a marshmallow study for ages 11 or 12 on marshmallows not meth lol

Picks an chooses his studies and some of the issues he brought up was quite ridiculous addiction is a prediction and the withdrawal worsens each time you stop and beyond a flu sighting the Vietnam coming home to no connection to the drug environment is epic an if your wanting to recover i would skip this video it will give you a false sense of everything sorry but give this info to a addict won't help

This guy is a living embodiment of mistaking correlation with causation. I would think someone who pimps the idea that defeating addiction is 100% an inside job would understand that you attending a rehab didn't CAUSE you to get worse. YOU caused you to get worse. YOU learned the wrong lessons. Adopted the wrong practices. Hung out with and idealized the wrong people. You reinterpreted yourself incorrectly. That ISN'T what identifying as an addict is supposed to do. How can you simultaneously present the argument that your thinking is what will get you clean but your experience in rehab is what will make you an addict?

Absolute rubbish, I’m afraid. I’m 18 months clean and I have seen thousands of people share the same thing: we addicts have an inner emptiness (a neurotransmission disease - in the mesocortical pathway, likely). That needs treating with substances OR a spiritual programme of abstinence. Which can also be described as a re-wiring of those pathways through neurological-plastic potential in repetition of behaviours to do with self/identity/purpose/fulfilment/joy and peace. This is not new, and is not disputable. There are now countless studies proving that the addict’s brain is different - not just users or heavy users of substances, but those with a neurotransmission disease. See anything by Dr Robert Lefever for information on this.

This guy's biggest problem is accountability

Sorry kiddo. Your argument is full of holes. You are generalizing from your experience. The man wearing sandals thinks the whole world is covered with leather. Of course some people don't have addiction and get mixed in with those who do. We know much about the mechanisms involved in the disease. Also your characterization of treatment is weird.

You don't have to live the label, but your experience is NOT the norm. The label doesn't continue the addiction. There IS a change neurologically in the brain regardless of the persons own perception. You are applying a unique experience that is NOT the norm. Sorry, you are harming the reality of addiction.

Only an addict would feel the need to prove he or she wasn't one. Normal people never seek inventive ways of proving to others that they aren't addicts.

Sorry mate, this is a lesser helpful Ted talks about addiction, in fact could be more harmful, addiction is a disease, fact, period. Step one reads we were powerless over our addiction.. "were" being the operative word..

i don't really like this or agree with this.

wow, anybody who is experiencing any pain from taking drugs or alcohol should really not take this "ted talk" seriously

This is utter nonsense.

I can’t even finish this...this guy is so wrong.

People are not lab rats. The problem is not the drug. It is the person. The person needs to learn to live differently.