What is it about addictive substances that holds such power over us?
First of all, it’s important to understand that addiction is not rooted to a particular substance or activity, but rather in the high one derives from it. The desire to alter one’s state of consciousness for a brief while—a ‘holiday from reality’—is an inherent biological trait.
And it’s not just people who have this desire: many animals have been documented indulging themselves in compounds that provide no other value except a high. Catnip, a common herb, is believed to give cats a sense of euphoria. Elephants have been seen getting drunk on fermented mahua flowers, a well known local alchoholic beverage in east India. Parrots have been found to repeatedly fly off with poppy flowers from fields where opium is legally grown. The ways of achieving a high are different, but the instinct is the same.
What are the most insidious addictions gripping society today?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2023 من Reader's Digest India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2023 من Reader's Digest India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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Former director-general of the Delhi Policy Group, Radha Kumar is an academic, author and policy analyst. Her most recent book, The Republic Relearnt: Renewing Indian Democracy (1947-2024), explores the triumphs and the democratic decay of the Indian Republic.
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