---
title: Addiction is not about pleasure, it’s about escape
created: 2025-10-16T05:07:41
modified: 2025-10-19T17:23:33
---

# The Rat Park Experiment

During the Vietnam War, many U.S. soldiers became addicted to morphine. Yet, when they returned home, most quit easily. Scientists were baffled—how could such a powerful drug lose its hold so easily?

At the time, addiction studies used isolated rats in cages. These rats, once hooked on morphine-laced water, couldn’t stop. But psychologist **Bruce Alexander** questioned the setup: maybe it wasn’t the drug—it was the cage.

He created **“Rat Park”**—a large, stimulating environment filled with other rats, toys, and space to play. When addicted rats were moved there, most abandoned the morphine water for clean water.

## Key Takeaways

* Addiction isn’t just about chemistry—it’s deeply shaped/influenced by social environment and quality of life.
* Isolation and despair fuel addiction; community, purpose, and stimulation make recovery possible.
	* In the context of the Rat Park experiment, stimulation refers to the mental and physical engagement that comes from a rich, interactive, and varied environment.
	* For the rats, this included:
		* **Social stimulation:** being around other rats (instead of isolation).
		* **Physical stimulation:** exercise wheels, tunnels, and space to move and explore.
		* **Sensory stimulation:** toys, textures, and novelty that kept them curious and active.
	* In broader human terms, “stimulation” means having **meaningful relationships, interesting activities and challenges** that engage your senses and mind, which made the morphine far less appealing.
* In short: _when life is rich and fulfilling, the need for escape fades._

---

# [How I broke my phone addiction (after years of failing) | Colby Kultgen](https://colbykultgen.substack.com/p/how-i-broke-my-phone-addiction-after)

> The average person spends **4 hours and 37 minutes per day** on their phone. That’s about **70 full days per year**.
> If you’re 25 now, that adds up to nearly **ten years** of your life spent staring at your device by the time you turn 70.

> Phone addiction isn’t just a technology problem. It’s an _emotional regulation_ problem.

> Most people don’t pick up their phones because they _want_ to scroll.
> They pick them up to _avoid something_: boredom, loneliness, uncertainty, discomfort.
> Your phone becomes a pacifier.

> Your phone should feel like a **Swiss Army knife**, not a slot machine.