Eric, this is a great post and mission. Ive lived in Boston for seven years. The tragedy of human adaptability is how quickly we acclimate to the suffering of others. Plight is pitied initially, then is regarded as nuisance, recedes into callousness, and finally disappears as scenery in the background.
If you observe how young suburbanites interact when visiting the city for the first time and encountering poverty, addiction, and human desperation in all its baseness, often they insist on equality. To phrase it as a mental thought, “this man nodding off in front of me is as good as me”. And there is truth to that . . . but also a distortion.
I find it is much more dignifying, more accurate, and more grounding to look without flinching and say internally “I am as bad as you are. You cannot be worse than me.” It changes the internal experience on a sensory and emotional level. There is no pity nor a bleeding heart of compassion, but a firmness of solidarity.
Hey Austin. A bit late on the reply here but your comment wasn't one I took lightly either and thought about it a few days before coming here to respond.
You know I'm really starting to firmly believe that unless you have "felt" and "lived" something, you really have no idea whatsoever how aligned you are with truth.
I was probably told stories about purpose, alignment, and self-actualization thousands of times in my first 44 years of living (I'm now 45). But until I found this purpose and alignment within myself in a bathrobe in Dubai in early January of this year (Why was I in Dubai you might ask? Well THAT is a story I refuse to tell unless I can tell it right because it's wild) I now know I never understood what this was. I never could even believe it or in it because at least for me its description sounded like a Disney movie and not representative of the darkness and demons I was sort of subconsciously navigating.
But now it's the only thing that matters to me. Anyway this is just a long-winded way of saying that after thinking about your post for a few days I realized that I'm almost certain its impossible to write what you wrote the way you wrote it without having "felt" and "lived" it. And one of my ultimate goals with Recovery Compass is directly tied to this as the fight I want to take on is one of values and perspective shifting as lived experience almost yields no leverage in the very careers and job positions that desperately need it the most ***HEALTHCARE*** I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn and stay in touch.
This is fantastic. I've always wondered how much of substance abuse is self-medication (I've had multiple family members who turned to substance abuse to cope with physical and emotional pain), but it totally makes sense that the environment acts as a kind of an over-arching guide toward or away from abuse, regardless of the initial causes.
Be careful, though; the adoption of systems-level design in health care and recovery could upend the entire broken system. And considering how many people benefit from that broken system, your approach could generate all kinds of opposition from highly moneyed interests.
I wouldn't put it past entrenched players to try and undercut your work by lobbying for legislation that makes your work illegal with the stroke of a pen; tech legislation is all the rage right now, and this is a tried-and-true playbook for them. Painting your systems-level approach as "de-humanizing" might be effective against legislators who don't know much about it - and who benefit financially from believing it.
So, if you haven't already, you might want to find some organizations with lobbying muscle that you can ally with. Because you may need some legislative cover in the future.
I appreciate the enthusiasm for it John. I'm sure you are seeing in your line of work with corporate AI adoption that the power dynamic in some respects has shifted towards those in the "unofficial channels". I do some selective AI coaching myself and I find the more a person is able to explore and learn AI in a way where IT adapts to THEM vs them adapting to it, is really one of the most striking factors in accelerated adoption.
Same goes for the movement that I'm most passionate about. Too long for a comment response box but the vision I have benefits from the asymmetric battle dynamics in favor of me and Recovery Compass because (optimism baked in) being in the 95% has been a burden for those waiting in line trying to access what is beyond the gatekeeper. But there has only been a power dynamic imbalance due to the 5% having control over the rule book, the goods, the resources, etc but that I think is changing when the 95% no longer perceives whats behind the gate to be a source of value and I'm hoping we're headed to a place that the alternative to what they offer doesn't involve the gatekeepers nor permission.
You know its funny - when I read your comment I immediately turned to my fiance and said "from the VERY first comments I received immediately after starting Recovery Compass to now when people get a snapshot of the comprehensive vision and potential value, one of the top 2-3 immediate responses is 'Be careful, lots of people don't want to shift the finger pointing from 'the broken drug addict with a drug problem' to 'overwhelmed and operating from a state of scarcity due to the system's design'. And its far far worse than broken. It's performance and output are aligned perfectly with the system's foundation.
Great post. I agree that we treat addiction in the US completely wrong. We are treating the symptom--drug/alcohol abuse--when the root cause is as unique as every individual suffering in the horrific cycle of addiction. After experiencing firsthand the broken system with a loved one, I was appalled at the one-size-fits-all approach and lack of innovation.
Thank you, Eric Brakebill Jones, for turning the system upside down and applying your lived and tech experience to precipitate what needs to be a seismic change in antiquated attitudes and treatments. And thank you, Devansh, for platforming this incredibly important topic.
Hi Celeste. Thank you so much for your feedback on my post. I wouldn't say I've turned the system upside down yet. In fact everyday I'm seeing this is going to consume every ounce of my energy until the day I die. It's so important to error on the side of going too slow right now with Recovery Compass because these nascent foundational stages will largely dictate its fate. Yet there are so many layers to get through until the system is turned upside down. A-typical PMF factors like perspective-shifting. In order for many of my ideas to advance and manifest into some tangible value-add for any government-oriented or more established healthcare provider, there needs to be some kind of buy-in to what I'm proposing and reimagining. And to that I say: I'm thinking hard about it.
Eric, this is a great post and mission. Ive lived in Boston for seven years. The tragedy of human adaptability is how quickly we acclimate to the suffering of others. Plight is pitied initially, then is regarded as nuisance, recedes into callousness, and finally disappears as scenery in the background.
If you observe how young suburbanites interact when visiting the city for the first time and encountering poverty, addiction, and human desperation in all its baseness, often they insist on equality. To phrase it as a mental thought, “this man nodding off in front of me is as good as me”. And there is truth to that . . . but also a distortion.
I find it is much more dignifying, more accurate, and more grounding to look without flinching and say internally “I am as bad as you are. You cannot be worse than me.” It changes the internal experience on a sensory and emotional level. There is no pity nor a bleeding heart of compassion, but a firmness of solidarity.
wishing your ventures the best,
austin
Hey Austin. A bit late on the reply here but your comment wasn't one I took lightly either and thought about it a few days before coming here to respond.
You know I'm really starting to firmly believe that unless you have "felt" and "lived" something, you really have no idea whatsoever how aligned you are with truth.
I was probably told stories about purpose, alignment, and self-actualization thousands of times in my first 44 years of living (I'm now 45). But until I found this purpose and alignment within myself in a bathrobe in Dubai in early January of this year (Why was I in Dubai you might ask? Well THAT is a story I refuse to tell unless I can tell it right because it's wild) I now know I never understood what this was. I never could even believe it or in it because at least for me its description sounded like a Disney movie and not representative of the darkness and demons I was sort of subconsciously navigating.
But now it's the only thing that matters to me. Anyway this is just a long-winded way of saying that after thinking about your post for a few days I realized that I'm almost certain its impossible to write what you wrote the way you wrote it without having "felt" and "lived" it. And one of my ultimate goals with Recovery Compass is directly tied to this as the fight I want to take on is one of values and perspective shifting as lived experience almost yields no leverage in the very careers and job positions that desperately need it the most ***HEALTHCARE*** I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn and stay in touch.
Send him a message! I'm sure he'll love talking to you
This is fantastic. I've always wondered how much of substance abuse is self-medication (I've had multiple family members who turned to substance abuse to cope with physical and emotional pain), but it totally makes sense that the environment acts as a kind of an over-arching guide toward or away from abuse, regardless of the initial causes.
Be careful, though; the adoption of systems-level design in health care and recovery could upend the entire broken system. And considering how many people benefit from that broken system, your approach could generate all kinds of opposition from highly moneyed interests.
I wouldn't put it past entrenched players to try and undercut your work by lobbying for legislation that makes your work illegal with the stroke of a pen; tech legislation is all the rage right now, and this is a tried-and-true playbook for them. Painting your systems-level approach as "de-humanizing" might be effective against legislators who don't know much about it - and who benefit financially from believing it.
So, if you haven't already, you might want to find some organizations with lobbying muscle that you can ally with. Because you may need some legislative cover in the future.
I appreciate the enthusiasm for it John. I'm sure you are seeing in your line of work with corporate AI adoption that the power dynamic in some respects has shifted towards those in the "unofficial channels". I do some selective AI coaching myself and I find the more a person is able to explore and learn AI in a way where IT adapts to THEM vs them adapting to it, is really one of the most striking factors in accelerated adoption.
Same goes for the movement that I'm most passionate about. Too long for a comment response box but the vision I have benefits from the asymmetric battle dynamics in favor of me and Recovery Compass because (optimism baked in) being in the 95% has been a burden for those waiting in line trying to access what is beyond the gatekeeper. But there has only been a power dynamic imbalance due to the 5% having control over the rule book, the goods, the resources, etc but that I think is changing when the 95% no longer perceives whats behind the gate to be a source of value and I'm hoping we're headed to a place that the alternative to what they offer doesn't involve the gatekeepers nor permission.
You know its funny - when I read your comment I immediately turned to my fiance and said "from the VERY first comments I received immediately after starting Recovery Compass to now when people get a snapshot of the comprehensive vision and potential value, one of the top 2-3 immediate responses is 'Be careful, lots of people don't want to shift the finger pointing from 'the broken drug addict with a drug problem' to 'overwhelmed and operating from a state of scarcity due to the system's design'. And its far far worse than broken. It's performance and output are aligned perfectly with the system's foundation.
<3
Great post. I agree that we treat addiction in the US completely wrong. We are treating the symptom--drug/alcohol abuse--when the root cause is as unique as every individual suffering in the horrific cycle of addiction. After experiencing firsthand the broken system with a loved one, I was appalled at the one-size-fits-all approach and lack of innovation.
Thank you, Eric Brakebill Jones, for turning the system upside down and applying your lived and tech experience to precipitate what needs to be a seismic change in antiquated attitudes and treatments. And thank you, Devansh, for platforming this incredibly important topic.
I'm glad you liked it. I hope your loved one is better now. Eric is doing exceptional work so I think you should check him out if you're interested
Hi Celeste. Thank you so much for your feedback on my post. I wouldn't say I've turned the system upside down yet. In fact everyday I'm seeing this is going to consume every ounce of my energy until the day I die. It's so important to error on the side of going too slow right now with Recovery Compass because these nascent foundational stages will largely dictate its fate. Yet there are so many layers to get through until the system is turned upside down. A-typical PMF factors like perspective-shifting. In order for many of my ideas to advance and manifest into some tangible value-add for any government-oriented or more established healthcare provider, there needs to be some kind of buy-in to what I'm proposing and reimagining. And to that I say: I'm thinking hard about it.