5 Shocking Truths About Healing That Challenge Everything You Know
Introduction: Beyond the Conventional Narrative
What if our society’s most trusted institutions—our legal system, our medical establishment, our psychological frameworks—are built on a foundation of profound misunderstanding? We are taught to see addiction as a moral failing or a simple disease, mental illness as a chemical imbalance, and justice as a rational process. But what if these concepts are flawed, leading to systems that perpetuate the very suffering they claim to address?
Our society is being driven, guided, and raised by traumatized children whose grandparents were so abusive, so insecure, so dissociated that that they did not even know that a plant is not a drug and a drug is not a plant that can heal.
A radical new perspective, emerging from the work of Dr. Adam O’Brien and the Wounded Healers Institute, calls for a fundamental paradigm shift. It argues that we must look deeper, beyond surface-level symptoms and conventional labels, to understand the hidden architecture of human suffering. This work diagnoses our societal systems themselves as being pathologically dissociated and developmentally immature, operating from a state of unhealed trauma that mirrors the struggles of the individuals they are meant to serve.
This article distills five of the most impactful takeaways from this challenging body of work. Each one interlocks to form a singular, radical worldview, presenting not just a set of new ideas, but a moral call to action. It is a summons to abandon a broken, legal-ethical paradigm in favor of a compassionate, holistic, and morally-driven approach to well-being.
——————————————————————————–
1. Your “Good” Habits Might Be Hidden Addictions
We typically associate addiction with destructive behaviors like substance abuse or gambling. But what if some of our most celebrated virtues—perfectionism, relentless ambition, even altruism—are actually addictions in disguise? This is the concept of “positive addictions,” where seemingly constructive compulsions can become rigid and harmful.
The mechanism is rooted in unmet needs. When behaviors like overworking or compulsive helping are driven by a deep, unconscious need for survival, belonging, or control, they can transform into maladaptive patterns. An individual might initially engage in these behaviors to feel safe or valued, but when they become rigid, they lead to a cycle of guilt, shame, and powerlessness. The behavior becomes a temporary fix, perpetuating the very cycle it was meant to break.
This perspective suggests that any compulsive behavior, whether traditionally labeled “positive” or “negative,” warrants examination for its underlying motivational drivers and its true impact on an individual’s holistic well-being.
This idea is crucial because it forces us to look beyond surface-level behaviors and question the true motivations behind our own striving. It challenges the established systems of mental health to look inward, as the work of O’Brien (2023a) indicates that the psychiatric field is “living in denial of the addictions they unconsciously choose not to define (e.g., perfectionism, altruism, and ambition).”
——————————————————————————–
2. Legal Logic is a 7-12 Year-Old’s Cognitive Development
One of the most provocative claims is that our societal systems, particularly the legal system, are not the wise, rational adults we pretend they are. Instead, they operate with the cognitive and moral development of a child between the ages of 7 and 12.
This isn’t just a metaphor; it’s a diagnosis based on developmental psychology. According to theorists like Piaget, this age range corresponds to the “Concrete Operational Stage,” a time when logical thought emerges but remains highly literal and struggles with abstract concepts. This “developmental arrest” reveals itself in the system’s rigid, black-and-white logic, where “1+1 must equal 2” and there is no room for ambiguity. Addicted to its own perfectionism, the system relies on rules over morals and demands compliance through fear, mirroring an authoritarian parenting style where the ultimate justification is “Because I said so!”
The answer, as the science of psychology reveals (O’Brien, 2023a; O’Brien, 2025), is that a nation of laws is not the wise, rational adult we pretend it is. It is a traumatized child, operating with the cognitive, emotional, and moral development of a 7- to 12-year-old.
This concept is impactful because it reframes systemic failures not as calculated policy decisions, but as the predictable actions of an immature mind. Policies like the “War on Drugs” can be seen as a “war on healing”—a child’s punitive attempt to scapegoat a substance rather than an adult’s nuanced approach to addressing the deep-seated trauma that drives addiction in the first place.
——————————————————————————–
3. Addiction Isn’t a Moral Failure—It’s an Unconscious Survival Strategy
The long-standing debate over whether addiction is a “disease” or a “choice” misses the point entirely. The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) presents a third option: addiction is fundamentally a “trauma-related dissociative response.”
In this framework, addictive behaviors are an unconscious survival strategy used to regulate overwhelming internal states and survive unresolved trauma. Dissociation—the act of mentally detaching from an experience—is a natural protective mechanism. The ADM redefines addiction as a “trauma-bond (dependent) to the dissociative process.” The body is not simply trying to heal and failing; it is engaging in what it knows to be a healing response, albeit one that has become destructive and autonomous.
For active addiction, it can be defined as: A dissociative healing response to traumatic or euphoric stress that has developed an autonomous will.
This re-framing is powerful because it moves the narrative away from blame and shame and toward compassion. It suggests that the addictive process is not a sign of weakness or moral failure, but a testament to the body’s profound and relentless drive to survive, even when its methods have gone awry.
——————————————————————————–
4. You’re Living on Autopilot (And Your Body Holds the Key)
Modern cognitive science makes a startling assertion: while 95% of people believe they live consciously, the reality is that only about 5% of us truly do. A vast majority of our brain activity is unconscious “background noise” that is fundamental to our experience. This means that what we perceive as our conscious reality is, for the most part, an “unconscious and dissociated experience.”
Compounding this is another revolutionary idea: the physical body is the psychological unconscious. This means our memories, especially traumatic ones, are not abstract thoughts. They are physically encoded in our nervous system as implicit patterns and dispositions. Physical symptoms, chronic pain, and habitual behaviors are not just symbols of unconscious processes—they are the direct expression of them.
When you combine these two concepts, the implications are profound. If we are mostly operating on autopilot and our body is the living archive of our unconscious memories, then true healing cannot be achieved through thinking or talking alone. It requires somatic, body-based approaches that can access this deep, non-verbal intelligence where our unhealed wounds reside.
——————————————————————————–
5. Psychedelics Aren’t Just Drugs—They’re “Superfoods” for the Psyche
Challenging the historical claim that psychedelics have “no medical value,” this new paradigm reframes them not as dangerous substances, but as essential tools for psychological healing. A critical distinction is drawn between a “drug” and a “superfood.”
A “drug” is defined as industrialized and chemically altered, designed to enhance potency. Examples include ketamine, MDMA (when industrialized), SSRIs, and MAOIs. A “superfood,” in contrast, is a naturally occurring plant, fungus, cactus, root, or mold. From this perspective, classical psychedelics are seen as integral components of the body’s “innate healing systems” with immense “psychological value.” Their power comes from their ability to help the mind access and process previously dissociated traumatic material held within the body.
By not sitting with clients, not understanding their lived experience, and promoting drugs as the sole healers, psychiatry fosters dependency and disempowerment. This creates a cycle where patients “bond to a drug” rather than developing self-healing capacities…
This perspective is vital because it moves the conversation about psychedelics beyond a legal or recreational debate and toward a discussion about reclaiming our innate capacity to heal. It challenges the industrialized model of medicine that prioritizes patented, man-made pharmaceuticals over the natural agents that have been part of human healing for millennia.
——————————————————————————–
Conclusion: A Call to a Deeper Awareness
These five takeaways are not separate ideas, but interlocking pieces of a single, coherent critique of our modern world. Our society, living in a state of mass dissociation (Point 4), has created a developmentally arrested legal system that thinks like a child (Point 2). This immature system, driven by its own hidden addictions to perfectionism and control (Point 1), is incapable of understanding addiction as the body’s survival strategy (Point 3). Instead, it punishes this healing response as a moral failure, waging a “war on healing” that suppresses the very natural agents that could help us reconnect (Point 5).
This is a moral summons to move beyond the rigid, legal-ethical systems that perpetuate this cycle of trauma. It is a call to embrace a more holistic, compassionate, and morally-driven approach rooted in lived experience—one that recognizes the unconscious wisdom in our bodies and our innate capacity to heal.
If our systems are truly built on such flawed foundations, it leaves us with a critical question to ponder: what does it mean to truly heal, and who holds the map to guide us?
For more on our work and cause, consider following or signing up for newsletter or our work at woundedhealersinstitute.org or donating to our cause: HERE.
References
O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025a). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025b). Applied Recovery: Post-War on Drugs, Post-COVID, and What Recovery Culture and Citizens Require Moving Forward. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025c). Recovering Recovery: How Psychedelic Science Is Ending the War on Drugs. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.
