Racial Addiction

“I don’t want my people to be tricked by mercenaries.” – Bob Marley’s song: Zimbabwe

Introduction

            When the reality of the lack of psychological definitions becomes known or becomes conscious, people will be surprised but could stop projecting their fear of the unknown onto one another. As racial disparities are intertwined with economic forces, who people are and where they culturally come from is so key to understanding their stories and psychology. This has been lacking in their history. For example, the original psychological code of ethics did not include multiculturalism in American. At a time that the civil rights movement had to produce the reasoning and logic for laws to change, we can see the same historical trend happening now with the advent of the recovery profession.

The field psychology had to add cultural awareness to their original code of ethics to remind professionals to acknowledge them, suggesting that there is an implicit bias in systematic knowledge and performance (HERE). Similarly, states and governmental agencies are starting to require ethic course for continuing educational credits, so professionals do not forget. We suggest that those in administration, politics, and law also have continuing educational credits in moral-ethics (O’Brien, 2024d) because their implicit bias (HERE) on the racial and addiction population is a war on its own citizenry (HERE).

When everyone recognizes that there are more similarities than differences among individuals, and that the field of psychology projects their own feelings and experiences onto new situations, we have to look no further than dissociation to understand the implicit biases involved in professions racial and cultural divisions, where dissociation comes from, who promotes racial dissociation, how to stop it, and why it matters.

Orientation

Dissociation matters because it defines addiction (O’Brien, 2023a). When discussing racial dissociation, we see how and why people perform poorly when not around their own kind. When one adds racial and cultural aspects to their clinical work, they are adding historical context, not psychological profiling. The main areas of study in our undergraduate career were history and psychology and when we got to McGoldrick’s work on ethnicity and cultures, to say the least, we found it helpful (HERE).

Reorientation

We have spent the first half of our lives acquiring the world’s knowledge, and we are going to be spending the second half of our lives applying it (e.g., Applied Recovery). This work represents the start of a new era in recovery care, research, and philosophy. To understand why the topic of racial harmony is important to our understanding of addiction and dissociation, we can look to podcaster Dan Carlin.

Data

            Including doing 90-in-90, we suggest that people start doing their work by recognizing that addiction is not what they say it is. Lived experience tells us that data is informed by the dominant culture. Therefore, we are suggesting that people have their own experiences with the level of consciousness what we are honoring here. We have given chapters of McGoldrick (HERE) to clients when the topic of their heritage and cultural backgrounds come up. Over the years, people have identified it as helpful. We suggest that people do the same and engage with us online.

Also, we have found this episode of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History to be helpful in providing another perspective on addiction, dissociation, and trauma. We suggest people listen to his podcast on the historical context of addiction in his “Human Resources” production. We suggest listening to it in its entirety in one sitting, and imbibe if you can.

Discussion

            When looking at the racial disparities in access to justice system, we see that dominant cultures will enslave whomever they need to so they can do their bidding. To say the least, this is some abusive sibling relational dynamics that are poorly represented in the literature. Ironically, there is very little in the research literature on the subject of justice in psychology as well. Furthermore, with justice being a pillar of lawyer’s preamble (), when we look at where most crimes occur, we see a different picture emerge as to why we need such a show of force on citizen life and not the main sources of stresses that can predict their outcomes of justice.

Conclusions

            Applied Recovery requires an honest look at one’s past. If people are to make the changes that they need, then they have to know who they are. Like research on sibling abuse, because transferring addictions is virtually absent from the literature, we must suggest that some research go into why they are not doing that kind of research and why.  To the point, where does most crimes occur? And are they crimes or are their just too many laws? As citizens, the people and professions that we give money to do research are the ones who have not deemed addiction research worthy of defining operationally. Who benefits is the obvious answer as to why, but how is this psychological expression of denial is done is living dissociated.

Implications

            While racial disharmony is really fueled by economics and addiction, we must highlight that the implications are already what is happening in our modern world. Where the past meets the present, the future is being made with the decisions of today. This means that the reader already knows what they are and why; and if healing and recovery work was applied in the moral and professional domains, then we would see and know the outcome of recovery happening all around us. Is that what the readers see?

Future Directions

            Start applying what you know from what you have learned in recovery. Racial harmony can only happen if people do their recovery work, but the fact that they are addicted to not doing the work and profit from not doing their work leaves the next generation in a healing quandary. Could you be loved? Is the question for the abusers and if there is a place for the hopeless sinners, who have hurt all mankind, just to save their own, then that place is hell on earth and they don’t your kind telling them what to do based on your sales pitch.

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. (2024b). Diagnostic Privilege: Meta-Critical Analysis. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 2. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2024c).  Meta-Critical Analysis: The “Science” of Pseudoscience. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 3. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2024d). Moral-Ethics. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Chapter 14. 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. (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). Path of the Wounded Healer’s: EMDR, Brainspotting, and Psychedelic Care Open Source Training Manual. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute.