World-renowned journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jane Velez-Mitchell is tackling what she considers America’s biggest problem: rampant addiction.
“In the United States, almost everything that’s being presented to us as a ‘free choice’ is being designed, sold and packaged to us as a way to get us hooked, to ensure that we keep coming back for more—even when it’s destroying us,” states the out and proud host of CNN’s Issues, recovering alcoholic, and outspoken vegan.
Her new book, Addict Nation, takes on many of these addictions, from prescription drugs to fast food to sex to rampant consumerism. Along with offering small-step and large-picture solutions, Velez-Mitchell posits radical and incendiary ideas that are both entertaining and enlightening.
We sat down with Velez-Mitchell to talk about her new book and her unique views on our increasingly dependent nation.
WATERMARK: Do you consider our country’s cumulative, runaway addictions a medical problem or a social one?
JANE VALEZ-MITCHELL: Actually, addiction is a malady of the body combined with an obsession of the mind. The technical, classical definition of “medicine” doesn’t really encompass addiction, because it’s such a multidimensional, complicated affliction. It really is a spiritual malady, hooking you body, mind and soul. Doctors have been around for centuries, but it’s only been since the 1930s that there has been any kind of effective program to combat addiction, and that’s the Twelve Steps, which is really a spiritual solution.
Do you believe your own struggle with addiction helps you understand better?
Oh, yes, definitely. In fact, my own struggles motivated me to write the book.
Which is the worst addiction that our country is facing?
Well, it’s hard to classify; all addictions are bad, and they all lead to incomprehensible demoralization and self-loathing. In term of the ones that more people are hooked on, at least three quarters of our population, perhaps more, is suffering from food addiction. I know, because I have grappled with it myself. Once I became sober from alcohol—which is obviously a daily reprise, and I have been sober for 16 years—suddenly, food and sugar reared their ugly heads. I jumped from one substance to another. If a person doesn’t have a genetic predisposition—and most people don’t—and you are obese or overweight, you are a food addict, plain and simple.
Do you find people have trouble negotiating this?
Definitely. You can avoid alcohol, but you cannot do without food, so you have to negotiate how it works. How do you narrow the field? The first step is to avoid fast food, because the rise of fast food companies directly mirrors the rise of obesity in our country.
Do you advocate being a vegan, like yourself?
The problem with moderation is that addicts, by definition, cannot do moderation. By the same token, sobriety is a process, not an event. We all continue to change. Ultimately, the goal of food sobriety is to eat healthy, which I believe is fruits, nuts, vegetables and grains. But you have to take the first step. I don’t advocate anything. I will say this, though, not killing was a psychic shift in my life—that and getting sober and coming out—all three were huge spiritual experiences in my life.
Now, you also mention in the book that homosexuality may be an answer to overpopulation. What kind of trouble are you inviting saying stuff like that?
[Laughs] I ask the question, “Is gay the new green?” Isn’t it interesting that the gay movement emerged at a time when our survival depends not on how much we can populate, but on how little we can populate, in order to be come sustainable? I think it’s wonderful to have kids, but it’s also great to look at non-traditional forms of parenting. I remember, my psychologist many years ago told me, “Jane, you don’t have to have to have a biologic child to be a parent. You can parent someone else’s child, you can parent an animal, and you can parent nature.” We need to expand our circle of compassion beyond our narrow scopes and definitions.
You also say that the LGBT community can lead this charge for change to sobriety.
Often addictions do come packaged in secrets and lies. Since we’ve all come out of the closet—out of what one of my friends once called a “vertical coffin”—we have a strength. In the LGBT community, we’ve all made that leap; we have this great thing in common. Honesty is a big deal; it’s the first step in both coming out and in fighting addiction. We know it’s scary, but we also know there is life on the other side, and so we can lead with compassion.
