Real Zombies, Part Three: Malignant Habits

Habits. We’ve got good ones and bad ones. Sometimes, though, our bad habits get the best of us. They seem to take on a life of their own. They can overwhelm us. Then we may find ourselves doing things we would not choose, as if we turned into some kind of zombie. Drug addictions and alcoholism are examples of this kind of malignant, out-of-control habit. The conventional wisdom is that the substances are the cause. But this explanation hasn't helped much. Addictions are more common than ever. Could it be that there’s another, better explanation – one that’s more useful?

In Part Three of this three-part podcast we look at how a normal habit can become parasitic, turning into something that uses us the way a parasite uses its host. Alcoholism is a perfect example. A drinking habit begins the same way any normal habit begins. We drink, and it brings us satisfaction. So we do it again. For most of us, our drinking habit never becomes a problem. But some of us aren’t so lucky. As those people repeat the habit, it starts to change in ways that make it hard to stop. It becomes self-sustaining and destructive.

Participants. Returning for Part Three are Joan Landers, a Texas licensed professional counselor, and Dr. Bill Whitehead, a clinical psychologist and CEO of the North Carolina based company TherapyAppointment.com.