Blog #6 - Connection

There is a study often referred to in science of addiction called The Rat Park Experiment, which took place in the 1970s by Bruce K. Alexander and examines the effects of heroin on rats. The hope was to see how an environment could impact a rat's susceptibility to addiction to gain more understanding about environmental factors on addiction and humans. Alexander used rats and placed them in two different environments to do so. The first environment was one with a lone rat in a metal cage that contained nothing besides heroin mixed with water to drink. This rat had no friends, no hobbies, no family, no sight for a different way of living. As for the second environment, a rat was placed in a cage and along with the heroin and water drink, this cage was full of rat friends, toys, rat activities, plenty of food and water, along with the heroin mixed with water. Now, I am sure you can see where this is going. 

The first rat, time and time again, would drink the heroin water, get addicted, and overdose. Makes sense, due to its unlimited access to drugs. But what about the second rat? It too was granted an endless supply of heroin. 

Interestingly, the second rat would rarely drink the heroin water. If they did it was in small doses and they would not show signs of addiction and they would never overdose. So, what does this mean for humans and addiction? 

To put it simply, it is not just drugs that will lead to addiction but the context of a person's environment. Most importantly, how connected one feels to life, activities,and the people around them. 

The first rat felt trapped, helpless, and was seeking reprieve from a life it couldn’t bear to exist in. Whereas the second rat felt connected, loved, and stimulated in life. It was not looking to escape. I remember hearing “Connection is the opposite of addiction”, in a dimly lit AA meeting when I first got sober. At the time, I did not fully understand how through rebuilding my life in sobriety, I would have to learn so much about how to live a connected and fulfilled life to support my recovery. I have learned the importance of having beautiful ties to the world and the people in it that I lacked as an adolescent. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments in life when it becomes quite difficult, challenging, and uncomfortable but with the proper tools and people that you can lean on, it becomes so much easier. Through discovering this, I also learned a key lesson: 

Sobriety was a lot less about not drinking and much more about building my own stimulating rat park, a life based in community, relationships, and care.

My introduction to drinking was partnered with multiple events that left me feeling disconnected. Within 6 years, I experienced a LOT of change and I lacked any tools of support to move through these changes. 

1. My parents divorced 

2. My transition to high school 

3. Friend group shifts 

4. Moving schools my second year of high school 

5. Moving house four separate times 

6. Step parents coming into the picture 

7. Quitting cheer, a sport I loved 

8. COVID 

9. Terrible relationship 

10. Moving out for university 

I list these out because life happens and the life you anticipated may change over and over again. These experiences of mine have shaped me in many positive ways, but at the time I had NO coping skills, I felt I had no support, and my solution was to be okay, move on, and escape which alcohol provided. This manifested in a work really hard, play really hard mentality at a young age. When I moved out for university, I was hoping to leave high school and my drinking behind me. Yet, not knowing how to take steps in building MY rat park, I slipped into the comfort of old habits. 

All this to say, the negative consequences of my drinking didn't, to my belief, impact my life in any huge way.I wasn’t involved in anything that made me a part of something larger so slipping under the radar, drink in hand, worked for awhile. 

Until it did not, and there was a rat park shaped hole in my life. When I sat and really thought about it, I was unbearably lonely. I had people, but no one I felt I could really lean on. My family relationships felt strained and my friendships felt shallow. I had no real connection to school or the path I was on, it was more an inconvenient obligation amidst this time in my life. I had things I liked to do but not deep roots or care for how I did them. I felt tetherless, wanting to derive deep meaning out of life but struggling on how to do that. 

Then I met a friend, who was sunshine and light and everything I sometimes pretended to be. This friend taught me the importance of saying hi to strangers and talking to new people. She taught me the joy of sitting on bluffs watching the ocean. The fun in playing pool and staying up too late listening to good music. She taught me what it feels like to hand out flowers to strangers and to feel light in life. She slowly pulled me up without knowing. We founded a social club together at the junior college we went to,

we hung out with friends and played and laughed. And I felt young, a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time. I feel incredibly grateful for this friendship and the lessons it taught me. And with what I now know, my brain was being retrained as I began practicing the art of genuine human connection (Team, R. E., 2026). 

I began to experience real stoke on life, yet simultaneously it was overwhelming and uncomfortable. I felt insecure on how I read social situations, I had so much anxiety around really connecting with the people around me. I was still chasing the high highs of substances and found it difficult to curate a balanced life. So my drinking continued, but I tried to hide it and play it down. But my new social circle could see that I was an outsider in the rat park and I was desperately trying to assimilate to the rules of it. And eventually, it was too much and now the consequences of my substance use had real implications. Losing the friends I was so stoked to be making and watching glimpses of a life I’d love to live dissipate by my doing. 

This was a sobering experience, literally, because after those very important friendships ended. I decided I would never do that again,I would never put myself in a position to hurt anyone I care about again and I need to really grow. 

I moved to a new town and started over once again but this time I walked into an AA meeting and asked for help. Quite slowly and uncomfortably I began to build my rat park. I began to learn the importance of friendship and being a good friend. I began to learn how to show up to the people in my life. I rediscovered my love for creativity, and being outside, and learning. I learned that I could show up to spaces like Mustangs for Recovery (my university's recovery center) and Addiction Education Society and have real impact. I have deep commitments in my life that warrant me showing up as the best version of myself. And I have no desire to drink today, because I know it would jeopardize everything I truly care about. I still slip up at times, and struggle to show up and feel connected but I am learning how to cope with that through tools like yoga and calling people I love. 

And slowly,Ilearned thatI really care about being alive.I really care about the type of person I am and how I show up to the world.I care about it all a lot. 

The experiment of the Rat Park and my experience shines light on how, as a society, we need to show up to people struggling with addiction and substance misuse. Instead of shame or isolation, they need to feel loved, supported, and seen. We need to create a society that values social connections, encourages those who are struggling to connect and teach the tools to do so (Hari, 2015). We live in an age where connection seems to be extremely accessible via social media and phones, yet take a moment and think about whether or not this connection is real? If you haven’t done so yet, read Samara’s Blog on where she talks about phone and social media use!

I urge you to reflect on your community and your connections this week. Take a moment and really connect with someone today, ask questions, be curious, and be present.

Works Cited

Hari, J. (2015, June). Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong [Video]. TED
Conferences. ted.com

Team, R. E. (2026, March 24). How loneliness alters the brain and what helps recovery. ReachLink.
https://www.reachlink.com/advice/loneliness/loneliness-and-brain-health/