Digital Scrapbook #2: Addicted to Support

Narrator: [V.O] This is Bob.
Bob had bitch tits. [Camera pans to a REMAINING MEN TOGETHER sign] Narrator: [V.O] This was a
support group for men with testicular cancer. The big moosie slobbering all over
me... that was Bob.

Robert 'Bob'
Paulson: We're still men.

Narrator: [slightly muffled due
to Bob's enormous breasts] Yes, we're men. Men is what we are.

Narrator: [V.O] Eight months ago,
Bob's testicles were removed. Then hormone therapy. He developed bitch tits
because his testosterone was too high and his body upped the estrogen. And that
was where I fit...

Robert 'Bob'
Paulson: They're gonna have to open my pecs again to drain the fluid.

Narrator: [V.O] Between those
huge sweating tits that hung enormous, the way you'd think of God's as big.
(Imdb.com)

We spent all this time talking about being addicted to drugs, alcohols, sex, work, etc.. But why is addiction limited to things that we perceive as negative? I consider myself addicted to grapefruit juice and asparagus. Fortunately for me, I could not find a documented case where the ingestion of either grapefruits or asparagus had killed anyone.
This struck a chord when I watched the movie Fight Club. In this film, the narrator “Jack” (Edward Norton) is an insomniac. After going to the doctor and being refused a prescription the narrator decides to take matters into his own hands. After much self reflection, he realizes that his sleep deprivation is a result of an inability to express emotion. This leads the narrator to begin attending support groups.
The first support group “Jack” attends is for men that have been disfigured by testicular cancer. “Bob” a giant man who developed “bitch tits” as a result of hormone treatments, was paired up with our narrator. It is through these support groups that our narrator finds solace and the ability to release his emotions. (specifically by crying) With this ability to cry, the narrator in turn is able to sleep, ultimately curing his insomnia. The success of this venture leads him to more meetings and can almost be classified as support group tourism. Like every other form of addiction, one meeting was not enough, and eventually he becomes addicted. He attends meetings for people suffering with tuberculosis, melanoma, blood diseases, and many others. (Imdb.com)
It is this scene that got me thinking about the boundaries of addiction. Society only sees addiction as a problem when it involves something illegal or bad. Asparagus addiction will not be seen in a negative light unless the government suddenly sees it as a problem. People who are addicted to hoarding things are not seen as bad people either. In Kasl’s article “Defining Addiction…” she talks about those psychological and process addictions, which is where support group addiction would most likely be classified. Kasl explains that people with addictions of this nature do this to fill an empty space or void in their life. This explanation falls true with my fight club example as well. Once again, the article fails to address why addiction is only used in a negative way. Just like exercise addiction is only seen as a bad thing when a person becomes hospitalized for exercise bulimia. I wonder how people would feel if someone became addicted to something seen as innocent and as pure as water?

Links:
Quote from Fight Club: - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/quotes
Synopsis/Movie Info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/plotsummary
Kasl, Charlotte. “Defining Addiction: Patterns of Chemical and Psychological Addictions”