Ontological Addiction: Classification, Etiology, and Treatment

Abstract

Despite the fact that there is increasing integration of Buddhist principles and practices into Western mental health and applied psychological disciplines, there appears to be limited understanding in Western psychology of the assumptions that underlie a Buddhist model of mental illness. The concept of ontological addiction was introduced and formulated in order to narrow some of the disconnect between Buddhist and Western models of mental illness, and to foster effective assimilation of Buddhist practices and principles into mental health research and practice. Ontological addiction refers to the maladaptive condition whereby an individual is addicted to the belief that they inherently exist. The purposes of the present paper are to: (i) classify ontological addiction in terms of its definition, symptoms, prevalence, and functional consequences, (ii) examine the etiology of the condition, and (iii) appraise both the traditional Buddhist and contemporary empirical literature in order to outline effective treatment strategies. An assessment of the extent to which ontological addiction meets the clinical criteria for addiction suggests that ontological addiction is a chronic and valid -albeit functionally distinct (i.e., when compared to chemical and behavioral addictions) -form of addiction. However, despite the protracted and pervasive nature of the condition, recent empirical findings add support to ancient Buddhist teachings and suggest that addiction to selfhood can be overcome by a treatment process involving phases of: (i) becoming aware of the imputed self, (ii) deconstructing the imputed self, and (iii) reconstructing a dynamic and non-dual self.

Meditation-Induced Near-Death Experiences: a 3-Year Longitudinal Study

“…The NAS also assesses the degree to which a person is “attached to themselves” because according to Buddhist theory, attachment to psychological or environmental phenomena arises due to a firm sense of selfhood (Shonin et al 2016). The NAS is constructed upon the Buddhist notion that the self does not inherently exist and that attachment to self and environment thus constitutes a maladaptive condition (see Shonin et al 2014 for a discussion of the differences between Buddhist and Western psychological conceptualisations of attachment).…”

Mindfulness in Schools: a Health Promotion Approach to Improving Adolescent Mental Health

“…In addition to the aforementioned empirical findings, support for the implementation of broadbased resilience-building approaches in adolescents derives from psychological models such as problem behaviour theory (Donovan et al 1991) and ontological addiction theory (Shonin et al 2016;Van Gordon et al 2018). These models assert that a given problematic behaviour or mental illness symptom is invariably an indicator of a more systemic maladaptive belief or unmet psychosocial need, which can manifest across multiple risk-taking behaviours or psychopathologies.…”

Exploring Emptiness and its Effects on Non-attachment, Mystical Experiences, and Psycho-spiritual Wellbeing: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Advanced Meditators

“…Indeed, some studies have shown that concepts such as emptiness can be challenging to identify with, particularly in less experienced meditators (Lomas, Cartwright, Edginton, & Ridge, 2015). However, an explanation for the improvements observed in the current study is posited by Ontological Addiction Theory (OAT), in which 'ontological addiction' is deemed to be the underlying cause of maladaptive cognitive and behavioural processes (Shonin et al, 2016;Van Gordon et al, 2018b). More specifically, ontological addiction is defined as "the unwillingness to relinquish an erroneous and deep-routed belief in an inherently existing 'self' or 'I' as well as the 'impaired functionality' that arises from such a belief" (Shonin et al, 2013, p.64).…”

“…(i) Non-Attachment Scale (NAS; Sahdra et al, 2010): The 30-item NAS is based on Buddhist philosophy and assesses the degree to which an individual becomes attached to their experiences on the psychological, social, and environmental plane. The NAS also assesses the degree to which a person is 'attached to themselves' because as previously discussed, according to Buddhist theory attachment to psychological or environmental phenomena arises due to a firm sense of selfhood (Shonin et al, 2016). The scale is constructed upon the Buddhist notion that the self is empty of inherent existence and that attachment to self and environment thus constitutes a maladaptive condition.…”