Both stigmatized and glorified, addiction is devastating and it is also a call for transformation. We look down on some addicts and aspire to be like others. In this interview I talk with Alex Olshonsky, who shares his journey of recovery and (ongoing) transformation. He is a polysubstance recovering addict who has been clean and sober for 6 years.
Alex has a past career in technology: he worked for Twitter, Salesforce, Slack, VentureBeat, and other leading firms. He is now a somatic coach and start-up advisor, yoga teacher, student of the Hakomi method, as well as the founder of "Deep Fix," a media ecosystem and community devoted to mental health and addiction.
In our interview, we challenge the notion of high functioning addicts and discuss the often silent suffering of high performing individuals when it comes to mental health challenges. We explore justifications for multi-substance use such as biohacking, and look at the role of trauma - both individual such as sexual abuse and intergenerational such as the holocaust. We dive into the glorified addiction of overworking and workaholism including the question if workaholism is truly an addiction. We discuss the fine line between self-actualization and self-destruction.