--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not only do we avert our eyes from the…" description: "\"“Not only do we avert our eyes from the hardcore drug addict to avoid seeing ourselves; we do so to avoid facing our share of responsibility. As we hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_not-only-do-we-avert-our-eyes-from-the-h_2621731.jpg" --- # Not only do we avert our eyes from the hardcore drug… ![“Not only do we avert our eyes from the hardcore drug addict to avoid seeing ourselves; we do so to avoid facing our share of responsibility. As we have seen, injection drug use more often than not arises in people who were abused and neglected as young children. The addict, in other words, is not…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_not-only-do-we-avert-our-eyes-from-the-h_2621731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_not-only-do-we-avert-our-eyes-from-the-h_2621731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_not-only-do-we-avert-our-eyes-from-the-h_2621731.jpg) > ““Not only do we avert our eyes from the hardcore drug addict to avoid seeing ourselves; we do so to avoid facing our share of responsibility. As we have seen, injection drug use more often than not arises in people who were abused and neglected as young children. The addict, in other words, is not born but made. His addiction is the result of a situation that he had no influence in creating. His life expresses the history of the multigenerational family system of which he is a part, and his family exists as part of the broader culture and society. In society, as in Nature, each microcosmic unit reflects something of the whole. In the case of drug addiction, the sins of entire societies are visited unevenly on minority populations.”” [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Addiction is a learned response rooted in early trauma and systemic neglect, reflecting broader societal failures. **In simple terms:** Addiction stems from trauma and social neglect. Key Takeaway Address trauma, change societal attitudes. Themes trauma addiction responsibility societal impact Mood empathetic reflective Type social commentary educational When to use this quote - social work - public health policy - family counseling - community outreach Key Concepts intergenerational trauma social determinants of health psychological development Questions to Reflect On - How does early trauma shape adult behavior? - What societal changes could reduce addiction rates? A Different Perspective Individual responsibility is limited without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Addiction Sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction-sins-2116462/) [Born Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-addiction-2116463/) [Drug addict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addict/) [Drug addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addiction/) [Drug use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-use/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [“The indispensable foundation of a rational stance toward drug addiction would be the decriminalization of all substance dependence and the provision of such substances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-indispensable-foundation-of-a-rational-stance-toward-drug/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“In any disease, say smoking-induced lung or heart disease, organs and tissues are damaged and function in pathological ways. When the brain is diseased,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/in-any-disease-say-smoking-induced-lung-or-heart-disease-organs-and/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Harm reduction is often perceived as being inimical to the ultimate purpose of “curing” addiction—that is, of helping addicts transcend their habits and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/harm-reduction-is-often-perceived-as-being-inimical-to-the-ultimate/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Drug addiction is caused by a lack of respect for yourself If u can gain back self respect the drug use will just fade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/drug-addiction-is-caused-by-a-lack-of-respect-for-yourself-if-u-can/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [“Instead of a criminal or a drug addict, I was looking at a boy—just a boy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson/instead-of-a-criminal-or-a-drug-addict-i-was-looking-at-a-boy-just-a/) [Shannon A. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson/) > [“Let me state this in the clearest terms possible: The problem of drug use is not solved with drugs!” he stated. “Drug addiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-mario-bergoglio-pope-francis/let-me-state-this-in-the-clearest-terms-possible-the-problem-of-drug/) [Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-mario-bergoglio-pope-francis/) > [“Beauty Junkies is the title of a recent book by New York Times writer Alex Kuczynski, “a self-confessed recovering addict of cosmetic surgery.” And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/beauty-junkies-is-the-title-of-a-recent-book-by-new-york-times-writer/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“All addictions — whether to drugs or to nondrug behaviours — share the same brain circuits and brain chemicals. On the biochemical level the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/all-addictions-whether-to-drugs-or-to-nondrug-behaviours-share-the/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“And then there’s physical dependence. As defined in medical terms, physical dependence is manifested when a person stops taking a substance and, due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/and-then-there-s-physical-dependence-as-defined-in-medical-terms/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Many people fear that decriminalization and the controlled dispensing of drugs will lead to widespread substance use among people who are now deterred from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/many-people-fear-that-decriminalization-and-the-controlled-dispensing/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“One of the greatest difficulties we human beings seem to have is to relinquish long-held ideas. Many of us are addicted to being right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/one-of-the-greatest-difficulties-we-human-beings-seem-to-have-is-to/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [The book is about drug addiction and alcoholism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/the-book-is-about-drug-addiction-and-alcoholism/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [ \[T\]he truth is that drug addicts have a disease. It only takes a short time in the streets to realize that out-of-control addiction is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/t-he-truth-is-that-drug-addicts-have-a-disease-it-only-takes-a-short/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [“People are the biggest drug addiction in the world, and I mean that quite literally. Take any single substance abuse problem in the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/people-are-the-biggest-drug-addiction-in-the-world-and-i-mean-that/) [Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) ## More by Gabor Maté > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The fact is, we in this society are often quite removed from our own emotional reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-fact-is-we-in-this-society-are-often-quite-removed-from-our-own/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Shame is the deepest of the “negative emotions,” a feeling we will do almost anything to avoid. 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When children are traumatized that affects how they feel about themselves, which is deeply ashamed because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/so-what-you-ve-actually-got-is-traumatized-children-when-children-are/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Even without world wars, revolutions and emigration, siblings growing up in the same home almost never share the same environment. 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The quest for sameness being the least vulnerable way of attaching, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/peer-oriented-children-live-in-a-universe-of-severely-limited-and/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The United States contains less than 5 percent of the world’s population but houses nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-united-states-contains-less-than-5-percent-of-the-world-s/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) [Explore all 244 Gabor Maté quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## More Addiction quotes > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction; it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-irsay/i-really-think-the-disease-aspect-gets-lost-when-you-re-talking-about/) [Jim Irsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-irsay/) > [I had an addiction to artificial points of success. Like being able to run for this or run for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/i-had-an-addiction-to-artificial-points-of-success-like-being-able-to/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [“Addictions are just symptoms of underlying issues, and in my view Nikki self-medicated the emotional pain of his childhood, and being away from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/addictions-are-just-symptoms-of-underlying-issues-and-in-my-view/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Addictions - Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/addictions-run-to-jesus-instead-of-running-to-your-addiction/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/music-is-my-personal-addiction-so-much-of-everything-i-ve-done-has/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [Cold sweats, hallucinations I wanna speed to stop. 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