Have you heard the story about the lab rats who got hooked on cocaine, neglected everything else, and eventually starved themselves to death? 

This chilling story is called “cocaine rats.” They were the test subjects in a series of experiments conducted in the 1950s and 60s. Scientists fed these lab rats with drug-laced water in order to gain more understanding of addictive behavior. The result was horrifying - the lab rats soon became addicted, started to consume drugs compulsively, and many ended up starving themselves to death. A 30-second video was created based on these experiments to educate the public about the dangers of addiction - “Addcition can kill you, just like it killed these rats!”

The educational video was perhaps well-intended, but it also inadvertently demonized addiction. As a problem drinker who struggled with alcohol for over a decade, I felt doomed when I first came across the video. “Can I ever break free from my excessive daily drinking, or is my fate set like the rat in the video?” This became a question I was too afraid to entertain. 

From Metal Cage to Rat Paradise 

Like many other people, I didn’t know until recently that there was a second part to the “cocaine rat” story. Another set of experiments in the 70s called “rat park” offered a completely different picture of addiction, and perhaps a way out of it.  

It all started with a Canadian Psychologist named Bruce Alexander who noticed that something was off with the original experiments. Dr. Alexander realized that the lab rats in the previous experiment were all confined in a metal cage, with no alternative comfort or entertainment except the drug-laced water. He wondered whether the result would be any different if the setup was different. Dr. Alexander and his colleagues decided to duplicate these experiments. Except this time, instead of creating a living hell, they built a rat paradise. New lab rats were placed in a park that contained everything a rat could wish for - delicious treats, toys to play with, space to run, and other rat companionships. Of course, there was also drug-laced water. 

The result was strikingly different - this time, the rats did not turn into hungry, drug-seeking creatures like their imprisoned counterparts did. Most of them soon lost interest in the drug-filled water after trying it and showed a strong preference for other activities. 

Why did these two groups of rats act so differently in the face of an addictive substance? Was the cocaine in the rat park diluted? Or were the lab rats in the rat park genetically different from the ones in the cage? The answer is neither. The only difference lies in the environment, more specifically, the amount of rewarding experiences that are available in the environment. 

It’s Not the Drug, It’s the Cage 

Animals, rats or humans alike, need a minimal level of rewarding experiences to be well-regulated. When the minimal level is unmet, one experiences distress and dysregulation. In a sense, each of us has a reward bucket that we need to fill up every day. Things that allow us to fill up this bucket include relationships and connections, movements that restore rhythms in our body, activities that are aligned with our values and beliefs, and things that give us pleasure, such as food, drugs, alcohol, or other addictive behaviors. For the residents in the rat park, their reward buckets are filled with play time, exercise, and companionship. While the prisoners in the metal cage have nothing to choose from but drug-laced water. 

The contrasting difference in resources does not only exist between the metal cage and the rat paradise. Human worlds are not built equal either. How a person can fill their reward bucket is limited by what they have. When a person is born into a loving, supportive family, grows up in a safe, connected community, and is offered resources to pursue their interests or passion, they can easily fill their reward bucket with a variety of activities. On the other hand, there are many who are less fortunate, lacking access to any of the resources mentioned above. A child who is born into a dysfunctional family, with emotionally unavailable parents, lives in an unsafe neighborhood or barely has enough resources to meet his basic needs, will struggle to keep his reward bucket full. The void must be filled one way or another. When human connection, safety, comfort, or meaningful goals are absent, food, alcohol, and drugs become the next best thing. For problem drinkers, alcohol was the replacement they found.

The imprisoned rat returned to the cocaine-laced water over and over again because it was the best thing they had access to. It’s not the addictive substance, nor the one who uses it that caused addiction - it’s the cage. 

You Have the Power to Transform the Cage

To adapt to the confined cage, the rats learned to compulsively consume drug-laced water; to adapt to an environment of lacking, a person learned to turn to alcohol for comfort and relief. 

However, there is a crucial difference between humans and imprisoned rats. Your environment may offer an explanation for your past, but it does not have to define your future. You have the power to change your environment - not overnight, but over time. By transforming the cage, you will eventually create a life where you don’t have to rely on addiction to fill your reward bucket. 

Accumulating rewarding experiences can be a learned skill. It starts with making a commitment to expand your horizons on the activities that bring joy and meaning to your life, whether it’s through fostering new relationships, engaging in activities that align with your values, or intentionally caring for your body and mind. If you have been relying on alcohol to fill your reward bucket for a long time, you may have gotten rusty with these skills. Or perhaps you never had a chance to learn them while growing up. That’s okay - it’s never too late to start to learn. Starting today, allow yourself to ask the question: “How can I bring some more joy into my life with a non-drinking activity tonight?”  

If you are unsure about where to start, check out some of my favorite tools, including pairing a 3-minute drinking diary with delayed drinking activities. You can find them in my 30-Day Cut Down Drinking Toolkit.