Overview
Aboulia is a medical condition where someone has a severe lack of will or drive that impacts their ability to act, speak, or even make independent choices. Causes can include brain injuries or strokes, neurodegenerative diseases like frontotemporal dementia, or other anomalies like tumors.
History and Etymology
Commentary
Addiction and aboulia have a bidirectional relationship. Both chronic substance use and aboulia are physiologically linked to a lack of dopmaine in out mesocorticolimbic pathways. The damage directly caused by prolonged substance use can alter the prefrontal cortext and basal ganglia in ways that trigger aboulia. Those with pre-existing aboulia who struggle with feeling rewarded by daily tasks may develop substance use disorders as a way to feel something they otherwise can’t.
Ironically, addiction is referred to often as a “disease of the will” or “spiritual sickness”, but aboulia is literally a condition referring to low drive to act in ways that one desires. Addiction has much more to do with executive function and compulsions that exist even if an individual has an enormously strong drive to do everything they can to stay sober. During relapses or active addiction, that same individual can also be enormously motivated to obtain and consume a substance or initiate an addictive process.