This interactive session will use a spectrum mapping activity to explore our universal human relationship with habits, dependencies, and potential addictions. Rather than positioning addiction as something that happens to "other people," this activity invites participants to physically place themselves along various continuums, revealing how we all navigate the delicate balance between healthy coping and harmful dependency.

Participants will stand and move along invisible lines representing different spectrums – from "never" to "daily," from "in control" to "it controls me," from "I could stop anytime" to "I've tried to stop but can't." We'll explore not just substance use, but the full range of modern dependencies: social media scrolling, work, exercise, shopping, gaming, food, sex, and more.

Through thoughtfully crafted prompts, participants will discover that everyone has their "something" – their go-to comfort, escape, or coping mechanism. By physically positioning ourselves and witnessing where others stand, we begin to see addiction not as a moral failing or weakness, but as an intensification of universal human needs: the need to feel better, to escape pain, to find connection, to manage overwhelming emotions, or simply to survive difficult circumstances.

The exercise builds empathy by making visible our shared vulnerabilities. When clinicians and policy makers find themselves standing at the same point on the spectrum as carers and people in recovery, something powerful happens. The artificial barriers dissolve – "helper" and "helped" become simply human, "professional" and "patient" become people sharing the same struggles.

This isn't about judgment or confession – it's about recognition. Recognition that we're all human, all struggling, all doing our best with the tools we have. By the end, participants will understand addiction not as a distant concept, but as a deeply human experience that exists on a spectrum we all occupy somewhere.