Op-Ed: How surfing helped one recovering addict break the cycle

I recently spent the night on the living room couch. “I’m addicted to Latin grammar.” People don’t merely follow current events closely; they’re “news junkies.” Surfers are certainly guilty of addiction hyperbole. The utter newness of being on a board in the ocean, the all-hands-on-deck alertness brought about by the ever-present danger of drowning or injury, combined with surfing’s aerobic demands, flood the body with serotonin and endorphins, hormones that spark the heady “runner’s high.” Meanwhile, the incomparable thrill of the ride itself calls forth bursts of dopamine, the neurotransmitter of drive and wanting that plays a central role in habit formation, learning and addiction. Yet surfing bears little resemblance to real addiction — “real” measured according to the destructive effect on the lives of the addict and others. The classic spidery roller coaster famously photographed standing half-submerged by Sandy’s foamy storm surge had been replaced by a smaller one, but it and the arcades had the mirage-like, irrelevant cast of everything seen from the lineup on a day of good waves.