PRE MAGAZINE ISSUE 5

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CONTRIBUTORS

direction Aki Choklatdirection of photography Ruggero Lupo Mengoniart direction Chantel Giannarelli

articles and styling by:Nabeela BematAnnette CarlsenChantel GiannarelliTakiya JonesDivya KapoorNinon MeyrueyCharmi PatelNicole SamuelsJoanne Tseng

Models:Jack, Max, Henriette, Olly.

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DYSMORPHIC

INJECT: CHEESE

VICE AND WISER

REASONS DECEPTIVE COUNTERPART

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INTRADDICTION

YOUR SURFACE IS A SPECULATING FORM OF PERSONAL REVOLUTION

THE LOOP

GRAVITATION AND ADDICTION

THE INSIDE

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REASONS DECEPTIVE COUNTERPART

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HIKI KOMORI

MEDICAL TERMS

THE INSTINCT

LETS TALK

SEEING EMOTIONS

CONCLUSION

REPERCUSSIONS

AN ARBITRARY BONDING

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This the fifth edition of Polimoda’s fashion trend forecasting magazine dedicated to addiction.

In our magazine the students examined all the important socio-cultural triggers, and how they impact the way we live...and ultimately, what we consume. In the following articles we share with you some of the early trend signals we have detected. One of the strongest concepts that came across in our weekly think tank was addiction. Therefore, we decided to investigate addiction, and more specifically its relation to the mind, body and soul...

What are the possible reasons for addictions, and furthermore what does this mean for the future? In “Seeing Emotions” the three main addiction drivers are pointed out as being fear, grief and anger. One of the main theories is the need for repetition, and the conditioned reward based on it. Although we can also be addicted to change and the repetitive nature of change itself. Another point of view examines a bigorexic future, where body mass becomes more important than anything else. The “Cheese” article describes the highly addictive nature of cheese with interesting scientific support. Most of us can agree with the claim of cheese as an addiction, but

to the extreme of fromage-flavoured condoms?

Finally, we discovered that addiction can also be positive. Addiction and isolation in the Hikimori article discusses this possibility with the current internet addiction.

The Fashion Trend Forecasting magazine is written to be a type of tool box, a conversation starter, for you to project your own futures. Therefore, we would like to ask you, what is your addiction?

The magazine is created by students and lavishly illustrated and art directed by Ruggero Lupo Mengoni.

intraddictionAKI CHOKLAT

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THE LOOP Photography byRuggero Lupo Mengoni

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YOUR SURFACE IS A SPECULATING FORM OF PERSONAL REVOLUTION

What do both speculation and revolution mean? We contextually understand speculation to be a musing or contemplative state of mind and thought process on a subject, in this case a conceptual moment in which through insight and hypoth-esis can explain movements, unconscious and conscious in both long term and short term time frames of phe-nomena. Revolution, is un-derstood to be a radical and sudden change in society, a change on a magnanimous scale of behavior and human societal thought.

Our physical environment is subject to our social envi-ronment, the specificity of the time and space in which societies transform are based on adaptional transactions. Currently our society is transfixed with idealistic ideologies of self-mutilation, of self-editing, in a chase for social acceptance based upon society and cultur-al expectations. We tamper with, destroy and recreate our bodies, communicat-ing subjectivity of an ideal second skin, what we per-ceive to be the appropriate

adaptions to unconscious conformity. Previous rejec-tion of the unidealistic body was the reaction to societal structures, rules, ideas, and cultural social body projec-tions. The marketing of natu-ral bodies is a reaction to the synthetic body, the body that is not real, it is illusionary in its response to realistic body evaluations, overextending to discriminative meanings and concepts which have created a void effect. The void of person-environment conceptualizes the growth that evolves through malad-aptation’s of veridical socio-cultural constraints, it alter-nately repositions the stance on “the eye of the beholder” belonging to the social body utopian ideal. This void is an extension on the possibility of realistic ambiguity.

In my contextual and soci-etal knowledge, today, the chase for individual diver-gence is normative in the credo of society’s complex system. Although what this search for nonconformity does is pave the extension of societal conformity; once we see and accept the re-jected becomes an accepted

consensus. Individuals con-ceive the world, and cultur-al interpretations as well as social structures to stimu-late adaptional transactions. We are in constant states of evolution and change, this routine challenges rules on regular violation; violation as a societal reaction seed for the manifestation of social change.

The interchange of societal and cultural rejection of var-ious bodies and their subjec-tivity will always be meta-phored with fashion, fashion makes our body ready for society. This is a modified radical moment in which confronts, challenges and displaces society’s norms. A movement of popularizing rejected bodies I appraise to understand as an expressive reactional marketing process to redefine and elasticize ide-ologies of who; as an indi-vidual can acceptably clothe themselves in fashion, it is a casualty in itself for societal and cultural perfection via imperfection based on trans-formation of psychological ideologies and ideals.

Metamorphosis is a concept

which we unconscious-ly submit too, seasonally, yearly, hourly, annually. We are in a perpetual state of temptation within change. We expand our possibilities and adorn ourselves in a conversational manner that engages you to decodify pro-gression. The human search for more, for difference, for change is inevitable, it is in-nate; this in itself is radical, this in itself is a constant rev-olution, and our surface ex-tensions are phenomenon’s visually depicting the result of egoic ecstasy, our surface is a phenomenon of societal adaptions habituating con-scious and unconscious cer-ebration.

N I C O L E S A M U E L S

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r av i t

g

n a n DA D D I C T I O N

A T I O

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“You are a comet. You were formed by material and processes in the depth of time, hurled from your home star system out into the wider universe. You’re able to travel for long stretches through vast swathes of space relatively unencumbered; but as you approach certain sufficiently large celestial bodies, you feel the drag of their gravitational pull. Sometimes you get pulled in so close that you can never break free from their influence, and are forever caught in their orbit. There’s even a chance you could perish altogether.” (Steve Neumann, 2014)

We are all stuck in our orbits.

We all have our empty little black holes, which nurture our drives. These areas in our life outline the budded vulnerabilities, anxieties, stresses, and pains yet they paradoxically spill out our passions. These are the floating zeniths from our vision, playing hide and seek with our existence, waiting to magnetize our realities and actualize our revolutions; setting our addictions in motion. They catch us in the most unexpected spur of the moment with a galvanizing state of mind, sweeping and griping us into its intentional orbit.

“Just like the gravity of physics, this type of gravity is

pernicious but fruitful in the spirit of time. The closer you get to its field of influence, the harder it is to escape.” (Steve Neumann, 2014)

Is this self-gravity or addiction?

We are critical and opinionated regarding addicts, but silently proud when addiction feeds a talent, when it becomes a support system for genius. Maybe it is because talent is so rare.

This feeling usually subsides after a few minutes, because we realize that life is a profligate spender.(Steve Neumann, 2014)

In the axis of time we all acknowledge our carnal desires, the greatest gravitational strengths through our weaknesses and the ability to develop unconscious conscious addictions as coping mechanisms. Homo sapiens are synonymous with being repetitive by nature, abstractly patterned by our survival and sense of belonging. We “comets” are destined to stick in the diverse orbits of our habits that eventually disintegrate after having flaunted its gloomy radiance across our skies for years.

Is addiction a disorder or the order of our addictive

culture, our adaptation?

Do we have ourselves to blame? Or is it virtual game?

Are any of these concoctions correct, to the exclusion of the other? Or is there another middle ground that lays the blame on both or neither?

In reality we all live through inculcating habits or orbits, hoping to live through the gravity of the societal order of achievements and prophecy. We believe in escaping the chaos of this disorder through daily schedules but ironically, we instinctively choose our disorders, our free will, which channels our time and energies in order to accomplish set life goals - our self gravity. Our additions are our addictions. We decide to use or abuse. Above use; living through the theory of the survival of the fittest and proving our rare talents through them.

Addiction is an adaptation. It is not you; it’s your cage, a self-created home.

The vast majority of us, who have not experienced addiction is indeed a fallacy extinguished by a belief that we simply do not respond the same way in

comparison to an addict’s brain. This is a perceived reality yet undoubtedly true. Of course we react differently, otherwise we would not have succumbed to our diverse desires, temptations and fetishes in the first place. We all have our individual expressions of addictions. But the stronger claim about addiction is that we are all hardwired or genetically predisposed to it, with the implication that we are fated to be addicts. We can do nothing to commute this life sentence but to choose addictions that create meaning out of our given space and time. The comet-trajectory is fixed, and it is just a matter of time before we fall headlong into a star of destruction, and their feathery ice-flame is forever extinguished.

“The universe is in motion, stars explode and die, jettisoning vast amounts of material into their environs; other stars are born and grow, greedily accumulating ambient material; other celestial bodies collide and spread debris in all directions. Space is awash in detritus and so are we.” (Steve Neumann, 2014)

D I V Y A K A P O O R

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Thigh Gap, flat chested, the rib cage effect. Her skeletal frame is highlighted by a sheer fuzzy covering of hair like that of a newborn baby in its struggle to self-generate heat. It was an obsessive resistance to food in the name of fashion. The diagnoses – Anorexia, a habit turned obsession to the point of disease, such was the Kate Moss Syndrome, an evolution of the 90s. It is the year 2015, exactly 2.5 decades after Moss’ reign. Have you taken a stroll along the promenade recently? Sculptured rears bounce pass you in neon flashes to the beat of their power walks. Toned, defined and fit is everywhere your eyes scan. As much as they are criticized and ridiculed for their false reality, lets give credit where credit is due. The Kardashians have liberated the female figure, from the scrawny prepubescent teenager to that of the voluptuous woman, Scarlett Johansen alone could not achieve. In the era of body sculpting and fitness one would assume that we are heading in a better direction… real dedication to fitness and looking good is no easy feat, it takes a lot of self-discipline, time, energy and control. It is no doubt strict. The mere act of walking intothe gym can give you a sense of condescendence as you passby perfectly chiselled frames in all their glory being strenuously exerted in their pursuit of perfection. Of course the notionofa perfect body is entirely subjective. Yet on the other extreme, you can find real life Hulk men pumping iron, grunting away hidden behind weights. Have youever seen bulk in abnormal proportion? This is not a question of the Short Man Complex – a condition whereby short men feel the need to bulk up in order to feel more powerful amongst their peers. This is a new phenomenon; a type of muscle dysmorphia called: Bigorexia that is on the rise and reportedly affects 10% of male gym goers in the UK. It is a type of “reverse anorexia”. Men who are diagnosed with this disease are said to have a gnawing feeling of being too small when in reality, to the normal observer they are on the extreme end of buff. It is a completely distorted perception of their image. Such is their obsession of being too small that they will go to deathly lengths to be bigger, steroids included. This type of behaviour stems from insecurity. In the self-obsessed, selfie revolution it is not necessarily surprising that the pressure to look good can push many to the extremes. Manipulating your body shape does not happen over night, it takes dedication and repetition. A habit that becomes a lifestyle, once you know it, it is there to stay. We live in a time where narcissism has become a norm yet it is a medically diagnosed personality disorder. What is the future of Bigorexia? Well, it is here to stay so get acquainted. In life there will always be the extreme. Bigorexia is no exception.

N A B E E L A B E M A T

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Recently, the latest craze is all about cheese and it seems pretty bleak. Whoever said, that when one is trying to diet, cheese would be the most difficult thing to stop? Cheese can turn into an obsession. If one had to ask some European expats in Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo what it is they are missing the most from their home countries, their answer is always: “If right now, I could eat an entire plate of (French) cheese, it would be orgasmic!” Cheese can procure orgasm. Is cheese the new sex toy? Are you ready for Roquefort flavoured condoms and Cheddar lube? This is not a new revelation. Cheese is an aphrodisiac like ginger, chocolate and oysters thanks to tryptophan, the standard amino acid essential for the human diet.

Indeed, the barrier between addiction and obsession is slim. Cheese can become an obsession

in the mind and an addiction to the body. When people claim they cannot stop eating cheese, they are actually right. This addictive feeling for cheese is not an illusion. Welcome to the scientific reality. Cheese amateurs beware; you could easily drift from an amateur into an addict faster than you think. Where will the new opening of a SISC (Safe Injection Site for Cheese) be? In Milan or Paris? Suddenly this product in occidental society is becoming the object of every kind of greed. A recent study done by the University of Michigan revealed that cheese would unfortunately join the serious group of addictions in line with that of drugs, tobacco and alcohol. So who is the guilty one? I would blame casein. An animal protein present is all dairy products. During the digestion, this protein releases a chemical component called casomorphin that acts directly in the brain like

I N J E C T : C H E E S Emorphine. It attaches itself to the opioid receptors that makes us dependent and turns us into addicts.Unfortunately, the message is clear. We need to control our cheese consumption before extending this addiction to the whole world. Do we really want to open up new areas for cheese atomizers next to the smoking room in Dubai, Shanghai or LA airport? Bye-bye glamour, hello grotesque. So what does the future hold for cheese and our self-respect? One seven letter word, pronounced with a perfect French accent: VROMAGE. Officially a vegan cheese made without lactose and animal protein - Malapropism. But who could accept eating a margarita pizza in Napoli with fake odorless and flavorless cheese on the top? In the end, if I had to decide, I would prefer being grotesque and an addict than clean and tragic.

N I N O N M E Y R U E Y

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THE INSIDE

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a s O N s

R e

p t i v ec o u n t e r p a r t

D E C e

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It seems in the study of science and philosophy, the ideas of “free will” as an illusion rather than truth is a common theme. Theorists have attempted to prove free will is limited or non-existent, thus leaving us with much less control over our own lives than we like to believe. Therefore, addiction may no longer be a choice but rather an inevitable human downfall. Yet, how is it that some fall victim to this occurrence and others do not?

When discussing addiction, one can go as far as to suggest repetition is a part of our natural instinct which can be traced back to primitive times. Our human history is filled with ritualistic acts to achieve a connection with a sacred power, to preserve health and promote healing as well as celebratory practices. These rituals provide humans with the rewarding stimulation in the brain often associated with the cause of addiction. As humans we are pleasure seekers, and addiction is the result of the reward circuitry the brain is consisted of, being hijacked by the continuous desire to satisfy this burning need. This repetitive nature is thus literally embedded in us.

However, this ritualistic nature inevitably evolves over time, which is greatly affected by the environmental surroundings we find ourselves in. Our behaviors can be predetermined or adjusted based on this circumstance, leaving interpretation open to other factors. Families, friends and our physical locations provide varying risks to succumbing of addiction. With the environmental factor being one that is not necessarily in an individual’s control, another common reason for these performances is a way to exert control over their lives. When examining repetitive behaviors of those with disorders and categorized addictions, this serves as a means of protection from the effects of unpredictability — uneasiness, fear and vulnerability. However, is this act really a conscious way to exert control over our lives or a

T A K I Y A J O N E S

deceptive mind trick that gives us the impression of control when in actuality, this is proof of the absence thereof?

There is another way to look at those who become addicted versus those who do not. In terms of genetics, our individual makeup has a lot to do with how we handle addiction and how well we are able to avoid it. People who carry a certain protective gene, usually exhibit unpleasant side effects after being exposed to addictive causing properties thus, sending negative transmitters to the brain preventing a positive association, therefore, no addiction can occur. Also, if a variant of the dopamine receptor gene is found in an individual, it said to lead to more individual addictions whereas, an individual carrying a pure receptive gene is less susceptible.

Nevertheless, theories ranging from scientific to behavioral may all to some degree link to causes of addictions. However, to extinguish the existence of human free will altogether is incorrect. None of these factors are solely dominant, including our free will. Therefore neither can be solely responsible for ones addiction or absence of. However, since everyone is not subjected to addiction, it is proof that our free will is present, some clearly more prominent than others, but a separate powerful force nonetheless. Although, the conscious self is not an authoritative oppressor, it is not a slave either. Regardless of what social and environmental forces have influenced us, or what genes or brain structure we have inherited from our parents, we as autonomous beings are present as well, therefore I believe every decision made, is a choice.

Pierre, J. (2015). The Neuroscience of Free Will and the Illusion of “You”. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psych-unseen/201411/the-neuroscience-free-will-and-the-illusion-you [Accessed 14 Dec. 2015].

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VICE A N D W I S E R

The Human Brain is a busy place. Deciphering the modus operandi of this multifarious tissue is still an unaccomplished feat. It is the source of consciousness in our humanness, the instrument behind the conception of art, language, moral judgments and rational thought. Memories, movements, balance, control and, well, life itself can be accounted for by this jellylike mass of fat and protein weighing about three pounds.

For something this immaculate and seemingly infallible, it can be easily deceived and manipulated. Because you see, it operates on short bursts of electrical pulses; it only takes about seven millivolts to trigger one synaptic transmission. The right route, a spurt of electricity that tiny and you can make it dance, quite literally. Over the evolutionary course, our brain has been programmed to

perform certain tasks that ensure survival, fitness and reproduction. There is a specific pathway in the brain called the Dopaminergic Pathway or Reward Pathway, which can make you repeat anything that ensures a dopamine release to give you that feeling of pleasantness .It is an encoded cue that preludes doing anything helpful to these primary objectives. The anticipation of dopamine is the catalyst that drives you to repeat whatever event led to its release, causing reinforcement of that behaviour.

This is the part where you can fool the all mighty brain. As the consequences are invalid to the matter, any behaviour to elicit dopamine is reinforced. It is not even the actual release that matters and just the anticipation of it will be enough. Addictive behaviour is hardly a disease in this context; it’s a hardwiring the brain is attuned to. Every addict

seeks to chase the first high, anticipate the first fit of pleasantness, no matter the cost, irrespective of the source. The source, or dosage can never replicate the first high. It is only the illusion of anticipatory value that is increased with increasing the intake.

This is the self-destructive weapon our brain has formulated: Conditioned Learning. Addiction provides a shortcut in the reward pathway by flooding it with dopamine. It results in setting up memories of this rapid sense of satisfaction and creates a conditioned response to certain stimuli. Stressors or something associated with the first high can trip the mental machinery of relapse.Merely changing the reward system cannot help. Addicts can relapse after years of abstinence, giving enough time for the circuit to recuperate. The habitual response comes from conditioned learning. Implicit memories

can be retrieved when addicts are exposed to any reminder of those circumstances — moods, situations, people, places or the substance itself.What is more conniving? In times of stress or depression, as a sort of ‘defence-mechanism’ the brain conjures up fresh memories of the event that gave you the shortcut to the dopamine surge.Instant happiness.

Who can say no to that?

Is it even in our hands, or specifically, in our prefrontal cortex?

How are we to wage a war against this brain that is engaged in its own hara-kiri?

If addiction is a maladaptive form of learning and memory, none indeed is the wiser.

C H A R M I P A T E L

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RR E P E R C U S S I O N S

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It started with a brisk walk, the ice-cold air against my face that would paralyze my nose and throat as I inhaled its scent. I could feel the fresh draught of oxygen rush to my head as it startled me awake. I felt fresher, lighter and happier. It was an exhilarating experience - something not to be forgotten.

As life got more stressful, I would attempt to walk it off, but soon enough the adrenaline exceeded the awakened sensation it once held. Naturally, I started to run. The more I ran, The more fluid the movement became. I would glide across the pavement alongside the ocean; the air was always cooler and cleaner on the surface of the sea. I would breathe in its salty essence with each slide movement. The rhythm it created lifted me off the ground.

My limbs were no longer apart of my body but a synchronised harmony to the melody it played. I became a mere force of flight. It was an ecstasy. This

N A B E E L A B E M A T

type of euphoria was not to be a once off occurrence, thus the search for it became an unconscious obsession. Every chance I had I would run, run away from it all and seek pleasure in the high of endorphins. Yet the more I ran, the more mass I lost until one afternoon I was sitting in an athletic dietician’s office forcedly coerced onto a weight gaining diet. At such a young age, lack of calcium and protein would decrease my bone density resulting in osteoporosis & arthritis in my future.

But, who cares about the future when you can die tomorrow? Would I sacrifice an ecstatic high for a healthy future…? - Back then, no. Today I no longer run like I used to, perhaps I overdid it back then and grew wary of it. Did I replace that addiction with another? Yes, with chocolate which reportedly releases the same endorphins as well as serotonin, such hormones enact the same sensation you get when you are in love and when you are happy. How much chocolate is needed

to be consumed to level the same amount of endorphins as a marathon runner… well you do the math.

Those obsessive habits are a part of my past. What is still very much with me however is the stress of life and human emotion. When I feel the onset of stress take hold of me it is instant gratification that will always pervade. If it is a cigarette that will cure it, so be it. The world can lie to you, they say smoking kills… but that’s not true, I’m still alive.

Addiction is not necessarily a negative thing; it is at the essence of our nature. Even the healthiest of habits can turn into something detrimental. We are human at the end of the day, not saints. In the fast, stress induced pace of life that gives us no room to mourn or cry. It is only logical to seek solace in substance, but it is up to the individual to take it there. One alone can determine the positive, the balanced and the obsessive nature of its mental attraction.

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HIKIKOMORi

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A hidden person, composed of two parts: Hiki and Komori meaning “secluded, detached” and “subtle, social withdrawal”. It is a person in his or her own small, personal space. No community, no school, no work. It is an isolated life.

The Internet has now become an integral part of our life since the beginning of the 90s in the last century. It is literally at our fingertips. Something most of us cannot live without. Computers and the Internet, now a staple in every household, have completely changed our lifestyle. It acts as a bridge of communication between people. It covers our entertainment, shopping, social, and educational needs which have become synonymous with the Internet. It brings convenience and fun into

our lives, but as the saying goes: Whilst water can carry a boat, it can also capsize it. We can have it all without ever leaving our chairs or our beds. Increasingly, it becomes harder and harder to step away.

For a long time, People have established that addictions are responsible for activating various areas of the brain that are linked to pleasure as the reward pathway. Our brain increases its production of dopamine and various other neurochemicals while these sites are activated. As time passes, we need to be increasingly stimulated in order to produce the same feeling. As a result, the individual needs to have their minimum dose or more in order to avoid symptoms of withdrawal amounting to this type of behavioural pattern. The

Introverted personality type, in addition to working all day, nesting at home, and having a relationship with Internet throughout, rarely suffers from lack of face-to-face social behaviour.

In China, the One-Child policy, with its strict and conservative educational system is partly to blame for this type of anti-social behaviour. As the only heir, these children bear the entire burden in the family. Parents are continuously pressurizing their only child, asking them to be a good student. Faced with these pressures, most of them choose to escape. Children have one thing in common - loneliness.

Enter this new “virtual world” that becomes their escape. It allows them to create a new dream role, a made up version

of themself without any conditions. This new world is a symbol of “Hope”, hope-less from black and white to hope-full with the colourful promising new life. A rebirth from a scientific and technological point of view that all started with loneliness.

Facing up to this complex reality, we might feel helpless; but not discouraged. I comfort myself and feel fortunate that I do not get influenced by the secular. You can use what little naivity you have left to believe that goodness still exists. We all have something to regret. After each disappointing moment, go forward without lingering. There is a second chance, a hope.

“Gold can’t be pure and man can’t be perfect.” - Jixing, Song dynasty.

J O A N N E T S E N G

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Addiction: An uncontrollable crav-ing, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or another drug. Depen-dence is such an issue with addiction that stop-ping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental reactions.

Withdrawal Symptoms: Abnormal physical or psychological features that follow the abrupt discontinuation of a drug that has the capability of producing physical de-pendence. In example, common opiates with-drawal symptoms include sweating, Goosebumps, vomiting, anxiety, insom-nia, and muscle pain.

Voluntary: The terms “voluntary” and “involuntary” apply to the human nervous system and its control over muscles. The ner-vous system is divided into two parts -- somat-ic and autonomic. The somatic nervous system operates muscles that are under voluntary control. The autonomic (automat-ic or visceral) nervous

system regulates individ-ual organ function and is involuntary. Opening the mouth is voluntary while blushing is involuntary.

Habit: a settled or regular ten-dency or practice, espe-cially one that is hard to give up.

Compulsion: The action or state of forc-ing or being forced to do something; constraint. The irresistible urge to be-have in a certain way.

Constraint: A limitation or restriction.

Force:Strength or energy as an attribute of physical ac-tion or movement. Com-pulsion, especially with the use of threat or vio-lence. The force to make someone do something against their will.

Pressure:Continuous physical force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it. The use of persuasion or intimida-tion to make someone to

do something unwanted.

Dependence: The state of relying on or being controlled by some-one or something else The reliance on an addic-tion that cannot be con-trolled.

Craving: A powerful desire for something

Weakness: A state or condition of being weak. Lacking the power to perform phys-ically demanding tasks; having little physical strength or energy. An ob-ject of special desire that is very difficult to resist

Resistance: The act or power of re-sisting, opposing or with-standing. Psychiatry op-position to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into conscious-ness.

Fixation: An obsessive interest in or feeling about someone or something. The action or process of fixing or being fixed.

Enslavement: The action of making someone a slave; subjuga-tion.

Obsession: The state of being ob-sessed with someone or something. An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s state of mind

Infatuation: An intense but short lived passion or admiration for someone or something

Fetish:A form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal de-gree to a particular object, item of clothing, art, or parts of the body. An inan-imate object or individual worshipped forming an addiction.

Trauma: An experience that pro-duces psychological inju-ry or pain

Substance Related Addic-tion: The inclusion of Tobacco, Alcohol, drugs altering

M E D I C A L T E R M S

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the functioning processes of an individual, through the repetitive activation of compounds.

Behavioral Addiction: Processes of addictions including gambling, food, sex, the internet, gaming or working. All addictions involved in the constant processing and repetitive nature through tempta-tions resulting in behav-ioral problems.

Relapse: To fall or slip back into a former state, practice, rep-etition or addiction.

Denial: An assertion that some-thing said, believed, or al-leged is false. The refusal to believe a doctrine, theo-ry or the refusal to satisfy a claim.

Hiding: The act of concealing, con-cealment.

Sneaking: Acting in a furtive or un-derhand way. A secret that is not generally avowed, as a feeling, notion, suspi-

cion.

Self – Esteem: A realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself; self respect. An impression of oneself.

Abuse: Using, containing or char-acterized by harshly or coarsely insulting lan-guage. Abuse is treating badly or injuriously; mis-treating, especially physi-cally.

Impulsiveness: Actuated or swayed by emotional or involuntary impulses, an impulsive child or adult. The me-chanic of acting momen-tarily; not continuous.

Alienation: The act of alienating, or of causing someone to be-come indifferent or hos-tile.

Frontal Cortex: The frontal cortex of the brain is affected severely through addictions. Most-ly affected during the ad-diction of drugs, effecting the impairment of the hu-man mind and controlling

its temptations.

Consumption: Oral consumption; the action of using up a re-course. Consuming ob-jects, without hesitation.

Body Dysmorphic disor-der (BDD):A serious medical disor-der where an individual has symptoms of medical illness however the symp-toms cannot be explained as an actual physical dis-order because the individ-ual is consumed by imag-ination of physical defect that often others cannot see.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A disorder in the brain affecting the overall be-havior of an individual. The disorder involves obsessions and compul-sions that affect the ways in which individuals act through daily processes in everyday life.

Food Addiction: A substantial addiction that often reveals itself in a compulsive need to eat without control whether

the individual is physical-ly hungry or not.

C H A N T E L G I A N N A R E L L I

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THE INSTINCT

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It’s a heady rush; a devout’s ritual, a force of nature. There is no bigger drug than another person. All your inadequacies are literally personified in front of you. Your need to control, to seek order is what drives you. Every person, at least once, seeks to attain that order in another person. It’s gravity. It is the final frontier of self-actualization.

When addiction is a person, the ride is anything but smooth and that is what makes it so potent. You are drawn to the chaos, which becomes your fuel, your adrenaline. That chaos is the order you have been seeking. Tumultuous as it might be, you will need it to survive. Isn’t that what addiction in its core essence is, after all? If it is not one poison, it is another. Oxygen is poison, in the long term, so is that person who is the subject of your obsession.

No, I am not to be your voice of reason; I am the dark stuff you inhale, the one that will keep you alive, truly alive. For long enough.

Long enough to seek validation for your life in another. Long enough to discover the thrill, the idea, of conquering an alien heart. You can become what you think about all day long. You can create a masterpiece out of it, the manifesto of your ideal. The perfection, the truth you have been seeking, finally materialized, yours to claim. It is a dangerous proposition, dangerous enough to inspire the desire to dominate it. The fetish here is not an object, but a mind.

“Here is a haiku/palindrome I wrote called: ‘Obsession’

Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob”

― Jarod Kintz; A letter to Andre Breton, originally

composed on a leaf of lettuce with an ink-dipped carrot.

The pattern of their moles becomes the pattern of your sky, their address is your mecca, their attention your divine intervention. The pedestal is so high; you need ropes of fantasies to get a good view. Their glances hold you up, micro-expressions. The tiniest of gestures: each one waving a massive checked flag. You were hesitant; surely they were too good to be true? But, oh they were inviting! In that epiphany you have already pledged your soul for theirs in return.

The dance begins. It is a new fire, flamed every day, put out by the next. Every battle won feels like a defeat. Each day the conquest gets easier. Too easy, you cannot accept that. You need to invent your own fall to rise again. You need to get crafty; you cannot get too comfortable. They burn; you burn. But every match takes longer to strike than the last one.

The strings that held you up, you cut them, just to fall and bounce back higher. But this time you bounced too high, you went out of the orbit a little, they were not the gravity that once bound you. You are now depolarized. The pedestal from here looks like a grubby pile of all your shortcomings. The ropes are dreadlocks of self-worth, shed and discarded. But - oh I think you are losing me- I can’t get through you! What is that interference? It seems like Good Sense finally caught up. Little Miss Patronizing! She is going to shut me d-

C H A R M I P A T E L

“NO, I AM NOT TO BE YOUR VOICE OF REASON; I AM THE DARK STUFF YOU INHALE, THE ONE THAT WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE, TRULY ALIVE. FOR LONG ENOUGH"

LETSTALK

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Emotional habits paint how we see the world. Thus, the repetition of these responses becomes an addiction to perspective. This includes the addictive processes of decoding information, which then shapes our reactions, and ultimately how we handle our desires or not satisfying those desires. Therefore one can be addicted to the emotional outlook certain emotions can provide.

Obviously, addiction is rooted in satisfying pleasures or desires. Once the brain has been introduced to a substance that releases a dopamine transmitter. We continue to seek this as a relief, reward or positive solution. However, in this case, the emotions provide a promising relief. There are three main emotions rooted in the basis of our reactions: fear, grief and anger and over time people begin to rely on one emotional color as their foundational response to new information. We can all be placed into one of these categories based on how we respond to situations. For example, if fear-dominant person has wasted time on something of no value versus approaching time

T A K I Y A J O N E S

in an efficient manner, they may respond with fear that they will never get that time back, a grief-dominant person would feel a sense of loss that cannot be undone and an ager-dominant individual will become upset that the time has been lost. These feelings shape our responses to stimuli even unwillingly until we get to a point where nearly everything triggers the same response.

Once we become overwhelmed by a negative uncontrollable experience, we seek a solution or a relief — an act or substance that will deflect, redirect, or suppress our feelings, and one we find pleasurable (at least initially). However, this is not a solution because it avoids dealing with the underlying cause — our emotions. We become addicted to the ideas that even though this obsession does not lead to an effective solution, we are able to deal with this ineffectiveness more than the emotional pain of the unfulfilled. Our emotions overflow causing a dependence on the relief leading to an addiction.

We can look to the humanistic aspect in an

attempt to understand this occurrence. As humans, we encounter experiences furthermore our lives are shaped by these encounters. When our encounters leave us unsatisfied and yearning for an unfulfilled desire to be fulfilled, it leaves us subject to these emotions therefore causing this spur of pain leading to this range of emotional – sometimes irrational response options.

Along with the human perspective, one still questions why these certain responses and why a continuous revert to these solutions?

Well, we can become attached to these response patterns because it is conducive due to our environment and the behaviors of those around us, therefore we mimic their responses, perhaps we consider our sensitivity levels, or more than likely, one response proved more effective than others in similar situations, therefore we find comfort. However, if this preferred response seems effective, and becomes a continuous solution, we then become overwhelmed with the actual emotions themselves and it

continues to remain, therefore cannot be resolved. Therefore, not being able to combat the pain, consequently prevents us from dealing with our experiences.

Seeing as though everyone has emotions and responds to situations within the realms of fear, anger and grief everyone — to some extent, experiences these emotional habits when experiences and situations present us with unobtainable desires. However, everyone does not experience the addictive principles that follow. On the other hand, these negative responses have positive counter emotions. If one feels grief of losing time, can resolve to an appreciation of nonetheless, the time still remaining. This presents us with the labeled opposition of Optimism and Pessimism.

LaMothe, K. (2015). Emotional Habits: The Key to Addiction. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.c o m / b l o g / w h a t -body-knows/201203/emotional-habits-the-key-addiction [Accessed 14 Dec. 2015].

seeing emotions

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artwork by Joanne Tseng

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artwork by Joanne Tseng

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A discovery of a profound challenge to our bilateral views: Is addiction a moral failing caused by too much of hedonistic partying? Or is it a dis-ease taking place in an under-stimulated mind? Maybe it is a brain in need of a chemical Hijack, for some stimulation, wanting to feel alive within the moments of liberation.

We are like Free Radicles in the air…Waiting for a twitch of chemical action to become reactive, To stimulate…To accelerate…

Free radicals are too unstable to exist by themselves in our biological systems. They are unstable to the extent that they are always looking forward to losing, replacing, or adding an extra electron, so that all the electrons of our atoms or molecules are paired and constantly in search for suitable pairing, to feel stable and comfortable. It is a chain reaction of its existence. But the beauty of this phenomenology is that free radicals can be charged in different ways according to its unrestrained need; Free

will. It can be positively charged, negatively charged, or it can become neutral, depending on the nature of its arbitrary bonding. For the radical, it is bonded.

Is this an intrinsic logic?

Is addiction nothing but a passionate connection?

Human beings are compounds of inert desires and have a deep need to bond; form connections. It is how we get our satisfaction, both physically and mentally. If we cannot connect with each other, we will connect with anything we can find around us. From the whirr of a roulette wheel to the prick of a syringe, it depends on our restrained necessity. Radically speaking, we should stop talking about ‘addiction’ altogether and instead call it ‘bonding.’ An intense sense of bonding which gives you a set of stable wings to fly and makes the connection indispensable for survival. Like a heroin addict, who connects with heroin because she could not bond as fully with anything else. Like A fashion victim who bonds with the expansiveness of

D I V Y A K A P O O R

garments because it fuels her desire of liberation. These bonds could set them free in its inertia and they can soar in its sky.

We all need Love We all need addictionWe all want To love We all want to get addicted We all need Love and its Stimulation Because we all would not chase anything if it did not give us pleasureHormonal RushHuman Treasure

What we know myopically is a phenomenon called: ‘addiction’. It is used only for a range of unwholesome consumption leading to a streak of stimulation. Refractively, all human addictions are based upon a chain of basic processes by which we reinforce our onion-layered fetishism through connections. These are consciously random, unconsciously wholesome, and energising like Love is. Without this desire to explore and connect, any autonomous human would lead to their existential end. We are primitively driven to explore and bond. However, we explore

rationally in our own arbitrary sense within society. Yet we let it happen because otherwise it is a natural calamity in our human measure. We miss the human error, becoming a mechanical terror.

Arbitrarily addicted to or bonded with …It is all in the name of Love and passion…Our Human ascension…

The phone, the stone, a hooker or Poker, our children, our mates. To a family or a society that depends on our arbitrage. To art or music. To a sense of justice. To the sublime or a supreme pleasure of practicing a skill that is seen. We all feel the urge of these passionate connections. They are bonds with euphoric demands. But we indulge because each responsive action supplies a current of neoteric stimulation, an orgasm. This makes us feel more, be more; be ALIVE.

BECAUSE…

Too much of a good thing is wonderful. - Mae West

an arbitrary bonding

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+ Magazine marks the 5th Volume of Fashion Trend Forecasting Magazines created by Polimoda Students. The Addiction issue is a forecast for thriving addictions predicted to evolve and transform into a new meaning of the word. As a team, we decided to divide the magazine into three driving forces toward the trend, being ‘Body’, ‘Mind’ and ‘Emotion’. These three elements are the strengths that push addiction to its deepest limits affecting the individual. Throughout the issue addiction was explored through vast eclectic imagery, and still life’s directed by the students, that showed the deeper strengths through both subconscious and conscious tendencies that addiction tends to put on the individual. The topic was explored through in depth articles as a means to connect the broad topic of addiction through mind body as soul. Evidently the issue depicts the nature of the human being and the everlasting pulls of addictions will continue to occur. Is it possible that the human mind of the future will always need addictive stimulations or can the individual be content without repetitive temptations?

conclusion

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