7/24/2025
Angelica- A Life on Drugs, Angel, New York City – 11
Mark’s interview with Angelica is a breakthrough that provides insights into escaping addiction and being able to live a normal, balanced life. Researchers should interview her in greater depth and write about and share her journey.
Self-knowledge is a key to her continuing success. She can articulate motivational factors that caused her to seek addiction and motivational factors that help keep her clean. She can discuss social environmental issues that caused her to escape into drugs and social environmental conditions that provided support for her efforts to free herself from the darkness.
In Mark’s interview, Angelica states she wonders if her three unsuccessful suicide attempts indicate she is still here for some greater purpose. She says, “Maybe this is it,” in reference to the interview. Hopefully researchers, writers, and social activist will utilize her insights to provide real help for people in the streets.
Future messages will briefly explore phases of her journey and suggest possible practical approaches to utilize what might be learned from her.
For readers that might be interested in academic information about motivational factors can explore Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” as mentioned by Chelsea D Crum’s reply to “How Are Needs Fulfilled in Nature? 10”, J Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham’s “Job Characteristics Model” and Frederick Herzberg’s “Two Factor Theory.”
Of course, there are two cautions about academic information. First, just because something is written down by a “scholar” does not make it true in the real world. For example, the Wikipedia biography on Maslow states “Maslow described human needs as ordered in a prepotent hierarchy—a pressing need would need to be mostly satisfied before someone would give their attention to the next highest need.” In my practical work with the Department of Defense, I could not find support for that concept. When soldiers are ordered to get out their foxholes to attack an enemy shooting at them, they have not “mostly satisfied” their needs for survival, safety and security. Their heroic action involves higher levels of needs.
Second, understanding motivational psychology does not provide information on how to implement its concepts in the real world. Reading a book on how to swim is a good thing but more is involved in learning how. Many Americans are involved with attempting many approaches to make our social world better. Mark’s videos document that some approaches are failing, but we lack a national willingness to discuss what is and what is not working. A polarized society is a failing society.
Further reading for those interested. Maslow was a clinical psychologist but was not involved with the practical application of his concepts. J Richard Hackman, Greg Oldham, and Frederick Herzberg investigated approaches to implementing Maslow’s ideas in real-world organizations. A society is nothing more than a giant, complex set of organizations made up of people striving to achieve satisfaction of their needs.
Abraham Maslow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
J Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham’s “Job Characteristics Model”
https://www.toolshero.com/human-resources/job-characteristics-model/
https://www.myorganisationalbehaviour.com/job-characteristics-model/
Frederick Herzberg’s “Two Factor Theory.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Herzberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory