10 Times Star Trek Depicted Addiction
4. Human Error
According to Andre Bormanis, the Star Trek: Voyager episode Human Error was written as a metaphor for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the Banyan Treatment Center, 27.9 percent of women with PTSD have problems with drugs.
Instead of drugs, Seven copes with her PTSD from her time as a Borg drone in the holodeck. Rather than Reginald Barclay's hero fantasies, Seven imagines herself as implant-free and participating in situations most people would take for granted such as romantic relationships, social gatherings, and decorating her quarters.
The more time she spends in the holodeck, the more like an addict she behaves, ignoring her basic health and cybernetic maintenance and missing real social gatherings such as B'Elanna Torres's baby shower.
During an argument with her imaginary lover, a holographic Chakotay, Seven passes out when her cortical node shuts down. a fail-safe designed to prevent drones from experiencing excessive emotion. This incident mirrors a drug overdose.
Like a drug addict quitting 'cold turkey', Seven declines the Doctor's offer to reconfigure her circuitry so she can experience normal emotions. She tells him that her fantasies were "an inefficient" use of her time.
When she declines the real Chakotay's invitation to a cooking class, he chastises her for not socializing with the crew. She contemplates this as the episode ends.