• Can You Trust Your Own Judgment in Addiction Recovery?

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Addiction recovery requires accomplishing several tasks, including: Build and maintain motivation Connect with others Identify and develop alternative coping methods Reduce resentment about changing Identify, understand and cope with craving Build a new, balanced life Lead a life that is purposeful, meaningful, and happy Stay alert for problems and follow through all the way Making Continued Progress To accomplish these tasks, you will need to make MANY decisions along the way. However, your judgment about your addictive behavior(s) has not been good. How could you trust yourself after addiction to make decisions about recovery? You could put yourself in the hands of others (AA, a therapist, your higher power, etc.).  However, many are not willing to...
    full story
  • Could an ‘Intervention’ Have Helped Michael Jackson?

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Within hours of Michael Jackson’s overdose, many asked, could an “intervention” have saved him, by persuading him to seek alcohol and drug rehab? Because it came out in the press that Jackson had actually experienced two interventions, the immediate answer to this question would appear to be that intervention was not helpful, at least to Jackson. But let us imagine what might have happened at these interventions, to understand more about intervention itself. What is an Addiction Intervention? The ‘Johnson Intervention’ is an organized confrontation in which the person with an addiction is misled into showing up somewhere (often by being told a lie), and then “ambushed” by as many significant others as can be recruited. Each person recites a prepared and rehearsed list of concerns and ...
    full story
  • The Roots of Drug Abuse

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Perception vs. Reality Generalities about people tend to be either trite or misleading.  To risk one anyway, I have acquired the impression that all the people I have worked with, in addiction treatment for severe and persistent drug use, regard the drug (or drugs) as their most dependable and effective source of soothing (calming, relaxing, good feeling, etc.). Let us call such individuals “drug abusers.”  I use the term “drug abuser” in quotes because I do not want to make a caricature of a real person.  In other words, for a “drug abuser,” other people are regarded and experienced as relatively useless for emotional survival in the world (even the person’s partner, if there is one). The “drug abuser” is not choosing the drug over the partner in the sense of a competition in which ei...
    full story
  • Can Drinking and Drugging Improve My Social Life?

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Yes, but…let’s discuss how drugs and alcohol can actually have a beneficial effect on your social life (or at least appear to). In the second section let’s discuss why drug and alcohol use can still be a bad idea for you. How Drinking and Drugging Can Help Your Social Life One of the most frequent reasons people use drugs, and especially alcohol, is to improve their social ability, either in social groups or on dates: "I didn't know how to enjoy myself with others unless I did this.  And I could go on a date more easily." Related to this benefit of using is the possibility of overcoming social awkwardness: "When I did this I didn't feel insecure, bashful, shy, ill at ease, inadequate, or left out." You may also be interested in: Self-Confidence vs. Self-Esteem Perhaps you don’t ...
    full story
  • How to Cope with Painful Feelings

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Why We Cope: No one complains about feeling happy! But we don’t want to have other, painful feelings. When these feelings arise, one way to respond to them is to drink or drug. One set of painful feelings can be broadly labeled fear or anxiety: ”Drugs and/or alcohol helped me cope with feelings like anxiety, tension, fear, stress, agitation, nervousness, vulnerability, intimidation, embarrassment, and panic.” Other painful feelings center around sadness and depression: ”They helped me cope with feelings like depression, sadness, hurt, discouragement, grief, feeling defeated, feeling deprived or feeling abandoned.” There are many other painful feelings as well: a) frustration, resentment, anger, annoyance, irritability, and rage b) feeling remorseful, ashamed, guilty, responsible, ...
    full story
  • What is Denial?

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Denial is one aspect of resistance to change. In regards to addiction, it involves denying or minimizing the existence or seriousness of addiction problems. Unfortunately, within the field of traditional (12-step) addiction treatment, the belief is that “addiction is a disease and denial is its symptom.” From the traditional perspective, it is also believed that “alcoholics and addicts” exhibit denial as a rather permanent “character trait.” It requires strong and direct confrontation, and sometimes other extreme measures, to blast through denial. Based on this traditional perspective individuals with addictions are sometimes treated in cruel or disrespectful ways, which would never be considered with any other clients or patients. Is Denial a Symptom of Addiction? However, denial as ...
    full story
  • Addiction as Mismanaged Desire

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    How Does Addiction Develop? Addiction develops when desire goes unchecked. Desire is a fundamental aspect of human life, and learning to manage desire is part of normal human development. Overcoming addiction is a special case of managing desire. Overcoming addiction is managing desire ‘writ large.’ You might also be interested in: Drugs Don't Cause Addiction Satisfying Desires I leave out of this discussion some Eastern approaches to living, in which the goal of proper living is the elimination of desire. In Western tradition, life is about satisfying desire. Some desires have their own names: hunger, thirst, greed, lust. Otherwise, we speak of desiring (seeking, wanting, wishing for) various objects and situations in our lives. We feel these desires with varying degrees of intensi...
    full story
  • The Relationship Between Addiction and Habit

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    What is Addiction? Let’s define addiction as repeated involvement with anything, despite excessive costs, because of craving.  That sounds similar to habit, which is also repeated involvement with something. What are the differences and similarities between addiction and habit? Let’s start with some examples of what appears to be an addiction. A college freshman ends up in the emergency room after his first binge but is not repeatedly involved with alcohol (although he may soon be). A medical patient on opiates for pain control does not crave the next injection for the "high," but simply wants pain relief. A low stakes poker player has minor losses, but the pleasure of gambling in this manner, for this individual, outweighs the cost. This last example illustrates how addiction is hi...
    full story
  • Addiction Impaired Professionals

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    How society should view addiction Ending recoveryism Let’s stop insisting addiction is a disease Will insurance cover addiction treatment if addiction is not a disease? AA’s dominance in the US is harmful Court-ordered 12-step attendance is illegal CRAFT: An alternative to addiction "intervention" Substance abuse evaluations in child custody cases Addiction and youth Teach teens drinking before it kills them Why do college students drink so much? Why does anyone? From adolescent substance experimentation to addiction Helping your troubled teen without making things worse Alcohol advertising targets youth Addiction impaired professionals On June 30, 2008, the state of California stopped its medical diversion program.  This program was designed to prot...
    full story
  • Helping Your Troubled Teen Without Making Things Worse

    Posted on July 24, 2013
    Recent revelations of scams and manipulations on Wall Street have opened our eyes as to just how greedy and dishonest some individuals can be. It should be no surprise that there are individuals who prey on the desperation of parents whose teens have become involved in alcohol and other drugs, gangs, crime, and violence. Considering the many forms of trouble that seem to attract teens, and our seemingly limitless willingness to sacrifice for our kids, parents of troubled teens are appallingly at risk for exploitation. This sad truth is grippingly revealed in Maia Szalavitz’s appropriately titled Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids (Riverhead Books, 2006). Even professionals in human services are often not aware of what can be done for teens th...
    full story