Managing Interpersonal Boundaries, pt. I
by Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP Interpersonal boundaries are part of the rules we establish about how to interact with other people. We can compare interpersonal boundaries to being in a house. The house protects us from the outside, and on the inside we protect our warm or cool air, our possessions, and our privacy. Houses […]
Drugs Don’t Cause Addiction
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Saying drugs cause addiction is like saying clouds cause tornadoes. Tornadoes are caused by a complex combination of factors including warm, moist air, changes in wind direction and speed, and an unstable atmosphere decreasing in temperature rapidly with height. Similarly, addiction is caused by a complex combination of factors, not drugs […]
Addiction Treatment is Sick, Not the People Treated
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Labeling people who’ve been traumatized as sick, is sick. There’s nothing pathological about being severely affected by the worst of life’s horrors. There is something deeply pathological when natural reactions to unnatural situations are described as sickness and disease. There’s nothing sick or diseased about someone experiencing post-traumatic stress after catastrophic events then easing the aftershocks […]
HBO’s Euphoria TV Show Goes 0/2 on Addiction
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD The latest installment of HBO’s Euphoria is chock-full of harmful addiction myths and contradicting information. The show’s main character, Rue, is a young and intelligent woman with a history of severe trauma. Her father died young from cancer, she was drugged and nearly raped, and she was cheated on and heartbroken by her first true […]
Is Walmart to Blame For The Opioid Epidemic?
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Villains certainly make prime scapegoats. Because villains make great targets they are also susceptible to false allegations and wrongful convictions. Despite its dominance in the retail sector, global mega-merchant Wal-Mart manages to retain a special sort of derision from many. Recently, Wal-Mart’s been under fire for ignoring red flags as opioid […]
New Year’s Resolutions & The Abstinence Violation Effect
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD The ‘us & them,’ ‘normies and addicts’ mentality continues to lose its stronghold in addiction theory. The more addictive behaviors are recognized as a manifestation of normal human learning rather than diseased character defects and spiritual maladies, the better. New Year’s resolutions, and their reputation for failure that often precedes them, […]
Sparks of Hope for the Holidays
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Sparks do not burst from a vacuum, they are incandescent blasts from intense heat and friction. The famous Christmas Carol ‘Feliz Navidad’ was back in the headlines recently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Most stories talked about the song-writing process of its creator, José Feliciano, as one of magical ease, a spark […]
Family Communication: Be PIUS This Holiday Season
By Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Holidays are ripe with tales of family gatherings gone sour. Many families anticipate disruptive antics from at least one family member, maybe more. As the beloved Lion King character, Zazu, memorably proclaimed about rabble-rousing kin, there’s one in every family, two in mine actually! Whether there are one, two, or 10 […]
Cultivating Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2020
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Gratitude tends to be hard-earned. When life’s complexities converge and we endure a series of painful complications, gratitude may seem like a fool’s errand at precisely the time when it is most needed. Thanksgiving reminds us, no matter our circumstances, to pause and appreciate. Nestled amidst a global pandemic, this iteration […]
Questioning the ‘Substance Abuse’ Label
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Abuse conjures amongst the most abhorrent of associations. People who are abused often turn to substances because they provide reliable and effective short-term relief from intrusive and disruptive trauma symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks. From that perspective, referring to people who were abused as ‘substances abusers’ doesn’t make much […]