Is Sugar Addictive?
Sugar’s Shadow: Is Sugar Addictive? By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Cultural conditioning (aka brainwashing) will produce a recoiling, dismissive reaction in many to the idea that sugar not only deserves a seat at the table in the discussion of addiction, but that sugar’s rightful place at the table of addiction is on the throne of rule […]
SobrieTea Party: An Interview with a Recovery Blogger
To continue our interview series with top recovery bloggers, we have Tawny Lara, from SobrieTea Party. Tawny has been blogging since she quit drinking in 2015 and believes “hitting rock bottom is not a prerequisite to recovery. You can begin your recovery journey at anytime.” Tawny lives in New York City, is a journalist and […]
Beware of Online Drug and Alcohol Assessments
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Online Drug and Alcohol Assessments: The Experiment I did a little experiment this week. To indulge my amateur investigative spirit, I went to multiple rehab websites and took some so-called online drug and alcohol assessments that claim to determine through a brief series of questions whether or not someone is an […]
Understanding Addiction: An Interview w/ Dr. Marc Lewis
This month’s featured top-blogger of 2018 is Marc Lewis, Ph.D., who has published two books on addiction and hosts a blog called Understanding Addiction. His unique angle on writing about addiction comes from his experience as a neuroscientist and professor, which allows him to write about the journey of addiction and recovery with a scientific […]
Addiction Treatment Under the Gaslight
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Some of the most powerful groups I’ve been a part of have been on the topic of the ‘Gaslight.’ Derived from the title of a 1944 Ingrid Bergman film in which Bergman’s character leads his wife to believe she is going mad, the term gaslight grew into a potent psychological concept. […]
How Should We Spend Any Opiate Settlement Funds?
The “tobacco settlement” was reached in 1998 after five years of litigation. Tobacco manufacturers agreed to change some business and marketing practices, and to pay over $200 billion spread over 25 years (with continued payments thereafter) to reimburse 46 states for their expenses in treating tobacco-related illnesses. Opiate Settlements There are now hundreds of opiate […]
Infantilizing Addiction
“Go to your room and calm down… Wake up, breakfast is ready… Are you gonna’ sleep all day?… You can’t have candy in your room… It’s 10 o’clock, lights out, it’s bedtime…” The Practice of Infantilizing Addiction The statements above are just a few of the endless parade of childish remarks that are hurled at […]
Ibogaine Treatment for Addiction: What To Expect
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Dr. Horvath and I, along with a team of colleagues, recently published an article on ibogaine treatment for addiction. In the context of the psychedelic treatment renaissance, it is worth summarizing our findings to provide an overview of what one can expect when taking ibogaine. While much variation between individual experiences […]
Sober Senorita: Interview with a Recovery Blogger
Next up in our top-blogger interview series is Kelly Fitzgerald, of Sober Senorita. We’ve been following Kelly’s blog for a while now, maybe 2-3 years. Her personal and professional growth, as well as that of her blog, have been nothing short of inspiring. What started out in 2014 as a blog about Kelly’s personal recovery […]
Avoidance is Addiction’s Best Friend
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Avoidance and Fear Nothing feeds fear like avoidance. Substance use itself often becomes problematic because it is such an effective method of short-term avoidance. Eventually, the repetition compulsion of avoidance builds up so much unaddressed residual byproduct that the costs of continued avoidance outweigh the potential costs of facing what we […]