by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD The aphorism ‘blood is thicker than water’ reminds us to prioritize family.  When it appears that people choose drugs and alcohol over family doubt reverberates through the deepest truths of human bonds.  We become so focused on how someone could choose drugs and alcohol over family that we miss the bigger question:  Why is someone in a position to choose drugs and alcohol over family in the first place?  Often, people are issued an ultimatum something to the effect of: “It’s us, or the booze.”  Rather than reflecting a corrosive character defect in the so-called “addict,” the answer to why people choose drugs and alcohol over family may instead lie, at least in part, at the hands of those who issued the ultimatum in the first place. Anyone who ever is...

by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Addiction is characterized by a narrowing of behavior patterns.  As a particular behavior begins to dominate others, problems are likely to arise.  Expanding and diversifying behavior patterns is vital to overcoming addictive problems.  Identifying and participating in activities that capture and sustain our engaged interest is essential to well-being, and improved well-being is an excellent outcome in addictive problems and life in general. A lesser known SMART Recovery tool is called VACI, or Vital Absorbing Creative Interests.  When we engage in VACI, neural networks can be activated that promote a state of consciousness some researchers call flow.  Although the human brain remains a highly unexplored scientific frontier, it is not a stretch to wonder i...

By Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Most of us recall fondly a time when facts were facts.  No facts and alternative facts, just facts based on following the evidence even when it leads in undesirable and uncomfortable directions.  The world of addiction still awaits a time when facts rule over groupthink and personal opinion.  We at Practical Recovery continue to don a cloak of controversy for attempting to clearly state addiction facts. One of the many myths in the world of addiction is that drugs hijack the brain with chemical hooks, so one hit will likely lead to addiction.  The evidence shows clearly that most who experiment with drugs do not become addicted, so let us explore the controversial but true notion that drug use rarely leads to addiction. If drug use often led to addiction w...

By Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD We know prohibition doesn’t stop drug use, actually makes the use of drugs more dangerous, and helps increase profit margins for those who control the black market.  We know that humans locked in cages for possessing psychoactive compounds deemed dangerous by the government are disproportionately people of color.  We know the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated the retail value of the illegal drug trade in 2005 alone to be $321 billion, nearly 1% of total global trade.  We know that people are hurting right now, that calls for social change are strong, that the economy is hurting, and that an efficiently functioning government helps in times of societal distress.  Ending drug prohibition is a concrete, achievable action step that would advance ...

by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Humans are renowned for our cranial horsepower.  To maximize efficiency, our brains developed a number of shortcuts to thinking that are rarely questioned.  The discovery of the brain’s cognitive shortcuts made researcher Daniel Kahneman one of only two psychologists ever to with both the Nobel and Grawemeyer prizes, and for those interested the book Thinking Fast & Slow gives a detailed account of the cognitive cheats than can wreak havoc when they go unquestioned.  In the world of addiction, the company line continues to be notoriously under-questioned and groupthink abounds.  People who question the status quo in addiction treatment are greeted with about as much enthusiasm as a free thinker in boot camp.  But for any provider or person seeking treatme...

by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD We know that close connections and a breadth of quality relationships are often at the heart of overcoming addictive problems.  The coronavirus and subsequent safety measures mandating isolation make close connections with others more challenging than ever.  It is no surprise then, amidst a pandemic forcing social isolation, that people are turning to substances to cope with disconnection from others.  Sadly, recent data from first responders and hospitals suggests that during social isolation restrictions overdoses increased 18% in March, 29% in April, and 42% in May.  The harrowing overdose statistics further evidence the notion that, to a large extent, the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s connection. Spiking alcohol sales during coronavir...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D.   Feeling safe is a monumental component of mental health and well-being.  However, a focus on feeling safe all the time is a setup for failure because it is impossible to feel safe all the time.  Furthermore, feeling safe all the time would be detrimental in some ways.  Feeling safe is closely related to feeling comfortable, and there are clearly established health benefits that come from pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone.  Not to mention, there’s that pesky little truth buried in almost all absolute thinking - most absolutes contain fatal fissures at their core.  Efforts to ensure that people feel safe to be themselves, and safe to simply exist, is inarguably an important aspect of a healthy society that encourages individual differences ...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D.   Lifestyle impositions stifle our sense of freedom and challenge us to get back to the basics in order to maintain psychological and emotional wellbeing.  Restriction conjures rebellion.  Rarely is the spirit more determined than when caged.  The essence of finding the feeling of freedom amidst extreme limitation lies in reconnecting with the senses.  The modern human has been conditioned to life with a plethora of sophisticated distractions at our beck and call.  With the world and everything we want in it just a one click, buy-it-now, 2-day shipping, instant transfer of ones and zeros is a database away, the beauty of the basics are rendered, well, in millennial vernacular, ‘basic.’  To cultivate the feeling of freedom we need not look beyond the...

by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Some experts argue that it takes about 10,000 hours to build mastery, others disagree.  Few would disagree that building mastery requires discipline and a significant sacrifice of immediate pleasures over time (aka work).  Sacrificing right now for later is not something humans are particularly well equipped to do.  Sheltering-in-place during the COVID crisis is itself a pay-now, buy-later deal, the exact opposite of addictive behaviors who sell us on our predilection towards buy-now, pay-later deals.  Send me the bill, put it on my tab, charge it to my room, run it on my card, just give me what I want now and I’ll deal with the rest later. Hard-wired human preferences for now over later make sense, given that right now is our only guarantee, tomorrow… who kn...

by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD Leading harm-reduction experts, April Smith and Kenneth Anderson, recently released an article outlining harm-reduction tips for safer drinking amidst shelter-in-place restrictions.  Many are choosing to abstain entirely, others, not so much.  Many, many industries are hit hard by the societal shutdowns, however, the adult beverage industry is not one of them.  Alcohol sales are up, way up, during the COVID-19 crisis.  Nothing like heroic doses of uncertainty and boredom to drive one to drink!  For those who may be struggling to adhere to their drinking goals, Smith & Anderson offer tips to help maximize drinking safety. Lack of structure is one of the biggest challenges many people face in the era of shelter-in-place.  With external structure no longe...