Addiction is a Natural Response to an Unnatural World
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. There are no known examples of addiction in the natural world. There are, however, ample examples of animals shifting their consciousness with substances, a favorite of which is the infamous drunken moose who got himself stuck in an apple tree. Even though animals often experiment with substances, the only examples of […]
Can Cannabis Cure Cancer?
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Pretty much anyone who likes to think knows that truth in cannabis propaganda for the past century was about as scarce as a direct answer in politics. Reefer madness told us that ingesting a single cannabis joint would make us rape and murder. Nixon and his cronies put cannabis in the […]
Stand By Family No Matter What
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Family is forever, or at least, that’s what the chintzy wall stencils say. During times of hardship, sickness, death, misfortune, mistakes, and malaise it is helpful to rest assured that our families will stand by us and help us. My esteemed mentor, Dr. Horvath, often says that 90% of social support […]
What is Considered Binge Drinking? (Hint: It’s Not Just a College Fad)
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The term ‘binge-drinking’ generally conjures up images of frat boys in pastel polos guzzling litres of PBR out of a homemade beer bong, or something along those lines. The stereotype is that binge-drinking is a college thing, not a mature adult thing. The truth, according to the current dean at USC’s […]
Drugs Are Good???
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week offers another controversial idea to consider in the realm of addiction, the idea that drugs are good. In order to truly consider the idea that drugs are beneficial in an honest way, we must start by recognizing the vast extent to which we are led to believe the opposite. […]
Avoiding Rock Bottom is Good
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. It has been said that the problem with good advice is that it usually interferes with our plans. In the spirit of a human tendency to give advice in buckets and take it in grains, SMART Recovery starts off its meetings by asking participants to refrain from advice and instead encourages […]
There is No Such Thing as an Addictive Personality
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The concentration of misinformation in the world of addiction is as dense as osmium. One of the most well-known misconceptions in addiction is the idea of an addictive personality. I hear references to someone with an addictive personality all the time from professionals and lay folk alike. The idea of an […]
Most Effective Ways to Prevent Teenage Substance Abuse
By Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD **The term ‘substance abuse’ was utilized for this article because that is the term people search for. While we would prefer the term ‘substance use,’ we also want people to be able to find our information on the internet** Teens and drugs go together like soap and suds. Nearly 80% of […]
Drugs Do Not Hijack The Brain
by Thaddeus Camlin. Psy.D. Change happens slowly over time. Gradually, habits develop and patterns of behavior establish routines. Whether we are changing our eating habits, sleeping habits, work habits, love habits, or drinking habits, the change process is the same. As behaviors develop into well-maintained patterns and habits, some self-regulatory control is compromised due to […]
Scientists Say James Bond is a Drunk… They’re Wrong.
By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. By now most are accustomed to so-called addiction experts purporting hair-brained ideas about substance use. Examples of hair-brained ideas from addiction experts include but most certainly are not limited to: don’t give an alcoholic drugs, once an addict always an addict, addicts are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves, there’s […]