Updates on the Negative Health Effects of Overdrinking
By Tom Horvath, PhD Did you realize that alcohol deaths (178,000 per year) exceed the deaths associated with all other recreational drugs combined? And that alcohol deaths exceed deaths associated with all infectious disease? A series of articles, “The Deadliest Drug,” by reporter Isabella Cueto at www.Statnews.com, considers the negative impact of alcohol during pregnancy […]
Food Diaries vs. Bathroom Scales
By Tom Horvath, PhD Many of us are concerned about our weight. We might check the scale regularly, and not much else. I suggest that a food diary of everything you eat is a much more sensible approach. A simple version is a list of foods you eat at each meal, without listing how much […]
How to Get More People to Seek Addiction Treatment
By Tom Horvath, PhD In the US many individuals who might benefit from addiction treatment never attend. Although there are probably many reasons for this non-attendance, surely one of the primary reasons is the typical rigidity of US treatment programs. In a commentary published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the […]
“Big Food” vs. New Weight Loss Meds
by Tom Horvath, PhD Do you consider the food manufacturing companies to be “drug dealers?” Back to that question in a moment. What’s a food manufacturer? A company that creates ultra-processed foods (also known as “hyper-palatable foods”). Ultra-processed foods are manufactured first by taking genuine foods and breaking them into specific components (such as starches, […]
Happy Valentine’s Day!
By Tom Horvath, PhD Even if you do not have a specific partner this Valentine’s Day, and especially if you do, it’s a great day to engage in relationship enhancing behaviors. You might do something special just for today. In addition to your partner, you could also reach out to someone who is not at […]
The Power of Memoirs
by John de Miranda Early in my recovery from an alcohol use disorder I discovered that memoirs and first-person accounts of people struggling with addiction were a useful method to help me deal with the challenges of a life without alcohol. Many of these accounts were uplifting. Some were scary. I remember one in particular […]
If We Have Our Own Why
By Tom Horvath, PhD “If we have our own why, we shall get along with almost any how.” –Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, Maxims and Arrows, #12, translated (1954) by Walter Kaufman, originally published 1889. Our Own Why There is a range of “whys” that explain how we behave. We have in-the-moment behaviors like […]
Can a Single Episode of Extreme Binge Drinking Change the Brain?
by Kenneth Anderson, MA The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as drinking enough alcohol to reach a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher, i.e., to become legally intoxicated. For men, this typically means drinking five or more US standard drinks in a two-hour period. For women, this […]
Looking for some inspiration?
By Tom Horvath, PhD I was recently contacted by a website putting together a list of 50 very brief accounts, including before and after pictures, about individuals resolving addictive problems. I was pleased that they included a few quotes from me, about the process of change. https://www.boredpanda.com/best-all-times-before-after-addicts-transformation/ Perhaps the most important fact to know about […]
Does Alcohol Kill Brain Cells? Part Two
This week, Kenneth Anderson, MA, explores MRI and brain shrinkage research in part 2 of the series, “Does Alcohol Kill Braincells?” Part 1 can be found here. By Kenneth Anderson, MA A 2001 study by Kubota et al. performed MRIs on 1,432 employees and family members (1,061 men and 371 women) of a large Japanese […]