“Anger is liquor to the “dry drunk” alcoholic. Once anger comes in, just like alcohol, it has to wear itself out; it goes through the body just like liquor.” These were the words of a PALS volunteer to me recently. They struck home. I have been working with lawyers and judges dealing with alcohol issues […]
Author Archive
AA and the Question of Anonymity
Posted bySome time ago, I had the opportunity to have an e-mail discussion about anonymity with a law student who was trying to decide whether he should disclose information about being an alcoholic and in recovery in connection with applying for a judicial clerkship. The conversation got me thinking about how we deal with this time-honored […]
Asking the Hard Questions About Alcoholism
Posted byThe alcoholic came first. At least that is the answer from recent alcoholism research on the often asked chicken or egg question of which came first: the alcoholic personality or the alcoholic. In an effort to increase our understanding of alcoholism and develop more effective treatment programs alcohol researchers are studying the development of the […]
Becoming a Better Lawyer: Identifying Addiction
Posted by“It’s just coke that you smoke,” the dealer said. “It’s direct.” John drew on the pipe and blasted off into the ecstatic edge of consciousness. This was John’s escape from the problems, as well as the responsibilities, of his practice and his relationships. Although it was not John’s intent to become addicted, he did. Within […]
Good Mental Health Starts With Becoming Real
Posted byA man and his wife and small daughter go into a restaurant for dinner. The waitress comes over and takes the orders of the husband and wife. Immediately the five year old daughter pipes up and gives her own order: “I will have a hot dog, french fries and a Coke.” The dad immediately interjects: […]
Thriving Through Depression: Beethoven
Posted byCase Study A. This is a lawyer 31 years old who works for a prestigious law firm in a North Carolina city. He is married, has two children, and makes over a $100,000 a year. He works 60 hours a week and tries to bill at least 2000 hours a year. He finds himself waking […]
Brain Neuroplasticity and Addiction
Posted byFor a long time there has been much research on addiction but there hasn’t been much research on the solution. I like to talk about recovery, the solution. Now for the first time there is exciting research about recovery. Using addictive drugs can evolve from controlled social use into the compulsive relapsing disorder that characterizes addiction. This […]
Cave Paintings, Substance Abuse and Lawyers
Posted byOne of the most dramatic struggles in pre-history recorded in the Bible and myths of old was the conflict between the old order of hunter-gatherers and the new order of farmers. Gradually of course the farmers won, but not entirely. In a way the struggle still goes on in the neurochemistry of our brains. And […]
Choosing Your God
Posted by“You can’t solve a problem with the very mind that created it.” Albert Einstein Often I find myself being told, “Don, I would like to get sober but doesn’t AA involve God, and I don’t know about that God stuff?” Or, “I would like to come to the depression support group, but is it okay […]
Cocaine: Old Attitudes New Dangers
Posted byAlcoholism is the primary chemical causing addictive disease in our country. It is responsible for thousands of fatalities each year, but there is another drug that is having a profound effect both on how we think about chemical dependency and on addictions medicine. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s it became the “in thing” in […]