For the person who has worked hard to reach recovery, the prospect of relapsing can be troubling. The best defense against relapse is to understand the causes and warning signs. The notion that relapse means a return to alcohol or drug use is false. Actually, relapse is a process whereby a series of events render […]
I’m telling my story because it is an important story to tell. I came into the Gambler’s Anonymous (GA) 12-step program in March 1987, and since then I have attended thousands of meetings. I didn’t know what to expect when I went to my first meeting, but I knew I had gambled compulsively for 26 […]
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) define addiction as a chronic tenacious pattern of substance use and related problems. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), drug addiction is similar to other chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It also shares many features with […]
I think that many oldsters who have put our AA “booze cure” to severe but successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. Perhaps they will be the spearhead for the next major development in AA — the development of much more real maturity and balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations […]
Men and women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are 18 times more likely to report nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) than people who don’t drink at all, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. The link was documented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and […]
Data from a survey by the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse has increased concerns that early alcohol use may contribute to the risk of developing future alcohol problems. The national survey involved more than 43,000 adult respondents. The participants who began drinking in their early teens were not only at greater risk of […]
Co-dependency is a behavior pattern that develops as a result of prolonged exposure to, and the practice of, rules that prevent open expression of feelings and direct discussion of issues or conflicts.1 There are several types of family histories, other than addiction, that can produce co-dependency. Violence – To do physical, emotional, psychological harm, the […]
It’s nineteen years today since he last held A drink in his hand or held his breath while smoke Filled as much of him as he could stand Till, letting it out, he sought oblivion Of the trace of memory of anticipation, And his life fell into a death spiral. Since then He’s been […]
My grandma was fond of saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is something that needs to be said to researchers from the Italian Agency for Public Health in Rome who recently reported there are no advantages to a 12 step intervention program. I don’t know why researchers felt the need to study […]
Are you a risk taker? Did you know that it is not just a behavior? It is a personality dimension (Zuckerman M, 2004). The characteristic of risk taking or novelty seeking behavior is one personality factor that is found in higher frequency in persons who become addicted to drugs and alcohol. How does risk taking […]
I believe that knowledge is helpful and empowering. Because of this, I talk to patients about how tardiness, lack of punctuality, is an early form of addictive behavior. In other words, it is mood altering by following one’s own rules instead of life’s rules. In the addicted brain, this self-directed processing of life’s events is […]
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has identified five distinct subtypes of alcohol dependence. “Clinicians have long recognized diverse manifestations of alcoholism,” said NIAAA Director Ting-Kai, MD, “and researchers have tried to understand why some alcoholics improve with specific medications and psychotherapies while others do not.” Previous attempts to identify alcoholism subtypes […]