There’s an odd little bit of logic or assumption that comes up when discussing addiction that I need to discuss. Those who favor the disease model of addiction, or any model of addiction that includes an inability to choose differently, tend to assume that those who don’t quit can’t quit. I, however, see addiction as… Continue reading Some people don’t quit drugs. It doesn’t mean they can’t quit.
Category: Miscellaneous
The Disease Propaganda Never Stops. Or, yes it is being screamed from the rooftops.
Commenters to this site claim the disease debate doesn’t matter, and some even say that no one is pushing the disease model of addiction. The most basic review of the news shows that the push for the disease model of addiction is still going strong. It obviously matters to someone.
Your Local Badass: or why I don’t want to write an addiction memoir.
I just got done watching the new season of The Comeback – a mock reality show about a pathetic aging sitcom star, Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow). I consider myself a comedy connoisseur, and this show to be top notch. So if you haven’t seen it, check it out on HBO – I give… Continue reading Your Local Badass: or why I don’t want to write an addiction memoir.
How to stupefy 1,700 troubled people a day
I just found an old article by a seasoned treatment provider/12-step supporter, Dr Abraham Twerski. He’s a psychiatrist who founded the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in 1972, writes extensively, and tours the world speaking about recovery. He also offers a wonderful example of the double-talk, nonsense, and brazen self-contradictory messages of the recovery culture. Check out… Continue reading How to stupefy 1,700 troubled people a day
A Critic’s View of Drugs, Music, and Creativity
Drugs and art, art and drugs. Is drug use and addiction a necessary evil for the artist? The myth that the best modern music is the result of drug use pervades our culture despite some important weaknesses in this assumption. Let’s examine some critical issues in this debate.
Conceptual Confusion In Modern Neuroscience
Consider these important philosophical questions in the brain disease of addiction debate: Do brains use substances, or do people use substances? Does the brain walk down to the store, buy a drink, open it, and drink it – or does a person do all of that? Does a brain seek pleasure – or does a person?
Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction – Defined.
Learn some more helpful and constructive definitions of substance use, substance abuse, and addiction.
Average Inpatient Alcohol And Drug Rehab Costs
Rehabs are expensive. Here are some basic averages of inpatient addiction treatment costs.
The Last Word…
A few months ago, I caught a particularly nasty 12-step counselor on a message board telling a current client of the program I used to work at that he should beware that the place is really Narconon in disguise. I was flabbergasted. There is no truth to any such rumor. I replied and set the record straight, but then the stepper redirected her venom at me, mischaracterizing my views. I wrote a response to her slander, but of course the forum moderators locked the forum before I could respond to defend myself. Well, I saved the response, and I just decided to publish it.
Martin Seligman on Prospection: Being Motivated by our Vision of The Future
Should you focus on the past and feel as if you’re doomed to repeat it, and that you’ve created immutable character defects, or have changed into a permanently diseased addict or alcoholic doomed to relapse? Should you beware of your disease, avoid overconfidence/arrogance and simply take things “one day at a time”? Maybe it’s better to believe that you can change permanently, and to envision a better future for yourself. Maybe it’s better to simply think about those things that would make you happier than a cheap high and to work towards those things. That’s what I think anyways, and I think Martin Seligman would agree.