Sometimes I feel alone when I look at the “case” for the brain disease model of addiction and cry “bullshit!”. Can anyone else see how ridiculous this is? Does anyone realize they’re just showing us a very normal phenomenon? Does anyone else see these brain scans and say “so what?”. Yes, yes they do. While… Continue reading Neuroskeptic: The Acting Brain!
Category: Miscellaneous
A Libertarian View On Drugs and Addiction
There’s a great article discussing everything from the drug war & legalization to the brain disease model of addiction on the Mises Institute site. Here’s an excerpt, check it out: When people take drugs, their brain functioning changes. When they have sex, cuddle their toddler, or eat chocolate, similar changes occur in the same brain… Continue reading A Libertarian View On Drugs and Addiction
Tax dollars thrown away on pointless animal experiments
I don’t often find myself siding with PETA, but they bring up an important point: “it is especially egregious that experimenters are trying to use animals to model addiction, which is in large part caused by social, psychological and even economic factors. Studies on animals can’t resolve these issues.” Read more here: Tax dollars thrown… Continue reading Tax dollars thrown away on pointless animal experiments
Inception and Addiction
SPOILER ALERT: whether you have or have not seen Inception, this blog post may spoil both the movie and your excuses for mediocrity. Inception is a wonderful movie, and beyond the layers of beautiful surreality with which it’s told lays a theme I found quite poignant, and it can be summed up with this quote:… Continue reading Inception and Addiction
Bogus Drug Scares
Gawker has a good story on the latest overblown drug scares including i-dosing, flashblooding, and Jenkem. Check it out here: How Bogus Drug Scares Get Started.
The Crack Myth Continues Via EASTENDERS
The popular british soap “Eastenders” now has a crack addiction storyline which was inspired by the real life experiences of the actor playing the addict. Obviously, crack use is dangerous, and I don’t condone it, but I also can’t stand by idly while misinformation is spread about it. The actor, Paul White, is publicly speaking… Continue reading The Crack Myth Continues Via EASTENDERS
Yes, Your Dad Chose To Be A Jerk.
Who would choose addiction? No one would. People don’t make bad choices. They always act completely rationally. If you believe this, then you probably believe the disease theory – which rests on the premise that if a behavior is self-destructive, then it must be involuntary. Gene Heyman astutely identifies this premise in his groundbreaking book… Continue reading Yes, Your Dad Chose To Be A Jerk.
Ebert At The Meetings
The important thing is that you don’t consider yourself to be your own Higher Power, because your own best thinking found your bottom for you. -Roger Ebert The above quote from Roger Ebert is troublesome and it reflects a common view among AA members. Ebert says that “your own best thinking found your bottom for… Continue reading Ebert At The Meetings
"By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction"
The above quote reflects a view I believe whole-heartedly. If we were to talk about addiction as a choice, then people would think of it as a choice, and furthermore, they would behave as if it were a choice. Unfortunately, the person who spoke this quote, Joe Biden, said it while introducing the Recognizing Addiction… Continue reading "By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction"
Is Hoarding a Disease? Parallels With Addiction
I love watching the show Hoarders as much as I love watching Intervention. But both are based on the idea that these types of behavior are the result of diseases – and by disseminating this view they may be causing more harm than good. Unfortunately, substance abusers are already doomed – the idea that their… Continue reading Is Hoarding a Disease? Parallels With Addiction