I was at my hometown bus station a few nights ago, in Springfield Massachusetts – the town where I spent the bulk of my time as a heroin “addict.” A young girl – let’s call her Jennifer – started chatting me up, and although she was well put together, I could tell from the look… Continue reading Your heroin / prescription opioid addict origin story is holding you back. Let it go.
Tag: addiction
Bassist Flea “recovered” from heroin “addiction” without treatment or 12 steps
Flea, the legendary bassist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, wrote an interesting essay on addiction for Time Magazine. It tells both his own experience of getting over his drug problems without professional help, and his own ideas about addiction. He has a lot of great things to say, but like so much of what… Continue reading Bassist Flea “recovered” from heroin “addiction” without treatment or 12 steps
Addiction science exposed: recreational cocaine users’ brains are hijacked too!
A dramatic piece of addiction research used to prop up the brain disease model of addiction was blown to pieces this year: cue induced craving. You’ve probably seen this “science” portrayed on television over the years. Some very serious looking scientists in a quiet lab full of fancy equipment put a cocaine addict into a… Continue reading Addiction science exposed: recreational cocaine users’ brains are hijacked too!
Steven Slate’s TEDx Talk Tahoe City
Addiction treatment, and our entire approach to “addiction” doesn’t help, and it doesn’t “cure addicts”, it only creates more of the symptoms of “addiction” – hopelessness and a sense of powerlessness to change and make different choices. This what I chose to demonstrate when I got the chance to give a TED Talk on addiction.… Continue reading Steven Slate’s TEDx Talk Tahoe City
Stanton Peele pens new paper on free will and addiction
The key issue in addiction is free will. There’s no way around this. The entire notion of addiction rests on the assertion that the “addict” lacks free will in some way (either solely in regard to substance use – losing free will over substances after freely choosing a single dose, or else when faced with some… Continue reading Stanton Peele pens new paper on free will and addiction
Choice isn’t shame, but shame is a choice.
I’ve had it with the argument that suggests seeing “addictive” behavior as freely chosen automatically bestows shame upon those who engage in it. It’s usually presented with the request that we “treat addiction as a disease so that people won’t feel ashamed.” This argument is so wrong, but it’s rarely questioned and analyzed with any… Continue reading Choice isn’t shame, but shame is a choice.
Mental Illnesses Don’t Cause Continued Addiction: NESARC Epidemiological Results
In an analysis of nicotine, cannabis, alcohol, and cocaine users (in which a vast majority were diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders), the researchers found that: “No association was observed between mood and anxiety disorders and dependence remission for any of the substances assessed.”
Alec Baldwin’s “Gaming Addiction” and Other Nonsense
Alec Baldwin has been labeled an addict for an altercation over cell phone use on a plane. This case makes it clear that addiction hysteria is all about judgment. The so-called mental illnesses of hoarding, Facebook addiction, texting addiction, gaming addiction, and substance addictions are not real illnesses – they are simply behaviors unapproved of by others.
Addiction as a Brain Disease is NOT Big News in 2011
ASAM declared addiction a brain disease in August, and it was front page news in a media frenzy – but was there any news worth printing there?
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.