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: Moments of Clarity
Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t work for everyone – and that’s OK
In a recent issue of the Los Angeles Times, Amy Lee Coy told her story of struggling in AA for TWENTY YEARS before finally quitting drinking for good by leaving the program, casting aside the disease concept & addict label, and taking control of her life. Miss Coy’s story is a great example of both… Continue reading Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t work for everyone – and that’s OK
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
A New Hero for Addicts: Wendy Williams
A few years ago I was talking to a friend about my views on addiction, and won him over to my side. Eventually, he told me about an experience he once had reading a book by the popular talk show host Wendy Williams. In the book, she talks about how she was abusing cocaine, and… Continue reading A New Hero for Addicts: Wendy Williams
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
Addiction: A Disorder of Choice
There’s a great interview with Gene Heyman, the author of Addiction: A Disorder of Choice available on NPR follow this link to listen to it, and learn about Heyman’s extremely important work: http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/08/is-addiction-a-matter-of-choice Another guest on the show, Hazelden’s Marvin Seppala, went on and on about research done on rats, a practice which I found… Continue reading Addiction: A Disorder of Choice
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
Andy Dick & Chris Farley on AA
Andy Dick gave a bizarre interview on The Joy Behar show recently. The topic was addiction and advice for Lindsay Lohan. The most interesting moment for me is at the end where Dick talks about his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor…
Huffpo Talks Sense on Email Addiction
The addiction term gets thrown around quite a bit, and what I’m starting to notice as I cull through google results, is that when people are talking about the non-substance-related addictions, they usually speak quite rationally. I think we can learn more helpful, genuinely useful ideas to apply to the problems of drug & alcohol… Continue reading Huffpo Talks Sense on Email Addiction