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Rubber-band addiction recovery – No shame
There’s a specific issue that keeps coming up with nearly every addiction client I work with who is in early recovery. Regardless of whether they’re trying to stop unhealthy alcohol or drug use, sex or gambling behavior, or anything else, this issue keeps returning. It doesn’t even seem to matter if this is their first…
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Recovery = Abstinence… Or not
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) just release a new definition of “recovery” from mental health and addiction: A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. I’ll give you 10 seconds to find a key missing ingredient…
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Crystal meth addiction and the Miracle of Letting Go
This is a guest post by Cathy Taughinbaugh of Treatment Talk.org. I am a parent of an addict. I would say looking back, that I was naive and in denial about the drug use in my home. The last two years of high school for my daughter were challenging. One day of her senior year, I found what looked like drugs in her back…
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Evolution of Addiction Treatment – California learning
Addiction conferences are getting more and more common, and quite a few nowadays showcase the talents of some very knowledgeable, and renowned, addiction experts. Coming from the academic side of things, I’ve been to conferences held by the American Psychological Association, the American Public Health Association, the Society for Neuroscience, and the College on Problems…
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Internet addiction – Epidemic or fad?
By Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., and Yalda Uhls, MA, MBA 1 in 3 people consider the Internet to be as important as air, water, food and shelter. Given how intensely people feel about this technology, is it any wonder that some psychologists are convinced that Internet addiction is a real pathology? True, claiming that people are…
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A3 Verified Addiction Treatment: Promises West Los Angeles and Malibu
From the mechanic who fixes your car to the teacher who educates your children, we don’t entrust our money, our possessions or our family to service providers without some assurance that these are trained, capable professionals. So when it comes to one of the most important decisions you will ever make, choosing an addiction treatment…
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Saving lives made easy – Treating opiate overdose with intranasal naloxone
Contributing co-author: Andrew Chen Imagine that you and your friend have been using heroin (or another opiate). A few hours go by and you notice your friend is progressively becoming more and more unresponsive. You check on him and find that his breathing is shallow, his skin is cold, and his pupils are constricted. You…
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Loss, but not absence, of control – How choice and addiction are related
In a recent post the notion that “loss of control” is an addiction myth was raised by our contributing author, Christopher Russell, a thoughtful graduate student studying substance abuse in the U.K. Though I obviously personally believe in control- and choice-relevant neurological mechanisms playing a part in addiction, this conversation is a common one both…
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Compulsive choices in addiction?
Is addiction an issue of bad choices or is it a case of biological, compulsive, necessity? If you know anything about me and my views, you know that I think little of anyone who tries to separate these. I see and talk to people all the time who are stuck in compulsive behavioral patterns but…