If you were asked to physically point to the location of a person’s addiction illness, where would you point? My answer might surprise you.  Where would you point if you were asked?  Have you ever thought of that question?  I’ll share my answer to that question a little later in this essay.  But first, try … Continue reading WHERE is Addiction?

One of my favorite resources pertaining to the 12 Traditions is the simple list of the "Spiritual Principles in the Twelve Traditions" provided by OA. That simple list can be found here. Many are familiar with the spiritual principles of the Steps, but are not aware that there are spiritual principles identified for the Traditions. … Continue reading My favorite resources on the Twelve Traditions

Yesterday I was sent a report of a “preprint article” about some interesting research results.  (The report states a preprint article is one that has not yet been peer-reviewed or evaluated and should not be used to guide clinical practice).  The article reported on a study that asks and answers if there is a “safe … Continue reading No Safe Level of Alcohol Use for Brain Health?

Earlier today Jason Schwartz posted about the active ingredients and basic framework of a multi-year clinical and recovery support model.  The information he shared included elements from Robert DuPont, MD and William White, MA.  Jason included a statement Dr. DuPont made about the short length of even our longest treatments (such as outpatient methadone or … Continue reading What should be the gold standard for addiction treatment: A little more.

During their ugliest, most severe, and worst stage of their addiction, the start of their recovery is invisible to everyone else.  The nascent recovery within them (perhaps nothing more than a simple moment of clarity) seems to have its own voice and is already speaking to them.  Later, that suffering person speaks to others about … Continue reading Recovery Orphans

In their 2020 Commentary published in The Journal of Addiction Medicine (a journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine aka ASAM), Kelly and Bergman state that: “Individuals with regular and increasing very heavy alcohol consumption cannot be considered as maintaining ‘recovery’ due to toxicity and intoxication-related risks”.  Why did they publish a commentary about … Continue reading Continuing “Very Heavy Drinking” and Also Meeting An Improved Definition of Recovery?

It seems that during recent years, within the substance use disorder arena, there has been a trend toward changing views about: substance use, sobriety, abstinence, the harms of use, harm reduction, recovery, pathways of personal improvement, problematic use, and addiction illness itself.  While advancements, improvements, and innovations are welcome, what should be preserved?  And how … Continue reading The Four Pests: recovery, sobriety/abstinence, addiction illness, and treatment

This post will consist of an overview of one particular research report, and some of my thoughts about it.  Here is the citation of the paper I’ll be discussing: Yovell, Y., Bar, G., Mashiah, M., Baruch, Y., Briskman, I., Asherov, J., Lotan, A., Rigbi, A. & Panksepp, J.  (2016).  Ultra-Low-Dose Buprenorphine as a Time-Limited Treatment … Continue reading Research Article Review: Buprenorphine for Severe Suicidal Ideation

Can the presence of recovery, or the level of recovery function, be somehow detectable when it is unspoken and not overtly displayed? Can recovery be intuitively recognized or somehow felt in another person? Can recovery be intuitively recognized within an interpersonal space? Can recovery be present and sensed in the atmosphere? Sixth-sense, Spidey-sense, Radar When you walk into a room, do you ever pick up on any … Continue reading “Throw Flour On the Invisible Man”: Toward locating recovery function and assessing recovery quality

Beyond one’s personal recovery, what could the general idea of recovery be good for? To explore what the idea of recovery could be good for, I would like to separate the word “recovery” from its normal use (about people making personal changes in the face of addiction illness), and highlight some other benefits that could be found in the idea of … Continue reading Recovery: What Is It Good For?