Hopeworks Community recently listed his core beliefs related to his recovery from mental illness: The idea was simple. There are a few core beliefs about recovery that make a difference. To the extent you are able to live them your recovery will be positively impacted. My list of core beliefs was simple: Life can get better. … Continue reading Hope, empowerment, capability, connection and purpose
Author: Jason Schwartz
I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I currently serve as the Director of Social Work and Spiritual Care for a healthcare system. I've also served as the Director of Behavioral Health at another hospital. I'm also a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work.
Views expressed here are my own.
Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.
Hoffman and the Hype about “Killer Heroin”
did not die from an overdose of heroin — he died from heroin. We should stop implying that if he’d just taken the proper amount then everything would have been fine. —Aaron Sorkin Keith Humphreys dispels myths that overdose deaths are due to super pure or tainted heroin. It's plain old heroin often combined with alcohol … Continue reading Hoffman and the Hype about “Killer Heroin”
Am I going to hang onto these symptoms?
Sherwin Nuland's experience with depression led to the observation that some of his beliefs were bound up with his symptoms. [emphasis mine] And they were indeed a symptom of a long-term obsessional neurosis. And if I was going to get out of this depression, I was going to have to give that all up. And … Continue reading Am I going to hang onto these symptoms?
The Doctor’s Opinion – Dawn Farm Ed Series
Research continues to shed light on the neurobiology of alcohol/other drug addiction. Modern research supports much of what was intuitively and experientially believed by the medical specialists who supported the Alcoholics Anonymous program in its earliest days. This program will describe a physician's view of alcoholism, as presented in the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous and updated … Continue reading The Doctor’s Opinion – Dawn Farm Ed Series
How Dangerous are e-cigarettes?
A lot of cities and organizations are sorting through how to respond to the rise of e-cigarettes. Many are beginning to treat them like cigarettes, extending smoking policies to e-cigarettes. Mark Kleiman thinks this is nuts. The Los Angeles City Council just voted for a complete ban on e-cigarettes wherever real cigarettes are banned, including … Continue reading How Dangerous are e-cigarettes?
What about their families?
Salon posted a response to a couple of recent articles by chronic problem users describing their non-abstinence approach: Neither Schleger nor Berkowitz pretends that drugs are anything but a bad habit. “[B]ad things happened, of course,” writes Joe Berkowitz. “I’ll probably never look certain people in the eye again; certain doorways, I’ve likely darkened for … Continue reading What about their families?
Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?
What killed Philip Seymour Hoffman? According to Anne Fletcher, it wasn't the doctor who prescribed him the pain medication that began his relapse, it wasn't the prescribers of the combination of meds found in his body, it wasn't his discontinuing the behaviors that maintained his recovery for 23 years, it wasn't a drug dealer, and … Continue reading Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?
Social connection as a mechanism of change
A new blog looks at social connection as an important mechanism for facilitating recovery: ...if having plenty of quality social connections is good for the next person in the street, is it also true for people trying to recover from addictive disorders? Mark Litt and colleagues from the University of Connecticut conducted a randomised trial on alcoholics … Continue reading Social connection as a mechanism of change
Closing down?
Findings from a study of adverse interpersonal effects from antidepressants were recently published online. The adverse interpersonal effects we reported by more than half of the subjects, though more than half of the subjects were on them for 3 years. The gated, full article described a cluster of reported side-effects that it described as "closing … Continue reading Closing down?
It will kill people as soon as it’s released
The upcoming release of Zohydro has been getting a lot of attention: The hydrocodone-based drug is the latest in a long line of painkillers called opioid analgesics. The FDA approved the medication last fall to treat chronic pain, and it is set to become available to patients in March. The drug was approved against the advice … Continue reading It will kill people as soon as it’s released
Recovery Review 