Deja vu Sunday continues. These posts were from August 2006 and provide a real case of deja vu, as we've been engaged in these same arguments recently. I still hold the opinion that most of these arguments are less about whether it's a disease and more about perceived social, cultural, personal and interpersonal implications of … Continue reading The Myth of an Addict Gene
Tag: addiction
Chemical Dependency & The Family – from the Dawn Farm Education Series
This program will provide participants with a basic understanding of how addiction impacts each member of a family. The About the presenter will describe the roles and behaviors that family members often acquire when living with addiction, ways in which each family member is affected by addiction in the family, and options for family members … Continue reading Chemical Dependency & The Family – from the Dawn Farm Education Series
The choice argument and pleasure cont’d
The NY Times recently had a Room for Debate feature on addiction. They published opinions from 6 different people on addiction with one being a clear advocate for the disease model. This is a little like publishing a debate feature on climate change and having 1 of 6 experts believe that global climate change is … Continue reading The choice argument and pleasure cont’d
“He’d still be alive”
Much has been said this week about the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I've heard two recurring themes. First, that he might still be alive if he had been "treated with an evidence-based" treatment, like buprenorphine. Second, that he might still be alive if he hadn't been inculcated with the disease model, which purportedly fosters … Continue reading “He’d still be alive”
My Dad Will Never Stop Smoking Pot
The Atlantic published an personal essay about the impact of her father's marijuana addiction on herself and her siblings. Then there's my sister, the baby, the one who struggled harder than any of us. She tried so desperately to finish high school, a rare feat in my family. Then she tried community college. As we … Continue reading My Dad Will Never Stop Smoking Pot
“narrative truth”
This reminded me of something from Bill White. At the heart of Perry’s argument — in line with neurologist Oliver Sacks’s recent meditation on memory and how “narrative truth,” rather than “historical truth,” shapes our impression of the world — is the recognition that stories make us human and learning to reframe our interpretations of reality is key to our experience … Continue reading “narrative truth”
Some things never really change
Salon recently posted a history of cocaine. Has PHARMA changed at all? For serious cocaine consumers, other products were also available in the late nineteenth century. Large drug companies such as Parke-Davis in Detroit also got into the cocaine game. They developed processes for the mass production of easily crystallizable and soluble salts like hydrochloride, which … Continue reading Some things never really change
Tribes of the Recovering Community
Celebrate Recovery appears to be the most popular faith-based recovery group in the U.S. It's Christian and evangelical and it's not limited to people with drug and alcohol problems. Some members use it as a sole source of recovery support, others use it as an adjunct to 12 step recovery. Celebrate Recovery is a biblical … Continue reading Tribes of the Recovering Community
Tribes of the Recovering Community
This week's tribe is LifeRing Secular Recovery: LifeRing Secular Recovery is an abstinence-based, worldwide network of people who are choosing to live in recovery from alcohol and other drugs. We encourage individuals to build their own personal recovery programs based on three principles: sobriety, secularity, and self-direction. We believe our personal recoveries require communication and … Continue reading Tribes of the Recovering Community
Community Recovery Capital
This weekend is the fist time I recall seeing Bill White discuss the concept of community recovery capital. I've heard him discuss community recovery and the ecology of recovery, but I think I must have missed community recovery capital. The prognosis for community recovery is influenced by the ratio between problem prevalence, severity, and complexity … Continue reading Community Recovery Capital
Recovery Review 