A version of this post was originally published in 2018 and is part of an ongoing review of past posts about the conceptual boundaries of addiction, the disease model, and recovery. Photo by Daniel Reche on Pexels.com The narrative that the opioid and overdose crisis is a product of despair has become very popular. The … Continue reading The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
Tag: Bruce Alexander
The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
[Note: This is a repost from 1/19/18. This narrative has continued to gather steam over the past year. It's not that this narrative contains no truth, it's that it's incomplete and misleading.] The narrative that the opioid and overdose crisis is a product of despair has become very popular. The logic is that people in … Continue reading The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
The narrative that the opioid and overdose crisis is a product of despair has become very popular. The logic is that people in bad economic conditions are more likely to turn to opioids to cope with their circumstances, and that their hopeless environmental conditions make them more likely to die of an overdose. This model … Continue reading The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
Toward a “Conspiracy of Hope” (Bill White and Jason Schwartz)
This is being cross-posted from williamwhitepapers.com. Please visit and subscribe. (You won't regret it!) So it is not our job to pass judgment on who will and will not recover from mental illness and the spirit breaking effects of poverty, stigma, dehumanization, degradation and learned helplessness. Rather, our job is to participate in a conspiracy of … Continue reading Toward a “Conspiracy of Hope” (Bill White and Jason Schwartz)
The “rat park” guy
Several recent books have attempted to refute the disease model of addiction over the last few years. (See here, here, here and here for some examples.) All of these books cite Bruce Alexander's "rat park" experiments as important evidence that addiction is not a brain disease. If you've ever been curious about Bruce Alexander, here's your chance … Continue reading The “rat park” guy
Most popular posts of 2015 – #2 – We all wish love was enough
This article, claiming to have discovered the long suppressed cause of addiction, has been making the rounds and has been recommended by a lot of people. Like a lot of things, it contains some truth but is not the Truth. People generally bring up rat park and returning Vietnam vets to advance 2 arguments. That you … Continue reading Most popular posts of 2015 – #2 – We all wish love was enough
Most popular posts of 2015 – #7 – “unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
Seth Mnookin reviews Chasing the Scream and finds its review of the science troubling. (Previous post on Hari here.) The first tip-off that Hari might be in over his head comes when he describes how “a small band of dissident scientists” had uncovered the answers he was looking for after working “almost unnoticed, for several decades.” Hari … Continue reading Most popular posts of 2015 – #7 – “unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
“unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
Seth Mnookin reviews Chasing the Scream and finds its review of the science troubling. (Previous post on Hari here.) The first tip-off that Hari might be in over his head comes when he describes how “a small band of dissident scientists” had uncovered the answers he was looking for after working “almost unnoticed, for several decades.” Hari … Continue reading “unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
We all wish love was enough
More on Johann Hari, a post from earlier this year. ==================================== This article, claiming to have discovered the long suppressed cause of addiction, has been making the rounds and has been recommended by a lot of people. Like a lot of things, it contains some truth but is not the Truth. People generally bring up rat … Continue reading We all wish love was enough
“unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
Seth Mnookin reviews Chasing the Scream and finds its review of the science troubling. (Previous post on Hari here.) The first tip-off that Hari might be in over his head comes when he describes how “a small band of dissident scientists” had uncovered the answers he was looking for after working “almost unnoticed, for several decades.” Hari … Continue reading “unintentionally comical” – Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream
recoveryreview.blog 