Am I in recovery?

A recent paper on collegiate recovery experiences highlights an important dynamic in recovery advocacy, recovery science, and recovery policy. I've commented a lot on the conceptual boundaries of recovery in the blog -- the relationship between addiction (or SUD or other compulsive behaviors) and recovery; whether recovery is a process, a direction, or an outcome; … Continue reading Am I in recovery?

Partnering in pursuit of truth and recovery

Bill Stauffer recently shared Bill White's keynote from this week's Consortium on Addiction Recovery Science. It's a great speech and there's a lot to absorb. I'm sure more will be said about it on this blog. White frames recovery research as emerging from a gaping hole in professional/clinical and scientific/research knowledge related to recovery. To … Continue reading Partnering in pursuit of truth and recovery

The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention

Position Paper: Centre for Addiction Recovery Research (by David Best) Rationale and background: The inclusive cities model was originally conceptualised by Best and Colman (2018) based on the idea that recovery is an achievement that should be celebrated in order to: Challenge stigma and exclusion Increase visibility of recovery and access to community resources In … Continue reading The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention

Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?

Can the surgery be considered a success if the patient dies? An article in Forbes responds to the coverage of Matthew Perry's death. Specifically, the references to buprenorphine (Suboxone) in his system. Several articles about Matthew Perryโ€™s death have focused on ketamine, and justifiably so, as it was the ultimate cause of the actorโ€™s death (drowning also … Continue reading Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?

Precovery

Bill White introduces a new concept, precovery: Precovery involves several simultaneous processes:ย  physical depletion of the drug's once esteemed value, cognitive disillusionment with the using lifestyle (a "crystallization of discontent" resulting from a pro/con analysis of "the life"), growing emotional distress and self-repugnance, spiritual hunger for greater meaning and purpose in life, breakthroughs in perception … Continue reading Precovery

Sentences to ponder

If your loved one is suffering from addiction or mental health issues, it means youโ€™re suffering right along with them. You donโ€™t have to struggle alone. ... We can make it together.   We Made It Together | Love First - Intervention for alcoholism and addiction  

Quitting Smoking and Anxiety

  A recent study finds that quitting smoking reduces anxiety:   The study followed 491 smokers attendingย NHS smoking cessationย clinics in England. All participants were given a nicotine patch and attended eight weekly appointments. Of the sample, 21.6% (106 people) had a diagnosed mental health problem, primarily mood and anxiety disorders. All participants were assessed for … Continue reading Quitting Smoking and Anxiety