ARTICLES: Psychology Today on Addiction
I've read through and selected what I think are some of the most fascinating and insightful articles from the blogs of Psychology Today that deal with the topic of addiction. I pretty much scanned them all (and many were sort of generic junk) so if you've been keeping up with my journal I doubt you'll need to go through them, but if you'd like to see all the articles for yourself, just checkout blogs.PsychologyToday.com.
Study after study shows the first ninety days in recovery are when the greatest percentage of relapses occur. This is because drugs of abuse rewire the brain, and it takes a significant amount of time away from drugs to repair and/or overcome this rewiring. Unfortunately, cravings usually get worse before they get better. In fact, the longer an addict stays clean, the higher his or her response will be to contextual cues. In other words, it’s actually harder to not pick up at sixty days than it is at six days.... On the plus side, after ninety days sober the odds of long-term abstinence increase significantly [...] and after a year away from drugs the odds of lasting recovery are actually pretty good.
-- Why Relapse Isn't a Sign of Failure by David Sack, M.D.
Does Willpower Play a Role in Addiction Recovery? We tend to oversimplify concepts such as powerlessness and willpower. by David Sack, M.D.
Why Relapse Isn't a Sign of Failure by David Sack, M.D.
The right and wrong way to measure progress with an addiction As usual, it’s more complicated than it appears. by Lance Dodes, M.D.
Don’t Judge People for Not Trying by Lance Dodes, M.D.
Do Not Suppress Addictive Thoughts! by Lance Dodes, M.D.
"It is virtually impossible to work with someone raised to be religious who has alcohol, marital, or sexual problems without finding a strong religious component to their disorder." -- Stanton Peele
The Illusion of Control Moving from fear to facing the dragon. by Ingrid Mathieu, Ph.D.
Is Opiate Pain Medication Safe for Addicts? Part II by Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. Part I simply discusses how many addicts are receiving opioids. It's not really of interest unless you're big into statistics.
"A healthy portion of the 10 million Americans taking SSRIs belong in the pro-athelete category. And all of these legally obtained drugs are boosting their performance in the field. If steriods ruin careers, why does no one have a problem with Prozac Nation making the team?" -- Steven Kotler
The Deluded World of Addiction Experts by Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D.
The Hourglass Shape of Addiction Everyone is an individual, until addiction squeezes us into its narrow neck. by Marc Lewis, Ph.D.
Self-Medication or Self-Destruction? by Marc Lewis, Ph.D.
So that's more than plenty to read through this week while I work on the house and get all my stuff reorganized and maybe catch up on my emails (over 4000 unread).
Study after study shows the first ninety days in recovery are when the greatest percentage of relapses occur. This is because drugs of abuse rewire the brain, and it takes a significant amount of time away from drugs to repair and/or overcome this rewiring. Unfortunately, cravings usually get worse before they get better. In fact, the longer an addict stays clean, the higher his or her response will be to contextual cues. In other words, it’s actually harder to not pick up at sixty days than it is at six days.... On the plus side, after ninety days sober the odds of long-term abstinence increase significantly [...] and after a year away from drugs the odds of lasting recovery are actually pretty good.
-- Why Relapse Isn't a Sign of Failure by David Sack, M.D.
Does Willpower Play a Role in Addiction Recovery? We tend to oversimplify concepts such as powerlessness and willpower. by David Sack, M.D.
Why Relapse Isn't a Sign of Failure by David Sack, M.D.
The right and wrong way to measure progress with an addiction As usual, it’s more complicated than it appears. by Lance Dodes, M.D.
Don’t Judge People for Not Trying by Lance Dodes, M.D.
Do Not Suppress Addictive Thoughts! by Lance Dodes, M.D.
"It is virtually impossible to work with someone raised to be religious who has alcohol, marital, or sexual problems without finding a strong religious component to their disorder." -- Stanton Peele
The Illusion of Control Moving from fear to facing the dragon. by Ingrid Mathieu, Ph.D.
Is Opiate Pain Medication Safe for Addicts? Part II by Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. Part I simply discusses how many addicts are receiving opioids. It's not really of interest unless you're big into statistics.
"A healthy portion of the 10 million Americans taking SSRIs belong in the pro-athelete category. And all of these legally obtained drugs are boosting their performance in the field. If steriods ruin careers, why does no one have a problem with Prozac Nation making the team?" -- Steven Kotler
The Deluded World of Addiction Experts by Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D.
The Hourglass Shape of Addiction Everyone is an individual, until addiction squeezes us into its narrow neck. by Marc Lewis, Ph.D.
Self-Medication or Self-Destruction? by Marc Lewis, Ph.D.
So that's more than plenty to read through this week while I work on the house and get all my stuff reorganized and maybe catch up on my emails (over 4000 unread).