"My own biography of addiction motivates me, and there is no better feeling than touching the heart and soul of another human being."
My clients often need reminding that the world does not revolve around what the alcoholic/addict is doing -- whether they are staying clean and sober, living up to their promises or are successful or unsuccessful living life on life's terms.
"Fatigue" turned out to be the perfect word for what many people were beginning to feel after a few years of hyperconnectivity, information overload and always-on living.
No longer able to convince Americans that marijuana consumers are dangerous criminals who deserve to be locked up, history is repeating itself. We are seeing a shift in the message, from marijuana consumers as criminals to marijuana consumers as sick people who belong in treatment.
Many people hate drugs. It is easy to see why. Most families have had a loved one with a problematic relationship to alcohol or other drugs. While it might be counterintuitive, people who hate drugs should be at the forefront of ending our nation's failed drug war.
It's not just movies that lie at the root of our fascination with casinos. For some of us, it's the promise of striking it rich with that one lucky poker hand or dice roll. And as a matter of fact, in neurological terms, gambling is its own sort of drug.
What do Lance Armstrong and Bernie Madoff have in common? Are they a different species from each other and from us? No, they are all too human. Like many of us, they want to be superhuman. The difference? They feel driven and entitled to go for it at any cost.
Only an addict would smoke more after they were diagnosed with lung cancer. Only an addict would drink more after being arrested for their third D.U....
It is a new year. Is your marriage better or worse?
If you are truly serious about your recovery and growing in faith, these are some of the things I've done through the years and continue to do:
My morning with Ritchie, part of a required residency rotation on addiction, offered a rare glimpse into patients' lives outside hospital walls and the important, if unsettling, work that complements our efforts as physicians.
PTSD, domestic violence and alcohol abuse are problems that have been widely chronicled among returning veterans of our recent wars. Often left out of the discussion, however, is the terrible toll that prescription medications -- namely, opioid painkillers -- take on veterans' lives.
The changes that are being proposed to substance abuse diagnoses in the DSM -- especially as they pertain to alcoholism -- may open the door to many people understanding that they have a problem and seeking help for it sooner than later. This would be a good thing.
Sugar plums aren't the only things that dance through our heads during the holiday season. For those among us whose holidays have been shaken up by loss or family rupture, addiction or illness, the holidays can remind us not only of what we have, but of what feels missing.
It is a heavy-hearted realization that you must go your separate ways; and you can lick your wounds, go on dating sites, even move 3,000 miles away, but the love, friendship and history you had with this person still takes up at least a little space in your soul.
I love being able to experience the depth and breadth of midlife. I am fortunate to have been able to update my understanding of how powerful the 12 steps can be in my life. I am very different from the 28-year-old I used to be.