Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Moderate Drinking
DIY Moderate Drinking Are you interested in moderating your drinking? Many individuals are! Here are two books which provide everything you need to know about DIY moderate drinking. Responsible Drinking: A Moderation Management Approach for Problem Drinkers This book, by Rotgers, F., Kern, M. & Hoeltzel, R. (CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2002) is the basic […]
Family and Addiction: Two Attitudes That Promote Recovery
A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP 1) Stay focused on the desired outcome, not the process. You may be hoping to find the “right” treatment for a loved one. Rather than insisting that your loved one do this or that (some treatment program you think will be helpful), focus on what you want: no more (or […]
Addiction as a Disease: Understanding the Disadvantages
In the news media, the typical expert describes addiction as a disease. Often these experts work at addiction treatment facilities. It would be easy to conclude that experts agree that addiction is hereditary, incurable, and lifelong. In the addiction field, this view is referred to as the “disease model.” There is significant disagreement about the disease model, but the […]
Preventing Relapse to Addictive Behavior: The Role of Lifestyle Balance
In addiction recovery, if your life is filled with non-pleasurable activities, you are more likely to relapse. The relapse will provide an intense, but only temporary, satisfaction. Let’s explore what preventing relapse and the role that lifestyle balance plays in everyday life. Perhaps the greatest risk for imbalance comes when we are too focused on what […]
Coping with Craving
If you have had strong cravings, you may not need a description of one! Like hunger (which is what we call craving for food), craving is a complete (cognitive, emotional, and physical) experience. Your mind is distracted. You feel tense and/or frustrated. You get physically uncomfortable. Craving motivates us to engage with whatever we are […]
What Is the Best Alcohol Treatment?
There are three myths about alcohol treatment, according to some of the foremost researchers in the area, led by psychologist William R. Miller (Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives, 3rd edition, edited by Hester & Miller, published in 2003 by Allyn & Bacon). The first myth, and possibly the worst, is that there is one and […]
Could an ‘Intervention’ Have Helped Michael Jackson?
Within hours of Michael Jackson’s overdose, many asked, could an “intervention” have saved him, by persuading him to seek alcohol and drug rehab? Because it came out in the press that Jackson had actually experienced two interventions, the immediate answer to this question would appear to be that intervention was not helpful, at least to […]
Guiding Principles of Recovery
Working Definition of Recovery: Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life. Guiding Principles of Recovery: There are many pathways to recovery: Individuals are unique, with specific needs, strengths, goals, health attitudes, behaviors, and expectations for recovery. Pathways […]
Can Drinking and Drugging Improve My Social Life?
Yes, but…let’s discuss how drugs and alcohol can actually have a beneficial effect on your social life (or at least appear to). In the second section let’s discuss why drug and alcohol use can still be a bad idea for you. How Drinking and Drugging Can Help Your Social Life One of the most frequent […]
How to Cope with Painful Feelings
Why We Cope: No one complains about feeling happy! But we don’t want to have other, painful feelings. When these feelings arise, one way to respond to them is to drink or drug. One set of painful feelings can be broadly labeled fear or anxiety: ”Drugs and/or alcohol helped me cope with feelings like anxiety, tension, fear, stress, […]