Tag Archives: addiction

Addiction and Depression

Addiction and Depression

Simple Tools to Help Addicts & Others Push Back Against Depression Symptoms Depression is probably the most common co-occurring disorder addicts present with. Unsurprisingly, addicts frequently feel demoralized and hopeless about their lives and health.  Altered brain chemistry exacerbates these feelings and often leads to depression.  The following suggestions, however, go a long way towards relieving the symptoms of[…]

Relapse

Relapse

Relapse Does Not Have to Be Part of Addiction Recovery Generally, when an addict is sent to or voluntarily enters treatment, s/he is told to expect relapse, that returning to using is a natural part of the recovery process. While it is certainly true that many addicts and alcoholics do relapse during the early stages[…]

The Hourglass Shape of Addiction

The Hourglass Shape of Addiction

Everyone is an Individual, Until Addiction Squeezes us Into Its Narrow Neck I’ve recently started interviewing people who responded to my request for addictionbiographies—formy next book. These people offered to share the stories of their lives as addicts. Most have recovered. Some are still in process. Here I want to tell you what I’m starting to learn[…]

Addiction: A Matter of Choice?

Addiction A Matter of Choice

High Levels of Dopamine Take The Freedom Out of Free Choicea Nobody chooses to be addicted. But as people become increasingly hooked, they may increasingly choose to take the pill or the drink, to gamble or to purge, and that’s the thing we need to examine. What is the role of choice in the onset of an addiction?[…]

Dreams and Recovery from Addiction

Dreams and Recovery from Addiction

Help From The Unconscious After more than thirty—five years of working with my own and other people’s dreams, I am convinced that all dreams come in the service of health and wholeness. Even the worst recurring nightmares come to help the dreamer move forward more consciously in the direction of his/her health and wholeness. If a dream is remembered at all,[…]

Addiction and Magical Thinking

Addiction and Magical Thinking

The Value of Reality We’re a society of addicts. Just look around you. There are smokers, drinkers, drug abusers, degenerate gamblers. Then there are the slightly less obvious examples: compulsive shoppers, overeaters, workaholics, those endlessly glued to video games or Twitter. When it comes to addictions there seems to be no end to the possibilities. Why?[…]

Motivating Loved Ones to Seek Recovery

Motivating Loved Ones to Seek Recovery

A Guide to Help Loved Ones Find The Motivation For Recovery People suffering from eating disorders are often ambivalent about recovering, which makes these types of illnesses harder to treat. Helping loved ones find their motivation for recovery can sometimes be hampered by the circumstances under which they “accepted” the need for treatment in the first place, i.e. was[…]

Is There Such a Thing as “Shame” Power?

Is There Such a Thing as “Shame” Power

Why Shame Can Both Help & Hurt Self-Control A recent blog post I wrote has been generating debate in the comments section: Does shame motivate self-control? And more specifically, can shame encourage people to lose weight? It’s quite a real debate in the field of psychology, and there’s evidence to support both sides. But a careful review of the seemingly[…]

Why Addictions Are So Powerful and How to Overcome Them

Why Addictions Are So Powerful and How to Overcome Them

Meditating Our Way Away From Addictions Addictions come in many different forms. We can all think of stories of people addicted to drugs and alcohol. One of my uncles struggled with alcohol. He was a very giving, loving person, but the years of drinking truly destroyed his life. His daily use of alcohol aged him and cut his life short. Before[…]

Compulsive Choices in Addiction?

Compulsive Choices in Addiction

How Do I Approach Clients Who Feel Out of Control Is addiction an issue of bad choices or is it a case of biological, compulsive, necessity? If you know anything about me and my views, you know that I think little of anyone who tries to separate these. I see and talk to people all the time who are stuck in compulsive[…]