Prevention | Intervention
Healing Trauma Takes Time
Like the brain impacts of substance use disorders (aka substance abuse or addiction), most people do not understand the brain impacts of trauma. Trauma takes many forms: neglect, sexual assault, physical abuse, emotional abuse, parental divorce, and growing up with a parent who has an untreated substance use disorder or mental illness, to name a…
Read MoreJust Say No Didn’t Work the First Time | Commentary on President Trump’s Opioid Crisis National Emergency Declaration
October 26, 2017 was a landmark day in the fight against addiction in America. It was the first time a President declared “drug demand and the opioid crisis” a national public health emergency. I commend and thank President Trump for this action. But I was concerned when he made these comments, which you can listen…
Read MoreExcessive Alcohol Use Kills 88,000 Americans Annually | What Can WE Do to Stop This?
Excessive alcohol use, either in the form of binge drinking or heavy drinking, was responsible for an average of 88,000 deaths annually in the United States from 2006 – 2010. (Source: CDC>Excessive Drinking, accessed 8/11/17) This is equal to 241 deaths per day. In view of these statistics, which I find staggering, as is the fact…
Read MoreI Could Have Developed Alcoholism | I Developed Bulimia Instead
I still look back with great sadness on the 11 years I spent binging and purging (bulimia) and the year I spent “dieting” (anorexia) — my lost years from ages 16-28. To the person whose never been bulimic, it’s impossible to understand why someone would “choose” to eat huge quantities of food and then throw…
Read MoreChild of an Alcoholic – a Legacy of Untreated Secondhand Drinking-Related ACEs
Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) has sponsored Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. This year’s theme is “Connecting the Dots: Opportunities for Recovery.” In honor of this year’s theme, I’d…
Read MoreInaccurate | Misleading | Incomplete Information About Drinking Alcohol is Inexcusable
One of my biggest frustrations is the continued inaccurate, misleading, incomplete information about drinking alcohol that repeatedly appears in the news, medical practices, treatment program descriptions, and our social and cultural environments (school, workplace, community, legal and law enforcement, religious practices, family, political arena and the like). Take this April 6, 2017, article appearing on USA Today’s Network, How a…
Read MoreHow Do You Know if Someone’s Drinking is a Problem
How do you know if someone’s drinking is a problem? Short answer: “If you are talking or concerned about it.” What do I mean? The only reason a person would be worried about another person’s drinking is because that other person’s behaviors change when they drink. Their behavioral changes are called drinking behaviors. Drinking behaviors occur…
Read MoreThe Craving Brain – Q & A with Author Dr Anderson Spickard
I was invited to read and review The Craving Brain: Science, Spirituality and the Road to Recovery recently. Unfortunately I am unable to do so at this time, but I was so intrigued by the title and book summary that I wanted to share a Q & A with one of the books co-authors, Dr. Anderson Spickard, Jr.…
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