Thu 14 Feb 08, 10:24 a.m.
Hi all,
Rex here.
Chatting with Jim this morning, some musings on the "disease model" of addictions.
I should have responded just a bit more directly. I am reluctant to because, as I said, the debate is not meaningful to me in a personal or practical way. Whatever "it" is, I got "it", and I therefore need to respond appropriately.
However, in the spirit of intellectual honesty, it is worth noting that the only way to diagnose alcoholism is indirectly; by observing behavior, by reports from those close to the alcoholic; family, police, judges, employers, etc., by knowing a patient's drinking amounts and patterns, by observing secondary morbid conditions and disease states which are the direct and indirect result of excessive drinking and using, e.g., liver damage. However, the actual symptoms of alcoholism are primarily morbid, anti-social, destructive and self-destructive behavior. So we know that, as I said, something is driving this collection of secondary symptoms and indications. However, we still do not know what the "it" actually is. At one time, genetics was strongly favored a a cause. Some still favor this, but it remains theory, we as yet have not positively identified a genetic link. We know that addictions, as well as other "issues", run in families, but that is only suggestive of what is going on. Then there is the problem that virtually any lab animal will become addicted given the proper conditions, and that many "normies" become addicted to pain meds following a hospitalization. This, of course, does not disprove a genetic, familial, hormonal, biochemical "push" in the direction of addiction for some individuals, but it certainly suggests the the problem is very complex.
We know there is an "it", but we still do not know what "it" is. I suspect we will learn more over time, and as we do, the possibility increases that there may be better treatments for reducing or eliminating cravings and even for changing thought and behavior. Gawd knows, an alcoholic who continues to drink and use in spite of the obvious often devastating consequences to himself and those around him surely has "something" seriously wrong with his thinking and behavior or he would not drink. In a Republican sort of way, it really is that simple. It is like the cocaine addicts who seek medical treatment for a perforated septum, and when informed that part of the treatment includes the necessity of not using cocaine respond, "Are you out of your fucking mind!!!"
To wrap it up for now, while many things abut addictions "suggest" many things about addictions, we have yet to identify a specific and direct cause; psychological, familial, genetic, hormonal, biochemical. That does not mean that a cause does not exist, just that we have not identified it yet. Meanwhile, as long as it quacks like a duck, I have no problems with the disease metaphor, or if you prefer, disease model. If you are an alcoholic/addict, becoming too entralled with or inflamed by the disease debate misses the pont, really, and distracts you from the important business of recovery.
Aloha,
Rex
Don Phillips, your intrepid reporter
Don Phillips,
your intrepid reporter
daphil15 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. ALBERT ELLIS
Subject: Albert Ellis Memorial Update
From: Gayle Rosellini
Date: Tue 25 Sep 07, 12:57 p.m.
To: REBT News
Dear Friends of Albert Ellis,
Please share the following message with your network of friends and colleagues. We know many of you will not be able to attend the memorial service for Al, but please know that all of Al's friends, fans, admirers, colleagues and clients are welcome to share a warm celebration of this remarkable man's life.
PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. ALBERT ELLIS
Dr. Albert Ellis, the world famous psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe Ellis, is hosting a Memorial Service on September 28, 2007, to celebrate his life and work. The public and press are invited for an evening of memories, inspiration and hope for the future.
In Celebration of Dr. Albert Ellis
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Alfred Lerner Hall Auditorium
Columbia University
2920 Broadway at W.114 St.
New York City
Keynote speakers will include
* Dr. Aaron Beck, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research
* Dr. Bill Knaus, Former Director of Training, Albert Ellis Institute
* Dr. Alan Kazdin, incoming president, American Psychological Assn.
* Dr. Jeff Zeig, Founder and Director of Milton H. Erickson Foundation
* Dr. Paul Kurtz, Chairman, Center for Inquiry
* Dr. Jon Carlson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology/ Counseling
* Dr. Frank Farley, Past President, American Psychological Assn.
Please join us for an evening of videos, music and memories of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century. Dr. Albert Ellis changed the way the world thinks about human problems. His esteemed peers in psychology, his family and friends will share their memories of how Dr. Ellis touched the world and changed their lives with his brilliance, generosity and acceptance.
See map to Alfred Lerner Hall:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lernerhall/mapsanddiagrams/campusmap.htm
From: Gayle Rosellini
Date: Tue 25 Sep 07, 12:57 p.m.
To: REBT News
Dear Friends of Albert Ellis,
Please share the following message with your network of friends and colleagues. We know many of you will not be able to attend the memorial service for Al, but please know that all of Al's friends, fans, admirers, colleagues and clients are welcome to share a warm celebration of this remarkable man's life.
PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. ALBERT ELLIS
Dr. Albert Ellis, the world famous psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe Ellis, is hosting a Memorial Service on September 28, 2007, to celebrate his life and work. The public and press are invited for an evening of memories, inspiration and hope for the future.
In Celebration of Dr. Albert Ellis
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Alfred Lerner Hall Auditorium
Columbia University
2920 Broadway at W.114 St.
New York City
Keynote speakers will include
* Dr. Aaron Beck, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research
* Dr. Bill Knaus, Former Director of Training, Albert Ellis Institute
* Dr. Alan Kazdin, incoming president, American Psychological Assn.
* Dr. Jeff Zeig, Founder and Director of Milton H. Erickson Foundation
* Dr. Paul Kurtz, Chairman, Center for Inquiry
* Dr. Jon Carlson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology/ Counseling
* Dr. Frank Farley, Past President, American Psychological Assn.
Please join us for an evening of videos, music and memories of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century. Dr. Albert Ellis changed the way the world thinks about human problems. His esteemed peers in psychology, his family and friends will share their memories of how Dr. Ellis touched the world and changed their lives with his brilliance, generosity and acceptance.
See map to Alfred Lerner Hall:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lernerhall/mapsanddiagrams/campusmap.htm
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Dr. Albert Ellis, 93, Creator of Psychology's Cognitive Revolution, Dies
Dear Friends and Supporters of Dr. Albert Ellis
July 24, 2007, New York City — It is with deep sorrow that we tell you that Dr. Albert Ellis passed away peacefully at home in New York City in his apartment on the top floor of the Albert Ellis Institute shortly after midnight on the morning of July 24, 2007. His wife Debbie was at his side. Below is a notice that went to media outlets. More information will follow.
Sadly,
Gayle ...
On Behalf of Debbie and Al's Friends and Supporters.
Dr. Albert Ellis, 93, Creator of Psychology's Cognitive Revolution, Dies
July 24, 2007
Dr. Albert Ellis, the controversial psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died at home on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe was with him. He was 93. He had been seriously ill for more than a year.
Dr. Ellis was born in Pittsburgh on September 27, 1913, and was raised in New York City. He received his M.A. (1943) and Ph.D. (1947) degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University. He practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling and sex therapy for over sixty years. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Therapy, the first of the now-popular cognitive therapies. In later years, he called his creation Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT.
Recognizing the slowness and frequent ineffectiveness of Freudian psychoanalysis, Albert Ellis broke away from it in January 1953, calling himself a rational therapist. He presented REBT to the psychological community in 1955, starting a revolutionary paradigm shift in the way psychology thought about human problems and changing the way psychotherapy is practiced around the world.
REBT is a comprehensive approach to psychological issues and problems that deals with the emotional and behavioral aspects of human disturbance, and places emphasis on how people think. REBT reminds people that they control their own emotional destiny according to whether they think in healthy, rational ways or unhealthy, irrational ways. It teaches people how to forcefully analyze and change their self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. A major aspect of REBT is unconditional acceptance of self, others and life.
His influence extended into areas other than psychology, including education, politics, business and philosophy. He wrote extensively on the problems the world currently faces, such as terrorism and nuclear weapons.
Dr. Ellis received the highest awards from professional societies, including recently the New York State Psychological Association's Lifetime Distinguished Service Award. In a 1982 survey, American and Canadian psychologists rated Albert Ellis as having more influence on psychology than Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung or B.F. Skinner. Psychology Today called him The Prince of Reason. The New Yorker Magazine reported that in the off-Broadway play "Trumbo", Dr. Ellis was called "the greatest humanitarian since Gandhi."
Until he fell ill at the age of 92 in May 2006, Dr. Ellis typically worked at least 16 hours a day, writing books in longhand on legal tablets, visiting with clients and teaching. Even while seriously ill, he continued to see students at the rehabilitation center where he was recuperating. He even taught from his hospital bed, giving his last two hour workshop to a group of students from Belgium who visited his hospital room on March 29. In addition to pneumonia, he had had a heart attack that morning, but he refused to cancel the meeting.
In his later years, Dr. Ellis also worked despite profound hearing loss. He was assisted in his work by his wife, Australian psychologist Debbie Joffe. She facilitated his workshops, contributing pertinent points in response to audience questions. Their outstanding rapport helped showcase Dr. Ellis' famous and at-times irreverent humor, as together they taught the principles of REBT to large and small groups.
Humor was an important part of his philosophy and he applied it to his own life challenges, using himself as an example to teach people how to deal with serious adversities. He was also a writer of his unique rational humorous songs. He had said that if he was not a psychologist he would have enjoyed being a composer.
Dr. Ellis was also as one of the founders of the American sexual revolution. His ground-breaking 1958 book, "Sex Without Guilt," created a national discussion leading to a change in the way people think about sexual experience. He wrote more than 75 books, 200 audio tapes and 1,200 articles. His autobiography will be published posthumously by Prometheus Press. Other books, including one on REBT and Buddhism, also await publication.
He held many important positions in the field of psychology, including chief psychologist of the state of New Jersey and adjunct professor at Rutgers and other universities. He had been the president of the Division of Consulting Psychology of the American Psychological Association and president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and several other professional boards.
In 1971, the American Humanist Association named Albert Ellis the Humanist of the Year.
In relation to religion and God, Albert Ellis called himself a probabilistic atheist, meaning it is impossible to be 100 percent certain there is no God. Many people considered him spiritual for his tireless contributions to others. In later years, he wrote and spoke about similarities between REBT and aspects of Buddhism, with both philosophies teaching unconditional acceptance of life.
On his 90th birthday, Dr. Ellis listened to congratulatory messages from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. In honor of the occasion, he was given a white silk scarf that had been blessed by the Dalai Lama.
In 1959, Albert Ellis established the Institute for Rational Living, a non-profit organization with the mission to advance and popularize REBT and to provide low-cost counseling to the public. In 1964, he used his personal funds to purchase a six-story mansion on 65th Street in Manhattan. This building housed what came to be called the Albert Ellis Institute.
He lived frugally in an apartment on the top floor, supporting the institute's mission by donating all his personal income to the institute's operation. For almost 50 years, the world's most famous living psychologist took only a $12,000 a year salary for himself, plus living accommodations and a promise of lifetime medical care. He could have been a millionaire many times over had he kept the income from his best-selling books and thousands of therapy sessions.
In 2004, after Dr. Ellis experienced a life-threatening medical crisis, the board of trustees of the Albert Ellis Institute said his medical expenses had become too great and they stopped paying for the at-home nursing care that allowed him to continue working full time. Dr. Ellis had always saved and wisely invested a portion of his small earnings. This cushion of funds was used to pay for his medical care.
In July 2005, the board of trustees barred him from using institute facilities for his popular Friday Night Workshops for the public, which had been a Manhattan fixture for more than four decades. Ellis responded by relocating his workshops and conducting them in exile in a rented building, aided by his wife Debbie Joffe. In front of standing-room-only crowds, they gave live demonstrations of REBT with audience volunteers.
The direction the Albert Ellis Institute will take in the future remains unresolved. Despite Dr. Ellis' strong preference that the institute promote Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy as its sole mission, REBT is now only one of several approaches offered by the organization that bears his name.
In October 2005, Dr. Ellis sued his own institute after its trustees voted by a narrow margin to remove him from the board and to suspend him from all professional duties.
In a stunning decision, the Supreme Court for New York County returned Dr. Ellis to the Board of Trustees in January 2006, with the judge calling the actions taken against Dr. Ellis by the other trustees "disingenuous" and "offensive and contrary to our fundamental process of democratic and legal procedure, fair play and the spirit of the law."
Despite the judge's ruling, the board of trustees prevented Dr. Ellis from any meaningful participation in running the Albert Ellis Institute and his professional duties were not restored.
Fans and professional colleagues used the Internet to create a spontaneous international network of support for Dr. Ellis and REBT. Fansites, discussion forums and Web sites were created in his honor. The trustees of the Albert Ellis Institute then claimed trademark rights to the "Albert Ellis" name, threatening to sue his advocates and supporters for trademark infringement.
Dr. Ellis rejected the Institute's trademark use of his name, calling the current Institute "fake" and likening its Trustees to "pirates" who plundered his life's work.
Also left unresolved at the time of Dr. Ellis' death is a breach- of-contract lawsuit seeking repayment of Dr. Ellis' medical expenses, ownership of his extensive archives and return of the $20 million Albert Ellis Institute mansion in Manhattan through imposition of a constructive trust.
Dr. Ellis believed the current institute that bears his name no longer represented his life work and mission. Friends and supporters intend to keep REBT alive and vital, as he created it. He suggested they do this by using his philosophy in their own lives to promote personal peace and happiness and by teaching REBT to other people. He remained dedicated to the principles of liberty, justice and freedom.
Dr. Ellis is survived by his wife, Debbie Joffe. He embarked on his third marriage at age 90, surprising many people. He said that after several years of friendship, he wanted to marry Debbie because she was the kindest and most giving woman he had ever met, and also the most dedicated to practicing the principles of REBT. He told his supporters that although he'd had several great love affairs in his long life, he loved Debbie Joffe more than any other woman he had ever lived with or loved before.
Debbie personally cared for her husband continuously during the time of his serious illness, seldom leaving his bedside and making it possible for him to continue teaching, promoting REBT and engaging in work he loved, even when he was bedridden and suffering discomfort.
Dr. Ellis is also survived by several nephews.
A public memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007.
July 24, 2007, New York City — It is with deep sorrow that we tell you that Dr. Albert Ellis passed away peacefully at home in New York City in his apartment on the top floor of the Albert Ellis Institute shortly after midnight on the morning of July 24, 2007. His wife Debbie was at his side. Below is a notice that went to media outlets. More information will follow.
Sadly,
Gayle ...
On Behalf of Debbie and Al's Friends and Supporters.
Dr. Albert Ellis, 93, Creator of Psychology's Cognitive Revolution, Dies
July 24, 2007
Dr. Albert Ellis, the controversial psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died at home on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe was with him. He was 93. He had been seriously ill for more than a year.
Dr. Ellis was born in Pittsburgh on September 27, 1913, and was raised in New York City. He received his M.A. (1943) and Ph.D. (1947) degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University. He practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling and sex therapy for over sixty years. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Therapy, the first of the now-popular cognitive therapies. In later years, he called his creation Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT.
Recognizing the slowness and frequent ineffectiveness of Freudian psychoanalysis, Albert Ellis broke away from it in January 1953, calling himself a rational therapist. He presented REBT to the psychological community in 1955, starting a revolutionary paradigm shift in the way psychology thought about human problems and changing the way psychotherapy is practiced around the world.
REBT is a comprehensive approach to psychological issues and problems that deals with the emotional and behavioral aspects of human disturbance, and places emphasis on how people think. REBT reminds people that they control their own emotional destiny according to whether they think in healthy, rational ways or unhealthy, irrational ways. It teaches people how to forcefully analyze and change their self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. A major aspect of REBT is unconditional acceptance of self, others and life.
His influence extended into areas other than psychology, including education, politics, business and philosophy. He wrote extensively on the problems the world currently faces, such as terrorism and nuclear weapons.
Dr. Ellis received the highest awards from professional societies, including recently the New York State Psychological Association's Lifetime Distinguished Service Award. In a 1982 survey, American and Canadian psychologists rated Albert Ellis as having more influence on psychology than Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung or B.F. Skinner. Psychology Today called him The Prince of Reason. The New Yorker Magazine reported that in the off-Broadway play "Trumbo", Dr. Ellis was called "the greatest humanitarian since Gandhi."
Until he fell ill at the age of 92 in May 2006, Dr. Ellis typically worked at least 16 hours a day, writing books in longhand on legal tablets, visiting with clients and teaching. Even while seriously ill, he continued to see students at the rehabilitation center where he was recuperating. He even taught from his hospital bed, giving his last two hour workshop to a group of students from Belgium who visited his hospital room on March 29. In addition to pneumonia, he had had a heart attack that morning, but he refused to cancel the meeting.
In his later years, Dr. Ellis also worked despite profound hearing loss. He was assisted in his work by his wife, Australian psychologist Debbie Joffe. She facilitated his workshops, contributing pertinent points in response to audience questions. Their outstanding rapport helped showcase Dr. Ellis' famous and at-times irreverent humor, as together they taught the principles of REBT to large and small groups.
Humor was an important part of his philosophy and he applied it to his own life challenges, using himself as an example to teach people how to deal with serious adversities. He was also a writer of his unique rational humorous songs. He had said that if he was not a psychologist he would have enjoyed being a composer.
Dr. Ellis was also as one of the founders of the American sexual revolution. His ground-breaking 1958 book, "Sex Without Guilt," created a national discussion leading to a change in the way people think about sexual experience. He wrote more than 75 books, 200 audio tapes and 1,200 articles. His autobiography will be published posthumously by Prometheus Press. Other books, including one on REBT and Buddhism, also await publication.
He held many important positions in the field of psychology, including chief psychologist of the state of New Jersey and adjunct professor at Rutgers and other universities. He had been the president of the Division of Consulting Psychology of the American Psychological Association and president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and several other professional boards.
In 1971, the American Humanist Association named Albert Ellis the Humanist of the Year.
In relation to religion and God, Albert Ellis called himself a probabilistic atheist, meaning it is impossible to be 100 percent certain there is no God. Many people considered him spiritual for his tireless contributions to others. In later years, he wrote and spoke about similarities between REBT and aspects of Buddhism, with both philosophies teaching unconditional acceptance of life.
On his 90th birthday, Dr. Ellis listened to congratulatory messages from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. In honor of the occasion, he was given a white silk scarf that had been blessed by the Dalai Lama.
In 1959, Albert Ellis established the Institute for Rational Living, a non-profit organization with the mission to advance and popularize REBT and to provide low-cost counseling to the public. In 1964, he used his personal funds to purchase a six-story mansion on 65th Street in Manhattan. This building housed what came to be called the Albert Ellis Institute.
He lived frugally in an apartment on the top floor, supporting the institute's mission by donating all his personal income to the institute's operation. For almost 50 years, the world's most famous living psychologist took only a $12,000 a year salary for himself, plus living accommodations and a promise of lifetime medical care. He could have been a millionaire many times over had he kept the income from his best-selling books and thousands of therapy sessions.
In 2004, after Dr. Ellis experienced a life-threatening medical crisis, the board of trustees of the Albert Ellis Institute said his medical expenses had become too great and they stopped paying for the at-home nursing care that allowed him to continue working full time. Dr. Ellis had always saved and wisely invested a portion of his small earnings. This cushion of funds was used to pay for his medical care.
In July 2005, the board of trustees barred him from using institute facilities for his popular Friday Night Workshops for the public, which had been a Manhattan fixture for more than four decades. Ellis responded by relocating his workshops and conducting them in exile in a rented building, aided by his wife Debbie Joffe. In front of standing-room-only crowds, they gave live demonstrations of REBT with audience volunteers.
The direction the Albert Ellis Institute will take in the future remains unresolved. Despite Dr. Ellis' strong preference that the institute promote Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy as its sole mission, REBT is now only one of several approaches offered by the organization that bears his name.
In October 2005, Dr. Ellis sued his own institute after its trustees voted by a narrow margin to remove him from the board and to suspend him from all professional duties.
In a stunning decision, the Supreme Court for New York County returned Dr. Ellis to the Board of Trustees in January 2006, with the judge calling the actions taken against Dr. Ellis by the other trustees "disingenuous" and "offensive and contrary to our fundamental process of democratic and legal procedure, fair play and the spirit of the law."
Despite the judge's ruling, the board of trustees prevented Dr. Ellis from any meaningful participation in running the Albert Ellis Institute and his professional duties were not restored.
Fans and professional colleagues used the Internet to create a spontaneous international network of support for Dr. Ellis and REBT. Fansites, discussion forums and Web sites were created in his honor. The trustees of the Albert Ellis Institute then claimed trademark rights to the "Albert Ellis" name, threatening to sue his advocates and supporters for trademark infringement.
Dr. Ellis rejected the Institute's trademark use of his name, calling the current Institute "fake" and likening its Trustees to "pirates" who plundered his life's work.
Also left unresolved at the time of Dr. Ellis' death is a breach- of-contract lawsuit seeking repayment of Dr. Ellis' medical expenses, ownership of his extensive archives and return of the $20 million Albert Ellis Institute mansion in Manhattan through imposition of a constructive trust.
Dr. Ellis believed the current institute that bears his name no longer represented his life work and mission. Friends and supporters intend to keep REBT alive and vital, as he created it. He suggested they do this by using his philosophy in their own lives to promote personal peace and happiness and by teaching REBT to other people. He remained dedicated to the principles of liberty, justice and freedom.
Dr. Ellis is survived by his wife, Debbie Joffe. He embarked on his third marriage at age 90, surprising many people. He said that after several years of friendship, he wanted to marry Debbie because she was the kindest and most giving woman he had ever met, and also the most dedicated to practicing the principles of REBT. He told his supporters that although he'd had several great love affairs in his long life, he loved Debbie Joffe more than any other woman he had ever lived with or loved before.
Debbie personally cared for her husband continuously during the time of his serious illness, seldom leaving his bedside and making it possible for him to continue teaching, promoting REBT and engaging in work he loved, even when he was bedridden and suffering discomfort.
Dr. Ellis is also survived by several nephews.
A public memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Subject: Three New Books on Addiction Described
From: DON PHILLIPS daphil15 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Date: 5/18/07 9:55 p.m.
To: Don's Blog
Palo Alto Weekly (CA) http://www.paloaltoonline.com/ Authored by The Health Library (Stanford) Wed, 09 May 2007
Addiction and its wide-ranging effects -- Three New Books
~~"Addiction: why can't they just stop?"
~~"Women Under the Influence"
~~"100 Questions and Answers About Alcoholism"
Books explore the nature of addiction, options for living with the disease
by The Health Library
Addiction is a disease that causes pain and suffering not only to those who are addicted and those who love them but also to society at large. It is estimated that between four and 15 people are adversely affected by a single addict. Multiply that number by the estimated 22.2 million addicts in the United States, and it's easy to see how addiction is truly a national health issue.
The science of addiction is in its infancy, but new developments in brain imaging prove that substance abuse causes significant changes in brain physiology. This research is leading to the development of new and better treatments. Whether the problem substance is alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs, addiction is now understood to be a chronic, relapsing but treatable brain disease.
For the one in four American families facing addiction, a new book, "Addiction: why can't they just stop?" (Rodale Books, 2007) provides invaluable insight. The book is based on the acclaimed HBO documentary series, "Addiction." In fact, the book's editors are John Hoffman and Susan Froemke, the series' producers. The subtitle sums up the book's message: "New knowledge, new treatments, new hope."
The book debunks common myths and misconceptions to help readers understand current scientific knowledge of the disease. Readers learn how and why people become addicted, including discussion of genetic risk factors and behavior. There is information about the various types of treatment available and ways to choose the most appropriate treatment based on an individual's needs. A section on adolescent substance abuse is especially good. An astounding 9 percent of addicts began using substances under the age of 18. The economics of addiction is covered in depth, helping people overcome some barriers to obtaining effective treatment.
Another book, "Women Under the Influence" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006), focuses on the effects of substance abuse on women. This book is full of thought-provoking and important information.
Women are at increased risk for addiction problems. They become addicted more quickly, using fewer substances. Women develop abuse-related diseases such as lung cancer more quickly and suffer more brain damage from both alcohol and drugs than do men. These are just some the important research findings reported by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) in the book.
This book is the result of more than 10 years of research on female substance abuse in the United States. This is not so much a self-help book; it is a report of the growing problem of addiction in American women and ways the disease is and is not being treated. An evaluation of the efficacy of treatment methods and recommendations for prevention and policy changes are important conclusions in this report.
Alcohol is the most-abused drug in the United States. An excellent primer on the subject of alcohol is the book, "100 Questions and Answers About Alcoholism" by Charles Herrick, M.D., and Charlotte Herrick, Ph.D., R.N. (Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007). Like all of the books in the excellent "100 Questions and Answers" series, this book delves into the subject of alcoholism in a way that is informative but easy to understand. It starts with the basics, explaining just what alcohol is, and moves through identifying the problem, risk factors for alcohol abuse, and treatment options. There is an excellent section on the medical consequences of alcoholism, including dementia and fetal alcohol syndrome. The book closes with a chapter called, "Surviving Alcoholism," that discusses ways to live well as an alcoholic, including the ability to drink again, privacy rights and other potential legal issues.
There are many more resources at the Stanford Health Library that discuss substance abuse and addiction recovery. Research assistance and information packets are available free of charge from the library. Branches are located at the Stanford Shopping Center near Bloomingdale's; on the third floor of Stanford Hospital; and on the main level of Stanford's Cancer Center. Contact the Health Library at 650-725-8400,
healthlibrary@stanfordmed.org and
http://healthlibrary.stanford.edu. _________________________________________________________________
From: DON PHILLIPS daphil15 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Date: 5/18/07 9:55 p.m.
To: Don's Blog
Palo Alto Weekly (CA) http://www.paloaltoonline.com/ Authored by The Health Library (Stanford) Wed, 09 May 2007
Addiction and its wide-ranging effects -- Three New Books
~~"Addiction: why can't they just stop?"
~~"Women Under the Influence"
~~"100 Questions and Answers About Alcoholism"
Books explore the nature of addiction, options for living with the disease
by The Health Library
Addiction is a disease that causes pain and suffering not only to those who are addicted and those who love them but also to society at large. It is estimated that between four and 15 people are adversely affected by a single addict. Multiply that number by the estimated 22.2 million addicts in the United States, and it's easy to see how addiction is truly a national health issue.
The science of addiction is in its infancy, but new developments in brain imaging prove that substance abuse causes significant changes in brain physiology. This research is leading to the development of new and better treatments. Whether the problem substance is alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs, addiction is now understood to be a chronic, relapsing but treatable brain disease.
For the one in four American families facing addiction, a new book, "Addiction: why can't they just stop?" (Rodale Books, 2007) provides invaluable insight. The book is based on the acclaimed HBO documentary series, "Addiction." In fact, the book's editors are John Hoffman and Susan Froemke, the series' producers. The subtitle sums up the book's message: "New knowledge, new treatments, new hope."
The book debunks common myths and misconceptions to help readers understand current scientific knowledge of the disease. Readers learn how and why people become addicted, including discussion of genetic risk factors and behavior. There is information about the various types of treatment available and ways to choose the most appropriate treatment based on an individual's needs. A section on adolescent substance abuse is especially good. An astounding 9 percent of addicts began using substances under the age of 18. The economics of addiction is covered in depth, helping people overcome some barriers to obtaining effective treatment.
Another book, "Women Under the Influence" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006), focuses on the effects of substance abuse on women. This book is full of thought-provoking and important information.
Women are at increased risk for addiction problems. They become addicted more quickly, using fewer substances. Women develop abuse-related diseases such as lung cancer more quickly and suffer more brain damage from both alcohol and drugs than do men. These are just some the important research findings reported by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) in the book.
This book is the result of more than 10 years of research on female substance abuse in the United States. This is not so much a self-help book; it is a report of the growing problem of addiction in American women and ways the disease is and is not being treated. An evaluation of the efficacy of treatment methods and recommendations for prevention and policy changes are important conclusions in this report.
Alcohol is the most-abused drug in the United States. An excellent primer on the subject of alcohol is the book, "100 Questions and Answers About Alcoholism" by Charles Herrick, M.D., and Charlotte Herrick, Ph.D., R.N. (Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007). Like all of the books in the excellent "100 Questions and Answers" series, this book delves into the subject of alcoholism in a way that is informative but easy to understand. It starts with the basics, explaining just what alcohol is, and moves through identifying the problem, risk factors for alcohol abuse, and treatment options. There is an excellent section on the medical consequences of alcoholism, including dementia and fetal alcohol syndrome. The book closes with a chapter called, "Surviving Alcoholism," that discusses ways to live well as an alcoholic, including the ability to drink again, privacy rights and other potential legal issues.
There are many more resources at the Stanford Health Library that discuss substance abuse and addiction recovery. Research assistance and information packets are available free of charge from the library. Branches are located at the Stanford Shopping Center near Bloomingdale's; on the third floor of Stanford Hospital; and on the main level of Stanford's Cancer Center. Contact the Health Library at 650-725-8400,
healthlibrary@stanfordmed.org and
http://healthlibrary.stanford.edu. _________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
YourSoberSpace !!!
Tue 17 Apr 07, 10:11 p.m.
Hi all,
Rex here.
Rex here.
I have to admit that I am a little too old and set in my ways to have ever gotten very excited bout MySpace and similar venues. While MySpace and YouTube are vaguely interesting for an occasional dip into the amateur pornography on offer ;o} those media never really fired my imagination or interest to really participate other than treating them as little curiosity shops.
However, having said that, we know that these new media are the new HOT online communities for millions and millions of people. Now we come to hear about this newfangled “NING” http://www.http://www.ning.com that will allow special interest groups such as LifeRing and SRC to set up our own MySpace-like networks where others can join, set up their own space and participate, but in an more focused, themed environment that the original MySpace and similar large, general venues. In other words, a MySpace-like site just for people in recovery! How about that!
Well, OK, we gotta go for that! And without further ado, we are pleased to announce the brand new, fancy-schmancy SRC Ning Community YourSoberSpace at http://secularrecovery.ning.com/ . You can also get there through the link on the main web site http://www.secularrecovery/ . Please visit and especially, tell your friends!
Here's the rub. I am over-extended, and this project is not something I can attend to very diligently. “Getting with the program” just seems a bit daunting to me. Moreover, as I said, it ain't exactly my thang, and the venue is largely lost on me. It is my very strong hope therefore that some sober folks, younger folks I reckon, will visit, have a looksee, become a
member if they like, create their own sober space, start posting stuff, participating and as sort of “charter members” begin to grown this community. It could be wild! There is no template that I know of outlining how to do this. I guess it will be more social-recreational-networking type stuff than anything else. It's so public, I doubt that we will get people posting videos of their “interventions” or most recent visit to detox! ;o} On the other hand, who the hell knows?
Anywho, we are working on the principle of “Build It And They Will Come.” So, have a looksee around and tell me what you think. And pass the word, please.
Mahalo & aloha,
Rex
Thursday, April 5, 2007
One Sky Center -- National Resource Center for American Indians and Alaska Natiives
Seeking the Connections: Alcoh... DON PHILLIPS 4/5/07 3:31 a.m.
Subject: One Sky Center -- National Resource Center for American Indians and Alaska Natiives
From: DON PHILLIPS
Date: 3/31/07 11:47 p.m.
To: SRC Blog
One Sky Center is the only National Resource Center for American Indians and Alaska Natives that is dedicated to improving prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental health across Indian Country. It was originally funded by a cooperative agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's three centers (Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse Treatment, and Mental Health Services).
Additional funding sources include CDC, SAMHSA, National Highway Traffic Safety, Private Foundations, anonymous donors, and McNeil pharmaceutical company.
If you or your organization would like to help support our services, please contact us at: http://www.oneskycenter.org/index.cfm
You can sign up for their newsletter and also review their draft guide on suicide prevention at the same web site.
Friday, March 16, 2007
When the Cravings Won’t Quit
March 15, 2007
TV Review 'Addiction'
When the Cravings Won’t Quit, Turn On the Camera
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Excerpt:
"....As she’s driving to the clinic for the first time, contemplating the new drug that she’s hoping will relieve her dopesickness, she seems to speak for every kind of addict, as well as about the paradox of treating drug addiction with drugs.
As Amanda says, “I hope it works as good as everybody says it does, so I don’t have to worry about feeling like this anymore.”
This just in from pseudoscience: Addiction documentaries contain an element that excites dopamine receptors, shuts down the frontal lobe and causes intense cravings.
Pseudoscientists don’t know yet whether drug-documentary addicts are hooked by the gruesomely thrilling scenes of tourniquets and needles, the photos of pre-Vicodin fifth graders or the promise of redemption through higher powers. But something definitely sets the brain reeling with manic questions: How could they fall so far? How could so many of us? Whom will addiction strike next, and will the culprit be the demon rum or the demon OxyContin?
The American addiction story, as refined by Alcoholics Anonymous, tells of good folks turned bad — of men taking drinks and drinks taking men. No wonder we crave this story: It’s the master narrative of innocence and fall, complete with the possibility of deliverance. Nor is it any wonder that HBO has embraced the genre with its current authoritarian gusto. That channel’s “Addiction,” an anthology of short films by famous documentary filmmakers, has its premiere tonight.
The blunt title holds promise. As a story, addiction to drugs and alcohol has a chilling and ritualistic arc. Typically, the variable is the drug. Some viewers go for the methamphetamine documentaries, with their slightly high-handed attitude toward the Midwest, their contested statistics and their focus on dental issues. Other viewers prefer the shadowy, stylish heroin ones, with the sexy, skinny kids and “Requiem for a Dream” fashion.
When it comes to drug-addiction TV, I’m a garbagehead: I watch it all. But to my amazement, “Addiction” doesn’t quite hit the spot. Someone at HBO seems to have instructed the esteemed filmmakers — auteurs like Albert Maysles and D. A. Pennebaker, even — to deny ravenous viewers what they want. The film is bereft of feel-good scenes and drug-movie clichés. As such, the shorts can build a cumulative sense of deprivation.
Don’t expect needles here, in other words, or ravaged street kids turning tricks, or spectacular scenes of delirium tremens. No one even gets high in “Addiction”; no fervid expression gives way to one of stoned beatitude. It’s enough to make you kind of mad: “Addiction” is holding out on us. And, surely, this is the point.
The program is part of a solemn project, something that Sheila Nevins, the enterprising president of HBO Documentary Films, has called “didactic television.” It is also devised to be more accessible than past HBO projects, with some cable systems, including RCN in the New York City area, showing it free during its first four-day run.
Intended to do more than entertain or alarm, then, “Addiction” is meant to sober people up. To that end, its message is this: Drug and alcohol addiction are diseases of the brain, and they can be treated, at least partly, with medicine.
This straightforward message is remarkable for at least two reasons. First, it’s intrinsically controversial, since A.A. for a long time expected its participants to refrain entirely from drug use, even prescription pills. The model of addiction presented here — addiction as a brain disease — is somewhat at odds with the cognitive model used in classic 12-step programs.
Second, it’s remarkable that so many top-notch filmmakers have consented to push someone else’s point so hard. It’s almost ominous. The sameness of the films in “Addiction” might aid its effectiveness as propaganda, but as art it’s monotone; it’s hard to believe it’s the collaborative work of so many otherwise individualistic artists.
Evidently, filmmakers submitted film to HBO, which took over postproduction. As a result, each installment mixes vérité and to-the-camera interviews in precisely the same proportions; employs explanatory title cards and interviews with experts; showily defers to the experts, most of them M.D.’s and Ph.D.’s; refrains from using graphics, humor or archival photographs; and keeps sound bites short.
AAn exception here is Barbara Kopple. Her short film “Steamfitters Local Union 638” is crisp tonic with lime. Unlike the other filmmakers, she has stuck to her interests and her aesthetic, making a film about a labor union that now actively supports its members who want treatment for addictions. The faces and voices of the union members, many of whom have been installing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for decades, are like nobody else’s in “Addiction,” and indeed like those of few other people’s on television.
“We were the hardest-working,” says one union lifer, remembering the ’60s, when he was drinking daily on the job. “We were the biggest drinkers.” He recalls how the members used to enable one another as drinkers, helping them lie to their wives and families and still be paid.
Now the union uses the same infrastructure of loyalty to help people into detox and rehabilitation. Steamfitters like them — with mustaches and paunches like theirs — join them in meetings; there’s no interference from management or doctors. As rendered, this is an extremely effective, and good-natured, program.
By presenting both addiction and recovery as community affairs, only “Steamfitters Local Union 638” has added something beyond the brain-scan science to these drug and alcohol stories. Still, as I detoxed from the sensationalism I had gotten from other films and had been hoping for in “Addiction,” I also came to appreciate other parts of the program. One was the short by Chris Hegedus and Mr. Pennebaker. In their story of two young addicts who try a new Methadone-like drug to treat their cravings for prescription pills, the melancholy Amanda caught my eye. She’s kind of a lazy oracle.
As she’s driving to the clinic for the first time, contemplating the new drug that she’s hoping will relieve her dopesickness, she seems to speak for every kind of addict, as well as about the paradox of treating drug addiction with drugs.
As Amanda says, “I hope it works as good as everybody says it does, so I don’t have to worry about feeling like this anymore.”
ADDICTION
HBO, tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.
Produced by John Hoffman and Susan Froemke; Sheila Nevins, executive producer.
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