I think many of us, if not most, have a list of things we’d really like to do, but don’t, because we think we’re undeserving. Do you have such a list? It might not be something you’re even aware of. But it might linger in the back of your mind. You might get hints of[…]
Tag Archives: Treatment
07
Feb
Feb
Unbeknownst to Most, Significant Loss is Intrinsic to Addiction Recovery As I wrote in last month’s post, the loss is an unavoidable part of life. Over time, everyone experiences a range of significant losses, and as painful as it often is, the grieving process is a necessary and healthy part of mourning and getting through those losses.[…]
25
Jan
Jan
There Has Been a Lot of Debate About Yoga There has been a lot of debate about yoga. Is it just good exercise or does it have an impact on the brain that can be used as part of a therapeutic program for treating disorders like addiction? Recent research suggests that yoga acts on the brain very much like meditation and[…]
25
Jan
Jan
How to Spot When The Adolescent in Your Life May Have a Problem I frequently give talks about marijuana at schools. If the audience includes parents, the most common question is a variation on, “What are the signs that my kid might be abusing marijuana?” Kevin P. Hill, M.D., M.H.S., is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard[…]
14
Jan
Jan
On Accepting Your Feelings, Rather Than Attempting to Escape As far as I’m aware, there has been no time in the history of the human race when the majority of human beings attempted to accept their feelings rather than escape them. Escape is a natural way of avoiding pain and unpleasantness. This technique works for short-term relief, but it[…]
31
Dec
Dec
A Response to a Recent “debunking” of The 12-Step Program By John F. Kelly and Gene Beresin In a recent National Public Radio show on WBUR Radio Boston, Dr. Lance Dodes discussed his new book which attempts to debunk the science related to the effectiveness of 12-step mutual-help programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), as[…]
22
Dec
Dec
Understanding How The Brain Heals Creates New Treatment Options For Addicts We used to think that the brain, once damaged, could not repair itself. Breakthroughs in neuroscience have shown that this is not true. Though individual neurons might be damaged beyond repair, the brain attempts to heal itself when damaged by making new connections or new neural[…]
07
Dec
Dec
So Many Are Self-medicating Their Social Anxiety Shauna was a young, attractive, articulate woman. She also was very perfectionistic and self-critical. After every social encounter, she would analyze what she had said and done. She reviewed, questioned, obsessed, and critiqued every gesture and word she could remember coming out of her mouth. She was so[…]
04
Dec
Dec
A Surprising Treatment For Chronic Pain I have a small cohort of patients who suffer chronic pain so intense and unremitting it prevents them from living normally. They often don’t work, shop, go to restaurants or movies, leave their homes or sometimes even their beds except to visit doctors, or have meaningful relationships outside their immediate family,[…]
02
Dec
Dec
The Materialistic Search For Happiness is Laden With Paradox Sadly, in our capitalistic culture today, the two aspirations denoted in the above title–to me, sharply contrasting–are frequently confused. They can be (and have been) viewed as virtually identical. And if in fact happiness is conceived in monetary terms, then the more money gained, the more material objects acquired, the[…]