Addictions and the Brain
Hypnosis and the Medical Mystique
by Tim Brunson, PhD
The mystique, which surrounds the nature and practice of medicine, belies truthfulness in a way that reflects the vulgarity and ignorance of contemporary civilization. Indeed, the precision and accuracy with which a given society uses their linguistic intellect clearly demonstrates their stage of development. Unfortunately, how we address terms related to medicine and its practice too often involves pecuniary turf conflicts rather than focusing on the intended benefit to humanity. The role of hypnotherapy in medicine is but one example.
Alcoholism and Recovery
by Tim Brunson, PhD
If you are the point of your life when you finally admit that you are an alcoholic, you are ready to begin the journey toward recovery. This addiction is nothing new. Unfortunately it is rather popular considering there is an estimated 140 million alcohol addicts in the world. So, there has been a considerable amount of thought and experience when it comes to treating alcoholism and helping a person stay sober for a very long time. In fact, over the years I have met numerous people who have been successful and not touched another drink for years – if ever again.
Are you an Alcoholic?
by Tim Brunson, PhD
In our culture alcohol consumption has often been synonymous with being socially accepted. Somehow we have linked the ingestion of these liquids, which everyone knows contains toxic substances, to our desire to be socially connected. It has always been the baby boomers version of Facebook and Twitter. In fact, decades ago while serving as a young Army officer, it would have been considered an insult not to share a few "cold ones" with the men as a form of celebration. I'm not saying the Generation X and Y'ers are immune to becoming alcoholics. It seems to be a problem that transcends generations. Yet, when we allow occasional or moderate use to become a compulsion, then we have transitioned from participating in a social activity to developing and maintaining an addiction, which can easily ruin relationships, end careers, and even end in death.
Addiction and the Brain
by Tim Brunson, PhD
Addictions are serious chronic brain diseases, which have biological, psychological, and social implications. They are powerful because they employ neurological processes required for learning and survival. However, they use these vital systems in a way that threatens the addict's health, relationships, and may often end in criminal prosecution and jail time. So, to understand and treat this problem both the patient and the counselor must know how abuse is encoded, triggered, and reinforced.
Use and assessment of complementary and alternative therapies by intravenous drug users
Intravenous drug users often have many health conditions in addition to their drug addiction, yet may be isolated from conventional sources of care. They have never before been examined for their use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Our purpose was to study the prevalence and predictors of CAM use among persons with a history of intravenous drug use through a cross-sectional survey of intravenous drug users examining their utilization of health services, including CAM therapies. A total of 548 persons with a history of intravenous drug use, recruited from a needle-exchange program and a methadone maintenance clinic, both in Providence, Rhode Island, participated. Overall prevalence of any CAM use in the past 6 months, frequency of use of individual named CAM therapies and domains, and demographic and clinical characteristics associated with CAM users, reasons for CAM use and self-perceived effectiveness of CAM were also measured. Of the 548 participants, 45% reported use of at least one CAM therapy. The top three therapies--religious healing, relaxation techniques, and meditation--were all from the mind-body domain. Having a higher education and lower self-rated health were the two strongest predictors of CAM use, followed by having a regular doctor or clinic, being white and younger. There was a high level of self-perceived effectiveness of CAM therapies (4.1 on a scale of 1-5), and CAM users were likely to use CAM for reasons related to their addiction.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2003 May;29(2):401-13. Manheimer E, Anderson BJ, Stein MD. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Center for Integrative Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21207, USA. emanheimer@compmed.umm.edu
Healing Addictions
by Bonnie M. Morét, CCHt
In his book Healing the Addictive Mind, Lee Jampolsky states, "When we are caught in addiction it is impossible to experience love. Compulsivity and peace of mind are mutually exclusive...our addictions slowly become the walls behind which we hide. Eventually our walls become so high that instead of simply hiding we become prisoners of our own making. The guards in the prison of addiction are our egos while the bars of our cells are forged with our irrational beliefs."
