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Video: Alcohol and Your Brain
Here’s a seven minute video covering the basics of how alcohol affects the brain. It’s simple and straightforward, making up in clarity what it lacks in detail:
Summary of current medical treatment for Alcohol Disorders
Here is a link to an article from Psychiatric Times, an online publication, summarizing current medication usage in the treatment of alcohol disorders. The article covers drug treatments for intoxication, withdrawal and relapse prevention. There’s nothing earth-shattering in the article, but it does provide a concise look at current treatment procedures.
Former Heavy Weight Boxing Champ Mike Tyson Writes About His Addiction
Mike Tyson, the famously fearsome heavyweight boxing champion, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times recently that offers a wrenching look into his life and reveals insights about addiction from an unexpected source. Tyson was champion from 1986 to 1990. Throughout the 1990’s he fought to regain his crown, finally retiring for good in…
Stigma and the Language we Use
Here’s an interesting article about stigma and the language often used when talking about addiction. Gil Kerlikowske is the U.S. “Drug Czar” (director of the office of National Drug Control Policy). He has generally been seen as a breath of fresh air in that role, dispensing with the “War on Drugs” outlook, viewing addictive behavior…
Predicting the Chances of Relapse
Dick Sprague, a Colorado LifeRinger, forwards an interesting article that deals with predicting relapse. The academic article stems from the distressing fact that more than one-third of liver transplant recipients — most of whom, presumably, need the transplant because of damage from drinking — relapse after the transplant. Pause and think about that — you’ve…
Dr. B.J. Davis Talk on “What is Recovery?”
A few years ago, Dr. B.J. Davis, clinical director of Strategies for Change, a Sacramento, CA, treatment facility, gave a talk to a LifeRing gathering. Davis is a fine motivational speaker among other accomplishments and has some important things to say about recovery. I’ve placed the talk on our video page, but thought I’d share…
Choice in Recovery — Two Articles From Opposite Directions; Similar Conclusions
We often think of AA as being monolithic, speaking in one voice. In fact, AA has members who deviate sharply from the “established” principles. There are “Agnostic” AA groups which try to shed the religious element from the program. Since “religious elements” are central to much of AA’s approach, this is a difficult task, to…
Court Mandated Referrals to Support Groups Highlighted in Two Articles
Here are a couple of links to articles dealing with “choice in recovery” and court-mandated attendance at support meetings. One deals with a LifeRing member’s effort to ensure that people referred to treatment by the courts and other public agencies in Sonoma County, California, are told of all recovery support groups available on an equal…
Revealing Story of Pain Medication Addiction
Here is a harrowing story about pain pill addiction and how easily and savagely it occurs. It’s a story from the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah. It illustrates exceptionally well how easily good people can stumble into addiction, even with their eyes wide open to the dangers. An accomplished, intelligent, award-winning writer becomes addicted not…