I tell people who don’t believe marijuana is addictive to go to a Marijuana Anonymous meeting, where they will see and hear people whose lives have been ruined by marijuana. Anytime you smoke something, it’s harmful. When you inhale smoke, whether it’s tobacco smoke or marijuana smoke, inhaling heated smoke is inherently unhealthy. In addition,…
There are any number of reasons why people use and end up becoming addicted to alcohol and other drugs: to change the way they feel—for euphoria, sedation, and anesthesia; to self-medicate depression, anxiety, insomnia, boredom, and lack of pleasure. To treat addiction, you have to understand what it is, how people become addicted, and work…
10 Positive Purposes of Emotional Pain The following is an excerpt from the final chapter of Finding a Purpose in the Pain by James L. Fenley, Jr., MD. I became increasingly aware of addicts who presented to treatment in a great deal of distress, and during the course of their stay never seemed to connect…
Before we review the five basic childhood roles in depth, there is another list that is important to mention, and that is Claudia Black’s Three Golden Rules for Adult Children of Alcoholics: 1. Don’t Talk. (If I don’t talk, I don’t get yelled at, ignored, hit, etc.) The child is also reminded to keep the…
First, let’s look at the addict who is in his or her active disease and in denial about his or her addictive thinking. At the heart of that thinking is the need for problems. As long as there is a problem, there is a reason or excuse to use. Also central to addictive thinking is…
By: James L. Fenley, Jr., MD Addiction is a disease with many potential faces, including, but not limited to, alcohol and other drugs. Also, once someone is addicted to alcohol or other drugs—whether they are in recovery or not—their addiction can generalize to other areas, such as gambling, eating, or sex. When one form of…
The Mind of an Addict One of the most prominent characteristic of typical addictive thinking is to externalize problems, to blame things on other people or situations. This tendency to play the role of victim and/or to be bitter about what life has “done to” him or her is totally unconscious on the part of…
Successful, sustained recovery requires two levels of change: awareness and action. Without awareness, the ability to take necessary action is limited. And yet, as essential as awareness is, by itself it is of limited value. During the early to mid-twentieth century, it was not uncommon to treat addiction exclusively with psychoanalysis or other forms of…
This exercise will help you to identify dependent traits in yourself and in someone with whom you have a close relationship (this can be a spouse, romantic partner, or other significant relationship). Read the following list of characteristics and indicate which apply to you, to the other person, or to both of you. Characteristics: Problems…
As with many illnesses, to understand the progressive nature of the disease of addiction, we have broken it down into stages. People who have addiction started in stage I and will inevitably end up in stage IV if not treated. The progression from stage I to IV may occur rapidly or may take years or…