Hunter on Trial
...in the claustrophobic environment of a trial, it seems it's still permissible to treat the consequences of this complex, multifactorial chronic disorder as simply the result of some poor soul’s irresponsible decision-making.
Tag: addiction and the brain
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A Surgical Treatment for Addiction?
I understand the outcome in a second case was far less successful. That happens. Much research is needed before declaring any surgery ‘safe’ for most patients.
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First Person – Mystery Solved
I suppose he was happy for people to see him as pigheaded, since it covered up the real problem: His rapidly deteriorating cognitive function.
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Distorting Reality
I don’t know how many times over the years I’ve listened to family members cite evidence of a loved one’s alcohol problem only to hear many of the same events cited by the drinker to prove that he doesn’t.
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Is Cannabis Addictive?
The best answer is the one we came up with to explain the selectivity of alcoholism: Differences in individual susceptibility.
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How to Forget
Suppose we could develop cognitive techniques and train the patient to use them whenever symptoms reappeared?
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Trauma and Memory
In fact, it’s often difficult to convince the trauma patient to seek treatment, in part because of fear of having to re-experience the event.
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About Those Blackouts…
Of course, the drinker isn’t aware of having entered a blackout. Far as they’re concerned, things are proceeding as normal.
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Nature vs. Nurture Again
We can’t predict in advance which user will turn out to be in which category, and frankly, neither can they.
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Searching for a Substitute
If addiction really is a brain disorder based in complex adaptations to a substance, then who’s to say those adaptations won’t occur with a different drug?
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Opioid Vulnerability
There’s no blood test, no scan to aid diagnosis. Knowing intellectually that one in ten will succumb is very little help; it has no practical value in terms of predicting an individual outcome.
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Diagnosis: Towards Validity and Consistency
The way addicts and alcoholics themselves talk about their condition (“an emotional disease,” “a parasite the feeds on our emotions”, “an emotional cancer,” “a fear based disease”) is rarely considered in theories of addiction.
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