Category Archives: Addiction
Stages of Change Model
The Stages of Change Model (SCM) was originally developed in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente at the University of Rhode Island. Addiction: The negative end state of a syndrome (of neurobiological and psychosocial … Continue reading
Marijuana Addiction in the Age of Legal Weed
Generation X writer Neal Pollack thought he had it all: a good writing career, a strong marriage, even a lucrative 3-day run on “Jeopardy”! That brought him national attention. Like many in his generation, he also smoked a lot of … Continue reading
Why Do We Get Addicted
Think about an experience that makes you feel good. It could be successfully completing a project at work, eating a warm chocolate chip cookie or taking a swig of whiskey. It could be a puff of a cigarette or a … Continue reading
Addiction Hijacks the Brain
You’ve probably heard of the brain’s reward network. It’s activated by basic needs — including food, water and sex — and releases a surge of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine when those needs are met. But it can also be hijacked … Continue reading
Drug addiction is complex
We’re told studies have proven that drugs like heroin and cocaine instantly hook a user. But it isn’t that simple – little-known experiments over 30 years ago tell a very different tale. Drugs are scary. The words “heroin” and “cocaine” … Continue reading
Addiction: Is Love All You Need?
If anything deserves to be called “the establishment view,” it is what Johann Hari — in his new book on addiction and the war on drugs, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs — calls the pharmaceutical … Continue reading