Dennis Quaid said in a recent interview that in the midst of his cocaine addiction he was doing two grams a day.
Actor Dennis Quaid, who has said that he did cocaine almost daily during the ’80s, told The Sunday Times this week that during one binge he saw himself being dead, a frightening experience that led the star to put himself in rehab.
“I was doing about two grams a day,” Quaid said, according to People. “I was lucky. I had one of those white-light experiences where I saw myself being dead and losing everything I had worked for my whole life.”
That led Quaid to check into rehab, which he completed in 1990, before marrying actress Meg Ryan in 1991. The pair were married until 2001.
“I would do coke and I would use alcohol to come down,” he said. “I liked coke. I liked it to go out.”
Quaid said that when he stopped using he still experienced cravings for the drug, saying he “missed it for quite a while.” Earlier this year, Quaid said that getting sober was a challenge.
“A lot of it had to be learned,” he said during an interview with People magazine in March “And part of it is just where I come from, I guess. Sometimes your hopes get ahead of your dreams, so you can get disappointed that way. Adversity is the thing that teaches you how to handle that.”
However, these days Quaid, 64, gets his high from working out regularly.
“I’ve always had a high metabolism. I get a high from exercising. I really do,” he said. “I think it does what all those antidepressants are supposed to do.”
He has also taken up meditation, “which puts me into the present moment because that’s all there really is,” he said. “Because either you worry about the future or there’s something about the past, but if you’re in the present moment, then there’s no problem at all. I’m sitting here. I’m just fine.”
Quaid said earlier this year that despite his past drug use and three public divorces, he’s content now.
“I’m most happy when I just kind of get out of my own way and let things happen,” he said. “I’m not the guy that’s living an enlightened experience all the time; I blow my top many times. In life we’re either forced, kicking and screaming, into change—or we learn to cope with it. But I really am at peace now.”
My gabapentin withdrawal symptoms included vertigo from the moment I woke up until about midday, hot flashes that rivaled menopause, daily migraines, and what I prefer to just call intestinal distress.
I started taking gabapentin (generic form of Neurontin) in September 2017, a couple of weeks after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico (where I live). My husband Paul and I own an organic farm with tropical fruit trees and livestock. Well, we still have the animals, but Maria destroyed about 80 percent of our trees. She left behind felled trees, broken tree limbs and organic material from mudslides on our driveway and the road outside our gate.
About two weeks after Maria hit, as Paul and I were cleaning the farm and the stretch of road that runs the length of our property, I noticed nerve pain in my pinky and half of the ring finger on my left hand. At first it was gradual but within a week it was keeping me up at night.
I sat behind a desk for 30 years and I know about ergonomics and some of the causes of nerve problems—such as pinched nerves in necks and carpal tunnel. I adjusted the way I was holding the rake, shovel and machete but the neuropathy didn’t subside.
I saw my doctor who ordered an MRI of my neck. She also gave me a prescription for gabapentin. She knows my family’s history and my fear of genetic predisposition to addiction.
“I know you’re worried about addiction. This isn’t a controlled substance. Its primary indication is for epilepsy but it’s extremely effective on neuropathy. It’s well tolerated. Take 800 milligrams at bedtime.”
Normally I won’t fill new prescriptions until after I’ve had a chance to research the medication, but without Internet or even cell service, I had to trust her.
And it worked well, sort of. The constant pins and needles disappeared overnight, but my fingers had started curling and my hand was becoming weak. The MRI showed nothing abnormal, which made no sense to my doctor. She referred me to a neurosurgeon.
After Hurricane Maria, many doctors’ offices and hospitals were either closed or running at a fraction of capacity because they too didn’t have electricity and were using generators. Since most doctors and clinics were only seeing gravely ill patients during this chaotic time, I had to wait until December to get an appointment—seven weeks away.
By early November I could no longer straighten my pinky and ring finger and my entire left hand was weak. Not only was farm work out of the question, I couldn’t even hold a fork to feed myself. And then I noticed the muscle atrophy—especially between the thumb and index finger. What the hell was happening to me?
Diagnosis: Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
Eventually the neuropathy returned, and again, it kept me up at night. In the middle of November, my doctor increased the dose of gabapentin to twice a day. On December 1, I saw the neurosurgeon. By this point I had the signature claw hand associated with cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS). The ulnar is the longest nerve in the arm, running from the neck through the pinky and half the ring finger and is normally protected by the “funny bone.”
The doctor assumed, because of the rapid onset of symptoms, that I had subluxation (dislodged ulnar that was bouncing around), and therefor a very narrow window in which he could operate. He warned my husband and me that even with surgery, my hand could remain deformed and I also might never regain full use of it. He suggested I learn to use dictation software. “I don’t think you’ll ever have enough strength in your hand to write again. I recommend you do physical therapy after the surgery but I’m not overly optimistic.”
The nerve pain was, at times, excruciating. The neurosurgeon increased my gabapentin dosage to 800 milligrams three times a day. Even with this increase to 2400 milligrams daily, it was within the recommended range of between 1200 and 3600 milligrams daily. Twelve days later I had the surgery.
Following surgery, three months of intensive physical therapy and working really hard at home in between my thrice-weekly PT appointments, I regained most of the strength I’d lost. I saw the neurosurgeon at the end of March. Holding the physical therapist’s report that tracked my progress, he said he was very happy with my outcomes—even he was surprised how well I’d recovered. “I think you can start writing again by June. How’s the nerve pain?” He asked me.
It never disappeared, I told him. He said that if I still had neuropathy by six months post-surgery, I was probably stuck with it for life. He recommended I stay on the gabapentin three times a day forever. At the time his recommendation made sense, so I kept taking the medicine, fully accepting that I’d be on it indefinitely.
A Second Opinion I Didn’t Seek
In August I started seeing a new chiropractor for chronic pain in my lower back stemming from an accident I had when I was 18. We covered my medical history and the medications I was taking. Despite my age (nearly 52), I only take vitamins and supplements. Then I got to the gabapentin. “I may be overstepping,” he said, “but if you have ataxia, you shouldn’t take gabapentin. Talk with your doctor but I recommend getting off it as soon as possible.”
I finally did the research I wished I’d been able to do nearly a year earlier. Unfortunately, he was right. I noticed I was losing my balance more often and that I had gained weight. I looked back on the last year and realized I had all the signs of an increased tolerance to and a dependence on gabapentin, but I was also conveniently ignoring some of the negative side effects.
If I went longer than 10 hours without taking a dose, I’d get vertigo and start sweating excessively. With a half-life of five to seven hours, after 10 hours, my body was already going into withdrawal. And the worst part? The neuropathy was returning. These are all normal side effects of using gabapentin, but since there’s less risk of addiction and overdose, doctors routinely prescribe gabapentin in place of opioids.
Never Quit Gabapentin Cold Turkey
A funny thing happens when your eyes are wide open for the first time—it’s like a fog lifting. Horror stories abound about the dangers of quitting gabapentin cold turkey.
I read an article by a woman who was having a hell of a time weaning herself off it. She’d been taking between 1800 and 3600 milligrams a day for 20 years, and her doctor suggested a six-day titration schedule. Then I read this from The Mayo Clinic: “Do not stop using Gabapentin without checking with your doctor. Stopping the medicine suddenly may cause seizures.” Seizures? How did I get here?
I talked with my primary doctor, who suggested a 25 percent reduction every week. The taper was sensible, but it felt too drastic and as someone who is risk averse, I altered it so that the dose decreased in smaller increments and I stayed at each level for a longer period.
My first three weeks were a bitch. I had vertigo from the moment I woke up until about midday. I had hot flashes that rivaled anything menopause could throw at me. I had daily migraines and what I prefer to just call intestinal distress. Nothing I ate agreed with me and I lived on ginger ale.
It was so bad that four days in, I posted the following on my Facebook wall:
At the time of this writing I am two days from being completely off gabapentin. Unless you saw my left hand before surgery, you’d never know it was deformed. I’ve regained close to 100 percent of the strength I lost. I am writing full time again. I’m obviously grateful to the neurosurgeon and physical therapist—who are nothing short of miracle workers.
And you want to know the kicker? The neuropathy isn’t that bad these days. At moments it can be annoying, but it’s not interfering with sleep. I’ve started losing weight again and the fog is lifting.
With hindsight being 20/20, I’m not sure if I would have started using gabapentin. Prior to having surgery to fix subluxation of my ulnar nerve, the neuropathy was unbearable. Gabapentin did what it was supposed to do but I should have started coming off it six to eight months ago, perhaps while I was still in physical therapy.
If gabapentin has been recommended for you, please do your research and talking with your doctor about all the risks and alternatives. Only then can you make an informed decision.
Note: The Fix does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor does anything on this website create a physician/patient relationship. Please consult your physician before beginning or stopping any medication, or if you require medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Have you taken (or stopped taking) gabapentin? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
A new study examined the brain scans of men and women with online gaming disorder to figure out if there were any notable differences.
When it comes to issues with online gaming, men may be more likely to develop problematic habits than women.
According to CNN, new research has revealed that in the brains of men with internet gaming disorder, changes are indicated in the regions of the brain associated with impulsivity. In comparison, the brain scans of women also with the disorder showed no such changes.
Yawen Sun, senior author of the study and diagnostic radiologist at Ren Ji Hospital in China, told CNN via email that males may be more prone to internet gaming disorder. The disorder was only recently added to the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases and is defined as when an “online gamer plays compulsively to the exclusion of other interests, including school and family life.”
“Males with IGD (Internet Gaming Disorder) were found to be more affected by genetic influences than females with IGD,” Sun wrote.
She added that high levels of testosterone in younger males could add to behaviors “such as taking greater risks, being less responsive to punishment, and exhibiting more aggressive behaviors.”
For the study, Sun and fellow researchers sought out 32 men and 23 women, all of whom had internet gaming disorder, as well as 30 males and 22 females without the disorder.
The 105 study participants all had resting-state functional MRI scans, according to CNN. Sun states that this particular type of scan “measures brain activity by detecting associated changes in blood flow.”
In examining the results, the researchers found differences in the brains of men with the gaming disorder versus the brains of men without. In the brains of those affected with the disorder, Sun says there were alterations of brain function in the superior frontal gyrus, which is a part of the prefrontal lobe that has to do with impulse control. When comparing the scans of both sets of women, there were no such differences.
According to Sun, the brain changes that showed in the MRIs “may be one of the risk factors, not the result” of internet gaming disorder.
Sun also stated that “the cortex matures later in males and does not catch up to females in the prefrontal cortex regions by adulthood.” As such, she says younger males have demonstrated less impulse control than their female counterparts.
“Numerous studies, including neuroimaging studies, have found that IGD and substance addiction share similar neural mechanisms,” Sun said. “I speculate that males are more susceptible to the effects of long-term online-game playing in comparison with females,” she added.
Sun says more research is needed but that doing such research in China may prove difficult.
“Most parents in China do not regard IGD as a disease,” she said. “They think there is no need to do the MRI examination.”
A new study examined the impact of pet ownership on people with treatment-resistant depression.
It’s no secret that animals can bring people joy, but a new study indicates that adopting a pet could prove particularly beneficial for those with severe depression.
The study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found that for those with severe depression that was not easily treatable, adopting a pet could help lessen symptoms.
Jorge Mota Pereira and Daniela Fonte, two Portuguese researchers, recruited 80 study participants who had “treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.” They encouraged each one to adopt a pet. Of the 80 participants, 33 agreed to adopt, with 20 individuals choosing a dog and seven choosing a cat.
According to The Independent, over the following 12 weeks, the participant’s depression symptoms were studied during checkups at four and eight weeks.
The results at the end of the study implied that adopting the pet had been beneficial for some. More than 33% of the group, according to the Independent, had higher scores on depression rating systems like the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and the scores were considered mild rather than severe.
According to the study’s authors, one reason for this may be that the level of care a pet requires could impact depression symptoms positively.
“By having the responsibility of taking care of an animal, people have to get up in the morning to take care of the animal, namely pet them and feeding them,” the researchers wrote, according to Bustle. “In the specific case of dogs, the need of taking a dog for a walk, hike and run promotes the increase of physical activity and could help its owner to meet new people that also have pets, sharing experiences and improving their social skills.”
The researchers concluded that owning a pet could be an “effective adjuvant” to more traditional depression treatments.
“So, although pet-adopters and the controls were matched for baseline depression symptoms, there may have been other ways that they differed,” he writes. “For instance, perhaps there was something different about the personalities or social circumstances of the pet adopters that contributed to their willingness to adopt a pet and to their higher remission rates (raising the possibility that the pet adoption itself was not the main ‘active ingredient’ in their recovery).”
Michael Bloomberg wrote about his intentions to fight the opioid epidemic in the 10 states hit hardest by it in a recent op-ed.
Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced that he will spend $50 million to fight the opioid epidemic, focusing on 10 states that are hardest-hit by drug overdoses.
“The opioid epidemic is a national health crisis of historic proportion. Yet the federal government is still not tackling it with the urgency it requires,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed for USA Today. “What’s truly needed is a comprehensive strategy that includes the policy changes necessary to stem the epidemic and overcome barriers to treatment. We are not waiting around for the federal government to provide that strategy.”
Grants will be made through Bloomberg Philanthropies, beginning with a three-year grant to Pennsylvania, which is expected to be about $10 million, according to TheWashington Post. Pennsylvania has an overdose rate of about twice the national average but also has an innovative approach to fighting drug addiction, including an Opioid Command Center that meets weekly. The Bloomberg grant will help support that and similar programs aimed at reducing the overdose death rate.
“States have already been leading in ways Washington hasn’t, and foundations can offer resources and expertise that can help them accelerate their work now,” Bloomberg wrote.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said that his state was chosen because they’re already doing good work in fighting the opioid epidemic but still have lots of problems to confront.
“I think Bloomberg Philanthropies was looking for a commonwealth or a state that was actually doing something,” Wolf told The Washington Post. “What I would hope is we can use the $10 million as a really generous add-on to the kinds of things we’re already doing.”
Bloomberg hopes to fund initiatives that can be replicated and help solve the overdose epidemic nationally.
“What we think we can do with $50 million is show the way in these 10 states,” Bloomberg said. “If they do things that we think make sense, then we will help fund it.”
It was not immediately clear which other states would benefit from Bloomberg’s grant money. However, the philanthropist hopes that the funds will make a difference to families across the nation.
“The pain, suffering, and death from opioid abuse is truly a national emergency. In just the time it took to read this commentary, another child has been removed from his or her parents’ care because of a parent’s opioid use,” he wrote. “Solving this crisis will not be easy. But states have a chance to show the federal government that bolder actions can save lives. And with so many communities crying out for leadership, there is no time to waste.”
Researchers explored whether vaping marijuana produced a stronger high than smoking it in a recent study.
Researchers have published a new study that suggests inhaling vaporized marijuana will result in a stronger high than smoking it. Their conclusion was drawn from six, eight-and-a-half-hour double-blind sessions in which participants consumed marijuana, via smoking or vaping, in one of three possible dosages – between 0 and 25 mg of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis – and then reported their reactions while scientists conducted physical and cognitive tests.
The results suggested that vaping produced more significant physical and mental effects, as well as higher blood concentrations of THC, than the same doses ingested via smoking.
The study, conducted by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Pharmacology Research Unit in Baltimore, Maryland, utilized 17 healthy adult participants – eight women and nine men – all of whom had smoked marijuana at least once in the previous year but not in the 30 days before the first day of the study.
Over the course of the six outpatient sessions, each lasting 8.5 hours and conducted between June 2016 and January 2017, patients smoked or vaped a dose of marijuana containing either 0, 10 or 25 milligrams of THC.
Dosage order was randomized within each session, and while each participant smoked or vaped all three possible dosages over the course of the six sessions, they were unaware of how much THC they were consuming during each test.
After ingesting a dose, participants then filled out a drug-impairment questionnaire and underwent physical and cognitive tests, including heart rate and blood pressure; they were also asked to complete tasks on a computer, such as simple addition and replicating shapes on a screen.
What the researchers found was that vaping marijuana resulted in more significant impairment than marijuana ingested via smoking. Both the high and low doses produced greater concentrations of THC in the test subjects’ blood and at least twice as many errors on the cognitive tests.
Vaping and smoking did produce similar results in regard to the highest dosage – two participants reportedly vomited after ingesting the 25mg dosage, and one experienced hallucinations – and both methods produced side effects commonly associated with cannabis use, including dry mouth, increased hunger and feelings of paranoia, though participants who vaped reported greater levels of these effects than those who smoked.
Most significantly, the researchers also noted that the dosage with the highest level of THC – 25mg of THC, or 13.4% — was “substantially smaller and has a lower THC concentration that what is typically contained in pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes available for purchase in cannabis dispensaries.” According to the study, these typically contain THC concentrations that exceed 18%.
Duterte’s off-color remarks about marijuana use fell flat against the backdrop of a bloody crackdown on drugs in the Philippines.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has led a violent anti-drug campaign that killed thousands of people, said he uses marijuana, but almost immediately reversed his statement, saying that he was joking.
Duterte was talking about his hectic schedule, particularly the meetings during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit held in Singapore last month, according to Al Jazeera.
“Don’t say I told you but [Brunei Sultan Hassanal] Bolkiah always falls asleep, but he has a talent … and you don’t notice,” Duterte said during a speech. “Me, [I don’t fall asleep] as much because I was taking marijuana to stay awake. For others, it’s not possible.”
After the speech, Duterte told reporters that he was just joking and that he doesn’t use pot. However, regardless of whether Duterte was telling the truth or making an off-color joke, the remarks fell flat against the backdrop of a bloody crackdown on drugs in the Philippines.
“This will definitely anger the families [of victims of the violence] even more,” Carlos Conde, a Philippines researcher with the New York-based Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. “There is a disconnect between what the president admitted to do and what the president said he will do to those who use drugs. Now, if the president admitted probably in jest … then that demolishes the credibility of this whole thing.”
Duterte kicked off his violent campaign in 2016, vowing to clear the Philippines of drug trafficking and drug abuse. Some agencies estimate that as many as 5,000 people were killed as a result.
“Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun — you have my support. Shoot [them] and I’ll give you a medal,” he said.
Duterte went so far as to say that he would hypothetically order the execution of his son Paolo, who allegedly took bribes to allow the import of crystal meth, if the man was found guilty.
“I said before my order was: ‘If I have children who are into drugs, kill them so people will not have anything to say,’” Duterte said in Sept. 2017. “So I told [Paolo]: ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught. And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.’”
On a day when federal police killed 32 people reportedly associated with drug abuse, Duterte praised the actions.
“Let’s kill another 32 every day. Maybe we can reduce what ails this country,” he said.
However, in Oct. 2017 Duterte called off the war on drugs after public outcry about the murder of three teenagers.
“This is better for the bleeding hearts and the media,” Duterte said at the time. “I hope I will satisfy you.”
Trump appeared at a town hall meeting at Liberty University, a Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia. She appeared on a panel hosted by former Fox News personality Eric Bolling, whose son died of an accidental drug overdose last year.
During the panel, Trump said she has seen how deeply the country has been affected by opioid abuse as she explores the issue as part of her “Be Best” campaign to emphasize emotional wellbeing.
“When I took on opioid abuse as one of the pillars of my initiative ‘Be Best,’ I did it with the goal of helping children of all ages. I have visited several hospitals and facilities that are dedicated to helping all who have been affected by this disease — including people who are addicted, babies born addicted and families coping with addiction of a loved one,” she said to the students at Liberty University, according to CNN. “What has struck me with each visit is how this epidemic has touched so many people — whether it is because of personal use, or that of family members, friends, coworkers or neighbors — opioid addiction is an illness that has truly taken hold of our country.”
During her speech, Trump detailed the statistics about the opioid epidemic but urged students to look beyond those numbers.
“I also believe you have the capacity to not think of this in terms of statistics, but to think of this as a human story and an opportunity to save lives,” she said.
She added that everyone needs to be aware of the danger of opioids and of how to support someone who is struggling with substance use disorder.
“While you may never personally become addicted, the chances of you knowing someone who struggles with it are very high,” she said. “And if you, or someone you know needs help, you need to be brave enough to ask, or strong enough to stand with them as they fight through the disease.”
Trump also told students that through her “Be Best” campaign she hopes to help kids realize that the actions they take now can affect them for years to come.
“I saw it as an opportunity to speak with all of you as you enter a critical stage of your lives,” she told students, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “The independence that comes with being a young adult is exciting but overwhelming… I know college is a time of independence. I am here to remind you some of those decisions, though they may seem minor at the time, could negatively impact you for the rest of your lives.”
Addiction recovery books have been fundamental to my recovery from substance use disorder, codependency, mental illness, and complex PTSD.
“Not every story has a happy ending … but the discoveries of science, the teachings of the heart, and the revelations of the soul all assure us that no human being is ever beyond redemption. The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists. How to support that possibility in others and in ourselves is the ultimate question.” -Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
Books have been fundamental to my recovery from substance use disorder, codependency, mental illness, and complex PTSD. They’re more than just books: they contain the powerful stories of others who have walked my path, and they have given me a sense of hope that there is a fulfilling life beyond this condition. I love reading the words of expertise from physicians and clinicians who help us better understand the science of addiction. Perhaps most, though, I devour the work of journalists who have beautifully woven the words of science and experience to help us understand the relationship between trauma and addiction and how that impacts us physiologically and psychologically.
These recovery-related books have given me the depth of insight into my illnesses that I would never have grasped in the rooms or the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, or just with my physician’s intervention. It is with the knowledge I’ve gained from these books that I’ve empowered myself to self-direct a recovery and attain a life that I once felt was impossible.
This is by no means an exhaustive resource. It’s a curated list of the most powerful books that have impacted my recovery and the recovery processes of fellow writers, activists, and others in long-term recovery. While some of these books may not be specific to addiction, they contain potent insights into related conditions and circumstances.
Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How you Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa.
This book has been the most insightful book that I’ve read throughout my nearly seven years in recovery. Nakazawa explains the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, and the link between ACEs and chronic illness in later life, in a way that is powerful and easy to digest. Through storytelling, she shares the experiences of those who have overcome their adverse experiences and inspires the reader to reset their biology and heal.
I loved this book. Kristi Coulter is witty and smart, and relates to the topic of addiction in a masterful collection of dry, heartbreaking, and hilariously human collection of essays. I’m not alone in my admiration of her work — NGCCFT has been wildly successful. Fellow writer and editor Irina Gonzalez agrees:
“I’ve been waiting for Kristi’s book ever since I first read her essay ‘Enjoli’ early in my recovery and relating to it so much.” Gonzalez explains the appeal of Coulter’s narrative: “I loved her story because it’s very relatable — from her not having a huge ‘rock bottom’ to her writing about what happens after quitting drinking, two topics I don’t think are often talked about in other recovery/alcoholism memoirs. I actually loved the book SO much that I read it in two days! I found it very inspirational and very encouraging.”
Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction by Maia Szalavitz.
Maia Szalavitz is one of the world’s leading neuroscience and addiction journalists. In this book, she challenges the concept of a “broken brain” and an “addictive personality,” offering a radical and groundbreaking new perspective. In her book, she argues that addictions are learning disorders; by considering them in the context of this new paradigm, we can untangle our conflicting ideas around addiction treatment, prevention, and policy.
What I particularly like is her alternative perspective. I favor any outlook that stops us from believing that we are broken and instead focuses on an individualized approach and brings about healing.
What I love about Gabor Maté is his approach to those who suffer with substance use disorders — it is one of empathy and understanding of the trauma that we have suffered. He brings together the science of addiction and his decades of experience as a doctor specializing in this condition. He adds another realm to what has always been considered to be a spiritual condition: evidence of trauma and stress.
“Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experience. A hurt is at the centre of all addictive behaviors. It is present in the gambler, the Internet addict, the compulsive shopper and the workaholic. The wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden — but it’s there. As we’ll see, the effects of early stress or adverse experiences directly shape both the psychology and the neurobiology of addiction in the brain.” – Gabor Maté
The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body, In the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD.
Until the past few years, most addiction treatment focused on either retraining the mind or finding a spiritual solution. Few considered the physical element of recovery. In this fascinating book, Van Der Kolk explores the relationship between traumatic stress and its impact on the body, reshaping our body and brain and compromising our capacity for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. This book is a must-read for those who want to heal their relationship with their body and the trauma stored within it.
Recovery Rising: A Retrospective of Addiction Treatment and Recovery Advocacy by Bill White.
Renowned recovery advocate, visionary, and prolific author Bill White writes a professional memoir of the stories, reflection, and lessons learned throughout his journey. Many of those who work within the addiction treatment field have been reading the insightful words of White for the last five decades. His book has been touted as perceptive, revealing, and inspiring.
The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison.
Praised by most book fiends in recovery, The Recovering is a must read. In this memoir, Leslie Jamison navigates her personal story and interweaves the fascinating stories we tell about addiction together with the history of the recovery movement and its relationship with race and class. Her book has been described as “a transformative work showing that sometimes the recovery is more gripping than the addiction.”
In 2011, Hanchett set up the website Renegade Mothering to find out if the rest of the mothering world is as crazy as she was. Having reached an audience of hundreds of thousands, she wrote about her experiences of seeking relief from motherhood in too much wine. Favored by many writers in recovery, her book has been described as wickedly funny and empowering, chronicling her journey through addiction into a recovery she didn’t know was possible.
What books helped you in early recovery? Add your favorite titles in the comments and we’ll check them out for our next list.
Experts explain the challenges people with depression face in the dating world.
Depression can often be a full-time fight, and it can make practically every aspect of life difficult, including dating. While dating is still possible when battling depression, it can often require extra effort and care.
In a new look at depression and dating, Ask Men spoke to several experts about the specific difficulties and challenges people who are struggling with depression can face when they’re looking for the right soul mate.
As Lindsey Pratt, a relationship therapist, explains, “Depression may impact your relationship as it reduces general feelings of wellbeing, as well as overall energy. If you struggle with depression, you may notice that it prevents you from feeling excitement over special moments with your partner, that you have trouble finding energy to spend time with that person, or that your ability to imagine a happy future with your partner feels limited.”
If you suffer from depression and want to try online dating, Pratt recommends that you “practice patience and compassion with yourself that your speed in replying or interacting with potential dates may be limited. Battling depression can be physically and emotionally taxing, so make sure you’re going at your own pace and being kind with yourself in the process.”
Yet Dr. Paulette Sherman, a psychologist who has written several books on dating, also recommends pushing yourself a bit to get out there, even if you feel down in the dumps. “It is healthy to take action to forge new connections, to have fun and to remain hopeful that something good could come from your efforts,” she explains.
Pratt also recommends being aware of what triggers your depression and to work around those triggers when dating, like scheduling a date around the hours of the day you feel best. Once the date is happening, it’s important to be in the moment and to not bring your depressive thoughts and feelings with you. “Try to focus on what there is to enjoy and what you appreciate about your experience,” Sherman says.
Another difficult aspect of dating when you’re depressed is when to disclose to someone that you suffer from depression. “You’ll need to determine the best time to discuss your depression with a date,” Sherman explains. “Often this conversation happens a month or two into dating.”
Psychology professor Amanda Rose recommended to US Newsthat when it’s time to disclose that you’re dealing with depression, “Be brief and to the point. I don’t know if it’s always relevant to go into too many details.”
As Dr. Gary Brown, a marriage and family therapist, also explained to Elite Daily, “I really like to encourage people to say, ‘You know what? I suffer from a condition that’s pretty common in the population. I have this sadness sometimes about me.’ You don’t even have to use the word depression.”
