He didn't really abandon me, since he couldn't really have stayed. If I can't be abandoned, and I can't control or fail to control someone else's behavior, then I can start to love.
By taking action on a physical level and taking interest on an emotional level, we can re-establish our relationship with food, with our bodies, with our past, and with ourselves as a whole.
Velez-Mitchell's balanced, yet, "no-holds bar" style attracts a loyal audience. She has an obsession for, and an addiction to making a real and measurable impact in the world. She is addicted to the notion that she can always do more.
The new DSM will not cause more people to be diagnosed with addiction. Instead, more people who may not yet be addicted (but whose substance use is nonetheless unhealthy) will be able to access very inexpensive but proven effective treatment earlier and more easily.
When my son, Max, was 3, he had a job. He walked alongside his older brother and translated. Andrew was 5 and autistic. He made high-pitched sounds to indicate what he wanted.
As the founding volunteer director for Thistle Farms I have long ago bought into the myth that beggars can't be choosers. As a professional beggar and priest for more than 20 years, I now understand beggars have to be choosy.
The most dangerous drugs may be much closer to home than you think. In fact, they may already be in your home. You may be worried about your teenager's relationship with drugs, but this is probably a good time to start talking to your younger children, too.
We are raising a cohort of teens whose cell phones have replaced their favorite blankets or stuffed animals.
There is an inescapable conceptual struggle when dealing with America's volatile history of, and attitudes toward, substance use. In other words, the meaning of addiction is a never-ending American, and thus worldwide, cultural debate.
Just because our brains have been altered by addiction, doesn't mean we're destined to fall into the same habits. With the right skills, community and support we can learn how to break out of routine and into a life worth living.
Just as our interpersonal relationships can differ in terms of intensity, so can our "relationship" with drinking. Moreover, these differences aren't separated by sharp lines; rather, they tend to blend into one another.
For most women, Mother's Day is a time to honor and celebrate motherhood. For countless other women, it also marks a day of grieving and loss.
We have waged a war against drugs instead of formulating a science-based response to a public health epidemic for which a life-saving medication is available.
Addicts under the addictive spell of smoking always have a reason or an excuse to smoke, whether these make sense or not. The real question is whether they truly believe their lives will be better if they free themselves from the familiar thrall that smoking reliably provides them.
I pity the man who is struggling with writing (or any other creative activity) who concludes that drinking is the pathway to creative success and who seeks a solution through drinking.
If symptoms of psychological distress are already present in a child, there are things you can do to stop them from getting worse.
