Life Process Program Blog

They discovered what makes for a happy, fulfilled life. It also makes you live the longest and the best able to resist addiction. We tell so many stories about people whose gifts are destroyed by disease: autism, ADHD, bipolar,...

How my family and I rejected AA, the disease theory of addiction, and oppressive rehabs to embrace harm reduction, personal agency in recovery and belief in ourselves. Background Three years ago, my older sister (actually my half sister— 14...

Dear Stanton, A client recently asked me your thoughts about ADHD. This is a highly-educated professional who was diagnosed as an adult and has not found medication helpful. I gave them my take on ADHD but said I would...

Most people believe their choice is to enter 12-step, addiction-as-disease therapy or to have no treatment at all for addiction problems. In fact, there is a broad array of treatments for addiction. What unites them is: (a) their not...

The New York Times has announced why there are so many drug deaths and why we can’t solve the addiction problem. It’s because people use more than one drug simultaneously! According to the Times addiction is now harder to...

Japan produces a reality television show called Old Enough? It has run for decades in Japan and it became a hit in the US on Netflix during the pandemic. Parents send a child out on an errand while a...

Dear Stanton, In a family where every game day is sacred and skipping a match is akin to high treason, I’ve started to wonder where passion ends and addiction begins. My partner’s mood swings with the fate of his...

Dear Stanton, I’m reaching out to you about you and what your work means. Your work on addiction and recovery has popped up on my radar more times than I can count, sparking a mix of intrigue and skepticism....

Our views on addiction have changed radically since Stanton Peele and Archie Brodsky wrote Love and Addiction in 1975, and Stanton followed up with his 1985 book The Meaning of Addiction. But our modern vocabulary often doesn’t reflect these...

When people go to rehab, the concept is that they can devote themselves to wellness and recovery.  But does that logic really work?  Or are they isolating themselves from the challenges they need to face in living addiction free? ...

Dear Stanton, My husband is an alcoholic that went through the treatment stages and he is now living in a sober house. He is working.  We have been apart as a result of his treatment.  He has been at...

The healing power of words is profound. That’s why writing in a journal is a powerful self-help tool. Journaling is the process of writing down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Doing so can help you reflect on the goings...

Recovering from addiction in the nondisease approach requires accepting personal responsibility and agency. If this is true, and we accept that nobody else or any external force is the cause of our addiction, where does that leave family and...

AA has been around a long time (since 1935 — the first edition of the Big Book was produced in 1939). It and its 12 steps have been the dominant approach to alcoholism and addiction  in America for at...

Dr. Peele, As someone struggling with food addiction, I have been exploring various treatment options to help me regain control over my eating habits. While doing so, I stumbled upon your website and have been pouring through all the...

For the first time, drugs are being introduced that control and limit weight in a new way, without stimulants. The most notable of these are Wegovy and Ozempic, brand names for semaglutide. At the Life Process Program (LPP), we...

What Addiction and Recovery Are Addiction isn’t an outside force coming in to “capture” your life, like an infection. You can’t get a medication to “conquer” or to defeat it. Addiction arises due to an imbalance in your life....

Question: Hello. To be honest I have a few questions, but I don’t know where to begin. My biggest problem in quitting my alcohol addiction is how to live with regrets. So many things I’ve done wrong, so many...

The New Yorker designated its July 10-16 edition as “The Therapy Issue.” It pointed out a strange anomaly for our time. We are dedicated to mental health treatments: “If our current moment has a defining impulse, it’s the drive...

Cognitive-behavioral therapy. The entire class of non-medical, non disease treatments is called cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT. CBT grew out of behavior therapy, which initially consisted of rewarding approved behaviors and punishing undesired ones. It was opposed to Freudian or...

How we conceive of public health in relation to drugs is crucial for the policies we adopt and invest in and the success of their outcomes. Drug policy reformers often describe their project as being the removal of drug...

In harm reduction “high-functioning alcoholic” is bullshit The concept “high-functioning alcoholic” is nonsensical in harm reduction terms. Harm reduction focuses on functioning, not consumption. If you are high-functioning you aren’t alcoholic or any other type of addict. Should Oppenheimer...

Do standard mental health treatment and labels hurt people more than help them? At LPP we avoid standard diagnostic labels and tropes (ways of expressing things). Here’s why. Jonas Hill’s former girlfriend, Sarah Brady, accused Hill of abusing her...

How can you avoid getting into a relationship with someone who physically assaults you — may even kill you? And how do you extricate yourself without being harmed? People refer to addictions to drugs as “bad decisions.” But the...

  Question: Dear Dr. Peele, I have a question that I believe you may be able to provide some guidance on: is it okay to masturbate every day? As a topic that is often shrouded in stigma and misconceptions,...

The main ingredients in your personality (e.g., outgoing/friendly/shy-reserved; adventurous–risk taking/cautious-risk averse) are largely fixed by genes, upbringing, trauma. But, as you mature your purpose and outlook can change (e.g., seeking success, enjoying helping others). The latter, changeable things are...

The American Dream: We can bypass human consciousness, lived experience and intentionality so as to cure addiction medically. Alcohol: Colonial America to Mary Pendery Antiquity through American Colonial Period. Psychoactive substances were not identified as special objects capable of...

Hi Dr. Peele, I’m a long-time follower of your work, and have been reading about Ariel’s experience. I can relate to so many of the comments in this article, and I was going to just post my own response...

The Life Process Program approaches everything as a life journey, that is as a process. LPP doesn’t see an individual “triggering” thing or event “causing” you to relapse. If you move your life in a positive direction, you will...

As medical treatment for drug use and depression continue to increase, more people— often young people— suffer and die from each. What’s the connection? Is it social connection? A strange phenomenon occurred during the Vietnam War. After the Secretaries...

We are regularly told to turn ourselves over to medical and recovery experts who can save us. They couldn’t help Heather Armstrong after 20 years. Armstrong, who ushered in an age of confessional writing online by women, inspiring millions...

Hi Stanton, I’m a psych student studying addiction. I wanted to get your thoughts on a question that came up in our class today: is it harder to quit alcohol, drugs or smoking? I know everyone’s experience with addiction...

It might seem uncomfortable for helpers to acknowledge that most people recover without treatment. But we at LPP feel the opposite is true: that seeing change occur naturally around us helps all of us to change. Thus at LPP...

Dear Stanton, I am a 42-year-old woman who has struggled with alcoholism for most of my adult life. It all began after the tragic loss of my brother when I was in my early twenties, and I turned to...

We recently asked recipients of our online newsletter to tell us what they want to know more about— how we can add value to their day. The feedback feedback we received and questions people asked were valuable beyond individual...

Dear Stanton, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about the prevalence of cannabis stores. I disagree with the point of view often expressed that says “legal” = “benign”. Just interested in you (and Zach’s) thoughts on...

Dear Stanton, Can you provide me with some practical steps to deal with alcohol addiction (I am 84). John Hi John, You’re certainly going after the big questions! I’m wondering where you’re coming from, age 84. Is this about...

Dear Stanton, I’ve mostly moved past my problematic drinking, but I still find myself falling into old habits and patterns of thinking.  I easily slip back into the alcoholic identity/mindset. Before I realized I was doing this, it led...

Dear Stanton, I feel like with the videos I’ve watched you guys put out there isn’t nearly enough practical steps for overcoming addiction.  As much as it’s great to debunk addiction, helping people change their preference for their strongly...

Two Irish superstars who have led very different lives each illustrate the power of local connection in dealing with alcohol At the end of his interview with Norah O’Donnell in the pub in the Irish village where he grew...

The transfer of mental health from the family and community to the medical system is regarded as a modern miracle. It is an unmitigated disaster. In the proceedings of a 1988 conference in which he and I both participated,...

As a lunchtime exercise I wrote to ChatGPT and asked it: “How would Dr Stanton Peele recommend helping someone with a pornography addiction?” Here’s what it replied: Dr. Stanton Peele’s approach to helping someone with a pornography addiction is...

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You don’t have to fact check George Santos to know he’s lying  The Peacock series “Poker Face” stars Natasha Lyonne as a superhero with a special power: the ability to detect bullshit. You can do the same without having...

We used to think it was fun and good for you — but now we know that it’s a . . . . deadly killer?? Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health: “Recent research makes it clear that...

   *  *  * The universal theme of trauma as the cause of addiction and much else has been broadened to include generational trauma. This phenomenon gives the 2013 ESPN series “The Book of Manning” new visibility and significance....

 *  *  * We are walking a razor’s edge in reviewing Perry’s memoir. We risk upsetting AA evangelists and the anti-12-step crowd in one review.  On one hand, AA’s “Big Book” thumpers will hate that we have no patience...

There are two ways of viewing how people emerge from addiction: the “recovery” route, where people fight an “illness” forever, versus the natural, developmental one. In the latter case, the person progresses naturally by maturing and gaining a sound...

Tom Horvath (SMART Recovery) and Stanton Peele  delve into their decades’ long association in the battle to establish non-disease, harm reduction treatment in the United States. Their connection is supportive, even affectionate. Each in their own way — Tom...

 * * * “Drug overdose” deaths are one of our largest killers. From the overdose perspective, a naive user dies due to taking a single unexpectedly powerful dose of a drug, usually an opioid. But this scenario is a...

 * * * Minority and deprived populations’ death rates are increasing precipitously. Covid and drugs have been a major focus for this spate of deaths. But the cause runs deeper. The latest bad news is “U.S. Life Expectancy Falls...

We face a crossroads in harm reduction. The concept has been widely deployed. Yet many object to it — including progressives who should be our biggest backers. Here’s the solution. * * * The Biden Administration’s Harm Reduction Background...

After devastating data have shown that America is leading the world in a failed approach to combating mental illness and addiction, Nora Volkow comes out firing. *  *. * When Prophecy Fails What to do when you stake your...

  Unlike the disease theory of addiction, the life process model sees addiction as an experience that most people avoid or outgrow.  LPP encourages this development through fostering clients’ purpose, strengths and skills, engagement, experience and adventure, and belonging...

For a half century, at least, American psychiatry and its fellow travelers have been cheerleading a descent into madness. We stand on the threshold of advances in the biological sciences so relevant to psychopathology that one can look forward...

  We have been watching the Johnny Depp lawsuit against Amber Heard with great interest. Except we don’t care if Johnny Depp wins his defamation suit against Amber Heard. Nor will we render an opinion about whether “mutual abuse”...

Quinta Brunson licked the toughest addiction— with purpose. Quinta Brunson—creator, writer and star of ABC’s Abbott Elementary—has written something of an addiction manual in her 2021 memoir, She Memes Well. In all of Brunson’s work, she reckons to have...

An interview with a fictional newscaster I often fantasize about having an honest conversation with the type of news correspondent (virtually all of them) who believe addiction is a brain disease— that some are genetically predisposed to become addicted...

While other mass media hosts rose, fell, retired, and fizzled, one modest woman pursued a successful career for a half century while raising a family despite her “illness”. Jane Pauley has several life stories. She was a monument of...

Kaila Yu contemplated in the Times whether love addiction is real, an actual motivation for behavior. It was strong enough for a young woman to stab to death her identical twin with whom she was involved in a love...

“Does love addiction exist?” commentators question. Yet our most popular streaming media stories are replete with the cases of people whose lives are severely disturbed by harmful, irrational intimate involvements — up to an including death. Take “Dirty John”....

NYT Best-Selling Author Johann Hari, In his new book, “Stolen Focus”, explains why and how our ability to pay attention is diminishing; he explains why that matters; and he offers potential solutions to those of us who wish to...

Question Dr. Peele, Do you have tips and tricks for avoiding “love addiction” urges and relapses? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *...

Can a child feel too much? Can they take their concern for others, and the state of the nation and the world, too far? Congressman Jamie Raskin had a monumental year in 2021. As a progressive representative from Maryland,...

Does Bruce Springsteen symbolize creativity, engagement, and superseding early roots? Instead, for some he symbolizes mental illness and requiring psychiatric medications to live.   Bruce Springsteen’s Legacy If it were possible, Bruce Springsteen is having a “moment” in the...

In the wake of Norm Macdonald’s unfortunate death, Zach and Stanton discuss Macdonald’s legendary gambling problem (as explored in an extremely interesting way by Marc Maron). They reflect on the values of money, achievement, and purpose — both in...

The American medical establishment hasn’t progressed one iota beyond “This is your brain on drugs.” The esteemed medical website WebMD featured a piece “How Alcohol Affects Your Body” listing 15 items.  Guess how many of them were positive? I...

We are emerging from the Dark Ages of Drug Policy by recognizing that drug use and addiction are not the same thing. That is, drug use does not inevitably lead to addiction any more than an addiction requires drugs...

We’ve missed something fundamental for decades. It seems impossible that the entire U.S. Government could follow a delusional policy that is an utter failure, while administration after administration and their experts declared it a success. That’s what happened in...

Dr. Peele, I’m currently working on the LPP program. I’m also seeing a life coach who specializes in addiction and attends and supports 12 step programs. She argues that randomized controlled trials show AA is superior to other programs...

Nobody is actually immune to addiction, despite what you may read about brain surgeries, medicines, or other “magical” addiction cures. The best any of us can do to prevent and beat addiction is to live a balanced life, which...

Zach was very hopeful that the tides of addiction theory and treatment were turning when super podcaster Joe Rogan had Carl Hart on his show. Carl, author of “Drug-Use for Grown Ups,” despite being a neuroscientist, doesn’t believe that...

Love addiction is worse the second time around. This article, written by Dr. Peele, was originally published in Psychology Today Anthony Bourdain hanged himself on June 8, 2018, at Le Chambard Hotel in Alsace, France. He was on location...

It can be difficult for some people to hear about how so many people drink or take drugs without problems, or becoming addicted. Or, on the other hand, to learn how many overcome addiction in the course of time,...

Why relying on disease or trauma in order not to punish people harms more than it helps  In an international cause celebre, Sha’Carri Richardson, perhaps the fastest woman in the world, tested positive for marijuana, upsetting her participation in...

The new cudgel against drinking and drug use Move over racism, sexism and age-ism. We have a new label to shame the majority of people who choose to drink and use recreational drugs. They aren’t “sober.” Medium ran a...

Britney Spears is the map of the future The documentary Framing Britney Spears revealed the story of how a youthful female singing-entertainment star (now 39) has been under a guardianship arrangement since 2008. The basis for this arrangement was...

There’s benefit to seeking life help in the form of therapy, counseling, coaching and mutual-aid groups. But most of that which is available for addiction doesn’t provide essential benefits.  The Life Process Program operates as a therapeutic coaching program....

Millions of Americans have already received their $1,400.00 (or more) stimulus payments as part of the Coronavirus Relief Bill — and many more millions will be receiving theirs in the next few weeks. Of course, receiving a large chunk...

Dear Stanton, I am so glad that I stumbled across your website. Something sensible – finally. I decided for myself that I am an alcoholic about 5 years ago when I was 29 years old. I almost never drank...

How are we doing at solving our alcohol and drug problems? A dark event has occurred to cloud the Super Bowl. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s son Britt, the Chief’s outside linebackers coach, ran into the back...

Dr. Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads discuss Jordan Peterson’s work, his views about addiction, and how he handled his own addiction to benzodiazepines (with an understanding that Peterson makes a distinction between “addiction proper” and what he believes was...

A question that we are often asked is – Is LPP a “trauma informed program”?  In this podcast, we offer a definition of “trauma” in several contexts and we discuss the differences between traumatic events and adverse conditions in life. We...

Dr. Carl Hart explains that the vast majority of people who use drugs do so with no problem. In fact, drugs — yes, even so-called “hard drugs”– offer more positive than negative experiences. Dr. Hart is a professor (and...

Harm Reduction is an approach to reducing the harm associated with potentially dangerous activity– it’s common sense. But many people balk at harm reduction practice and policy when drug use is involved. In this video, LPP coach Zach Rhoads...

Questions of family often appear in relation to addiction and drug issues. As with all questions in these areas, discussion is misled by disease beliefs, which leave people muddled and mystified about how to proceed constructively.  Nonetheless, basic human...

An LPP client asked a question about something that he has been pondering:  “Society seems to acknowledge the danger of prolonged depression and the link to addictive behavior. But what about this word dysphoria? Is it something at the...

Stanton Peele answers questions from social media followers, listeners, and YouTube viewers. Today, Zach Rhoads reads Stanton a question from a Facebook follower: “Why do people call addiction a disease, and what is addiction REALLY?” Want to ask Stanton...

My boyfriend masturbates all the time. His Instagram consists of ladies like Kate Sarkissian and literally any other lady. He tells me he doesn’t masturbate as much as he used to but I know he masturbates almost EVERY time...

This is episode 45 of the LPP Podcast (and the 11th segment of the “Sundays With Stories” series).  Sundays With Stories is a segment of the LPP podcast that Dr. Peele and Zach Rhoads created in order to illuminate...

Sundays With Stories is a segment of the LPP podcast that Dr. Peele and Zach Rhoads created in order to illuminate the myriad natural recovery (recovery without support groups or rehab) stories all around us. They do so because...

The Life Process Program’s “MAT Empowerment Model”  MAT stands for medication-assisted treatment. This is the use of medications to assist recovery from addiction. Harm reduction as it relates to substance use means improvement, or recovery, while continuing to use...

Sundays With Stories is a segment of the LPP podcast that Dr. Peele and Zach Rhoads created in order to illuminate the myriad natural recovery (recovery without support groups or rehab) stories all around us. They do so because...

Sundays With Stories is a segment of the LPP podcast that Dr. Peele and Zach Rhoads created in order to illuminate the myriad natural recovery (recovery without support groups or rehab) stories all around us. They do so because...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 41! We have a truly remarkable LPP “Sundays With Stories” — Aaron’s story. Put simply, Aaron’s life has been . . . well, it might be rejected by Netflix as unbelievable. And it...

Not so long ago, we (at the Life Process Program) published a blog comparing and contrasting SMART Recovery and the Life Process Program. Shortly after doing so, Dr. Tom Horvath (the  former president of SMART Recovery) wrote to us...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 39!   In today’s episode of Sundays With Stories, Stanton and Zach discuss current events. This week a New York Times article bemoaned the failure of addiction specialists to adopt a proven tool...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 38!   Zach Rhoads and I return to “Sundays With Stories.” We have created this series to replace the disease narrative for addiction and drug use. It is our last gasp effort to...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 35! What is Sundays With Stories? Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads, an addiction and a child development specialist respectively, converse about the realities of addiction and substance misuse in their Sunday conversations. Stanton and...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 35! What is Sundays With Stories? Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads, an addiction and a child development specialist respectively, converse about the realities of addiction and substance misuse in their Sunday conversations. Stanton and...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 34! This is a sneak peak at a new weekly segment by Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads, called “Sundays With Stories”  You can listen to the audio version of the podcast HERE Stanton...

Stressful situations or problems can be major addiction-triggers (even when stress is unrelated to addictions past or present). Thus, developing effective problem-solving skills– better ways of coping with such situations– is essential to breaking an addictive cycle. Here are...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 33! This is a sneak peak at a new weekly segment by Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads, called “Sundays With Stories”  You can listen to the audio version of the podcast HERE  ...

Last week, a podcast listener emailed us with such an interesting question that we wanted to share the question and our answer with you. Listen to our answer in this video, or read our exchange below. Question: I feel...

Welcome to the LPP Podcast Episode 32! Today’s episode is a segment of our interview with LPP Coach Dee Cloward. In this segment, Dee talks about her work at SMART Recovery and compares/contrasts it with her work for the...

12-step groups like AA are largely ineffective at curbing drug and alcohol addiction. Happily, SMART Recovery (Self Management and Recovery Training) is another lay-led support group and that honors the principles of personal agency and development that we talk...

Welcome to Episode 31! Today we want you to take care of you. So enjoy this 15 minute mindfulness meditation and free your mind so that you can make reasoned, responsible, and good decisions about how you’ll behave for...

With Contributions From Ilse Thompson Mindfulness is the antidote for addiction. Happily, living mindfully is simple with practice, and getting started doesn’t necessarily require meditation or intense practice. In this article, you will learn five tools for living more...

Welcome to Episode 30! Today’s guest is Toby Sola. Toby is the CEO of Brightmind for a living; he practices and teaches meditation as a livelihood. Brightmind is a meditation app that helps people of all personalities, persuasions, and...

Welcome to Episode 29! Today’s guest is our very own LPP Coach, Dolores Cloward — Dee for short. Dee is an LPP coach with a range of interesting professional and personal experiences worth sharing, including her own experience with...

Welcome to Episode 28! Today’s guest is Mindy Vincent. Mindy is an addiction therapist and social worker; she is the host of the podcast “Therapeutic Madness“; and she is the founder of Utah Harm Reduction Coalition. Mindy spoke with...

Welcome to Episode 27! Today is actually an excerpt from another podcast – REBT Advocates. Today you’ll hear LPP coach and author Zach Rhoads talking with Michael Edelstein and Tommy Bateman about his and Stanton Peele’s latest book, “Outgrowing...

The idea of addiction as inevitably a lifetime burden is a myth. In fact, most people resolve addictions over time and most do so without professional or support-group help.  We know this because the American government’s own data tells...

Welcome to Episode 26! On today’s program, Zach Rhoads speaks with Daniel Snyder. Daniel lives in Langley, British Columbia where he is a project and peer coordinator at Langley Overdose Response. He is also the founding creator of Mindful...

Welcome to Episode 25 – This is the fourth and final episode in out four-part series about Harm Reduction. In the first three episodes of the series, Zach spoke with Dr. Peele. Here are links to those episodes, in...

Welcome to Episode 24 – This is the third of a four-part series about Harm Reduction. The series opened with a discussion around the history of harm reduction for addiction and last week we heard Zach and Stanton discuss...

The Life Process Program was originally developed for use in a residential treatment center, as an alternative to the 12-step / religious based programs that had dominated the treatment industry for years.  Then we moved it online so that...

By Anne Earle Working with our LPP team is, in a word, AWESOME! When the creator of The Life Process Program and renowned addiction expert, Dr. Stanton Peele, asked me a few weeks back if I would write a...

Welcome to episode 23 – This is the second of a four-part series about Harm Reduction. Last week, Stanton and Zach discussed the history of harm reduction for addiction. In today’s episode, Stanton wraps up his telling of Harm...

Harm reduction therapy is based on four principles: While absolute abstinence may be preferable for many or most substance abusers, very few will achieve it, and even that small group will take time to do so and may relapse...

Dr. Sandy Steingard is a psychiatrist and the chief medical officer of a statewide non-profit organization in Vermont called The Howard Center. She is also a blogger for Robert Whitaker’s online Magazine called “Mad in America” and she’s the...

Robert Schwebel is a psychologist, author, and the creator of a non 12-step program called “Seven Challenges”. Dr. Schwebel’s “Seven Challenges” are a practical guide for people, young and old, to really understand their relationship with drugs and alcohol...

Harm Reduction is the elimination of worst-case scenarios with drugs and alcohol. Can the same concept apply to policing?  The Life Process Program utilizes harm reduction techniques in addictions.  These involve cases where people are not abstaining completely from...

Today’s episode is the final in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they discuss one module of the eight-module program, and in today’s episode they...

Today’s episode is the seventh in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s episode...

Today’s episode is the sixth in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s episode...

Today’s episode is the fifth in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s episode...

Today’s episode is the fourth in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s episode...

Pete Davidson is an American phenomenon. The youngest cast member ever to appear on Saturday Night Live, at age 20, now 26, he stars in and wrote the forthcoming movie, The King of Staten Island, directed by Judd Apatow...

Today’s episode is the third in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they will discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s...

Today’s episode is the second in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they will discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, and in today’s...

Today’s episode is the first in a series of eight where Zach talks directly to Dr Stanton Peele, the founder of the Life Process Program. Each week they will discuss one module of  the eight-module  program, beginning today with...

We are in the midst of a disastrous mental health and addiction epidemic, in which the U.S. is at the bottom of the world heap. (See the 2019 World Happiness Report chapter, “Addiction and Unhappiness in America.”) This plummeting...

Ian Powell, co-founder (with Jackie Hueftle) of the US climbing gear firm, Kilter Grips, has a long story to tell about addiction, which he did for BBC Business News. A rock climber and gifted designer, Powell co-founded eGrips in...

Today Zach talks to Dr Rick Barnett. Rick is a doctor of Psychology – Clinical, Mental/Behavioral Health & Addiction Consultant. Rick has been accepted into the ‘class of 2020’ at the California Institute for Integral Studies in their Certificate...

Today’s episode is an excerpt of a conversation our LPP coach Zach had with developmental  psychologist and best selling author, Dr Ross Greene. They talk about how Dr Ross came up with a way to work collaboratively with children...

In todays episode, our LPP coach Zach Rhoads reads an extract from the book “Outgrowing Addiction: With Common Sense Instead of Disease Therapy” that he co-authored with Dr Stanton Peele. With drug overdoses continuing to rise at an alarming...

  In todays episode, our LPP coach Zach Rhoads talks to Bill Kinkle. Bill calls himself a ‘person in recovery’ although he is quick to explain that the term probably means something different to him than it does to...

LPP’s value has become even clearer in the Age of the Epidemic Many organizations are now presenting themselves as online alternatives for addiction therapy. My Life Process Program (LPP) has been offering online coaching and help for addictions of...

  Today’s segment is an excerpt from Dr Stanton Peele’s recent appearance on a Texas radio station called Cultural Baggage, hosted by a man named Dean Becker. In this episode, Dr Peele discusses the simple truth that the majority...

  On this podcast, our LPP coach, Zach Rhoads talks to Brooke Feldman. Brooke is an addiction professional who earned her grad degree from the university of Pennsylvanian. Brooke currently manages methadone clinics in Philadelphia. Brooke openly identifies as...

AA may be among the victims of the modern plague. At least if musician Laurie Wright is any example. For Wright, “AA meetings were my saving grace, by going to them every day.” And now? “We do the meetings...

If, as Johan Harri said, the opposite of addiction is connection, what do we do in a pandemic when the safest thing to do is actually avoid each other? These are unprecedented and challenging circumstances. I don’t need to...

Prof Jamie Coleman, in an article published on the BBC website, has a solution for the painkiller (or opioid) crisis — a crisis that is particularly virile here in the US, where going on a million people have died...

Now that you have downloaded your 7 Lessons For Overcoming Addiction Guide, it’s time to put it to good use. The simple act downloading the guide and getting started, is a token of your commitment to making improvements in...

  On this podcast, Dr. Stanton Peele delivers a talk to a group of helping professionals in Galway Ireland. His keynote addresses the importance of recognizing values– as well as motivation, skills, connection, purpose, and meaning– in overcoming addiction....

  Today’s episode is a throwback! Dr. Stanton Peele interviews harm-reduction therapists and authors of the book, Over The Influence, Patt Denning and Jeannie Little. These ladies were (and are) at the forefront of commonsense, harm-reduction based therapy. Their...

In a famous research piece, Barry Tuchfeld interviewed people who strove to lick a drinking problem on their own. These individuals rejected the value of AA and treatment in their lives. Here are some of the statements made by...

Dear Stanton, I just found out I was pregnant. My husband was told years ago he couldn’t have children so you can imagine our surprise. I was in an accident a few years ago and was prescribed hydrocodone 10mg...

  Dr. Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads answer the following frequently asked question: Is LPP a “trauma informed program”?  They offer a definition of “trauma” in several contexts. Then they discuss differences between traumatic events and adverse conditions in life. Peele...

Dear Stanton, My fiancé is good person for the most part. He is a hard worker and treats me well the majority of the time. The problem is he smokes weed a lot, lies to his parents about it....

Our Life Process Program’s founder and creator, Dr. Stanton Peele, Ph.D. spoke to a group at The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on March 29th via teleconference called Drugs Do Not Define Addiction. The topic is one...

  Rewrite your life story. The Life Process Program takes clients through a staged review of their life stories, focusing first on mistakes, continuing to how they might have acted differently to avoided these pitfalls, to reconceiving their life...

A brilliant literary editor and biographer, whose editing and writing penetrates deeply into her subjects, has fatal trouble in her own life. Claire Tomalin is an English literary editor (Sunday Times) and award-winning biographer (of Mary Wollstonecraft, Samuel Pepys,...

Stanton Peele: Author of Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in AA and NA. One of the country’s foremost experts on addiction joins Jim Breslo (Hidden Truth Podcast) to explain that we focus too much on the...

We’re pleased to launch the NEW monthly #LPP Podcast that our coaches Zach and Aaron have initiated. Each month, Stanton Peele & Zach Rhoads will tackle & discuss a clinical addiction issue. The first episode deals with this clinical...

Over the last two decades, Stanton Peele has answered numerous questions from readers about the following subjects: Addiction Questions Nonsubstance Addictions How To Think About Solving an Addiction Sex and Relationships Society and Science Questions Drug Policy Harm Reduction...

Do values pay a role in addiction? What can I say to my employers who push 12-step methods? Can people use narcotics safely, even with benefits, for years?

Does naltrexone work? What do you think of SMART Recovery? What exactly is the community reinforcement approach (CRA) and how effective is it? Is salvation a cure for addiction? What do you think of naltrexone therapy for alcoholics? What...

Can I ever get off methadone? How? Is harm reduction therapy too risky for a therapist to try? What do you think of my individualized harm reduction treatment? Can I ever get off methadone? Can I get wasted once...

Should physicians prescribe narcotic substitutes? Can my son’s marijuana use be therapeutic? Tell me about needle-exchange programs and drop-in centres

Can I create an intervention to force my parents to address my sister’s shopping addiction? Is there such a thing as workaholism? Can a person be addicted to get-rich-quick schemes, and how can I stop my father from ruining...

The Life Process Program (LPP) is a PURPOSE DRIVEN program.  What does that mean?   In LPP, people learn skills and attitudes, and use their beliefs and personal assets, including relationships and communities, to leave addiction behind. But underlying...

The Life Process Program addresses addiction, and yet it deals with love and relationships. How do those fit with addiction? Love & Relationship addictions exist when a person devotes themselves so much to one type of experience or involvement...

When we consider drug addiction and alcoholism, we understand that no one needs to use these substances. But how can someone be addicted to a life essential, like the food we eat? An addiction exists when something fills an...

Last week we wrote to tell you how several readers are using the comments in the blog section of our website as a forum for sharing their experiences. In the following extract, Jenn shares her experience of escaping from...

The Life Process Program Blog features several (anonymized) exchanges between Dr Peele and his readers. We wanted to share these experiences to allow readers to learn more about Dr Peele’s thoughts and opinions, but what we didn’t expect to...

Dear Dr. Peele, I went through a somewhat nasty divorce in 1990, along with getting laid off from my job. I realized that I had a drinking problem, and I attempted to moderate my drinking. I was somewhat successful,...

Could I be addicted? I can’t be an alcoholic? I wouldn’t say I’m addicted?  I’m not THAT bad. My doctor prescribed these. I only bet on sports. Everyone watches porn. Do any of those statements feel familiar? It seems...

Painkillers aren’t Addictive like Heroin, Right? It seems like it should be clear. Prescription painkillers are something you take for “polite pain,” like for a backache, or post-surgery; many keep them and use them when a shoulder acts up,...

The Life Process Program is proud to announce a significant update to its unique online addiction program, including a new look, new content and new features! The Life Process Program was first created and implemented as an inpatient program...

If motivation is the force that drives you to act, then rewards are what you gain from that activity. People quit their addictions when they begin to get more rewards for living without the addiction than they got from...

Everything you believe about drugs/addiction is wrong. EVERYTHING. It matters. I.  Drug Overdose Tom Petty died from, according to the New York Times headline, an “Accidental Drug Overdose.” Here’s the coroner’s list of the drugs found in Petty’s system: fentanyl,...

The disease model of addiction does more harm than good because it does not give people enough credit for their resilience and capacity to change. I t underestimates people’s ability to figure out what is good for them and...

We frequently hear from people who say: “I drink too much sometimes, but I don’t think I’m an alcoholic. And I don’t want to stand up and talk about myself in front of a group. Is there any other...

Everyone has a solution for the opioid epidemic. Here’s a real one. Here’s what we must do to improve our addictive situation In 2016, the American Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, announced in a new report on addiction, as though...

Power monster Harvey Weinstein isn’t after sex, primarily. What does he want? This post is in response to The 7 hardest addictions to quit – love is the worst! by Stanton Peele Everyone agrees that Harvey Weinstein is a...

Painkiller addiction is almost nonexistent, according to government data. News item:  The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, headed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, was released.  It declares, in the most lurid terms, that we are...

In many cases, addiction theorists have now progressed beyond stereotyped disease conceptions of alcoholism or the idea that narcotics are inherently addictive to anyone who uses them. The two major areas of addiction theory—those concerning alcohol and narcotics—have had...

The worst of the disease theory is that it says everyone is equally susceptible News Item: New county-level data from the CDC highlight the extreme geographic variation in opioid prescription rates, with some areas showing average morphine equivalents per capita 10 times...

He may smoke, he certainly drinks and, good God, that 60-year-old is trim!   This post is in response to Anthony Bourdain’s Addiction Report Card by Stanton Peele Anthony Bourdain is the worldly gastronomical traveler with an addictive past. ...

“I have a theory, of which Maggie Hassan is but one example: We don’t really care whether people become addicted, or whether they die. We only care about maintaining our cultural blinders. All of our energy goes into that...

It’s a regrettable loss to your life, which you may find necessary. I have an older friend (even older than me!) who can no longer drink alcohol or coffee. She has had an unusual drinking career. She came from a...

  Source: Vice on-line magazine I have described how liberals are the most ardent supporters of the disease theory of addiction. (Disclosure, I am a liberal.) This truth was driven home for me by my recent humiliation on The...

But everything we say and do to combat it accelerates the problem. The American Ethos and Drug Addiction and Death An odd moment occurred on MSNBC when the host of “All In with Chris Hayes” interviewed liberal New Hampshire...

The two primary (New York) intellectual organs, the New York Review of Books and The New York Times, have recently featured two powerful cultural icons saying exactly opposite things. Marcia Angell, the first woman editor-in-chief of the New England...

The next step in addiction Tx is assisting those addicted to heroin to inject The United States has been stymied in reducing drug-related deaths, which have continued to grow even in places where Naloxone and other anti-overdose medications have...

Subject: INSPIRED. A plea from a dissident Dear Dr. Stanton Peele, I am in much need of your advice. I am nervous sending this to you because, 1: I am anxious and have been most of my life; 2:...

Dear Dr Peele, Thank you for writing “Diseasing of America: How We Allowed Recovery Zealots and the Treatment Industry to Convince US We Are Out of Control,” and co-writing “Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in AA,...

Because they can’t draw unfavorable inferences about life in poor ghettos or poor rural communities (to which they have little exposure), liberals are drawn to the belief that drugs cause addiction. I couldn’t disagree more. But as a card-carrying...

Book Reviews Stanton Peele with Ilse Thompson. Recover! Boston, MA: DaCapo. 2014. 320 pages. $24.99 (hard cover), ISBN: 978-0-7382-1675-1 Background Something quite interesting is happening in the world of addiction publishing. The unending stream of books on drugs, drug...

We have entered an era in which drug use is widespread, almost ubiquitous, and yet at the same it is viewed as unmanageable and uncontrollable. We need instead to accept and to regulate drug use. Several recent key writings in...

Why the Life Process Program doesn’t focus on trauma—it doesn’t work! Trauma theory has come to dominate addiction practice.  It is commonplace to hear assertions that all addiction is due to trauma, or the converse—no one can escape the...

Recent reports on the harm reduction movement portray its rude health—yet simultaneously, a catastrophic event could at any point challenge its growing acceptance. To me, the situation recalls a disastrous confrontation that long negated a hugely promising development, before...

Disease Theory of Addiction The disease theory of addiction underpins punitive and abhorrent drug policies—but in fact, its negative impact is evenworse than this. Recently, two notables on an addiction theory list to which I used to belong debated...

Earlier this year, Maia Szalavitz, my fellow Influence columnist and an old comrade-in-arms, released her masterful book, Unbroken Brain, one that displays skills I only wish I had, and that I try to emulate. In it, she’s kind enough...

When Archie Brodsky and I were writing Love and Addiction in the early 1970s, a medical resident told us, “Oh, we’ve established what addiction was long ago.” It turns out, that wasn’t true. In 2013, DSM-5, the most recent...

We heard last week how Arianna Huffington, running her eponymous publication, bravely fought against criticism of 12-step programs in a report on heroin addiction in Kentucky that was eventually nominated for a Pulitzer. Should that surprise us? Of course...

We are recognizing that addiction is a regular part of life, and it scares the hell out of us. When I published Love and Addiction with Archie Brodsky in 1975, we received catcalls from my fellow faculty members at...

Abstract The world, led by the United States, is hell bent on establishing the absence of choice in addiction, as expressed by the defining statement that addiction is a “chronic relapsingbrain disease” (my emphasis). The figure most associated with...

This week on Talk Recovery, Dr. Stanton Peele discusses: ‘Does the word addict cause harm?’ Listen to his response.

Americans are dead set on finding a magic-bullet solution for thier addictions. Experts in the field, including pharmacologists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists—adding their voices to the 12-step movement—are all clamoring to be recognized as the true messiahs leading us...

When I first started looking seriously at addiction in the late 60s, people would ask why I was interested in it. “We already know everything about addiction,” one student told me. My answer to him was that I wanted...

We are recognizing that addiction is a regular part of life, and it scares the hell out of us. When I published Love and Addiction with Archie Brodsky in 1975, we received catcalls from my fellow faculty members at...

In line with Andrew Tatarsky’s and Shaun Shelly’s current entries, I would like to hear more of the thoughts on making drug treatment more available, and accessible on an as-needed basis. ” Howard Josepher Thanks for inquiring, Howard. The...

  In the United States today, our goal is to shunt the troubled/addicted individual out of the home and into treatment. By itself, that doesn’t work. What is the purpose of an intervention? In the United States, members of...

Here are five practical techniques that I use in my Life Process Program, which follows an empowerment model as opposed to a disease approach for addiction treatment.: 1. Empowerment All of psychological change is based on people’s belief that...

Steve Jobs reveals his success secrets from beyond the Pearly Gates. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.” Steve Jobs, college dropout, 2005...

People know alcohol’s a poison, so I don’t want them to drink—let them die early with dementia! I’ve given up telling people that alcohol makes you live longer, about which I first wrote for the American Journal of Public...

Stanton Peele meets with four harm reduction experts to discuss alternatives to abstinence-based programs like AA.   Let me begin with a disclaimer: I lead a dull life. A 69-year-old, I live alone in a rear house in Park...

The cautionary tale of love lost late in life via Sean Penn and Charlize Theron. As the author of Love and Addiction (a book published in 1975 that sold steadily for decades, and was just re-released on Amazon), I...

Calling addictions diseases is driving us all crazy I usually watch Morning Joe, MSNBC’s early-morning news program, while working out at the Park Slope YMCA. First, I have to confess, I have used my visits to the Y to...

Rather than over-diagnosing, is psychiatry actually causing the maladies it laments? The American Psychiatric Association creates the gold standard for diagnoses of mental disorders in the United States—and worldwide—through its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. DSM-IV was...

And are we simply barking up the wrong tree in response to our current failures? The United States has been conducting massive national surveys of 35-40,000 plus Americans’ drinking every 10 years with names like NLAES and NESARC. NESARC...

Relapse is common for drug treatments—but worse is when people attribute their recovery to them. This article discusses three kinds of drug therapy in addiction: Substitution or maintenance of a less harmful version of the same addiction (e.g., Suboxone,...

My name is Stanton, and I am not an alcoholic. But I can help. At one point, I spent quite a bit of time on the road, giving workshops and making presentations to audiences of counsellors and treatment program...

At a time when diagnoses are set to increase, I’m working to establish online addiction treatment. Some doubt the value of Internet programs, but their reach is unparalleled and evidence suggests they can work. We are about to witness...

Yes, just like they do drug and alcohol addictions. But Dear Prudie doesn’t know that. I regularly write about natural recovery from addiction because it illuminates the underlying dynamic of why people recover in bold relief: they quit because...

  There are two models for thinking about addiction: the exposure and the resilience models. In the exposure model, addiction is caused by simply being exposed to the addictive object. The epitome of this view of addiction is that...

1. Purpose I emphasize natural recovery from addiction. In particular, I talked about quizzing a large audience of participants at the International Cannabis Business Conference about their smoking histories. From one half to two-thirds of the group who had...

Drug addiction is not caused by the effects of drugs alone. After decades of growing acceptance, the concept that addiction is a medical disease (more exactly, a chronic brain disease) is suddenly being linked to the drug war—and being...

Addiction is not a function of drug use—it is a standard feedback phenomenon that occurs with or without drugs, whereby people immerse themselves in immediately rewarding experiences that detract from their larger lives. This definition of addiction makes clear...

I have written before about my view that emphasizing trauma is counterproductive.  Everybody has had trauma, and to focus on its role in your life is to hinder you going forward. This is especially true with addiction. The problem...

Identifying as an “addict” hurts you and limits your life, evidence shows. But through identity work and mindfulness, you can enrich your possibilities in astonishing ways. Meghan Ralston, of the Drug Policy Alliance, memorably wrote—in a piece titled, “I’m...

Addiction therapy focuses people on their deficiencies and addict identities. Have you ever read the 12 steps? Here are excerpts: Step One: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol…” Step Five: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another...

The sudden death of any person who takes a particular path to address addiction represents a failure of that approach. Yet this year we still cried out for more of the same. Any mention of the most notable—and horrible—deaths...

Acknowledging your addiction problem is the first step to recovery, you will hear. But evidence shows that being saddled with an “addict” identity often harms people. Chris drank recklessly throughout his 20s, often getting black-out drunk several times a...

The tragic events in a Washington high school last Friday underline that the most severe addiction of all is not what most people would imagine. We are still exploring the motivations behind Seattle-area high school student Jaylen Fryberg’s suicide...

Do you know that Richard Nixon announced victory on the importation of such “hard” drugs as cocaine and heroin in 1973? Of course, we are observing the 100th anniversary of the Harrison Narcotics Act, which made heroin, cocaine, and...

This is an unparalleled opportunity to hear a truly broad-based discussion on addiction in the context of the latest in research and treatment by two unsurpassed experts. WEBINAR: Questioning Dr. Stanton Peele — with Dr. Tom Horvath Stanton Peele,...

After the disastrous misconceptions of the 20th century, we’re returning to the idea that drugs are an ordinary part of life experience and no more cause addiction than do other behaviors. This is rational and welcome. Drug use was...

Stanton Peele described an unpleasant encounter he had in Vancouver with Gabor Maté last November.  Gabor then wrote a series of 13 points. Stanton Peele asks some follow-up questions. Gabor Maté wrote: I’ve followed this multifaceted discussion with interest....

A personal story from Stanton Peele for www.rehabs.com I had a client who often referred to negative family experiences she had when explaining the rut she was in. Although I won’t detail her current problems or her traumas out of...

The disease theory of addiction is convenient to liberals because it spares them having to say negative things about poor communities. But this conception of addiction harms the very people we wish to help. Because they can’t draw unfavorable...

Numerous pundits eagerly tell us that Williams’ death underlines the importance of conventional treatment and abstinence. It does no such thing. Media commentators have been lining up to tell us that Robin Williams’ death shows how vital it is...

Alcoholism and addiction are rarely permanent—they are more likely to be so if you are convinced that they are. There are a variety of arguments explaining alcoholism and addiction—that they are brain diseases, that they are due to permanent...

Juliet Abram described for The Fix her unhappy time in AA (she was also in 12-step rehab), forced there by the Ohio court system after each of her three DUIs. Except, following the last, she started her own chapter of...

This post is based on the experiences of Juliet Abram, a person who recovered from alcoholism with help other than from Alcoholics Anonymous, which she found hurt her. Juliet writes: “Our Father” was recited at my very first AA...

Stanton Peele challenges the received wisdom of the 12-step approach.   I recently received this email from a UK addictions worker:   ‘Stanton, I was in a public health meeting today (well I was until I walked out). The...

It was with great pleasure that I read Meghan Ralston, of the Drug Policy Alliance’s, piece in the Huffington Post, entitled, “I’m Breaking Up with the Word Addict,” in which she wrote: When we do feel the need to...

Stanton Peele versus Nora Volkow in the On-line Magazine, Substance.Com Stanton Peele sees the future of addiction and addiction treatment, and it is bleak. The disease theory of addiction, which has always been with us in one form or...

For much of the past 50 years or so, voicing any serious skepticism toward Alcoholics Anonymous or any other 12-step program was sacrilege—the equivalent, in polite company, of questioning the virtue of American mothers or the patriotism of our...

Hi Dr. Peele, Season’s greetings from Calgary! My son is obsessed with TV watching. He is 13 years old. However he is addicted to Cartoons, Laptop games.  He spends up to 12-13 hours in front of TV. Whenever we...

Dr. Peele, I have relapsed so many times but I went to Betty Ford and got 1 year 5 months clean. Then my husband told me to get off my insomnia med (Trazodone) and I did. Then he told...

Hello Dr. Peele, I was hoping you could shed some light on a the topic of cross addiction for me. I have just recently found out what cross addiction is, the idea that if you are addicted to one...

by Stanton Peele People imagine that President Obama’s massive new ($100 million) brain mapping project will unlock the secrets of the brain, including how we act and why we succumb to mental illness and addiction.  It won’t. Two milestones...

Dr. Peele: I stumbled across your web site, but I was familiar with your work already. I wanted to write you a letter and let you know that your book, The Truth About Addiction and Recovery was a great relief to...

Are People Born Alcoholics? A popular young entertainer jeopardized a promising career with his out-of-control drinking. Sometimes he missed singing engagements while he went on binges lasting several days. One time when he did try to appear on stage...

The Truth About Addiction and Recovery Why It Doesn’t Make Sense To Call Addiction A “Disease” We frequently hear from people who say: “I drink too much sometimes, but I don’t think I’m an alcoholic. And I don’t want...

The following 5 questions are designed to get you thinking about what is addiction: 1. Is addiction limited to illicit drugs? Quite clearly, the answer to this one is “no.” In the U.S. today, narcotics addicts are more likely to...

Writing to SMART Recovery counselors and group leaders, Stanton reminds them that recovery is a natural process, one assisted by counselors and support groups, or reinstated when a person goes in the wrong direction. When presenting this view, Stanton...

Save me from the addict I’m with What should I do? I cheated on my alcoholic husband, now he can’t stop thinking about it I gave up everything for my boyfriend and now that he’s left, I’m desolate I’m...

Is marijuana addictive? What kinds of people do you think are at high risk for addiction? How come the scientific explanations of addiction I receive in drug court and treatment make no sense to me? Is Valium a real...

I was concerned about my alcohol consumption, and now I am forced into treatment. What should I do? Can you develop an alternative program when a court orders you into AA? Who is responsible for heroin overdoses? Another reason...

The wondering spouse asks: How do I fight my husband’s treatment with him? How do I rescue my marriage when my husband deserts me and the family for AA? My abusive drug addict partner is ruining my life. What...

Am I a marijuana addict? How do I make a secure place for myself in life? Can I use marijuana and cocaine as antidepressants? I am social activist for whom both AA and Jack Trimpey have failed; what can...

22-year-old struggling with leaving AA Can I argue against AA in my philosophy debate? Where do I go for help now that I am out of AA? I grew out of AA Is my son an alcoholic? Did my...

How do you define relapse? Is taking cocaine every every now then less dangerous than using it on a daily basis? Is my moderate drinking okay or was AA right? Can I go back to AA after being a...

Is it better to rely on psychiatric drugs and to lose the feelings that they mask, or to risk suicide? Why won’t they let me off methadone? Here is my story of being hospitalized for a drinking problem Will...

How should I raise a crack baby? Should society disapprove of addiction? I avoid withdrawal in the wilderness, but not at home How does social class affect drug abuse? Why are crack babies so screwed up? Shouldn’t we treat...

How can I overcome withdrawal when I quit drinking? My alcoholic counselors says I’m an addict — am I? How can I combat my withdrawal from meth? How do you help a talented and attractive addict? What’s the most...

  Dear Stanton: Is there such a thing as workaholism? I’ve read three-fourths of the material on your website and haven’t run into any material dealing with the topic. I do understand that under your model of addiction, any...

Hi, Stanton… My husband was admitted into a well-known treatment center for alcoholism after a family intervention.  I (his wife) was not told about the intervention until the day before it was to occur — it was planned by...

We don’t ordinarily think of substance use as involving skill.  But the concept of skill at substance use is essential in treatment, harm reduction, and prevention. The Pre- and Modern History of Substance Use There are two large framing...

Among the misconceptions fostered by AA and the disease theory of addiction is the idea of “hitting bottom” — that there is some objective state beneath which no human being will go. The same is true in our misconceptions...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Once again, I’m quitting smoking. I have this technique for quitting that I’ve been using for the last couple of years (obviously an amazingly successful technique!). It always makes me think of your ideas....

  Further Reading Dear Stanton (hope you don’t object to the first name), Thanks for taking the time to answer my rather vague questions. I will look into some of the sites you mention as well as your own...

Writing as editor of MedPage Today, the redoubtable George Lundberg* confidently (and briefly) declared: “All drugs are habit-forming, but only a subset of psychoactive drugs can produce psychological and physical dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms when taken away, the usual...

Let’s see, I have three lead-ins to this post.  Lance Armstrong — American icon and seven-time Tour de France winner (when I was coming up, Americans weren’t even competing in the Tour) — has given up his fight against charges that...

This post is a response to What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain by David DiSalvo Whenever people can be shown how any mood-affecting substance affects their brains, it becomes easier for them to comprehend the thing can be addictive. Which...

The Stanton Peele Addiction Website, January 7, 2006. Research increasingly shows that intensive marijuana use often meets the technical requirements for addiction (or dependence). Analysts use this as evidence of the need to maintain the drug’s illegal status. But...

Stanton, I am 35 years old and have had problems with alcohol on and off since I was about 15 years old. I have never been physically addicted to any susbtance/alcohol other than nicotine. I had several incidents that...

  Further Reading Hey, Stanton. Ok, I haven’t gotten really drunk in a while. But for some reason, the only thing I had on my mind for the last couple of weeks was drinking until I got totally wasted,...

Gambling Addiction DSM 5’s announcement that the psychiatric diagnostic manual will, for the first time, call something addictive that doesn’t involve substance abuse — gambling — has opened the floodgates. It is intriguing to consider how gambling was placed in this...

  Further Reading Dear Sir: I have a very dear friend who is going threw her 3 AA rehab program. She is starting her 3rd month of a 3 month program. Here is the question. She is a person...

Calling gambling and game addictions brain diseases is a stretch. DSM-V’s announcement that the psychiatric diagnostic manual will, for the first time, call something addictive that doesn’t involve substance abuse—gambling—has opened the floodgates. It is intriguing to consider how gambling was placed...

Lowering the threshold for alcoholism can make us mindful, or hobble us Based on a post in The Atlantic—“Are You Almost Alcoholic? Taking a New Look at an Old Problem”—Gizmodo has helpfully(?) declared: “Is Everyone You Know an Alcoholic?”  These posts...

Addiction is all in the delivery system That the DSM-5 substance-use-disorders committee has decided one thing that doesn’t involve a psychoactive substance—gambling—can be addictive has set off a debate about what is the most addictive non-drug experience of all. (One of...

Novelty-seeking used to make people alcoholic, now it makes them creative. The large population studies from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (called NLAES and NESARC) that have found three quarters of ever-alcoholic people become stably sober, and a majority of those...

Four incompatible views of addiction fight to capture America’s consciousness This post is going to be unusually brilliant, even for me. In it, I review four factions warring against one another for our consciousness about addiction. “Chronic Brain Disease” = the dominant view...

  Dear Chris: I noticed with great interest and appreciation your chapter incorporating values in motivational interviewing in the latest edition of Motivational Interviewing. Values is often the missing link, in my view, in both clinical research and therapy....

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I was disappointed in your web site. I combed through it but not a word on the most harmful and troublesome drugs, benzodiazepines. It is well known that benzo withdrawal is as bad as...

Dear Dr. Peele: My name is , and recently I had the great fortune of stumbling across your web-page. Wow! What a life-changing event that has turned out to be! I will not bore you with a comprehensive...

For some time, nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine patches and gum) has been the sine qua non of pharmacological treatment for addiction. NRT’s pedigree is unassailable — if smoking addiction is due entirely to maintaining cellular nicotine levels, then replacing nicotine through...

Stanton, Can addictions in non-substance abuse cases be related to drug addiction, for example to technologies like the web or TV? Is there counseling for that? Amit Dear Amit: The same general issues apply for non-substance and for substance...

People outgrow and control mental illness, the opposite of a disease I often write about how — as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has only recently rediscovered – most alcohol and drug dependent people recover on their own. (See my...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton This is the first time I really devoted considerable time to your website—because it’s the first time I ever needed close-to-home advice on the topic of addiction. I invited a young guy (28) who...

  Further Reading Stanton, What kinds of people do you think are at high risk for addiction? Why do you believe that fear of a drug problem may actually make people more susceptible to addiction? Thanks! Carrie Trebucq Dear...

We have discovered sex is addictive—why now, with what implications? As the author of Love and Addiction (in which I discussed sex addiction in 1975), I have kept a close view on the societal vision of addiction in re sex. I pointed out in that book...

People sometimes seem to act differently in different situations Herman Cain’s wife, a lovely, appealing woman, has declared that the accusations of sexual harassment and assault against her husband are impossible: “I know that’s not the person he is. He...

And here I thought all that addiction vaccine talk had been put to rest in 2009. Yet, there it was staring me in the face at the top of the on-line edition of The New York Times: An Addiction Vaccine:...

How to think about the plusses alcoholics are pursuing People who believe in the disease theory are dumb. They can’t help it, so we shouldn’t mock them. You see, they don’t have enough human insight to answer the question,...

AA’s perfectionism prevents people from attaining their perfect selves. Alcoholics Anonymous grew out of the temperance and Protestant revival traditions in America.  The first installment of the Ken Burns documentary, Prohibition, described the Washingtonians, a group of what we would...

The Republicans have the cleverest strategy; I really have to commend them. Every month or so, they force a new imbecile to the front of the pack to compete with Mitt Romney to be the party’s nominee for president....

This young man stands for a large group of individuals – those who turn to AA for help, but who are filled with doubt and ambivalence and now feel ready to leave AA. The AA answer is to “fake...

Dear Dr. Peele, In February, I drank too much vodka — about one pint — and blacked out. In the black out I wandered out to the living room and said something to my husband and son about the...

Our fellow HuffPost blogger, Laura Harvey, has written “How I Broke All the Rules — But Still Quit Smoking.” “I was a smoker for 28 years. This month I celebrated one year smoke free. Even though I tried to quit...

  Further Reading What do you make of the Stanford group’s claim that continuing in 12-step aftercare helps people recover? Dear Stanton: I am two years away from earning my Ph.D. in clinical psychology. My graduate training has continually...

From time to time, researchers send me their latest results when they are controversial. Recently Dr. Michael Collins, of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics of Loyola University’s School of Medicine, sent me a copy of a just-published...

The New York Times last week announced a new medical approach to addiction taking hold in America’s medical schools, where addiction medicine is becoming a recognized specialty. Although the Times welcomes this development (it was inevitable), it is doubtful it will improve America’s addictive...

On June 12, the A&E Television Network ran one of its investigative reports entitled, “Inside Alcoholics Anonymous.” Although promoed as including “leading national health authorities and the organization’s outspoken critics. . . answer questions never before asked,” it was...

Psychology Today, September/October 1996, pp. 35-43, 68-70 (material added not present in original article)  American attitudes toward alcohol are paradoxical: we focus almost exclusively on abstinence, yet we frequently drink to excess. Every year $2 billion is spent advertising...

The idea that addiction has a “meaning” seems strange — haven’t they discovered “addiction” in a PET scan in a laboratory at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)? It’s either there or it’s not, right? Not actually. Here’s...

The New York Times announced on Sunday the new medical approach to addictiontaking hold in America’s medical schools, where addiction medicine is becoming a recognized specialty. Although the Times welcomes this development (it was inevitable), it is doubtful it will improve America’s addictive...

Dear Stanton: Just a little note to let you know that six and a half years ago I coincidentally came across your book whilst in the middle of my 9th or 10th try with outpatient alcoholism treatment. This was...

Psychoactive substance use — certainly including alcohol and psychiatric medications, on top of illicit drug use — is nearly universal in Western societies. It is becoming more, not less, so, and it’s beginning at younger ages. American public policy...

The question, “Is Food Addictive?” is not easily resolved, as we shall see.  And it isn’t the most important question.  That actually is, “Why do you want to know?” The (July 2011) issue of the journal Addiction has at its...

  Further Reading Stanton, I was chastized by several heroin addicts — men I like and respect — for a statement I made that society should indeed disapprove of addiction. Of course I don’t myself look down upon drug...

The two primary (New York) intellectual organs, the New York Review of Books andThe New York Times, have recently featured two powerful cultural icons saying exactly opposite things. Marcia Angell, the first woman editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and now...

As the author of “Love and Addiction,” I am a frequent go-to person for media to ask, “Is Anthony Weiner addicted to sex?” My answer? No, he’s not. Women contact me because their husbands spend all night — night...

  I find your opinion very, very interesting and extremely controversial. I would love to see you go more public. Why haven’t I seen you on one of the tv news shows like “60 Minutes” and why haven’t I...

  Further Reading I am social activist for whom both AA and Jack Trimpey have failed; what can I do? Dear Stanton: I have been going to AA meetings for almost five years, mostly gay meetings. I have had...

Everybody’s talking about it — the fastest-growing drugs of abuse are prescribed painkillers, synthetic opiates like OxyContin. “Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic” is the lead story at the Web site of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control...

Dear Stanton: What are your opinions about Smart Recovery? Jack Trimpey’s AA Bashing was/is opposed by the Smart Recovery Board, but now there is a ground swell of “Let’s give it back to them.” What are your opinions about...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: My sister-in-law is a sophomore in college. She has just been admittied to a treatment center for alcohol and marijuana. It is her first program, but she has had counselling since this past summer...

How do you know if you are addicted to gambling? The American Psychiatric Association diagnostic manual, DSM-5, published in May 2013, for the first time specifies that an activity not involving a substance can be addictive – namely compulsive...

Mr. Peele, If I may bend your ear, if for nothing else, to hear myself think, I would like to share my story. I quit using Meth December of last year. I was using daily for 7 years prior...

Meave Ryan stopped Tuesday evening when she saw La’Shaun Armstrong, 10, screaming on the street. She drove with him to the boat ramp where his mother, Lashanda Armstrong, age 25, had driven into the water with his three siblings,...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton, I am presently locked into a marriage with a disabled wife, who can show no affection. Recently, I met a very attractive woman who, after a few meetings, expressed a desire to strike up...

Stanton, My sister has a shopping addiction. She is 26, she lives at home, she works 30 hours a week at my parents dance studio. Her shopping addiction has escalated exponentially in the past two years. She has gone...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Please could you give me your view regarding the following: I have recently discovered that my partner is drinking a lot “differently” to how he has ever described his drinking habits — for instance,...

I had the unusual experience of having been, within the last couple of weeks, in a room depicted in The New York Times webcast, which covers three stories around the world each day. This was the injection room in Vancouver. The New...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: What do you think about sexual addiction. Jennifer Schneider, M.D., PhD has a good article on sexual addiction which begins: Addiction to sexual activities can be just as destructive as addiction to chemical substances....

I. The myth of neurochemical addiction Among American’s mass delusions are that we have either discovered the neurochemistry of addiction or are on the verge of doing so. In fact, we have decisively disproved this possibility, and are inexorably headed in...

On the one hand, young people shouldn’t act addicted — because it can become a lifelong habit. On the other, we shouldn’t regard young people as lifetime addicts due to their current situations (think Drew Barrymore); this is a horrible mistake...

Further Reading Stanton, does the latest discovery about the effects of cocaine disprove your theory? Stanton, What effects do these results have on your theories? Thanks in advance, Joel Becker Science Slots Piece In Cocaine Addiction Puzzle LONDON (Reuters)...

How come the scientific explanations of addiction I receive in drug court and treatment make no sense to me? Dr. Peele, I am currently halfway through a one-year drug court program, having been arrested with .2 g of heroin....

One thing I have learned from my Website is that many women tolerate long periods of abuse from men, often excusing them because of their addictions.  Here are three examples I received in the last few days.  The letters...

  My 17-year-old daughter has been taking amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, and possibly other drugs, for approximately 7 months. In the last month, she has been “saved” and baptized in church, and has dropped the “bad influence friends” Now she...

You Shouldn’t Smoke Or Drink Allen Carr is an Englishman who wrote bestsellers about quitting things (he died in 2006). Most famously, he wrote the all-time bestselling book about quitting smoking, “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” Carr later...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I am a counselor who finds you ideas on harm reduction very appealing and sensible. But I wonder about the liability issues involved. If I work with a client encouraging him to limit his...

Abstinence from alcohol (no, you’re not misreading this) is the second greatest cause (after smoking, and more than being overweight) of heart disease, the greatest killer of Americans – particularly middle-aged and older men (and almost as much so...

Can a person be addicted to get-rich-quick schemes? Dr. Peele: My father has what I consider to be an addiction, but it is not addressed in any literature that I have read (including any that I could find on...

  Further Reading I don’t want my husband to use drugs, even if he can resume drinking Dr. Peele: I am writing to ask you about your opinion on using narcotics recreationally after going through an intensive (6 week)...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I’ve heard so much about assessment, treatment, relapse prevention and the difficulties of staying sober and the “need” to be in recovery but next to nothing is said about just what recovery is. Besides...

As the effort by drug policy reform advocates to achieve their holy grail — the legalization of a formerly illegal substance (marijuana) in a leading-edge state (California) — was within reach, former Clinton Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey, bad-mouthed...

Further Reading Can a counselor use her personal knowledge that I have attended AA against me in a court proceeding? Dear Stanton, For the last couple of years I have attended A.A. meetings, not for alcoholism but for sober...

Hi Stanton, We are raising a “former” crack baby adopted by us at the age of 2. I have seen articles relating to behavioral problems being a product of poverty, not cocaine and been very frustrated. Dr. Ira Chasnoff’s...

Further Reading Dear Stanton: I am trying to stop drinking, and not having much luck. I need to understand it better. Is drinking too much progressive, or not? If I quit now, and start in a year, will I...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Do I have the right to ask the recovering alcoholic questions about his recovery? Joan Joan: That’s an ethics question. But let me put it this way — if a recovering alcoholic presents him/herself...

  Further Reading Is it better to rely on psychiatric drugs and to lose the feelings that they mask, or to risk suicide? Dear Stanton, I am faced with a possible serious problem that it seems I must solve...

  Further Reading I was favorably impressed with your insights in The Meaning of Addiction. I wonder what you think about addiction in relation to psychedelics. Do they harm? help? Are they addictive? Allan In general, (a) psychedelics don’t...

  Further Reading I’m currently doing my dissertation on the question of the addictive personality. Do you think there is one? Dear Student: The idea of addictive personality has recently fallen into disuse. It is too glib to say...

Los Angeles Times, July 21, 2010, A17. As California contemplates legalizing the sale of marijuana, the real war over intoxicants in this country is, as always, over alcohol. Since Prohibition ended in 1933 with the 21st Amendment to the...

  Further Reading My “had a drink and I was okay” sharing was not met with a enthusiasm by my fellow A.A. friends Dear Stanton: I am 45 years of age and have spent the last 15 years both...

Building on an essay in Wired magazine by Brendan Koerner, New York Timesconservative columnist David Brooks lauds to the sky AA and its founder, Bill Wilson. Both Brooks and Koerner point out the worldwide spread of AA (although it is limited mainly to the...

  Further Reading Hi, I have been a herion addict for 10 years and 2 years ago I went on methadone and my life is back to normal and I do not use drugs at all. I started on...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Thanks to you I was recently able to write in my journal that “I am recovering from my ‘recovery’ “—and leave 4 years of intense OA involvement with which I was increasingly disillusioned. (ie...

Dear Dr. Stanton; I am truly in a bind. Approximately 13 years ago, the Board of Nursing revoked my license for diversion of drugs. I hit rock bottom and decided on my own that this was over forever. I...

  Further Reading What do you think of New York’s decision to put all drug “addicts” through treatment? Dear Dr. Peele, Thank you for your web site. You validated for me a lot of thoughts and opinions I developed...

“If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I’m against it. But if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against winter chill, the taxable...

  Stanton, What do you think of the use of the drug Naltrexone to curb alcohol cravings? Dear Dr. Peele: Thanks for your erudite, yet accessible approach. I am researching a TV documentary on alcoholism. I have found a...

I examined the toughest addictions to quit, and found that love was the worst. But recent research has indicated a seriously disturbing addiction that is more commonplace than most people realized: pornography. Senator Chuck Grassley asked for an investigation of...

  Further Reading Hi Stanton, I am sure this is not unfimiliar to you with my such case. I have been married for almost 6 years to...

Hi Stanton! I don’t have a question — I just want to thank you for your work. You are a voice of reason in in a field dominated by medieval superstition and old folk wisdom. I am a fully...

  Further Reading Hi Stanton, Just like some input from you. I resumed drinking after 10 plus years sober, was involved with AA. Started doing some critical thinking on the subject, and read tons of books and literature. My...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: My son is 19 and has a diagnosis of Tourette’s, OCD, depression, and a complex partial seizure disorder that manifests in the form of rage! He says that marijuana helps him control the rages...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Why don’t they have a drug to help meth users go clean? I am aware that it’s not supposed to be physically addictive… although your body is somewhat back to normal after around 2...

Guest response by Robert Newman Further Reading Dear Mr. Peele, I was addicted to H for about 3 years. Then I knew it was time to get off the train, so I got on methadone which worked well for...

What is the future of addiction and the Internet — will more people be locked in rooms alone communicating wholly electronically, increasingly with entities that may not actually be human? A European group has created an international effort to...

Personality has been depreciated as a contributor to addiction. Yet, it is obvious that some people’s personalities are part and parcel of their addictive habits. In this article Dr Stanton Peele reviews critiques of personality theories, evidence of personality’s...

Dear Stanton: I wonder what you think about methadone maintenance. In two years I’ve detoxed from heroin 6 times – I never get beyond physical withdrawal (back using within 10 days, released from hospital after 5 days). I have...

Stanton reviews a new medical tome on sexual addiction, by psychoanalyst Aviel Goodman. Yes, people become addicted to sex; no, it is not a medical disease best treated by the 12 steps. Contemporary Psychology, 44:154-156, 1999 Review of Sexual Addiction:...

People can become addicted to other people in the same way they become addicted to drugs. We are not using the term addiction in a metaphorical sense; we mean it literally. The interpersonal dependencies in the cases that follow...

Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, March 14, 1990 About one-third of the $10 billion-plus that President Bush has requested for waging war on drugs is targeted to pay for treatment and prevention programs. That’s double what it was as recently...

Los Angeles Times, Friday, March 1, 1996 After years of debate, the U.S. government has finally decided that alcohol can be beneficial. Federal dietary recommendations, revised every five years, now indicate that moderate drinking lowers the risk of heart...

In response to howls of outrage that some professionals (few enough) continue to talk about controlled drinking, Stanton points out that the result that many people reduce their drinking healthfully is an ever-present research finding, even among the most...

Private treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse expanded greatly beginning in the late 1970s. Between 1978 and 1984, the number of beds in private alcoholism treatment centers more than quadrupled. In the ’80s, hospitalization of adolescents in private psychiatric...

Abstract The kind of clear-cut model of the genetic sources of alcoholism perceived by the public and presented in popular tracts does not accurately reflect the state of knowledge in this area. No persuasive genetic mechanism has been proposed...

In this chapter piece, Stanton lays out the basic causes, dynamics, and cultural dimensions of addiction. Among other things, he explains why every pain-killing drug is found to be addictive, why addiction is not a chemical side-effect of drugs,...

AA, treatment centers and alcohol counseling are the only known successful methods of arresting the compulsion to drink or take drugs. Alcoholism was totally untreatable and fatal until 1935, when A.A. was founded. —Ruth Harris, WomenSpace Shelter Project, Cleveland...

WOMAN IN THE BALCONY: Is there much drinking in Grover’s Corners? MR. WEBB: Well, ma’am, I wouldn’t know what you’d call much. Sattidy nights the farmhands meet down in Ellery Greenough’s stable and holler some. Fourth of July I’ve been known...

Why Addiction is not a Disease The effect of conceptualizing addiction as a disease on policy and treatment has been predictably disastrous. The disease conception that addiction can only become progressively worse and never self ameliorate is decisively wrong....

Coming Clean: Overcoming Addiction Without Treatment by Robert Granfield and William Cloud is a book  based on interviews with addicts and alcoholics who recovered without treatment. The authors draw important conclusions from, first, the phenomenon of self-cure, and second,...

  Further Reading Stanton, For 30 years I went to AA, did the Steps and had a sponsor, and stayed sober 3 months at a time. I was in treatment perhaps 35 times and in the state penitentiary once,...

The fight over the new psychiatric manual, DSM-V, has escalated. The conflict is due to an underlying flaw in the manual’s conception. Rather than tracing human activity in terms of its impact for people’s lives, it instead attempts to...

Further Reading Hi…. I wondered if you might answer a couple questions for me. I think that a close family member of mine may have a problem with cocaine. I know that she uses the drug on social occasions….I...

  Further Reading Dear Dr. Stanton Peele: Thank you for providing information on your web site that is thoughtful, provocative and informative. Mine is a question that deals with personal freedom and MJ use and relationships. I married an...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: What psycho-social tendencies, if any, are inherited by the children of alcoholics? Michael Dear Michael: Cloninger claims that male alcoholics inherit antisocial, criminal tendencies. That doesn’t register for me. It seems more plausible to...

  Further Reading Stanton: I am writing you in hopes that you can provide some insights. About six years ago, I had an experience that has negatively impacted me. My mom at the time was in Overeaters Anonymous. She...

I previously answered the question, “What’s the hardest addiction to quit?” It turns out that the same addiction is the most dangerous. Michael Jackson died at age 50, and long term prescription drug abuse is suspected. In other words, it often takes...

  Further Reading It has been several years since I have last written you. I will try to be a brief as possible. What I have experienced in my struggle with drug addiction has been so profound that I...

Dear Stanton: Are there any programs for cocaine maintenance in the world. If so, do they work as well as methadone? Can IV users of stimulants find or get an acceptable oral alternative?   This question has been asked...

Headline: Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry has been arrested and charged with stalking a woman.  Remind you of any other politicians? When Marion Barry’s arrest was announced on various news media, each recapitulated how Barry had previously been videotaped –...

Mark Sanford’s wife has made clear just how far “gone” her husband, the governor of South Carolina, was over his affair with his Argentinean lover.  Vice President Biden should consider appointing Jenny Sanford director of the new National Institute...

Further Reading What if you think God is a bastard, and the higher power doesn’t work for you? Mr. Peele: Thanks a million for your swift reply to my question about medical malpractice and 12-Step programs. It’s a shame...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I know it is wrong for one to proselytize one’s religious beliefs in the workplace, but what of someone who is proselytizing 12-step dogma at work? I neither drink or use drugs. I did...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I am a professional pilot. I was a drinker for some time in my life. I decided that alcohol was interfering with things in my life. Although alcohol never was a problem for my...

  Further Reading My husband has been compulsively gambling for about two years (maybe more as I was slow on the uptake). Can you give me some ideas of ways I and other family members can support his recovery?...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Does the amount or extent of what there is to lose in one’s life (successful career, loved ones, money, respect, etc.) have an impact on helping an alcoholic to recover? At the risk of...

  Further Reading Dr. Stanton, I am currently on a methadone clinic which I find counter-productive to the well-being and healing of their clients. Indeed, most patients there remain for decades without ever becoming fully ‘clean’ which I assume...

We can’t legalize drugs – despite political, economic, even survival pressures to do so – because of deep underlying American mindsets against drugs, the two primary ones being that we believe continuing drug use is, or causes, a disease,...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton, My 39 year old brother died of a heroin overdose. He was not alone at the time. The man doing heroin with him didn’t bother to call the authorities until 8 hours after my...

Dear Stanton, I am a CASAC, that is a Drug and Alcohol Counselor, in the state of NY. I went into this field because I wanted to assist people with many aspects of their lives affected by overusing drugs...

  Further Reading Stanton, I recently found out that my 23 year old sister had tried the drug ecstasy, which she claimed was combination of cocaine, heroin, and acid. As far as I know she has only tried it...

Jack Strong, former CEO of El Dorado Investing, has been fighting off criticisms that he was extravagant when he bought another plane — an Airbus — in addition to the corporate jet and helicopter he already had parked in...

Addiction is like the tail wagging the dog, or person, with the tail being a habit that dominates the person’s whole life. Addiction therapy concentrates on the tail – cutting it off in abstinence therapy, making it smaller in...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton, My husband is an ex-con who just got out. He promised me that he was going to quite the old life he had and concentrate on us. Well, he didn’t come straight home when...

Crazy Love is the 2007 movie (shown recently on the IFC cable network) about Burton and Linda Pugach. After Linda spurned him when she was 22, Burton hired thugs to throw lye in her face, blinding and scarring her...

Although it might seem surprising to say so, responses to my post “Addiction Myth #4: moments of clarity lead ONLY to AA” actually indicate a decline in the dominance and dogmatism of AA in the 21st Century. When I entered...

  Further Reading Dr. Peele: I emailed you a few weeks ago regarding the definition given by a therapist of a “dry drunk” as someone who was an alcoholic who never drank. I thought this an aberration, of sorts,...

Some progressives want to change our approach to drugs to recognize that there will be continuing use, and to accept the need to protect users through providing them with clean needles, non-injectible drugs taken orally, medical care, good diets...

Recovered addicts often describe their escape from addition in terms of a moment of truth when they see clearly how their addiction violates their most basic values. Such moments inspired Christopher Lawford to write about famous addicts in recovery, like himself,...

Push the kid the whole way to the playground in their stroller. “I have to – otherwise they’ll run out in the street.” Well, you’re getting them ready to be adults who try to park as close to the entrance...

A paper to be published in America’s leading alcoholism journal compiled the results of studies of mental functioning in relation to drinking. The research repeatedly finds moderate drinkers have lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease and are mentally sharper in...

It is not that addicts don’t get better – the vast majority do. But the disease theory actually does damage by conveying the image of addiction as an alien force that medical experts can remove. In fact, recovery is...

  Further Reading Dear Mr. Peele: I am looking for models to support a user-controlled, safe place, drop in centre for drug users in a very depressed part of our city. I am heartened by your description, “When people...

Harm reduction is the concept of reducing the dangers of drug and other substance use, including the damage due to addiction. While this seems perilously radical — opponents claim it encourages drug use by “sending the wrong message” —...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: Is alcoholism a disease? At a bar association seminar we were told that alcoholism is (a) a disease (b) “treatable like a disease”, and (c) a “disease based concept”. I have friends at CDC...

Here are – in reverse order of difficulty – the seven addictions people find hardest to quit. Cocaine. Cocaine is an episodic-use drug. It is one moreover associated with certain lifestyles – at one time (if not now) people...

  Further Reading Dear Dr. Peele, I am so grateful for your web site! I wish I could see you personally–do you have a private practice? I would like to talk to you to clear up some things about...

Stanton, I have been abstinent (mostly) for almost 3.5 years with 3 relapse events – 1 moderate (half pint) about 3 yrs ago, 1 heavy (2 pints over 2 day period) about 1.5 years ago, and 1 moderate to...

Further Reading If you suspect your college aged child of substance abuse and addiction, for example, mood swings, withdrawal, lack of initiative, energy and interest, few friends, dislikes nearly everything, bad grades, hates school, doesn’t want to be around...

Dr. Joseph Beck, psychiatrist and addiction specialist, wrote an article for the Sun-Times News Group titled, “Addiction doesn’t always involve drugs, alcohol.” I confess to thinking, as the author (in 1975) of Love and Addiction, “I’m glad someone got psychiatry...

What exactly is the community reinforcement approach (CRA) and how effective is it? I read about it briefly in your book “Diseasing of America”. I am an Intake Counsellor at a Drop In Crisis Center in Montreal and feel...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton- I was enlisted in a 30 day in-patient treatment center last spring. There is some history (my grandfather) of alcohol abuse in the family. I have a 17 year old cousin (my grandfather’s grandson)...

  Further Reading I was concerned about my alcohol consumption, and now I am forced into treatment. What should I do? Dear Mr. Peele: I have worked for my current employer for 20 years, and have progressed steadily to...

  Further Reading Dear Dr. Peele I am a Swedish researcher working on an article about social work and drug abuse. My question concerns the concept “chemical dependance” which seems to be used to a very large extent in...

Dear Stanton: Oh my, where do I start? I am a married 34 year old full time student at a very prominent university. I am very successful in college. I am currently an honor student and also received an...

  Further Reading Is it possible that someone who went thru heroin withdrawal with Clonidine (last dose heroin 12 days ago) Clonidine patch removed 2 days ago, suddenly have severe heroin withdrawal symptoms (freq. vomiting, diarrhea, “gooseflesh”, shakes)? Dear...

  Further Reading Dear Dr. Peele: I am relatively new to direct treatment in addictions, although I have been in the social work field for over 25 years (BA, MSW, and a year of graduate-level addictions studies). I am...

Dear Stanton: I am 30 years old and essentially a non-smoker. Most everyone I know is a non-smoker. The other night I was in a bar with some friends, all except one non-smokers. Because the one smoker was smoking,...

  Further Reading The catch-22 of employment law: Whether to tell about a substance abuse problem Stanton, I am looking for a suggestion on how to handle the following situation: I worked for eight years on Wall Street (I...

  Further Reading Dear Mr. Stanton, I have been adicted to heroine for almost ten years and have spent seven of those on methadone as well. I have only achieved prolonged periods of heroine abstinence twice, eight years ago...

  Further Reading My son and his counselors think they are doing fine, only I’m going broke; how do I stand up for myself? Dear Dr. Peele: My husband and I have a 23 year old son who is...

This spring, I have had a chance to observe alcohol consumption in three very distinctive cultural settings – First Nation (Canada), Irish, and Iberian (Portugal/Spain). Alcohol use – and consequences – could not have been more different in these...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton, I have been taking the antidepressant dothiepin for seven years and am finding it really tough to come off the drug. I was originally prescribed it for CFS by an unsympathetic GP. But now,...

Further Reading Stanton, Do you think that the whole seratonin transmitter thing is totally wrong regarding depression? I have suffered from depression for at least thirty years. And I’ve been through therapy, AA and whatever else I could do...

  Further Reading I have always been aware that my boyfriend of 5 years has “a problem with alcohol.” I have put the previous phrase in quotes because I am having a tough time classifying his problem. He does...

Non-AA help in the U.S. and overseas Hi. I’m writing to you from , Sweden. I like your integrity. I joined the MM list some weeks ago as I searched the Internet for alternatives to addictions as well...

Hillary Clinton created a firestorm when she downed a shot and followed it with a beer chaser (called a “boilermaker” in local parlance) while “campaigning” in a bar in Indiana. Reaction reverberated across the country.  One woman wrote: “Do...

Further Reading Are there costs to abstinence and how do you deal with them? Stanton: I had a husband (now an ex) who was a long time user of alcohol and pot. He was a genial soul when inebriated...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I keep reading that marijuana is addictive. Yet, although I have smoked it, I haven’t known many marijuana addicts (maybe a few people who overdo it). Isn’t it wrong to say mj is addictive?...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I am a forty-four year old part-time student at a local University in Indiana and a full time minister in a local church. I have been working toward a degree in Behavioral Sciences with...

  Further Reading Dear Stanton: I am a 20 year-old college student who is going on to his fifth semester. Last fall, I was introduced to marijuana by a someone close to me. Since then, I have smoked pot...

Mr. Peele, About 3 months ago I took a hair drug test at work. The test showed positive for marijuana. I had been using marijuana for a few years and only used a small amount each night before bedtime....