What really makes the difference between the addict and the non-addict is the suffering involved with addiction. For the addict, the most immediately conscious aspect of addiction is craving. This isn’t just a matter of really wanting something. Craving is the most powerful motivational force the brain can marshal. How strong is it? When an […]

The most important part of addiction for the addict is the phenomenon widely known as craving. It’s the hardest part about recovery, so it’s what we need to pay the most attention to when we’re thinking about treatment. What I’m about to describe is what occurs in the brain before the phenomenon of craving is […]

The disease model, in modern medicine, has served us pretty well. Saved a lot of lives, helped us find a bunch of cures, made us pay strangers to poke us… What’s not to like?! In terms of pathophysiology, the model goes like this: Organ –> Defect –> Symptom. Find the defect, and you’ll have your […]

Well, hi there! Welcome back! I’m finally able to write a little, so I want to tell you about what I’ve learned while I’ve been gone. Y’all, I don’t exaggerate when I say that what I’ve learned in my time off the air has entirely changed my understanding of identity and embodiment. When people say […]