Here's one more special episode that has been requested by many of our followers. Let’s talk about enabling In this episode, we discuss how enabling can inhibit the chances of an addict’s recovery by shielding them from the realities of a grown-up life. The truths we reveal in this episode: The enabling of loved ones makes it easy or possible to keep the addict’s addiction alive and progressing. Many people close to the addict/alcoholic enable them without having any idea that it’s happening. They are in involuntary denial until they get the unwanted but necessary wake-up call. When we enab ..read more

Q: Why do some people hate AA? A: It mostly comes down to the idea of a “higher power”, frequently expressed as “God, as we understand him”. The co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, was closely related to a Christian evangelical group during the 1930’s known as the “Oxford Group”. From their teachings stemmed the idea of a “higher power” which became a central thesis in the 12 Steps of AA. While there is no obligation to believe in a higher power, many who reject AA do so because they claim to be atheists, or believe that AA is a religious program, when AA explicitly states that i ..read more

Here we go again with yet another special episode that we have relaunched as requested by many of our followers. It’s a disease, stupid! Paraphrasing a famous political slogan from the US, this episode offers slam-dunk proof that addiction and alcoholism are disease states and that the addict has lost his power of choice when the disease compels him to inflict harm on himself and others. We cover these topics: Addiction and alcoholism are recognised by the leading scientists in the US as chronic, relapsing diseases of the brain, causing compulsive using behaviour and loss of control over int ..read more

This week we have another special episode that we have again relaunched as requested by many of our followers. In this podcast, we reveal that addiction must be treated as the primary disorder, that families need to retain a trained professional, and that the addict’s crazy decisions are made by a damaged brain. Does that get your attention? We cover these topics: Addiction must be treated as the primary disorder, as the cause of mental and behavioural problems, and not as the result. Addicts/alcoholics, when they aren’t ready to quit, are very slick and will do anything to protect their abi ..read more

Here is another special episode that we have relaunched as it is a subject matter that has been requested by many of our followers. In this podcast, we reveal more truths about addiction, in that it makes the whole family unit dysfunctional. We also discuss the deadly opioid epidemic and the truth behind the deadliest street drug: Fentanyl. We cover these topics: Addiction doesn’t just affect the family, it makes the whole family unit very sick Cross, or poly-addiction is common among addicts these days, as there is so much available cheaply and easily. The deadliest Opioid is no longer hero ..read more

We have relaunched this special episode as it is a subject matter that has been requested by many of our followers. In this podcast, we bust the myth that an addict who doesn’t get it the first time is a loser, when in fact he is on his way to success. He will, however, duck the issue every chance he gets.  We cover these topics: The facts about relapse. What commitment looks like. How love is not the issue. The games addicts play. You are the problem, crazy, right? What will it take: heat ..read more

Q: Do interventions work? A: Yes and no. Interventions come in two categories: professional and family led. Even interventions conducted by professional interventionists may fail if the subject of the intervention refuses to “get on the plane”. Often this happens because the family has somehow failed in organising its own part, or the intervention somehow provokes anger or blaming over past events. Nonetheless, professional interventions succeed far more often (defined as the subject agreeing to get help) than do family-organised interventions. Unless the family reads the same guidelines (su ..read more

Q: Will an addict get the help he needs from a psychiatrist? A: It depends. There are two main factors involved. One is the fact that addicts will often lie to the psychiatrist if the addict is there for reasons other than having an honest desire to get clean. The active addict is an expert liar and has (he thinks) fooled everyone so far, and now he just wants some Xanax. The second factor is that the psychiatrist may not be an addictionologist, i.e., trained in addictive disorder, and therefore is not able to discern the truth or otherwise help the addict, even when the addict tells it all ..read more

Q: How knowledgeable are physicians about alcoholism and drug addiction? A: On average, not very. The fact is that fewer than 25% of physicians are given any course work in medical school on alcoholism and addiction. Recognition of this failure in light of the overdose crisis in the US which has now claimed over 108,000 lives in 2023 led to the Medication Access and Training act of 2022 (MATE). It requires physicians and other health care professionals who prescribe controlled substances to complete a one-time-only eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with subst ..read more

Q: How important is AA? A: Alcoholics Anonymous is the world’s largest support group with 115,000 chapters worldwide and an estimated membership of over two million. Moreover, it is endorsed by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) as an accepted evidence-based behavioural therapy. It carries much weight among many practitioners and treatment centres and is often recommended by therapists to help alcoholics take the next step in their recovery following front-line treatment. AA is the pioneer of 12-step programs all over the world. From it stem over 30 other 12-step programs, including ..read more