I’m running as fast as I can. I’m so busy – Answering emails, going to work, looking for work, driving to and fro, texting, trying to stay in touch, running to the gym – to run. But what are we running to? And, what will we find when we get there? The pace of life is
Americans are addicted to legal drugs and by drugs I mean pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are the most profitable industry in the world. Marcia Angell, M.D. first woman editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that in 2002 the $35.9 billion the top drug companies earned were greater than the profits of the other
Joy training for the addictive brain? Yes, it’s possible I’m happy to say. I was at my brother Lee’s 12 Step N.A. meeting when he got his 1 year chip. Yeah Lee!! There were 100 people in the room celebrating each other for their hard work to stay sober from 1 year to 28 years.
How much money is enough? There’s never enough! If I ask people how much money will make them happy many say: “Just MORE.” How much more? They don’t know. The quest for more money without a specific number or goal keeps us acting like hamsters on the wheel – running, running, running toward MORE and
Pills for problems – can’t take just one. Pills, pills, pills. By pills I mean Vicodin, Lortab, OxyContin. So many pills for so many problems. Got pain? Feeling sad or blue? Not happy enough? Or, do you just want to get high? Take a few pills. As an addiction counselor I’ve seen the number of
Relapsing is really hard and not any fun. Going to 12 step meetings, having a sponsor, all those things help but sometimes you need more. Emotional Freedom Technique is a weird little technique millions have used to help themselves feel better fast. You really can tap yourself to what feels like freedom because you have
The Blessing of Relapse? Really. Yes, really. Let’s say Joe has been using alcohol and pot since he was 13. At 29 he’s tired of being exhausted, broke, fighting with his girlfriend, having his parents upset with him. He’s done. Joe starts attending AA/NA 12 step meetings. But, he doesn’t do the 90 meetings in
My cousin Kim was up in July for my sister Lane’s memorial. My smart, sweet, difficult sister who died at 56 from alcoholism. Kim and I were lamenting about Lane’s death and Cory Monteith’s. Sad, very sad. Cory’s death touched a national chord and Lane’s our personal one because we have a family riddled with addiction.
Is Dr. Drew Pinsky is responsible for the celebrity death of Mindy McCready, a 37-year-old country singer who appeared on his “Celebrity Rehab” television show?* No, not fully, but certainly he is partiaily responsible. Like Dr. Phil who has clients on TV for entertainment value, so does Dr. Drew. Dr. Pinsky says he hasn’t seen
As I talk to people in the business community, at my networking groups and certainly among my clients about my sister Lane’s passing I hear story after story of loss: “My brother died at 41 from heroin, my sister at 38, my daughter at 30 from an overdose.” The truth is addiction kills the body