Mark Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 CatMom asked if I would consider changing the name of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse forum to something more broad that would include gambling issues. So, because this sounds like a reasonable idea to me, I have changed the name of that forum to Addictions. All posts regarding alcohol and substance abuse are still appropriate here, but also people should feel free to post on impulse control issues they may have like compulsive gambling, compulsive masturbation/porn use, etc. If anyone has a serious problem with this change, let me know what would be a better solution and I'll try to accomodate that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmom Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate your responding to my request. Now, if I could just get some more time to post about pathological gambling as I promised Suzi Q I would!Catmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ASchwartz Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hi Bond,Just to clarify, this site is providing information about the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse. We do not want people to get the wrong idea. It our hope that people gain information about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol and that they will go for help.Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paula Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Allan you may as well delete your reply, as I think Mark has already deleted the previous post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrys Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) This change is just fine, there are many forms of addiction as there are many addictive factors in our lives. Gambling addiction, gaming addiction, internet addiction should be rightfully debated in under an "Addiction" thread. I wonder what type of addiction people had a hundred years ago... Edited June 15, 2009 by larrys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malign Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Laudanum and other opiates were already a problem in Europe a hundred years ago. You need to go back farther! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Rutledge Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 (edited) deleted.... Edited October 28, 2009 by John Rutledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ASchwartz Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 Hi JR,I agree fully. We do not have enough understanding of addiction. That is why, in my view, and I sense, in your view as well, the answer will never lie in medications alone. Medication might help a person be more open to psychotherapy but, in the end, it is my conviction that psychotherapy with its emphasis on relationships, is where the real answer will be and with the help of the right medicines.Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmom Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Hi JR,I agree fully. We do not have enough understanding of addiction. That is why, in my view, and I sense, in your view as well, the answer will never lie in medications alone. Medication might help a person be more open to psychotherapy but, in the end, it is my conviction that psychotherapy with its emphasis on relationships, is where the real answer will be and with the help of the right medicines.Allan As I have posted elsewhere, I take a dim view of pharmaceuticals in general because of their over marketing and overprescription to serve "big pharma's" profit margins.That being said, back in 2002 when I was at the height of my gambling behavior, I was prescribed naltrexone by a psychiatrist to try to reduce the pleasure associated with gambling and thereby to diminish the gambling urge. I took it exactly as prescribed and it made no difference: I gambled just as much as before. Naltrexone blocks opiate receptors in the brain and I had the misfortune to be in a bad car accident during the time I was taking it. I broke my femur in several places as well as my sternum (ribcage). The pain was excruciating and I was on a drug that would prevent any painkillers from working!Eventually, painkillers worked, my leg was operated on and I walk normally now after much physical therapy, etc.My point is twofold: 1) The idea that a drug that blocks one kind of neurotransmitter will stop gambling is enormously simpleminded. This is because there is a whole cascade of chemical reactions that occur in the addicted brain as a result of (and as a cause of) compulsive gambling and opiates are one small aspect of it.My second point is more important and echoes what Allen has said: A pill is not the sole answer to the severe social, emotional, and behavioral problems of addiction. My recovery from compulsive gambling has enabled me to have a decent, orderly life for the first time in my memory.The recovery came from therapy and my using the rational, conscious thought process to deliberately make changes in my behavior. No pill can substitute for the hard emotional work that this has required. I also agree that recovery from addiction is about relationships and rebuilding interpersonal ties that are strained or even severed by the addictive process.Good food for though JR and Allen! John Rutledge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenophon Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 It seems to me, in many cases, it takes therapy and medication. Both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confuzzed Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 \I'm with you catmom - in some cases pharmaceuticals are over-prescribed.I was over-prescribed for anti-depressants and anti-seizure meds. And when I began to question how I felt PHYSICALLY because I began to feel horrible the prescribing physician told me "increase the dose". It was a mistake to do that as I have since found out :mad: , and am now completely off of these meds and use herbals. BUTthat's not to say that herbals can completely replace pharmaceuticals for everyone. It just happens that for me is working so far (knock on my wooden head).I think my own determination to get away from the chemicals played a big part in it too.Now I just have this ferocious CAFFEINE addiction to deal with.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Rutledge Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 (edited) deleted..... Edited October 28, 2009 by John Rutledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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