A warm and pleasantly unexpected wave of relief set in as I was ushered into the back seat of yet another police vehicle. While this type of counterintuitive neurobiological response was not foreign to me, it still surprised me every time. In moments like that you have clarity, something concrete is happening. No need to fear what may come. It …
Another great book on meditation that is especially helpful for those, like me, who struggle with their inner critic. Meditation teacher and author Mark Coleman provides many antidotes for negative thinking and self-talk to help us learn to be more compassionate towards ourselves. Chapters are short withpractical exercises included, mostly meditation based. Mark also describes the scientific foundation, orneuroplasticity, behind …
Pleasure Unwoven is a 1-hour video and accompanying workbook about addiction, with a focus on the hedonic pleasure aspect of addiction. The author is a doctor in recovery who uses the beautiful Utah landscape to ask the question: does addiction fits the standard “disease model”? His answer is YES, because addiction is a stress-induced defect that causes dysregulation of the …
I grew up in an upper middle-class family in Bethany, CT. From the outside looking in, my family was an ordinary American family. My mom and dad were well-educated. My mom was an artist, and my dad ran the family recycling business. What most people didn’t see was that my mother suffered from severe manic depression and when I was …
A Burning Desire is a gift for those who struggle with the 12-Step programs because of the focus on theneed to surrender to a Higher Power. Kevin Griffin describes his view of a “Middle Way”, where theDharma (teachings of the Buddha) can be understood as a Higher Power. The author draws on hisexperience with addiction and recovery, and how meditation and …
I remember the week that I stopped drinking in 1988. Early in that week, I remember praying. I prayed to a God that I wasn’t sure existed. I wasn’t thinking of recovery at this point, just trying to save myself from loneliness, anger, and resentment. I prayed for an alternative to my bleak future. During that week I had evacuated …
Judith Grisel, PdD became inspired to specialize in neuroscience after ten years of substance use and addiction. In Never Enough, she explains in layman’s terms how every drug can lead to addiction. She describes the 3 features present in addiction: craving, tolerance, and dependence, and the impact on the brain. Using drugs regularly causes the brain to become unbalanced, and …
Before I started using drugs and alcohol, I remember feeling a sense of impending doom and a huge void in my life. These feelings were hard for a nine-year-old girl to comprehend. I remember sobbing to my mom once and saying “I just want to go home” as I was sitting in my bed. Of course, I was home, but …
With a title that long, of course the author and former ABC News anchor has an ego. Some would call him a jerk. However, he’s a great storyteller, and talks in a conversational way about his career and how it was getting de-railed by his panic attacks, anxiety, and resulting arrogance. He interviews several self- help gurus like Eckhart Tolle …
In March of 2000, I witnessed the greatest hockey game ever played. Well, I may be exaggerating a little but I was a competitive Dad back then. Although unqualified, I was appointed an assistant coach on my son Evan’s House Hockey team. At the end of the season, there were playoffs and the final two teams played in a championship …
