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Addiction Addiction specialists

rentedbythehour

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I wasn't sure where to post this so if it needs to be moved, feel free.


I've been reading a few things recently about addiction and the latest things being talked about. One name I see often about treatment is Gabor Máte. I haven't read any of his books but I get the basics of what he's saying. Does anyone have other suggestions of people I should look into? Anyone who has made an impact on your recovery?
 
Can you expand on what you've been reading, and especially the "latest things" being talked about? Just as a baseline for your question (so we can help you better).

Edit: I'm also interested in what you're looking for, but I want to have a better grasp of what exactly you're looking for.

Edit 2: I also saw this article today that I hope will help: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...l-health-opioid-addiction-crisis/85864885007/
 
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This isn't necessarily for me. I am more curious about the current ways of treating addiction, and not just drug addiction. I like doing research and knowing what some of the root causes may be.
I read the article you posted. I like the idea of having sober companions. I do think that the best therapists are prior users. They've been there before and understand in a way that a non user wouldn't. To take things a step further, having some kind of respite care (a babysitter if you will) for partners of addicts, who are afraid to leave them alone would be amazing. Having someone accessible beyond office hours is imperative. A 'sponser' is a great idea as well but I've only heard about them in 12 step programs and those aren't for everyone. I wish there were more options for different types of treatment. For instance I had a friend call me and say can you find me a rehab that will take couples? I found 1 in the entire state and they only had 9 rooms.
Sorry I got a little off topic there but the things I've been reading are things like the way we've been thinking of addiction is all wrong. We've always thought what's wrong to make this person use drugs? But the drugs (or other addiction) are actually fulfilling something that's been missing. I believe putting people in jail for possessing or using is not beneficial for anyone. I think drug courts and mandated rehab can work but not necessarily for the long term. I was just looking around to see what the research and latest thoughts were on treatment. I can post a few links to the videos I've been watching and articles I've read. I'm really wondering if there are any other experts who I should check out. Anyone who is shaping the treatments of today.

There's a ton of articles linked in this page



 
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Are you thinking about rehab? Sometimes it is good to get a fresh start.
I’ve learned over the years that I am accountable for everything I do think. I can do whatever I want to in life by the choices I make.
If I choose to do something I might regret that is my choice. I prefer to choose things I can benefit from instead of killing myself softly.
It’s your life, choose wisely. And if you don’t, so what it’s your life?
 
I tend to agree with you that life is a series of choices. Things you are going thru right now might be a direct result of a choice you made 5 years ago. I am big on accountability and also acceptance. If I make a mistake, it's completely on me. I can only learn from it and move on. I don't really believe in regrets. There's no point in regrets when you can't change anything that's happened.
I actually am not thinking of rehab. I do one substance and one substance only, meth. I used to party a lot when I was younger. I have never been to rehab. I have always gotten sober in the past on my own. My longest sober period was 17 years. I'm not quite ready to stop yet but I am a responsible, functioning user. I actually feel I get some benefit from using right now. If that changes or I start to see a decline, I'll make that decision then.
I posted this more to see if anyone else looked into things like this and if they could recommend some other 'experts' that had an effect on their life. I like to learn things in general.
 
Wondering which would be most beneficial in terms of Herbal approaches.

-Baneosteris Caapi without MAO-i seemed way more logical.
-Ayahusca, so with some MAO-i
-Ibogaine

The last being available , but i sense a lot of possible no not this one.
 
I wasn't sure where to post this so if it needs to be moved, feel free.


I've been reading a few things recently about addiction and the latest things being talked about. One name I see often about treatment is Gabor Máte. I haven't read any of his books but I get the basics of what he's saying. Does anyone have other suggestions of people I should look into? Anyone who has made an impact on your recovery?
You might be interested in some of the stuff over at RiseAboveTheRisk.Org - The founder's basis for creating the site was the disconnect between what is true and real in terms of addiction and drug use and the flawed ideologies that have been being pushed by addiction recovery centers and the older 12 step recovery groups like AA/NA as gospel for far longer than need be in many cases. Lots of good, thought provoking news articles that come out somewhat regularly posted there. And, Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Andrew Tatarsky, Dr. Carl Hart, and I think even Dr. Monica Barratt were some of his early influences. The recovery section is a good place to learn new "alternatives" to mainstream recovery modalities, but its definitely not all encompassing.

But, yeah, there's some interesting stuff there to look into. Also, obviously check into the things those individuals put forth. Tatarsky and Mate are actually friends, so that says enough for Tatarsky I think. Hope that helps.
 
Ok. Thank you so much! I'm a little familiar with Hart. He's the professor who would use and talk about his experiences? I'll definitely check out the site and try to learn a few things. There's so many varying opinions about what addiction is and what causes it. I'd like to know all sides of that thinking.
I just peeked at the site really quickly. It does look like there's some good info there. I must say it makes me very sad that federal funding for programs like that one, or even this one, are being cut because they aren't 'evidence based' with years of research to show they work. I personally think people are going to use if they want to and it's better to give them education and a safe place to use.
 
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Ok. Thank you so much! I'm a little familiar with Hart. He's the professor who would use and talk about his experiences? I'll definitely check out the site and try to learn a few things. There's so many varying opinions about what addiction is and what causes it. I'd like to know all sides of that thinking.
I just peeked at the site really quickly. It does look like there's some good info there. I must say it makes me very sad that federal funding for programs like that one, or even this one, are being cut because they aren't 'evidence based' with years of research to show they work. I personally think people are going to use if they want to and it's better to give them education and a safe place to use.
Dr. Hart is the professor who oversees Columbia University's Psychology department, and he talks a lot about the fact that drug laws are discriminatory and how the most popular views on drug use and addictive behavior is based on flawed and even manipulated evidence. He does also speak on how he also is a user, but doesn't meet the stereotype of one; how he rose out of poverty to his current position in society while seeing the effects use was having on his community. I could relate to him a lot on this one. Most people would never suspect me of being a user especially given the way I present myself and my intellect. I am quite the opposite of the stereotype at first glance. While I may have now quit, even during my use, I managed to keep it mostly under wraps until the very end wherein I began to fall apart due to external pressures (mainly legal issues), and I let my use get the best of me.

Dr. Adi Jaffe has a book called The Abstinence Myth you may also wish to check out on the subject of recovery wherein he speaks on his own experience in recovery from meth addiction that led him to develop The IGNTD Method which doesn't require full abstinence. He goes over how recovery isn't defined as full abstinence anywhere, but rather improvements in an individual's functionality in life. He covers the 4 main schools of thought on what causes addiction in it. I read it while in jail this past year, and found it quite interesting.

There are many other great minds out there I have come across, and the number of such keeps growing. And, I totally agree with your sentiments in the last paragraph as well. I recently just heard of a couple of individuals in Canada who were running a dispensary for all drugs which they would obtain and test for purity before redistributing for safe use. The Compassionate Care Club or something along the lines was the name of it, but they ended up being arrested and are currently in jail fighting the case. The one fellow and his lawyer did well in explaining why the club did what it did and how it was able to reduce the rates of overdose deaths as a result of its actions. As you said, this is what we need more of, sensible approaches rather than punishments. Until this changes we will be stuck as a society. This is my belief anyway.

If you run into anything interesting out there though, drop me a line and let me know. I love reading about new things. Or, if you had any questions about anything I might be able to help there too. I have been around a while (on and off for two decades or so) both in the recovery community and also in the harm reduction community, so I have seen, experienced, and read plenty. I am always glad to see someone else educating themselves. Its the next best thing to actually working in the field that any of us can do to help further the cause of harm reduction in our communities.
 
What helped me was the combination of a therapist experienced in dual diagnosis + 12-step groups. I live in Georgia and I turned to Fairland Recovery Center and they put together a plan for me (CBT, relapse prevention, support for depression). Mate’s theory is good as a perspective, but in practice I needed concrete sessions and follow-up.
 
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Thank you for sharing this video.

There's an interview with him in a youtube channel called "soft white underbelly" (only some of it regards addiction, but I think enough to include it here):

Enter the video name manually, cause this fucking site says it's unavailable. Shocker, it isn't.

"Why Normal Is a Myth-Dr. Gabor Maté"​

"but in this society there's such a punitive attitude towards people who are drug addicted. And there's two fundamental flaws about that. One is we're blaming people for having been hurt and being desperate to escape from their pain. Number two, those people who are drug addicted are no different from the rest of us."
 
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Thank you for sharing this video.

There's an interview with him in a youtube channel called "soft white underbelly" (only some of it regards addiction, but I think enough to include it here):

Enter the video name manually, cause this fucking site says it's unavailable. Shocker, it isn't.

"Why Normal Is a Myth-Dr. Gabor Maté"​

"but in this society there's such a punitive attitude towards people who are drug addicted. And there's two fundamental flaws about that. One is we're blaming people for having been hurt and being desperate to escape from their pain. Number two, those people who are drug addicted are no different from the rest of us."
I'm familiar with soft white underbelly. The Vice YouTube channel plays them. There is a ton of stuff out there by Dr Maté. I really appreciate him coming at addiction and other things with a different frame of thought. It's refreshing.
 
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I'm familiar with soft white underbelly. The Vice YouTube channel plays them. There is a ton of stuff out there by Dr Maté. I really appreciate him coming at addiction and other things with a different frame of thought. It's refreshing.
If you want to learn about addiction, my recommendation would be to go straight to the source. Find people who have years of direct experience with different substances, going to treatment centers, attending 12 step programs, therapy, medications, getting their life together but then relapsing and going through it all over again in a different way. This is a snapshot of what my struggle with addiction has looked like over the last 25 years.
 
If you want to learn about addiction, my recommendation would be to go straight to the source
I'm familiar with addiction. I come from a family of addicts. Most of my friends I've had throughout my life are addicts. When I made this post I wanted to learn more about the treatments that are available. They seem to be changing, not so focused on 12 step programs anymore. I wanted to see if anyone was familiar with the specialists who had a different way of thinking about recovery. I am a person who likes information. I'm a researcher at heart. It's all for personal knowledge/growth. If it ends up helping someone one day, great.
 
I'm familiar with addiction. I come from a family of addicts. Most of my friends I've had throughout my life are addicts. When I made this post I wanted to learn more about the treatments that are available. They seem to be changing, not so focused on 12 step programs anymore. I wanted to see if anyone was familiar with the specialists who had a different way of thinking about recovery. I am a person who likes information. I'm a researcher at heart. It's all for personal knowledge/growth. If it ends up helping someone one day, great.
Have you ever met anyone who has been in treatment more than once? 5 times? 10 or 20? I have been in over 30 treatment centers.
You said “they (treatment centers) seem to be changing, not so focused on 12 step programs anymore” …what makes you say this? Pretty sure this isn’t true, but if I were you I’d stay away from posting facts without evidence. Addiction is already misunderstood without any additional information
 
Have you ever met anyone who has been in treatment more than once? 5 times? 10 or 20? I have been in over 30 treatment centers.
You said “they (treatment centers) seem to be changing, not so focused on 12 step programs anymore” …what makes you say this? Pretty sure this isn’t true, but if I were you I’d stay away from posting facts without evidence. Addiction is already misunderstood without any additional information
i know many people who have been in treatment multiple times. And what I said was that treatment seemed to be changing, not the treatment centers. And if you kept reading after that sentence, I asked if anyone was familiar with specialists who had a different way of thinking about recovery. 12 step programs are not the only option out there. There is SMART recovery, LifeRing secular recovery, women for sobriety, moderation management, secular organization for sobriety, igntd recovery, harm reduction, peer coaches, at home rehab, holistic rehab. These are all options that are already out there. Honestly if you've been in over 30 treatment centers, maybe it is time to look at some alternatives. Recovery is not a one size fits all. I'm sure SAMHSA has plenty of listings for non 12 step programs. Recovery.com, find treatment.gov, really all you have to do is look and you'll see.
 
i know many people who have been in treatment multiple times.
I'm one of those people. Seven times over forty years. I got more out of each successive visit. Also, I took advice more seriously later in life.

While he didn't address addiction primarily, I suggest Sheldon Kopp's If You Meet The Buddha On the Road, Kill Him!
This book was suggested by the best counselor I ever had and it changed my life.
 
The oldest ex-Amphetamine, ex-Heroine user i knew.
Lost contact, circumstances but he is still alive.
Stabilised on legal drug s: Nicotine/ Caffeine and THC at 70+.

Told me a lot of what i know about Heavy duty drug use.
Back in the early 60-ties. When a lot was OTC and dr. where still doing drug s.
Side spin that was confirmed independently.
Worked with elderly, among a old lady about 90 now. Had a son that was studingt for dr. So at birthday s with fellow graduate s Drug use was as normal as Booze was normal. They had the knowledge and the key often too.

Gabor was a dr. a home-Physician, interested in Trauma. Kinda explain s his drive trying to evolve addiction in why abuse something. Did he have personal experince with drugs i a way i wonder ?

[we call it a home dr. s in Nl., they were cool one day. When i was a little kid.
Dr s these days are imo w0rth shit !!! Lol MF-ers/ Can t help hating them
]

Started from what Gabor Mate s YT is on trauma, the guy was placed in a Nunnery.
Sad story, i ll leave the detail s. But this got confirmed by a other source.
Another guy i knew since kid, opened up to me at old age. Both are a bit older/ same age as my Mom. And at that time ADHD boy s, quickly were placed out their home under state care. And then the problems started. Now this seem s impossible but it still happens.

The other guy Johannus used to be the sober driver, many times wired.
He loved Meth-Amphetamine told me being wake weekend s.
Used to ride his big Mercedes to Belgium where at the time you could easily get it.

Later in life at a meal in the garden under the sun, a large group of people. Grew up their it s kinda a little mini village in the city. Eating together one of the principle s.
He started relieving his mind he was Alcoholic att, while he used to work in the same Cafe i picked up glasses 16 year s old. Good wages, i didn t drink att, he neither.

Later age he resolved his mental problem with aid of Ethanol. Which killed him few year s later. But at the table he revealed the terror of the Nunnery. And the sick thing s he had to witness at young age. I spare details, but both account s provide enough to justifie any drug use later in life imo. These 2 guy s were both survivor s, and afaik very reasonable and ok.

Just been through bizarre trauma as kid, and not because it was necessary but just by a really fucked twisted way less able-d of society were treated by default.
i wonder if i d survive with my happy happy child hood. Sick society, that s reality.
And we didn t have the CIA doing MK-ultra, WTF.

Worse the ones that in the name of the state decided this. Are now found back in the foundation of a lot of government foundation s [welfare/ disabled/ Childcare/ Mental & Physically dis-able-d] which is quite sick ! As they never changed their internal thinking. Very clearly described in the Dutch book The Pauper Paradise

First inhalant use started there ! And being witness of monstrosity s.
With Nun s for Christ sake on kid s. [they should take a good look at their-selves]
It was not voluntary btw, bad circumstances in combination with school/ authority.
Mom and or Dad/ Family had essentially not much to say but obey.

Found the possible inhalant and reading it seem s like something kid s,
after WW2 would maybe be able to get in a Nunnery sneaky. Without being noticed.

Frederique, good name, i ll use that. Mentioned inhaling TRI.
No clue what it was, this was 2-nd hand info that he done this a close relative.
But he confirmed it. not being Speed-freak. But with stimulant s being,
about OTC along sedative s mainly Benzo s att. It is not a far fetch, i would.

Something that could be found among the detergent s and wash powder s ?
It was brought as cleaning agent. I think this was it ->

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichloroethylene , TBC
 
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I'm one of those people. Seven times over forty years.
Wow. That's a long time to be fighting. Did you ever have success at any of them? Even if it was a brief period of time?
I ask about this stuff because I have never been to a treatment center. I've said it before that I used a lot back in the 90s, got clean myself, stayed clean for 17+ years. I relapsed when my children's father passed in 2017. I've used meth and only meth on and off since then. I know when the time comes, I'll stop. I know what works for me as far as getting clean and staying clean. A 12 step program would not help me. It's too rigid. Plus I have an issue with the whole higher power thing. That's another story for another day.
 
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