Why Do People Use Drugs? The Relationship Between Sadness and Addiction by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week sadness is the topic that continues our in-depth exploration of each core emotion.  If you ever wonder, ‘why do people use drugs?’ sadness is often an answer.  Many of the most painful emotions (e.g. grief, bereavement, mourning) and debilitating disorders (e.g. major depression) are rooted in sadness.  Humans often put forth valiant efforts to avoid and ward off sadness and its related emotions.  However, sadness is not inherently negative and efforts to avoid it are often destructive because sadness is crucial to the human experience. Did you miss part 2 of this series? Explore the relationship between anger and addiction here. Sadness generally features an appraisal...

Why Do People Use Drugs? The Relationship Between Emotions and Addiction, pt. 2: Anger by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. For the first in-depth look at each core emotion we begin with anger.  Few would object that anger is one answer to the question, ‘why do people use drugs?’  Anger tends to conjure potent associations like violence, hatred, and destruction, but anger is not all bad.  Sometimes substance use helps suppress and manage anger, other times substance use helps facilitate the release of anger.  Anger and substance use certainly have a storied history (stereotypes of ‘angry drunks’ are abundant).  This article investigates the nature of anger and its relationship to substance use. Missed last week's article? Learn more about the relationship between substance use and emotion...

The Mental Health Diagnosis: History, Validity and Implications by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Today’s Diagnosis is Tomorrow’s Joke A former client recently sent me a list of reasons for admittance to a psychiatric hospital between the years of 1864-1889.  The list was being shared on the internet as a joke, highlighting how many mental health diagnoses back then now sound like potential names for heavy metal bands.  I laughed.  Then I found myself thinking about the implications the list of old diagnoses has on today’s formal diagnoses. A Look at the History of the Mental Health Diagnosis These days, mental health professionals are very serious about their diagnostic labels, which makes sense because getting paid by insurance companies hinges on labeling individuals with billable diag...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week’s topic is the fourth installment in a series exploring lies that have permeated the recovery culture.  Thus far, lies about success, failure, and everyone in recovery being the same have been challenged.  This week’s article challenges the lie that shaming people helps them change a problematic pattern of substance use. There is a fundamental logical fallacy to the concept that shaming people helps them change.  The reality is that people change all the time, not just when they feel down on themselves.  In fact, substances are an excellent way to achieve a temporary break from shame!  Helping people feel better about themselves is much more useful than making them feel worse. Beyond the logical fallacy of shaming people to help them change,...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week’s topic is the third installment in a series exploring lies that have permeated the recovery culture.  The first article challenged the lie that perfect abstinence is the only way to succeed in recovery.  Last week’s article challenged the lie that most people in recovery fail.  This week’s article challenges the lie that all addicts are the same, which is often perpetuated by the phrase ‘terminal uniqueness.' Universal statements about any group of humans other than those who struggle with substance use are generally quickly dismissed.  Consider the absurdity of statements like, all mothers are the same, all children are the same, all men are the same, all politicians are the same, all criminals are the same, etc.  To dehumanize is to divest o...

Forgiving yourself in recovery is essential. Learning to forgive yourself is essential as you begin to do more self-healing in your recovery.  We often have a tendency to hold ourselves to such strict standards that we find no reason or justification to forgive ourselves.  Maybe you’ve found yourself in a certain situation, able to forgive someone else for even the harshest of pains yet you may be torturing yourself over a lesser offense. It is common to hold on to past mistakes that we feel are not forgivable out of fear of forgetting the hurt and repeating the behavior. So, we torture ourselves by replaying the feelings, punishment or guilt over and over again.  Staying in this cycle keeps us stuck. It is nearly impossible to truly move through the stages of healing while holding ont...

Irrational beliefs are those that are untrue, don’t make sense, or are harmful to us. While we all have some irrational beliefs, we can learn to recognize them and challenge them. Here are some common types of irrational beliefs that can cause negative feelings and fuel addictive behaviors. 1. Demands—Telling yourself that you “must” or “should” do something often leads to frustration and emotional distress. Having overly rigid demands on yourself or others can lead to disappointment when those demands are not met. Instead, try telling yourself that you “want” or “would like” to do something. 2. Over-generalizations—This is also known as “all or nothing” thinking. Believing that you “always” or “never” do something may lead to feelings of frustration and helplessness. Instead, rec...

Addictions typically develop to substances or activities that make us feel good. For instance, alcohol can relax us and cocaine can make us feel energized and happy. Substances that influence emotion because of their biochemical effects are called psychoactive. Even substances which are not “biochemically psychoactive” can become “psychologically psychoactive” because of learned associations to them. For instance, someone who drinks water after every workout might associate water and relaxation. Or an herbal tea (which has no caffeine) might be associated with peacefulness or relaxation. To help clarify the significance of substances or activities making us feel good, let’s make a comparison to something that makes us feel bad: phobias. Most of us are exposed to elevators, freeway dr...

For some of us, there comes a time when we wonder if we are drinking too much, or using drugs too much. In our society, the next thought typically is, “Am I an alcoholic or an addict?”  This question naturally arises because almost everyone has heard, “You have to admit that you are an alcoholic or addict before you can be helped.” Because there is such widespread insistence that people label themselves with these terms, let us examine what these terms mean. Addicts and Alcoholics: Labels in Addiction There are many individuals in the 12-step community (members of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, etc.) who call themselves alcoholics or addicts. These labels are considered important because they help members of the community (or fellowship, as it is often c...

Expanded from original article published Jan. 30, 2015 Problem Gambling With the recent PowerBall win and the upcoming Super Bowl, we thought it was a good time to take a closer look at problem gambling. It doesn't matter if it's sports betting, casino gambling, lotteries, friendly wagers or even illegal street bets, all forms of gambling have the potential to become problematic and addictive in nature. Let’s be honest – the thrill of gambling (and winning) gets us pumped. For most people, gambling on the Super Bowl or participating in the office sports pool is just a source of entertainment and fun. But for some, gambling can become problematic and can even turn into a full-blown addiction. In fact, some estimates suggest that about 2 million Americans meet the criteria for gambli...