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Addiction

A Pill to Prevent Hangovers? Yes, Really

By Professor Gary L. Wenk, Ph. D. on February 22, 2012 in Your Brain on Food

A drug extracted from the oriental raisin tree may greatly reduce the symptoms of a hangover and prevent addiction. Read More

7 Ways to Diagnose Your Caffeine Habit

By Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. on February 21, 2012 in Fulfillment at Any Age

Love it or hate it, caffeine is a part of almost everyone’s daily life. Surprisingly, many of caffeine’s effects may be due to how you think it will affect you. See if you’re getting a true daily jolt or just a placebo with this 7 factor caffeine expectancy test. Read More

The Science of Craving

By Marc Lewis, Ph.D. on February 21, 2012 in Addicted Brains

Last post, I emphasized the feeling of incompleteness as the foundation of craving. But one reader saw pain relief, relief from suffering, as the fundamental draw. I think both are true. Read More

Addicted to Drugs? Blame It on Brain Anatomy

By Professor Gary L. Wenk, Ph. D. on February 21, 2012 in Your Brain on Food

How easy is it for you to turn down another piece of chocolate, another line of cocaine or just one more beer before driving home? The ease with which you make your decision when faced with such risky choices is greatly influenced by the genes and unique brain anatomy that you inherited from your parents. Read More

Whitney Houston: The Song, the Movie, the Death

By Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. on February 21, 2012 in The Media Zone

But, wait a minute! Maybe what I just wrote is simply pietistic, feel good, nice, nice bullshit? Maybe it just absolves our pop culture gods of their really bad choices, immersing themselves in really bad relationships and listening to really bad counsel. Read More

Temperance Tales: A Journalist Who Drinks Says We Aren't Demonizing Alcohol Sufficiently

By Stanton Peele on February 21, 2012 in Addiction in Society

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni enjoys cocktails and wine, but feels that Americans don't have a sufficiently negative image of alcohol, which he recommends we remedy by showing more "brains on alcohol" and creating more restrictions on drinking (although the U.S. is the only western country with a 21-year-old drinking age already). Will that work? Read More

Facebook Addiction?

By Michael W. Austin on February 20, 2012 in Ethics for Everyone

Those who engage in social media would do well to limit their time, perhaps to 15-30 minutes per day, just as the wise person will limit the number of drinks he or she has on any given day. Read More

Whitney Houston: Celebrate Now, Look for Answers Later

By Pamela Brown Rutledge, Ph.D., M.B.A. on February 18, 2012 in Positively Media

The loss of Houston is not just a private event. It is a public event; a shared cultural and emotional experience because her work was a meaningful part of our experiences. Music, like no other art, is part of our lives and we come to own it. So, today we celebrate Whitney Houston. Tomorrow is soon enough to look for answers. Read More

Thinking About Craving

By Marc Lewis, Ph.D. on February 18, 2012 in Addicted Brains

I have been thinking a lot about craving lately. What is craving, really? What's it all about?Craving seems to amount to a fundamental sense of being incomplete. When we crave, we want something to fill us up. Read More

The Greatest Love

By Sonia Taitz on February 18, 2012 in Trauma and Families

Whitney Houston was more than a voice, a face, and a lithe body spangled in starlight. If nothing else, she was a deeply emotional woman, with outsized feelings that often seemed to get the better of her. And she was mortal, as her recent death in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton showed all too clearly. Read More

Whitney Houston, Jeremy Lin, David Brooks, Religion and Addiction

By Stanton Peele on February 17, 2012 in Addiction in Society

David Brooks says that New York Knicks basketball sensation Jeremy Lin is a wonder whose religious devotion should be honored. Okay. But Whitney Houston's immersion in religion coming up had dire consequences. Read More

Quitting Self-Injury

By Peter Adler, Ph.D., and Patti Adler, Ph.D. on February 16, 2012 in The Deviance Society

Self-Injury is sometimes viewed as addictive, but sociological research shows that people can and do quit for reasons and at points in their self-injury careers that follow predictable patterns. Read More

Is Our Device Lust on the Decline?

By Christine Louise Hohlbaum on February 16, 2012 in The Power of Slow

Our device dependency is unavoidable in this day and age, yet sometimes life gets unplugged. But maybe that isn't such a bad thing. Read More

Want to, Don't Want to: The Psychology of Craving

By Mindy Greenstein, Ph.D. on February 15, 2012 in The Flip Side

What does it mean to crave something? Despite the fact that the feeling of craving lies at the heart of the addiction experience, we know very little about how it works. As recently as 2005, Alan Marlatt and Katie Witkiewitz described craving as "possibly the most widely studied and the most poorly understood concept in the study of drug addiction" (p. 18). Read More

Try This: Willpower Experiment for Making Smarter, Healthier Choices

By Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. on February 15, 2012 in The Science of Willpower

Given the choice, would you rather eat a can of curried grasshoppers or a bag of potato chips? If you're feeling a little squeamish, what if some scientist had just discovered that grasshoppers are a miracle food? What if they could prevent cancer, burn off excess fat stores, cure depression, and regrow receding hairlines? Read More

Hearing Impaired

By Abby Sher on February 15, 2012 in Amen, Amen, Amen

How I fill in the silences. Read More

Understanding the Dynamics of Workaholism—Obsession

By Barbara Killinger, Ph.D. on February 14, 2012 in The Workaholics

In order to further understand one of the inner dynamics of workaholism—that perfectionism leads to obsession, and in turn, obsession leads to increasing levels of narcissism—our focus now turns to the role that obsession plays. Read More

Before We Jump to Whitney Houston Conclusions

By Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. on February 14, 2012 in All About Addiction

Long distance diagnosis is dangerous and inappropriate. When there's no information, it's also unprofessional, irresponsible, and stupid. So for now, let's leave conclusions about Whitney Houston's death to ourselves. Read More

The Greatest Love Addiction Songs of All Time

By Stanton Peele on February 14, 2012 in Addiction in Society

The existential experience of addiction has been captured best by the songs of Smokey Robinson, Leonard Cohen, and Lucinda Williams—an artist America should build a monument to next to the Lincoln Memorial. Read More

Relationship Patterns That May Reveal A Substance Abuse Issue

By Brenda Iliff on February 13, 2012 in A Remarkable Recovery

Last week, I wrote a blog about addiction and relationships with Heart Month and Valentine's Day in mind. However, it somehow feels even more important to share after learning about the tragic death of Whitney Houston on Saturday. Read More

Essential Reads: Editor's Picks

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Addiction Blogs

  • Brenda Iliff

    A Remarkable Recovery

    The battle of addiction
    By Brenda Iliff
  • Marc Lewis, Ph.D.

    Addicted Brains

    A neuroscientist examines life on drugs
    By Marc Lewis, Ph.D.
  • Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D.

    Addiction in Society

    Addiction—the thematic malady for our society—entails every type of psychological and societal problem.
    By Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D.
  • Adi Jaffe, Ph.D.

    All About Addiction

    Helping addicts get their lives back.
    By Adi Jaffe, Ph.D.
  • Hilarie Cash, Ph.D.

    Digital Addiction

    Avoiding Pitfalls of the Online World
    By Hilarie Cash, Ph.D.
  • Lynn Phillips

    Dream On

    Gratifying delusions (like that we're in touch with "reality") are so addictive, we tend to hang onto them no matter what they cost us.
    By Lynn Phillips
  • Ingrid Mathieu, Ph.D.

    Emotional Sobriety

    Recovering from substance addiction—without becoming addicted to spirituality
    By Ingrid Mathieu, Ph.D.
  • Kevin B. Skinner, Ph.D.

    Inside Porn Addiction

    The path to healthy intimacy.
    By Kevin B. Skinner, Ph.D.
  • Jamie Huysman, Psy.D., L.C.S.W., C.A.P.

    Life in the Recovery Room

    How to heal, grow, and prosper in challenging times.
    By Jamie Huysman, Psy.D., L.C.S.W., C.A.P.

  • The Anatomy of Addiction

    Overcoming the triggers that stand in the way of recovery.
    By Drs. Morteza and Karen Khaleghi
  • Lance Dodes, M.D.

    The Heart of Addiction

    How psychology drives addictive behavior.
    By Lance Dodes, M.D.
  • Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., L.M.H.C.

    The High-Functioning Alcoholic

    Understanding this Hidden Class of Alcoholics from a Professional and Personal View
    By Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., L.M.H.C.

  • The Trauma-Addiction Connection

    Exploring the effects of trauma and the roots of addiction.
    By Frederick Woolverton, Ph.D.