Substance Abuse

Substance abuse can feel like a losing battle. The desire for a drug or alcohol of choice overpowers the person’s judgment. With addiction, they lose self-control and reject responsibility for anything other than the next high. This can create severe consequences in their life. They may suffer health problems, get in trouble with the law and face financial distress.

Not all drugs come in pill or powder form. Lean is one of the most dangerous drugs out there, and it comes as a beverage. What is Lean? Learn more about the drug, why it's dangerous, and how you can fight back against a lean addiction.

More than three million people in the United States are addicted to opioids, and over 33,000 of them die each year as a result of accidental overdoses. The opioid epidemic is a serious and growing problem, leading some to question whether there’s an end in sight. 

Is addiction a disease or not? That’s one of the most pressing questions in addiction research and recovery today. Neuroscientist, retired professor, and author Dr. Marc Lewis is convinced that addiction is not a disease, and he explains why in this fascinating interview.

When our team did a Google Image search of the term “Sobriety Quotes” recently, the first item to pop up was a Pinterest graphic with these words: “Wanna find out who your friends are? Get sober.”

This anonymous quote reminds us of a powerful, often-painful truth: When we change, our relationships to the people around us change too.

Some say that struggling with a substance abuse problem is a sign of bad decision-making and poor moral fiber. Experts disagree with this somewhat flip assessment. Sure, a bad choice might have gotten you started, but biochemical changes make it extremely difficult to stop. So, is addiction a disease, and if so, what is its target?

In the last twenty years, the idea of addiction and the brain disease model - in other words, the concept that addiction is a disease - has soared in popularity.

It is supported by many respected individuals and organizations. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently defines addiction as “a chronic and relapsing brain disease.”

Similarly, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) calls addiction “a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.”

But does that mean that the millions of Americans who struggle with addiction cannot recover fully?

Do these definitions encompass the true nature of addiction, or is there more to the story? 

What does it feel like to check yourself into rehab? Recently we interviewed journalist and author Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times on his struggle with alcohol, his time in rehab, and his ultimately successful recovery.