Alcoholics and addicts and those with other addictive behaviours appear to have the same general cognitive distortions as well as distortions of errors in thinking specific to their manifest addictive behaviour. However, there seem to be overlaps in certain cognitive distortions as in the case of […]
Case Study of a Cross-Addicted Female’s Treatment and Recovery Part 1 There have been suggestions in the literature since 1994 that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) may serve as an effective adjunct to the addiction treatment process; however, follow-up research in this area has been limited. […]
Part 1 Here we have a comprehensive but hypothetical review of what effect mindfulness meditation may be having on the addicted brain. First we look at areas of the brain effected in addiction and in relapse before looking at how mindfulness meditation may, via mediation based neuro plasticity […]
Following on from our recent blog on emotional dysfunction in sexual addiction we continue our series which explores the inherent role of emotional dysfunction in all addictive disorders. We will explore eating disorders later. Here we use excerpts from a very interesting article (1) on Deficits in emotion […]
Predicting relapse via extent of emotional dysregulation? by alcoholicsguide Even the most experienced counselors have difficultly spotting a recovering alcoholic in danger of relapse. Brain imaging scans might do a better job according to a study last year by researchers at Yale University. They suggested that alcoholics with […]
Involuntary retrieval of drug related thoughts is a hallmark of addicted populations. Intensity of obsessive thoughts about alcohol predict relapse rate (1), with addicts motivated to use drugs to “silence” obsessive thoughts (2). The idea that abstinence automatically decreases alcohol-related thoughts is challenged by research (3) and supported […]
In our previous blog on we looked at automatic physiological response to cues that alcoholics appear to experience. These habitual responses are well explained by reinforcement, conditioning or neurobiological models of addiction. However, do these neurobiological models predict relapse in abstinent alcoholics and addicts? Factors in relapse Cues, […]
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