HBO DR VALKOW/a must see
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,351
HBO DR VALKOW/a must see
Hope I got her name right--she is the head of subtance abuse in USA...For the first time-I agreed with everything she had to say in the 28 minutes she was interviewed-very openminded--it is a must see on the addiction special.
She does not agree that evryone has to hit rock bottom to reco
ver
Those with support from their families do much better
For some the 12 step is not the right program for them
As need more of an individual type of treatment as we are all different
the longer the detoxtime the greater the ability to stop (she recommends 6 months)
the whole family needs treatment-to difuse the anger etc...
the longer you use the less likely to recover/or the brain to heal it self
some just cannot stop
It is not a choice---it is a disease----
Mental illness--like anxiety disorder-bi polar-chronic depression are all underlying reasons why people use--they seelf medicate....
I could go on and on but it was nice to hear that some of the things I feel or have done--are being validated by an expert.....
She does not agree that evryone has to hit rock bottom to reco
ver
Those with support from their families do much better
For some the 12 step is not the right program for them
As need more of an individual type of treatment as we are all different
the longer the detoxtime the greater the ability to stop (she recommends 6 months)
the whole family needs treatment-to difuse the anger etc...
the longer you use the less likely to recover/or the brain to heal it self
some just cannot stop
It is not a choice---it is a disease----
Mental illness--like anxiety disorder-bi polar-chronic depression are all underlying reasons why people use--they seelf medicate....
I could go on and on but it was nice to hear that some of the things I feel or have done--are being validated by an expert.....
Recovering Nicely
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 935
I saw part of the addiction (first part) and it was great. I turned it off when AH came into the room, he knows I was watching it, and we have conversations about it, it's just I like to watch it alone. Anyway, she has her own interview? I am really interested in what she has to say because I truly think it isn't a choice, it is a disease, don't think someone has to hit rock bottom to stop and all the rest that she said. I really want to take courses on addiction and try to help families of alcoholics. I truly believe that is my calling and that is why I have lived thru what I have (everything happens for a reason, right). But I don't know where to begin. Oh well, someday maybe.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,351
I to am watching it alone---My AS watched the first episode and called me crying?? starnge--it must have been powerful for him--As I have said I have ON DEMAND on HBO--so I already have the whole thing--many many shows--over 12 titles some are 3 minutes some over an hour......
FYI it is coming out on DVD March 27 th I believe......
You help me just by being here---thanks
FYI it is coming out on DVD March 27 th I believe......
You help me just by being here---thanks
Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Dixie
Posts: 612
I want to get the DVD. I'm having trouble catching the episodes. I tried getting the one you are talking about, which was on this morning. My stupid tape player would not work. As soon as I got it working, the episode was ending! It must have been short.
Both my AH and I watched the first episode together. We both enjoyed it. He chimed in on all the parts he related to.
Both my AH and I watched the first episode together. We both enjoyed it. He chimed in on all the parts he related to.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Upper Kolobia
Posts: 153
Here's The Scuttle on Dr. Volkow . . .
She looks reasonable, in my sometimes-regrettably-not-so-humble-opinion . . .
She is the director of the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Drug Abuse . . . I see the NIH is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (don't get me started on the Secretary of that one; Utah was given a blessing when he moved upstairs to Washington, and he did less than zero good for addiction treatment in this state) . . .
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/drugs/a/blnida030423.htm
MD with psychiatric training . . . Not bad, although I would've preferred an addictionologist (Google Dr. Drew Pinsky as an example on that one).
*Dr. Volkow is known for her work on the brain's dopamine system. Her research focuses on the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the reinforcing, addictive and toxic properties of drugs of abuse in the human brain. As a scientist, she has been supported by grants from NIDA, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Energy.
This is solid stuff (I wrote a paper about it for a grad class fifteen years ago), but I always get nervous around the "prescription pad" people . . . There's almost always a tremendous need for an alcoholic to get some good psychological stuff--besides AA, which, for all its wisdom and as much as I love it, is still basically a "folk remedy."
Codependency kills, way into sobriety, and it involves bonding disorders, "chemistry" with "toxic" individuals, learned behaviors and habits that sabotage intimacy and recovery, fused and confused boundaries, and a whole lot of other areas.
Sadly, many of the professional community are the ones most bedeviled in this area . . .
More alarm bells . . . I see on another thread someone was objecting to the "brain disease" characterization of addicts, but this evidence is reasonably compelling and peer-reviewed . . .
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/blnida041129.htm
But again, I note the "prescription pad" mentality . . .
* Investigating new and existing medications that show potential as therapeutic options; and
* Pairing cognitive-behavioral strategies with medications to treat the brain changes brought about by chronic drug exposure.
Call me an unrepentant tough-love guy, but if those approaches include a "there, there, you poor dear" view of matters, I'm going to start hollering . . .
Addicts need to take responsibility for their disease (regardless of what caused it), and as a friend of mine noted, "If one more person had been nice and loving to me, I might've died."
'Nuff . . . /rant over
She is the director of the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Drug Abuse . . . I see the NIH is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (don't get me started on the Secretary of that one; Utah was given a blessing when he moved upstairs to Washington, and he did less than zero good for addiction treatment in this state) . . .
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/drugs/a/blnida030423.htm
MD with psychiatric training . . . Not bad, although I would've preferred an addictionologist (Google Dr. Drew Pinsky as an example on that one).
*Dr. Volkow is known for her work on the brain's dopamine system. Her research focuses on the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the reinforcing, addictive and toxic properties of drugs of abuse in the human brain. As a scientist, she has been supported by grants from NIDA, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Energy.
This is solid stuff (I wrote a paper about it for a grad class fifteen years ago), but I always get nervous around the "prescription pad" people . . . There's almost always a tremendous need for an alcoholic to get some good psychological stuff--besides AA, which, for all its wisdom and as much as I love it, is still basically a "folk remedy."
Codependency kills, way into sobriety, and it involves bonding disorders, "chemistry" with "toxic" individuals, learned behaviors and habits that sabotage intimacy and recovery, fused and confused boundaries, and a whole lot of other areas.
Sadly, many of the professional community are the ones most bedeviled in this area . . .
More alarm bells . . . I see on another thread someone was objecting to the "brain disease" characterization of addicts, but this evidence is reasonably compelling and peer-reviewed . . .
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/blnida041129.htm
But again, I note the "prescription pad" mentality . . .
* Investigating new and existing medications that show potential as therapeutic options; and
* Pairing cognitive-behavioral strategies with medications to treat the brain changes brought about by chronic drug exposure.
Call me an unrepentant tough-love guy, but if those approaches include a "there, there, you poor dear" view of matters, I'm going to start hollering . . .
Addicts need to take responsibility for their disease (regardless of what caused it), and as a friend of mine noted, "If one more person had been nice and loving to me, I might've died."
'Nuff . . . /rant over
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,351
I am for any new visions of helping addiction---it is a window being opened....what we have now is obviously not working....look around....we medicate for other diseases why not this one? Dopamine/seratonin are all vital issues to why this disease has become a familiar one--passed down...My AS could never have stopped drinking if not for the medication--and I had to search long and hard to find an openminded doctor to treat him--then we dealt with the unerlying issues that were covered by the alcohol.
No pat on the back--I think they should keep studying a studying-testing and testing---the more we learn the more we experiment the better....We talk of CURING other diseases---why not THIS one???
No pat on the back--I think they should keep studying a studying-testing and testing---the more we learn the more we experiment the better....We talk of CURING other diseases---why not THIS one???
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
