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Any places/resources for addiction research?

Old 03-28-2014, 11:54 AM
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Any places/resources for addiction research?

lemme start off, 45 days in sober from alcohol. time is flying by. i'm suck on weed as usual, back to day 2. after hundreds of attempts, i think this is going to be one that will be the longest i've gone for a while. i just feel it, sorta like i did for the alcohol. ive got plans and exit strategys set up.

anyways, can anyone point me to some legitimate resources/links (if they're allowed on here) regarding addiction? why we are addicted? reasons for addictive behaviors? etc...
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Old 03-28-2014, 11:59 AM
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Google search was my friend in those early days of my recovery when I wanted to know all I could about addiction.
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Old 03-28-2014, 04:53 PM
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There are some links here

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...d-edition.html

It's good you want to educate yourself but don't make the mistake I did and think that you're 'working on your recovery'.
Without implementation education is just passing the time reading.

I needed to act to get anywhere, Krete

I know you don't want to be that 'stoner dad'...so don't be...y'know?

D
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Old 04-03-2014, 11:38 AM
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I know Dee, I know....

Day 2 on weed (again) for me...
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Old 04-03-2014, 11:40 AM
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I'll tell you what....I'm learning more and more that the center of all my problems is certainly addiction.

ADDICTION.

Which has led me to do all of the substances I've ever touched in my life; and addictive habits...never ever doing anything in moderation..

Found a website that says until I can unlearn all of my learned behaviors that I learned to evade as a kid, I'll never truly over come addiction. (found here; http://gettinbetter.com/addiction.html)

Any truth to that statement?
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Old 04-03-2014, 02:44 PM
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The link says
All addiction is caused by suppression of feelings. If we could learn how to Feel our emotions rather than fear them, ALL addictions and recovery programs would literally cease to exist.
I think that's an important part of lasting recovery but I think it's only half the picture.

I had to learn to feel again sure, and not be scared of that, but I also had to accept that I was never going to be someone who was 'un-addicted'.

Thats not a great selling point to someone who desperately wants to be normal again...which is why a lot of self help addiction books don't tend to have that last bit....

D
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Old 04-03-2014, 03:10 PM
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I tend to agree with Dee. I think addiction will always be part of me in some fashion. I can be solid in my recovery, but will have to remain vigilant for the rest of my life. Not in a paranoid fashion, just aware that my AV can wait 20 years to pop back up. The beast is patient.
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Old 04-03-2014, 05:06 PM
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Any places/resources for addiction research?

Hmmmmm, the library, under the self help section. Might be the answer for you, wasnt for me.
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Old 04-03-2014, 05:11 PM
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Hmm, you might be able to unlearn some learned behaviours, but I have an addictive personality and it's at least partly genetic. I know both parents had addictive personalities and my early memories involve obsession and compulsion.

So, I think part of the solution is accepting what IS. I have an addictive personality. And, part of the solution is learning ways to deal with this issue that are healthy and safe.
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Old 04-03-2014, 05:29 PM
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Got to blame something I guess. Addictive Personality seems to be it. I dont blame anything, anyone else other then myself. I knew full well the consequences of taking a drink, yet I took it THINKING it will be different. I really REALLY wanna blame someone tho, can I blame the cops? judge? jailer? copper? witnesses? victim?
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Old 04-03-2014, 08:41 PM
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I've spent several years working on major studies in addiction research, including serving as the clinical director for the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). My personal experience is that knowing why we are (I am) addicted adds virtually nothing to the quality of my sobriety. With all my accumulated knowledge and experience, I still relapsed after twenty five years without a drink.

Besides, a lot folks go crazy comparing the relative merits and relevance among competing theories of addiction. And there are many. Some are valid, but many if not most are a waste of time.

I'm not suggesting that you or anyone else would be better off turning away from your natural sense of curiosity or by stifling further learning. Maintain a critical eye, and be prepared to be both confused and frustrated. And possibly enlightened.

My own personal bias is that any theory that settles on a single variable as the cause for addictions is a theory that is the inevitable and unfortunate consequence of intellectual laziness.
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Old 04-04-2014, 04:48 AM
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How did I miss this thread?!

Aaaaah EndGame…, don’t be jaded

I do research on addiction and related neuropsychiatric conditions like anxiety and depression. I don’t work on alcohol specifically (more other drugs), but like most people on this board know without having to look at science, addiction to alcohol, other licit or illicit substances, gambling, sex, eating, etc etc have lots of similarities. At the same time, in terms of biological mechanisms there are also many individual differences between person and person, which is a major factor in why there is no one single cause, solution, treatment intervention, ore recovery method that applies to and can work for everyone. It is now known to be a complex disease where individual genetic factors, environment, development, life experience, and many other components interact and play a role together. It is complex and quite complicated, but far from a mess - these days there is enough knowledge and evidence revealing quite distinct biological phenomena underlying what we call “addiction” as an umbrella term. If someone is interested in doing research on addiction, there are many different areas and components to explore – this is basically what I do in the form of collaborations between scientists with a variety of backgrounds and expertise such as molecular neurobiology, neurophysiology, behavioral science (~experimental psychology), genetics, statistics, and others. It is teamwork. People also use different kinds of imaging technologies to study the addicted brain (and normal brain as well of course).

I think NOW is a very good time to be in addiction research since it’s no longer such a mystery but there is plenty of accumulated knowledge and many opening doors, new avenues. It’s all very dynamic and exciting, in my opinion. My personal story about getting into this field wasn’t so much driven by the motivation to find the holy grail and cure myself, and I do not recommend this to anyone – completely agree with EndGame’s note regarding this. It did not make me quit my own addiction either, although I personally did and do find the knowledge very useful and helpful especially now working on my own recovery. And I love to do the research. I find the brain and what drives our behaviors in terms of biological mechanisms really fascinating.

Regarding information sources, there are tons. I would say in the United States the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a rich source:
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

I posted other links before on different threads, here is one again:
The Brain—The Essence of Drug Addiction

Is anyone is interested in specific areas or have, let me know and I can try to recommend relevant specific sources.
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Old 04-04-2014, 05:13 AM
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Krete, I just reread the thread and realized you have a problem with weed. Well, marijuana is my main research area currently. I never had an issue with it personally (tried it several times when younger, did not particularly like it), my enemy is alcohol.

Also, I see in your sig line "computer science" mentioned... If that's what you do, you could probably find a way to get involved in addiction research through that. Serious bioinformatics is essential part of many research studies.
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Old 04-04-2014, 06:05 AM
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Originally Posted by krete77 View Post
Found a website that says until I can unlearn all of my learned behaviors that I learned to evade as a kid, I'll never truly over come addiction. (found here; OUTGROWING YOUR ADDICTION - 'The Little Book')

Any truth to that statement?
Yes, some. This is part of why we always discuss changing our lifestyle and routines plus avoiding triggering situations are essential in recovery. The "unlearning" is often referenced in the context of addiction-related environmental components that our brains learn to associate with the drug using behavior, and how we respond to triggers. The context of our addictive behavior. Classic examples are the drinking or using buddies, dealers, places where we engage in these acts.

The "learning" here refers to the mental associations generated through repeated experiences between drug use and those environmental components or our emotional triggers (eg. anxiety). So disrupting these learned associations, if possible, helps recovery to a certain extent. Unfortunately it won't take away cravings or prevent relapse very effectively, but can help some. For example, if we learn to respond to an emotional trigger in a different way rather than turning to our drug of choice, it can help change our behavior. Here the "unlearning" refers to the idea of disrupting the old association between, say, anxiety and drug seeking. Unfortunately, in reality, it will never work too well, it's not possible to forget these things, and this is why we always need to stay vigilant and why, sadly, relapse happens so often.
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Old 04-04-2014, 12:28 PM
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Very nice series of comments, Hannie.

I didn't mean to sound jaded. I was taking addiction research from the civilian's perspective. It's not a mess, but it certainly can be a sticky wicket to navigate through for the uninitiated.

You filled in a lot of the blanks, and that's a good thing. I've got a collection of comments that amount to lectures from different areas of my expertise. That's not always what's needed, and not always what I want to convey. But you did a great job clarifying some of the issues involved in addiction research that I'm sure helped some people. And you actually answered the OP's question. NIDA is a great resource, but it's not for everyone.

All the research I've done on addictions has been enlightening for me, and has thrown in sharp relief the complexity of the problems in doing that kind of research as well as the problem itself. I did all this work while I was sober, and it was no accident that I chose this work. (Or is it the other way around?)

If you don't teach, and if you think you'd like to teach, I'm sure you'd be very good at it.
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Old 04-04-2014, 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Anna View Post
Hmm, you might be able to unlearn some learned behaviours, but I have an addictive personality and it's at least partly genetic. I know both parents had addictive personalities and my early memories involve obsession and compulsion.

So, I think part of the solution is accepting what IS. I have an addictive personality. And, part of the solution is learning ways to deal with this issue that are healthy and safe.
Right. I think unlearning the learned behaviors that I've done for so long is going to be key here, and replacing them with more productive behaviors. This seems like it will be a LONG process...which saddens me, but then at the same time, that line of thinking right there is a part of me that wants immediate satisfaction from things, and if I don't get it, then I seek ways to get it.

Originally Posted by matt4x4 View Post
Got to blame something I guess. Addictive Personality seems to be it. I dont blame anything, anyone else other then myself. I knew full well the consequences of taking a drink, yet I took it THINKING it will be different. I really REALLY wanna blame someone tho, can I blame the cops? judge? jailer? copper? witnesses? victim?
While I understand what you're saying, that's not really what I meant. I take full responsibility for all of my actions. And while It has never come to any major (or even minor trouble for that matter), it was bad enough that it has bothered me for many, many years. I guess i wasn't a true alcoholic like most on here, but I'm not gonna say I didn't have a problem either. I could stop at 3 drinks no problem. The problem was why was I drinking in the first place? And what was leading me to drink? Or smoke? or do drugs? or engage in activities without practicing ANY moderation whatsoever. That's what I'm looking for. Not to place the blame on anyone.

Originally Posted by haennie View Post
Krete, I just reread the thread and realized you have a problem with weed. Well, marijuana is my main research area currently. I never had an issue with it personally (tried it several times when younger, did not particularly like it), my enemy is alcohol.

Also, I see in your sig line "computer science" mentioned... If that's what you do, you could probably find a way to get involved in addiction research through that. Serious bioinformatics is essential part of many research studies.
Thanks for your input haennie. I did some bioinformatics class but found it semi boring. I am a few classes away from my bachelors in CS and haven't actually had the chance to work in the field yet. Don't even know if I'm going to. I got problems just finding a job right now as it is.
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Old 04-05-2014, 07:33 AM
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EndGame - thank you. I don't do much classroom teaching but I do work with students to supervise their research projects and really enjoy that. I would be interested in more formal teaching though and I feel that's something I should definitely explore at some point.

"I did all this work while I was sober, and it was no accident that I chose this work. (Or is it the other way around?)"
That's a good question also for me. Research biology is what I've always been doing since graduating from college but I have not always been in neuroscience. Moved into this field ~5 years ago, it's a long and complex story and of course absolutely no accident for me either (in more ways than simply the addiction issue). I actually turned my whole life around pretty massively after being through a couple years of quite deep existential crisis and this professional shift was major part of that. I felt very strongly that I was "meant to" be in this field (for a few reasons) and when I made the move, discovered so many more layers of how it was a perfect fit for me. Sadly, unlike you, I was drinking through it until January this year. I never drank when I worked, but did all of it hangover with the constant guilt and shame over the cognitive dissonance about what I was working on and what I was. Of course the productivity suffered... but in the last couple years of my drinking my work was pretty much the only thing I cared about, my only lifeline. I wrote about how my main motivation to get sober in the end was related to my job on other threads - I could no longer bear the horror of how I was abusing what I originally thought the best chance in my life. And caused difficulties to others that were working with me. Now in recovery I actually feel I need to work on getting less attached to my profession, because I don't think such a level of self-identification with a role is psychologically healthy.

Krete - I think bioinformatics by itself is probably really not that exciting, it's just a bunch of tools, although I know computer scientists who enjoy developing the tools. I think what can make it more interesting is the actual research project, the scientific question one is studying, eg. you could be analyzing data from an addiction-related project and generate answers, make discoveries in collaboration with your colleagues.

Good luck with completing your degree and the job hunt!
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