Welcome to A Light In The Addict

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you need not fear a thousand battles.”

 – Sun Tsu 5^th Century BC.

Hello everyone!  My name is Doug and I have created this blog to open a discussion on new data and understandings of addiction and its impact on the brain.  This information is based upon relatively new hard scientific research that has provided us with tremendous new insight into the physical changes and associated psychological changes that occur in the brain.

In recent years, there have been a great deal of scientific advances in our understanding of addiction that come from many researchers including the National Institute of Drug Addiction (NIDA) which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  These are large U.S. government funded agencies that employ some of the best and brightest scientists and doctors.  Unfortunately, the understanding that they have gained has not made it to the general public.  I have studied this research and I hope to communicate this information to you in a way that is meaningful.  Additionally, I have personal experiences with addiction that I can bring to this discussion. 

Why have this discussion and why should you care?

I believe that if we are to have any success battling the opioid epidemic and addiction in general, we must know our enemy.  Only by understanding what we are up against can we apply our resources where they are most productive.  I believe that if you are presented the facts as we know them, you will draw meaningful conclusions that will allow you to empathize with the disease of addiction and contribute to the solution.

Addiction is taking a tremendous toll on our society in the form of lost productivity, ruined lives, health care costs, law enforcement costs and most tragically, lost lives.  To reduce the impacts of addiction will take the efforts of our entire society, as all people are impacted by addiction in some manner.  Misconceptions, which are abundant will only be dispelled by spreading the scientific understanding that we have gained.  I won’t pretend that I have the answers but I am certain that we will not find the answers if we do not understand the problems.

Great another blog, about addiction no less.

I began reading up on addiction a few years ago when I found out that my youngest son was using and I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that addiction is a disease.  Having a scientific background, I know that if the experts said it was a disease they must understand something that I needed to learn.  As a guy, I knew that I may be right and I needed to learn where the experts got it wrong.  I sought out hard science supported by CT scans, PET scans, MRIs, etc., not interpretations based on supposition (you know, the usual internet fare).  I hope that this blog will create a meaningful discussion about the amazing things that I learned and information that you can share.

I expect that those of you that find this blog in the earlier stages of development will be those more directly impacted or concerned about addiction.  It is my hope that you will share this information with anyone who will listen and that we can spread this knowledge universally.

Ground Rules, Really?

Yes, I have rules for how I will present things in this blog because if I am not credible, what is the point.  My only rule for you if you chose to contribute is please keep an open mind and let’s keep the discussion productive.  I learned from my son when he was in high school, that he and his idiot friends (a I used to call them) and most young people think that we greatly exaggerate the effects of addiction such that they feel we are lying to them. They know people who use and are fine, at least they are now but you only see what they want you to see.  If we stick to facts, our youth will see how what we tell them matches their own observations.  We don’t need to scare them with horror stories, the facts of how addiction changes your brain and who you are, are horrifying enough.  So here are some of the concepts that I will follow:

• I will present many facts, experts interpretations, and my own interpretations and I will attempt to distinguish between them as I go along.
• As I said, my son struggled with addiction but this will not our long sad story. There are plenty of places to read peoples journals of pain and our story is not unique.  This blog is about understanding and finding a solution.
• I will not bore you with numbers and statistics. This blog is about our journey to understanding, numbers and statistics are mostly just used to support our positions.
• What we will discuss for the most part is opiate abuse but it generally applies to all drug abuse.
• Don’t kid yourself, alcohol is a drug. Alcoholics are drug addicts whose drug of choice is alcohol.
• Much of what we will be talking about are the changes in the brain associated with addiction and they apply to any addiction (drugs, over-eating, gambling, etc.).

What should you expect?

I intend to post a new entry each Monday, so that you know when to check back for new information.  My first several entries will present what I have learned and I hope to keep them in a readily accessible archive that you can refer back to or refer others to.  I hope that you will help me spread this information because I am fearful of our society’s future if we do not control this terrible epidemic.  After that information has been covered, the blog will evolve in the direction that is needed.  I welcome your contributions as the one thing of which I am certain is that I still have much to learn. 

I hope that you will join me next week for “The Start of the Problem – The Adolescent Brain”.