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  • Doubt Addiction Is A Disease? I Did.
  • Doubt Treatment Works? I Did.
  • Doubt a Spiritual Program Works? I Did.
  • Common Misconceptions About Addiction.
  • What About Personal Responsibility?
  • Questions
    About Addiction
    • What Makes Addiction A Disease?
      • What Part of the Brain is Altered By Addiction?
      • Drugs, Dopamine, and the Reward System
      • Tolerance Can Be Inherited
    • What’s the Definition of Addiction?
      • How the Definition of Addiction Has Changed
    • Why Do Some Get Addicted While Others Don’t?
      • Identical Drugs Work Differently Depending on Genetic Makeup
      • Dopamine Genes and Addiction Predisposition
    • How Can You Tell When Use Becomes Addictive?
      • Clues For When Drug Use Turns To Abuse
      • 20-Question Addiction Questionnaire
    • Are Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Different?
      • Why All Drug Highs Are Essentially The Same
      • Differences In Addictions
    • Are Some People “Born Addicts?”
      • “Born Addicts?” What Sober Addicts Say
      • What Neuroscientists Say About “Born Addicts”
      • Are “Born Addicts” Doomed?
    • Why Is Addiction Permanent?
      • Dopamine and Reward
      • How Drug Tolerance Changes the Brain
      • Tolerance Can Be Inherited
    • Why Do Addicts Act Irrationally?
      • Addiction and Motivation
    • Questions About Treatment?
      • What’s the Rehab Treatment Model?
      • Addiction Treatment Goals
      • What Happens In Treatment?
      • How Well Does Treatment Work?
      • What is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)?
      • How Long It Takes to Achieve Stable Sobriety
    • Questions About 12-Step Programs?
      • What’s the 12-Step Model for Recovery?
      • What Are the 12 Steps and What’s Their Purpose?
      • What About “the God Thing?”
      • What Happens at 12-Step Meetings?
      • What’s Sponsorship All About?
      • What If I Don’t Like Parts of the Program or Some of the People There?
    • Are There Non-12 Step Programs?
    • Why Is Relapse Common?
      • Relapse Triggers
    • What Can Families of Addicts Do?
      • Understanding the Irrationality of Addiction
      • Understanding Addict Behavior
      • Enabling, Detaching & Letting Go
      • Al-Anon and Other 12-Step Programs
      • But I Don’t Want to Go to Al-Anon!
    • Are There Non-Drug Addictions?
  • Addict
    Experience
    • “Normies” vs. Addicts
    • The Addict’s Experience While Using
      • Fear
      • Stigma
      • Active-Addict Cravings
      • The Fear of Detox
      • Giving Up One Day At A Time
      • Unlovable and Unworthy of It
      • Lying and Paranoia
      • Regret Over Wasted Time and Lost Opportunities
      • Denial: A Sincere Delusion
      • Delay: Denial’s Fall-Back Position
      • Making Deals With Yourself/Relying on Willpower
      • Bottoms
    • The Addict Experience In and After Treatment
      • When Your Brain Betrays You
      • Becoming Willing
      • Learning to be Honest
      • Post-Withdrawal Cravings
      • Amnesia and Relapse
      • Relapse
      • Can Relapse Be A Good Thing?
      • Coming Back From Relapse
      • Intellectual Acceptance of Addiction
      • Emotional Acceptance
  • Addiction
    Science
    • Brain Overview
      • Harmony or “Homeostasis”
      • Neurons and Neurotransmitters
      • The Limbic System
      • Learned Memories and Emotional Memories
      • The Brain’s Inherent Susceptibility To Addiction
    • Definition of Addiction
      • Sub-Types of Addiction
    • Dopamine-Introduction
      • Dopamine Basics
      • Dopamine: Learning, Memory and Motivation
      • Dopamine Is Multi-functional
      • Dopamine and Other Neurotransmitters
      • Non-dopamine Neurotransmitters
    • Why Drugs Can Be Addicting
      • How Drugs Get You High
      • How Drug Tolerance Develops
      • Differences in Addictions: Acute vs. Non-Acute Toxicity
      • Why Relapse Is Common: “Triggers”
    • Genetic and Environmental Components of Addiction
      • Genetic Makeup Affects Reaction to Drugs
      • Dopamine D2DR Gene
      • Dopamine D1 and D3 Genes
      • Non-Dopamine Genes
      • Environmental Factors in Addiction
    • Non-Drug Addictions
      • Gambling
      • Overeating
      • Sex
      • Shopping Addiction
      • Tanning
      • Technology
      • Thrill Seeking
    • Addiction Treatment Science
      • The Disease of Addiction
      • Why Drugs Get You High
      • Why Drugs Are Addictive
      • Hangover Versus Withdrawal
      • The Science of Denial
      • Drug Craving Explained
      • Amnesia Explained
      • Why Relapse Is Common
      • Why Love Is Therapeutic
      • The Benefits of Social Support
      • Mind Training
      • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
        • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Alcoholism
        • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opiate Addiction
      • Treatment Drugs
        • Antabuse
        • The Challenges of Taking Antabuse
  • Addiction
    Treatment
    • Detox
      • Detox: Physical
      • Hangover Contrasted With Withdrawal
      • Detox: Emotional
    • Addiction-Treatment Model
      • In-Patient vs. Out-Patient Treatment
    • Addiction-Treatment Goals
      • Realistic Expectations about Relapse
      • How Long It Takes to Achieve Stable Sobriety
      • How Well Addiction Treatment Works
    • The 12 Steps
      • Rehab’s Use of The 12 Step Program
      • Step 1: Powerlessness and Unmanageability
      • Step 2: Sanity Restored
      • Step 3: Making A Decision
      • Steps 4 and 5: A Fearless Moral Inventory Shared With God and Another Human Being
      • Steps 6 and 7: Asking To Have Defects of Character Removed
      • Steps 8 and 9: Making Amends
      • Steps 10 and 11: Continuing Action
      • Step 12: Carrying the Message
    • Have Objections to the 12 Steps? I Did.
      • Contempt Prior to Investigation
      • Step 1 Doesn’t Apply to Me
      • Step 2 – Who Says I’m Crazy?
      • I Don’t Want to Join A New Religion
    • Tools of Sobriety
      • First Step Stories
      • The First Drink or Drug
      • One Day At A Time
      • A Spiritual Program
      • 12-Step Meetings
      • Sponsors
      • Gratitude
      • Working With AA Newcomers
      • Anonymity and 12-Step Programs
    • Treatment Therapy
      • The Disease of Addiction
      • Love and Care
      • Dealing With Cravings
      • Group Therapy
      • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
      • Family Counseling
      • Relapse Prevention
      • Rehab Aftercare and Alumni Meetings
      • Post-Relapse Treatment
    • Addiction Treatment Science
      • The Disease of Addiction
      • Why Drugs Get You High
      • Why Drugs Are Addictive
      • Hangover Versus Withdrawal
      • The Science of Denial
      • Drug Craving Explained
      • Amnesia Explained
      • Why Relapse Is Common
      • Why Love Is Therapeutic
      • Mind Training
      • The Benefits of Social Support
    • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
      • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Alcoholism
      • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opiate Addiction
    • Treatment Drugs
      • Antabuse
      • The Challenges of Taking Antabuse
    • Non-12-Step Programs
  • For Loved
    Ones
    • Understanding the Irrationality of Addiction
    • Understanding Addict Behavior
    • Enabling, Detaching & Letting Go
    • Al-Anon and Other 12-Step Programs
    • But I Don’t Want to Go to Al-Anon!