drug abuse

What causes addiction? Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream, travelled some 30,000 miles in search of an answer. He met with researchers and lawmakers, drug dealers and drug makers, those who were struggling with substance abuse and those who had recovered from it, and he came to the conclusion that our whole narrative about addiction is broken.  "The opposite of addiction is not sobriety," he argues. "The opposite of addiction is connection." But first, we have to figure out what it really means to connect.

"Addiction doesn't have to be a bummer!," quoth addictionologist Erin Parisi, who has some uplifting and hopeful tales from her professional life. But content warning: it's definitely not a day in the park. Tune in for some info on alcohol dependence, smoking, opiates, behavioral addictions, how addiction can futz with your reward systems, some sobering statistics, what we can learn from rat parties, how childhood experiences can set the stage for substance dependence later, how many people are in recovery, what to do if a friend or loved one seems to have a problem, how to tell if you might have a problem, enjoying your grandpa's casserole, cuddling babies and more.

Erin Parisi's website: www.erincanhelp.com

To find publicly-funded treatment centers in your state, call 1-800-622-HELP or go to www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov

For sliding scale therapy, look into openpathcollective.org

Donations were made to: DrugAbuse.gov and EndtheBacklog.org

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More links at alieward.com/ologies/addictionology

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

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