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[Guitarista]

Will give Anne a spin soon NS, thanks.

Here's a podcast that goes for over an hour with guest David Clark from USA. From 320lbs to ultramarathons and giving up booze. Presenter Rich Roll is also an ex alky. Vegetarian tucker and body fuel is also discussed. Main theme is personal transformation. Good convo i reckon.

Scroll down to podcast # 18.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-roll-podcast/id582272991?mt=2

[NoSugar]

This is the introduction to an articles that discusses the actions of several addictive substances:

Neuroaddiction: The Reward Pathway.

"The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain,” writes Alan Leshner, the former director of NIDA. “Changes in brain structure and function is what makes it, fundamentally, a brain disease. A metaphorical switch in the brain seems to be thrown as a result of prolonged drug use.” Addiction is both a cause and a consequence of these fundamental alterations in brain function. If physical abnormalities in the brain are at the root of the problem, then any treatment program worth its weight ought to be dealing—directly or indirectly--with these differences in brain state. Writing in Lancet, researcher Charles O’Brien has suggested a similar orientation: “Addiction must be approached more like other chronic illnesses--such as diabetes and chronic hypertension--than like an acute illness, such as a bacterial infection or a broken bone." All of this suggests that we are not likely to win a war on drugs, achieve zero tolerance, or become chemical-free any time soon. The drug problem is an artifact of the basic design of the mammalian brain. Humankind is extraordinarily susceptible to drug abuse anywhere and everywhere certain drugs are widely available—and all because of a “design quirk” in the reward pathways of the central nervous system. Any sufficiently powerful receptor-active drug is, in its way, fooling Mother Nature. This deceit means, in a sense, that all such drugs are illicit. They are not natural, however organic they may be. Yet, the human drive to use them is all-pervasive. We have no real built-in immunity to drugs that directly target specific receptors in the limbic and cortical pleasure pathways. The act of “liking” something is controlled by the forebrain and brain stem. If you receive a pleasant reward, your reaction is to “like” it. If, however, you are anticipating a reward, and are, in fact, engaging in behaviors motivated by that anticipation, it can be said that you “want” it. The wholly different act of wanting something strongly is a mesolimbic dopamine-serotonin phenomenon. We like to receive gifts, for example, but we want food, sex, and drugs. As Nesse and Berridge put it, “The ‘liking’ system is activated by receiving the reward, while the ‘wanting’ system anticipates reward and motivates instrumental behaviors. When these two systems are exposed to drugs, the “wanting” system motivates persistent pursuit of drugs that no longer give pleasure, thus offering an explanation for a core paradox in addiction." Under the biochemical paradigm, a runaway appetite for non-stop stimulation of the reward pathway is a prescription for disaster. The harm is physical, behavioral, and psychological--as are the symptoms. Peer pressure, disciplinary difficulties, contempt for authority--none of these conditions is necessary for drug addiction to blossom. What the drug itself does to people who are biologically vulnerable is enough. No further inducements are required. Even this brief summation of the ways in which addictive drugs alter neurotransmission should serve to demonstrate that these substances have more in common than we ordinarily assume. All these drugs are of course rewarding, so it is perhaps not too surprising, for all their differences, that they work the limbic reward pathways. All these drugs share common mechanisms of action, which is why they are addictive. There is more to addiction than the matter of brain chemistry, of course. Nonetheless, the neuropharmacology of addictive drugs can be spoken of with a specificity undreamed of only two decades ago. Addiction is a behavior, a state of mind, a way of life--but it is not only these things. It is also a biochemical process. For all their similarities, drugs do have characteristic signatures. They make their own distinctive trails through the reward pathways of the brain. Comments? Addiction Inbox

You can read the rest at: http://www.dirkhanson.org/neuroaddiction.html

[Guitarista]

Yo y'all. Whad up.

Here is a series of interviews/talks around the theme of self acceptance, made for us addicts in mind. 23 sessions, each around 30/40 mins long which is part of a 'Self acceptance project' put together by a bird called Tami, a hippy mate of Tommy Rosen's. Various medical professionals, researchers such as Brene Brown, and established authors explore this stuff with Tami.

There is sure to be some very rich and rewarding material here. Dig in wings. Enjoy.

http://live.soundstrue.com/selfacceptance/event.php

[NoSugar]

From:http://ahangoverfreelife.com/2014/08...covery-movies/

Addiction and Recovery Movies



The Anonymous People (2014) launched earlier this year and a must see documentary film in my opinion
Home Run (2013) Story of pro-baseball player who enters recovery following alcohol addiction
Lipstick and Liquor (2012) which I covered in an earlier post and watched earlier this year. Includes the founder of Sober is Sexy.
Everything Must Go (2010) Will Ferrell comedy drama about an alcoholic and based on the Raymond Carver short story ‘Why Don’t You Dance?’
Crazy Heart (2009) I saw this recently and really enjoyed it. Gotta love me a bit of Jeff Bridges (the Dude) and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Factotum (2005) Tom Hanks as an alcoholic and writer.
28 days (2000) watched this recently and this is what started the post idea. Really enjoyed and had a good old howl.
Smoke Signals (1998) Victor and Thomas are brought together through Victor’s father, Arnold. Arnold rescued Thomas as an infant from a house fire that killed his parents. Because of this, Thomas considers him a hero. On the other hand, Victor, who endures Arnold’s alcoholism, domestic violence and eventual child abandonment, regards his father with both deep love and bitter resentment.
Drunks (1995) Film that portrays an AA meeting and follows the troubled time of one member who leaves and relapses. Stellar cast including Faye Dunaway, Dianne Wiest and Calista Flockhart.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) This film is etched on my brain following seeing it. Nicholas Cage is just superb as the suicidal alcoholic. It won him an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance.
When A Man Loves a Woman (1994). I watched this one at the time and is one of the most well known for me. Probably as it starred Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia who I love.
My Name is Bill W (1989) It received a huge number of nominations for Emmy’s and Golden Globes and James Wood won the Outstanding Actor award at the Emmy’s.
Clean and Sober (1988) Michael Keaton as a cocaine addicted alcoholic who goes into rehab
Barfly (1987) Again I watched this at the time as I loved Mickey Rourke back in the day.
Shattered Spirits (1986) Martin Sheen as an alcoholic father and the impact on his family
Under the Volcano (1984) Written by Malcolm Lowry and believed to be autobiographical. The film tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic former British Consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac (recognizably Cuernavaca) on the Day of the Dead in 1938.
Tender Mercies (1983) Robert Duvall stars as a a recovering alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young widow and her son
The Rose (1979) Bette Midler playing Rose an insecure alcoholic and former drug user who seems to crave approval in her life and who is a famous rock’n’roll diva.
The Cracker Factory (1977) Natalie Wood plays alcoholic housewife Cassie Barrett is institutionalized in a psychiatric ward after experiencing a nervous breakdown in the supermarket. We learn this is the latest in a series of hospitalizations from which Cassie emerges supposedly in control of her life but actually still teetering on the edge. During this latest stay, she develops a romantic crush on psychiatrist Edwin Alexander and a close relationship with night supervisor Tinkerbell, both of whom help her take steps toward facing her inner demons and learning to live with sobriety
Days of Wine and Roses (1962) Again received huge number of nominations for Oscar’s, Golden Globes and BAFTA’s at the time.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. What’s not to like and remember watching this many many years ago.
I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955) Susan Haywood received an Oscar nomination for her role as Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and reacts to the death of her fiancé by becoming an alcoholic
The Lost Weekend (1945) Another film to receive and win many Oscars (nominated for 7, won 4)
And in the UK we are eagerly awaiting A Royal Hangover which is due for release in October.

[roxane]

there was a film i remember seeing decades ago, black and white with jack lemmon. dont know the actress. a couples relationship with each other and the bottle and the spiral downwards. i wish i could remember the name.

eta. days of wine and roses, its in the list.

[BeachGirly]

Hi,
Just starting to work myself thru this thread. Some great info.
The scientist in me needs this!!!

Thanks for this thread

[NoSugar]

Demystifying Medicine- Addictions: Are They All the Same?

http://videocast.nih.gov/Summary.asp?File=17199&bhcp=1


This will be live tomorrow: https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=15522&bhcp=1Demystifying Medicine 2015 - Alcohol: How Does it Do the Things it Does?


And this is on Thursday: https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=15919&bhcp=1
Cortisol Dysregulation and Alcoholism: Consequence, Correlation or Causality

[NoSugar]

Neuroplasticity and Addiction

This book is directed at chronic pain and diseases but could easily apply to re-wiring the brain to no longer be addicted:

http://www.amazon.com/Brains-Way-Healing-Discoveries-Neuroplasticity-ebook/dp/B00KWG9L2A/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426681662&sr=1-1&keywords=the+brain%27s+healing+way

http://www.soberforever.net/addiction-brain-changes.cfm

http://recoverypassport.com/hope-for-recovery-neuroplasticity-addiction-treatment-and-technology/

http://www.saintjudeexecutiveretreat.com/neuroplasticity-addiction.php

http://archives.drugabuse.gov/meetings/apa/neurobiology.html

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnmol.2013.00056/full

http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2014/01/what-is-this-thing-called.html

https://sites.google.com/site/thespiralalsorises/home

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

Bump

[go2goal]

Yes, this thread is very useful! Make it stick -y?

So, it does not get buried, but stays visible'

Great Day!

[Guitarista]

Hi everyone. All good here.

This is a 52min talk from Klean radio USA 2014 with actor Joe Pantoliano about mental/emotional health and addiction and more. Worth a listen. You are not alone. G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3097&v=sUfx0oo8JNc

[Guitarista]

Some more fab, interesting and relevant conversations around addiction from Klean radio 2015. appx. 50 mins. worth a listen I think. G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JojHiuw7oME

[NoSugar]

Thanks, G! I hadn't heard of Klean Radio before your posts - there are a lot of episodes!

[NoSugar]

For you especially, Mr. G.:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Run-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B0060ANFPG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1432219951&sr=1-2

http://www.richroll.com/podcast/rrp27-mishka-shubaly-the-rich-roll-podcast/

[Guitarista]

Thank you NS. I'll give them a listen. EDIT: Just followed the links to Mishka and RR above and wow, right up my alley. Will give the podcast a listen later today after my run. Thanks again NS for making the effort!

Here's a short 13 min. chat with U.S. Dr. George Koob from 2014. The first 9 minutes are where he talks about addiction and reward pathways in the brain. Thanks Spirit free for the link from another thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL9i7l_7Ndw