How to Understand Addiction

Transcript My name is Dr. Paul Hokemeyer. I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist and an addictions therapist with the Caron Treatment Centers in New York City. In addition to having an undergraduate degree in economics, I have a doctorate in the law and a masters degree in clinical psychology, with a focus on family …

Transcript The best way to find addiction counseling or an addiction center is to ask your friends and family, people who have experienced recovery in their lives before. That’s the best place to start. I’m a therapist at an organization called Caron Treatment Centers, which can be found at www.caron.org, and on the website there’s …

Transcript The most common treatment at a drug rehab center is based upon the 12 step model where people have to admit that they have a problem with their addiction and then develop a set of tools to deal with the addictions. So, treatment facilities typically approach recovery from this 12 step model. It’s important …

Transcript The first point I want to make here is that you can’t cure addiction, that it’s something you manage over the course of a lifetime. It’s also important to note that addictions cause people to isolate. They’re surrounded in secrecy and shame so people’s lives get smaller and smaller and smaller. So the nature …

Transcript In my practice at the care and treatment centers in New York City, I have a lot of people coming to me who were prescribed pain medicine by their doctor and they subsequently became addicted to it. What that means is they developed tolerance to it that required them to take more and more …

Transcript The first point that I want to make is that there is no cure for addiction. It’s a condition we need to manage over the course of our lives. In terms of residential treatment, there are some other options that a person can try before they go into residential treatment such as twelve-step programs …

Transcript As an addictions therapist with current treatment centers in New York city we’ve moved away from looking at the addictive nature of substances and we now look at the addictive personality types that people who suffer from addiction share. So we know that people maybe become addicted to one particular thing. Say they develop …

Transcript For most people, the thought of going into treatment is terrifying, it seems like it’s overwhelming and it seems as thought you’re going to lose control of your life. The opposite of that happens. What happens in treatment is that basically a person will go in to what’s called detox or they will have …

Transcript Overcoming a gambling addiction requires the person to admit that they have a problem with gambling. This is incredibly difficult for people who suffer from all addictions. Addictions are shrouded in these two elements. This one being this denial where people deny that they have a problem. And this rationalization that tells them that …

Transcript There are a number of addiction therapy treatments. The most effective one though involves 12 step programs, where people tack into a community of other people, who are also in recovery. It provides them with a community of other people. It enables them to find a common solution. It enables them to share their …

Transcript Crack is terribly addictive, but it’s also an addiction that can be overcome. The way to overcome a crack addiction is first to admit that you have a problem. That’s very difficult for people who are addicted, because there are these elements of denial, that you don’t want to admit that you have a …

Transcript As an addictions therapist at the care and treatment centers as I primarily treat people who have drug and alcohol addictions. And what I see a lot happening with people who suffer from those addictions is that they have what we call co-occurring addictions, which are other addictions, say to food or to sex …

Transcript Food addictions are very serious disorders and they are disorders that people will experience an enormous amount of recovery from in their lives. What’s important is to identify the trigger foods for you. To identify the types of foods you have a craving for and a compulsion for. Some people are, have a compulsion …

Transcript So the key sign of a gambling addiction is the incapacity to stop once you’ve started. Gambling starts to consume an enormous amount of your thoughts and you have negative consequences in your life as a result of your gambling. There’s also this sense of shame, isolation, and secrecy. So you’re hiding the amount …

Transcript Crack has become a huge problem in our country. The availability of crack is profound. What happened was that cocaine became available in a much less expensive form so people began using crack cocaine in record numbers. What we look for in looking for a crack addiction is a change in the person’s physical …

Transcript Typically when we think of infidelity, we think in terms of physical infidelity where one person actually has sex with another person. There’s something else that’s called emotional infidelity, where somebody doesn’t necessarily have sex with another person, but they engage in this very intimate emotional relationship with that person. What causes it is …

Transcript Sexual anorexia is a condition where people deny themselves sex so they establish very rigid boundaries around sex so they will not talk about anything sexual, they refuse to have any sexual connection with another person. There is an incredible amount of anxiety around sex and the way that they manage that anxiety around …

Transcript Infidelity is a phenomenon that’s very real, and has a very destructive effect on relationships. The key with infidelity is, in physical infidelity, there’s a breach of an agreement of monogamy between partners. So the parties agreed that they would remain physically faithful for one another, and not have sex outside the relationship.In physical …

Transcript One of the most important things to remember about any addiction is its self-destructive nature. People who suffer from a sexual addiction are self-destructive. That means that they’re putting themselves in harm’s way. They are acting on their impulses and their impulses are controlling their decisions, so that means they are making decisions that …

Transcript Sexual addiction is something that we’re developing an increased awareness of in this country. Although we don’t treat it directly at the care and treatment centers, there are certain behavioral aspects of sexuality which can become compulsive and can become and addiction. Masturbation is one of those. A person engages in a cycle so …

Transcript Sex is important to all of us and we all have a biological urge to have sex. What becomes a problem is when it starts to interfere with the quality of your life and you have negative consequences around it. Although we don’t treat sexual addiction at the Care & Treatment Centers, we do …

Transcript Pornography plays a central role in the treatment of addictions. Although we do not treat sexual compulsivity or sexual addictions at the Caron Treatment Center, I’ve worked with a number of families and partners of people who are addicted to, in particular, internet porn. Internet porn has become a huge problem with people who …

Transcript Somebody can definitely be addicted to love and there are a a lot of people that are. At the Caron Treatment Centers we treat people who suffer from a love addiction or what used to be called co-dependency. We treat it at a program called Breakthrough, which is at our Warnersville, Pennsylvania facility. The …

Transcript Sexual addiction is a very real phenomenon. We all tend to snicker about it and think that it’s funny or cute but people do suffer profoundly from sexual addiction. Although we don’t treat it directly at the Carol Treatment Center, there are people who have enormous expertise in this area. What they focus on …

Transcript Opiates belong to a class of drugs that cause pain to go away, but they also give us a sense of euphoria. So people become addicted to the drugs, not only psychologically because of the euphoria, but they also develop a physical addiction to the drug. So it’s very important for people who are …

Transcript People can be addicted to money. People can be addicted to just about anything that gives them a sense of euphoria in that it gets control of their life. So money is an energetic. Money has this capacity to do an enormous amount of good in the world, but it also has this power …

Transcript Opium addiction is just like it sounds, somebody becomes addicted to opiates. Opiates are a class of drugs that are typically prescribed for pain relief. What happens with them is that there is a euphoric effect that people get from taking them and they get addicted to that. They get addicted to the euphoria …

Transcript So people come to me and they say, do you think that all drugs are bad and do you think that drugs should just be eliminated from the planet? Absolutely not. Drugs serve a very valid purpose in our life if they are medically prescribed, and if they are taken as prescribed. What happens …

Transcript Kleptomania is this irresistible urge to steal something of insignificant value. So they’re not stealing for the value of the thing that they’re taking, they’re stealing for the high that they get, the adrenaline rush that they get from taking the risk. It becomes addictive when people put themselves in harm’s way. So for …

Transcript We know that we have a profound problem with our teenagers using drugs in this country. We also know that parents play a key role in identifying and helping kids recover from addiction. It’s important for parents to know who their kids are hanging out with and who their kids friends are. It’s important …

Transcript Should you allow your underage kid to drink at home? The short answer to this question is no. The long answer to this question is no, for the following reasons. First of all, we know that the teenage brain is a developing brain and that it’s developing its capacity to move away from impulses …

Transcript People who suffer from eating disorders we know are obsessively consumed with calories, calorie intakes, with body image, and how they’re consuming food impacts their body and how they look in the world. So what we’re looking for is a rigidity around food. We’re looking to a stridency around food. So we’re looking for …

Transcript You should not smoke pot with your kids. You wanting to smoke pot with your kids is basically a way of you justifying your pot use. But it’s important for you not to do that because you don’t want to teach your kids bad habits, but you also don’t want to interfere with the …

Transcript The question is, is there such a thing is TV addiction and the answer is you can become addicted to just about anything. TV addiction falls into the class of addictions called behavior addictions. So we’re not addicted to a substance, like a drug or alcohol, but we’re addicted to a process, we’re addicted …

Transcript The word sexting is a combination of two words, the first being sex and the second being text. So basically what somebody’s doing is they’re sending a sexually explicit message through their mobile phone. You know this can be in the form of words or, in its most damaging effect, it can be in …

Transcript Well the very first thing I tell parents who come to see me as an addictions therapist at the Caron Treatment Center in New York City is to trust your instincts. If you intuitively feel that your kids are using drugs, you need to act on that. And you need to look at other …

Transcript Many people come to me saying that they have spent an enormous amount of time watching TV. They even say to me, I’m addicted to television. Typically it comes in the form of a particular show. I’m addicted to this show, or I’m addicted to that show. What I find in talking to them …

Transcript Well, if you’re a parent who’s concerned about your son’s or your daughter’s Internet use you’re not alone. Almost every parent who I work with at the Care and Treatment Centers in New York City is concerned about his or her son’s or daughter’s Internet use. It’s a problem in their life when it …

Transcript So the thought of having a chocolate addiction I’m sure is appealing to many of you. All of us love chocolate, right? I mean it tastes great. It makes us feel good. But the question becomes, can we develop an addiction to chocolate? The answer is yes. A chocolate addiction falls into the category …

Transcript Oxycontin is a painkiller. It’s a drug. It falls into the class of opiates, which are drugs that people use to manage pain in their lives. What it does is it prevents the brain from receiving pain signals from the body. People become very addicted to it because in addition to stopping pain it …

Transcript Oxycontin is a medically prescribed painkiller. It falls into the category of an opiate which is used to control pain in peoples lives. People get addicted to it because in addition to stopping pain, it also creates this incredible sense of euphoria. One of the things that’s really important to be aware of. if …

Transcript So when we’re talking about a chocolate addiction what we’re really talking about, is a person who suffers from distorted eating. Meaning that when they start, they can’t stop. Meaning that when they consume a whole lot of chocolate, they have a lot of guilt and shame about it, or they hide their use. …

Transcript There are a number of ways to know, whether or not you have an internet addiction. The first one is to keep track of your use and see if you’re spending an enormous amount of time doing it. The second way is to see whether or not it’s isolating you from your family and …

Transcript The way I address breaking a video game addiction is that I approach it like I approach other behavioral addictions. Behavioral addictions are different than substance abuse addictions because in substance abuse addictions, you can abstain from using the drug or taking in the alcohol. Behavioral addictions are different. So what we need to …

Transcript So we live in a world that’s we’re, where we’re incredibly wired. The thought of not being connected to the internet is nearly an impossibility right? We need the internet to go to school, we need the internet to work, we need the internet to connect to our friends. So, approaching an internet addiction …

Transcript People can and do become addicted to video games. Video games fall into what’s called behavioral addiction. So you’re not necessarily addicted to a substance, like a drug or alcohol, but you’re addicted to the process. So people get involved in these video games, and they lose track of time, they lose contact with …

Transcript So the first point that I want to make here is what bath salts are. Bath salts are not something that people put in their baths to relax them, they’re chemicals people put in their bodies to make them high. The high that they experience from this is similar to amphetamines. It gives them …

Transcript Facebook is a profound phenomenon in our country. We know that over half of Americans have Facebook accounts. We also know that people are having problems in their lives as a result of them. Facebook addiction comes into play when a person is spending an enormous amount of time on their Facebook account. When …

Transcript My work as an Addictions Therapist at the Caron Treatment Centers in New York City involves seeing people who have had profoundly negative consequences in their lives as a result of taking drugs. Sometimes they think that just because a drug is natural, because it grows in nature that it’s safe. That’s absolutely not …

Transcript So we used to talk about the fact that marijuana was a gateway drug. The point that I really need to make here is that marijuana is a drug and it’s a drug that people can and do get addicted to. In my role as a therapist at the Caron Treatment Center, in New …

Transcript The most common question that I get as an addictions therapist with the Caron Treatment Centers, in New York City is can I get addicted to my prescription drugs, and the answer is an unqualified, yes. I see more and more people every year coming in with addictions to prescription drugs. They start taking …

Transcript There’s this phenomenon that we’ve been hearing a lot about called vodka soaked tampons, which is basically that. People take tampons, and they soak them in vodka, and then they insert them either in their vagina or their rectum. It sounds a little crazy, I know. But basically, people are doing this because they …

Transcript We’ve recently seen that a lot of people are beginning to pay more attention to huffing. There’s always something in the news about huffing. Recently, we see nitrous oxide and whip-its, where people are inhaling these. Essentially, it’s a chemical, and what it does is it has a very short-term effect. It produces a …

Transcript The two key telltale signs of addiction or drug abuse are physical and emotional. So physically, you’d notice that there are profound changes in the person. Changes in the way that they dress. Changes in the way that they take care of themselves. Physical changes, there could be changes in their body weight. They …

Transcript So we know that alcoholism is a very isolating disease in people. It has a negative impact in relationships in people’s lives so it’s critically important when a person goes into a recovery that they begin to establish quality relationships with other people in their life. you’re also on recovery. This is why a …

Transcript In my experience in this field for nearly 20 years I’ve found that without a doubt the most successful way to treat alcoholism is through a 12 step program. 12 steps give the person structure in their life, and enable them to connect with something bigger than themselves that can help them deal with …

Transcript From my experience as an addictions therapist with the Caron Treatment enters in New York City, the drugs that I see abused the most are prescription drugs. That people are either taking these drugs not as they are prescribed, or they’re taking drugs that should be prescribed to them or not. So for instance, …

Transcript The key difference between alcohol dependence and alcoholism is this concept of consequences. So, in alcohol dependence the person has negative consequences in their life. In their personal life, in their relationships. So, we really wanna focus on the consequences that this alcohol use is having. Alcoholism on the other hand is defined by …

Transcript The key sign of knowing whether or not you are having a problem with alcohol, whether you are engaging in alcohol abuse or become an alcoholic is your incapacity to put a boundary around your use. So in other words you say that you are only going to have one drink and you end …

Transcript So the most common question that I get from people who are dealing with an addiction is, “Do you think I’m an addict?” And my response is, only you know whether you’re an addict because you are the person who’s going to have to do the work and take the actions that you are …

Transcript The risk factors involved with addiction really affect the nature of the disease. So we know that addiction is a biological, psychological, and a social disease. From a biological standpoint the risks involved whether or not addiction runs in your family. So if you have addiction in your family tree, in the line of …

Transcript The telltale signs of addictions really fall into two categories. The first are the physical ways that the disease manifests itself. So people will either gain a lot of weight or they’ll lose a lot of weight. They’ll look disheveled. They will have changes in their appearances which are not normal. And then, there’s …

Transcript Typically, when we think of treatment, we think of 28 days. That’s the model that has been around for a long time. We know, though, that there’s a lot of good data that shows that 28 days is just the beginning, that it gives a person just the basic baseline in recovery. It’s critically …

Transcript The family should definitely be involved in treatment. Listen, we know that the family was very involved in the disease, that they were profoundly impacted by the disease of addiction. So they need to be involved in the treatment. We know that addictions do not occur in isolation. And that they impact families in …