If I went to my doctor with a set of symptoms, no one would question the fact that I was sick. No one would impose a moral judgment on me for having those symptoms, and I wouldn't be viewed as a law breaker for being ill. But many people reject the idea of addiction as a disease and view the chemically dependent person as a social deviant. Join discussion...

Everyone accepts the legitimacy of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Diabetics and people with heart disease look and act the same as non-sufferers of those conditions. We don't blame diabetics for their illness or find fault with people who have heart disease. But, yet, we do with addicts. Read more about the Disease Model of Addiction, where you will learn that addiction is not a character defect, but, instead, is a disease that can be treated. Join discussion...

Stephen has been clean and sober for seven months. This is a miracle because it's the longest period of abstinence that Stephen has ever put together. Everybody is happy with him. His boss pats him on the back regularly, and his wife has stopped nagging him. His kids want him to play catch and take them to the park. Stephen's parents are ecstatic and consider him the "poster child" for recovery from drug addiction. But there's a fly in the ointment: Stephen feels miserable. He's depressed all the time and can't seem to find enjoyment in anything he does. His family irritates him. Even simple tasks overwhelm him, and he can't remember things from one day to the next. He puts on a "happy faade" with his family and friends, but inside he is dying. Stephen feels condemned to a life sentence of being half the person he was before he started using drugs. Stephen is experiencing Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. Join discussion...

As the elderly population continues to grow and baby boomers move into their senior years, the number of older adults who abuse drugs, from pain pills to marijuana and cocaine, is increasing. It may surprise you to know that over seventy percent of older adult hospital admissions are in some way related to alcohol or medication problems. The dilemma of alcohol and medication dependence among older adults, an often misunderstood, denied and misdiagnosed problem, is growing rapidly with the aging population. Join discussion...