Leaders within the alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems arena have interrogated the terms alcohol/drug/substance “abuse” and “abuser” and concluded that such language represents the stigmatizing misapplication of moral language to a medical condition, and that such language has no scientific validity. There is growing consensus to purge the “abuse” and “abuser” language at public,(……)

“All science is modeling. In all science you are abstracting from nature. The question is: is it a useful abstraction….Does it help solve a problem?” ― Michael Lewis, The PremonitionImagine realizing that you or a loved one has developed an ever-worsening alcohol or other drug (AOD) problem. Now imagine that everywhere you look to understand or(……)

Understanding oneself is incomplete when divorced from the history of one’s people. Those with lived experience of addiction and recovery share such a larger history. Over the course of centuries and across the globe, we have been:Abandoned  Arrested   Berated   Caned   Castigated   Coerced   Confronted   Condemned   Conned   Defamed  Defrocked   Divorced   Deported   Denied Probation   Denied Pardon   Denied Parenthood   Executed   Electrocuted (……)

This final blog in our five-part series concludes our exploration of the portrayal of addiction recovery within 35 American comic books and 9 graphic novels.The Role of Recovery Mutual Aid GroupsThe supportive role of recovery mutual aid groups was limited exclusively to Twelve-Step groups (Alcoholics Anonymous) within American comic books and graphic novels that contained(……)

Earlier blogs in this series have explored how a sample of 35 American comic books and 9 graphic novels portrayed drug use, the causes of addiction, and addiction-related consequences on individuals and families. The present blog explores dominant themes related to the portrayal of addiction recovery.Limited Portrayal of the Recovery ExperienceWhile addiction is a central(……)

In the first two blogs in this series, we explored the historical portrayal of drug use and addiction in American comic books and graphics novels as well as the factors related to addiction vulnerability. The present blog examines the portrayal of addiction-related effects on global health and social functioning within 35 American comic books and(……)

The complete addiction story answers many questions. Who was the addicted person prior to drug exposure? What were the motivations and circumstances of initial and continued drug use? What personal or environmental factors contributed to loss of control over drug use and its related consequences? Is there a recovery and life after recovery story?The end(……)

Representations of addiction and addiction recovery in literature, music, art, film, theatre, and comedy simultaneously reflect and shape the historical evolution of these experiences. In this first of a five-part series, we explore the portrayal of drug use and addiction in American comic books and graphic novels.Comic books in the United States began as syndicated(……)

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.—Suzanne McMinnFor more than two centuries, autobiographical accounts of addiction and recovery have portrayed the enormous struggle for self-preservation within both experiences. This struggle is sometimes characterized as an internal battle between twin sides of the self—a Dr. Jekyll(……)

In 2006, Ernie Kurtz and I collaborated on our first paper explicating multiple pathways and styles of addiction recovery. The article was later included in the first recovery management monograph and published in the International Journal of Self Help and Self Care. Included within the paper was a discussion of the variations in depth of(……)