Joe Biden and the “Disease Model” of Addiction

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One could structure an entire graduate-level curriculum around this year’s political season. I am particularly fascinated by the different ways people arrive at various positions, form opinions, and make important decisions as 21st Century world citizens. It seems clear that a very significant percentage of Americans are not going to vote this November based on a thoughtful consideration of issues and policy differences. Frankly, this disgusts me. 90% of African Americans voting for Obama over Clinton in some areas during the primary? Clinton supporters voting for McCain in the general election? You gotta be kidding me. And that’s just the B.S. on the left. Step to the right and your other shoe will get a thick coating. The Sarah Palin nomination? Enough said.

While conservative types seem fine with faith-based policy making (as long as it’s THEIR faith), the more progressive types tend to put their faith in science. Take Joe Biden, for instance. His believes, as a Catholic, that life begins at conception. Yet he recognizes that we live in a pluralistic society, and it would be inappropriate to impose (through legislation) his faith-based view on other reasonable, ethical people with different beliefs. Yet Biden IS willing to legislate that addiction be recognized as a disease (via his “Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007). And here he has the backing of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and prominent scientists and healthcare professionals all across the country. It would be easy to arrive at the conclusion that “Science” is indeed moving toward a consensus that everything from inattention in children to depression in adults is fundamentally a matter of brain dysfunction or disease. But can “Science” be relied on here? I wouldn’t take it on faith.

Admittedly, I have a fondness for thinkers who take on the status quo. For now, I would like to highlight two of my favorites who have each recently posted interesting pieces on their respective blogs. First, check out Stanton Peele’s perspective on Joe Biden’s addiction legistation. Peele has a very unconventional yet quite reasonable perspective on addiction, one which has not been taken seriously enough, in my opinion (I have been a mental health professional for fifteen years). Then we have Ben Goldacre, who rails against the “Medicalisation of Everyday Life” and the unscrupulous use of science to support bogus conclusions.

Hillary Clinton’s Convention Speech

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I’ve long been fascinated by the process of personal change. Lately, I’ve especially been interested in how people change their minds. What better time than election season to see how the most powerful people in the world attempt to convince, dupe, or otherwise persuade their fellow Americans to think like they do — at least until the votes are counted.

Before the Democrats started duking it out for the nomination, I had my heart set on Barak Obama. On a policy level, I couldn’t see much difference between the top candidates, and I thought Obama’s inspirational rhetoric and diverse background might mobilize everyday citizens to get off the couch and actively participate in making positive change happen. I viewed Hillary Clinton as a polarizing figure that would only widen the chasm between an already divided nation. She also struck me as a shifty, do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-elected politician.

Somewhere along the line, Hillary won me over, not only because I came to realize that ALL the major candidates, including Obama, are shifty politicians, but also because Clinton repeatedly demonstrated a masterful ability to express her views, giving off an air of supreme confidence and competence. I still prefer Obama as the Democratic nominee, because I think he has a better chance to heal major divisions in this country and because lengthening the Bush-Clinton dynastic chain hurts our credibility as a shining example of democracy. As she showed last night, however, Hillary is an impressive speaker who can energize and mobilize voters. Which leaves me scratching my head as to why Obama did not choose her as his running mate. Hmmm…

I agree with Rudy Giuliani’s comments that choosing Hillary was a “no-brainer.” The atmosphere of enthusiasm and raw energy that defined Obama’s bid for the democratic nomination is fading fast, and bringing Hillary aboard would undoubtedly have re-energized his campaign and rallied millions of voters. I suppose one could make the argument that Joe Biden makes more sense from an “electoral map” or “undecided voter” perspective, but that’s assuming Hillary supporters will vote Obama whether or not she’s on the ticket. I just think the energy and enthusiasm factor was too much to sacrifice. So why did Obama pass Clinton over? Perhaps she didn’t want the job. Maybe they really don’t like each other. Who knows?

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign will continue to try to persuade us with the “experience” argument. Weak. After all, who’s got more experience on a presidential level than George W. Bush? Eight long years. He’s BEEN commander-in-chief. He’s met with all the world leaders. And if he could run again, I have no doubt he’d be neck-and-neck with Obama in the polls, just like McCain is. Because people’s voting habits have little to do with a preference for “experience.” People prefer the status quo because they fear change. And that’s how Karl Rove and Company play their game, by playing on Americans’ fears.

I think the energy and optimism of an Obama/Clinton ticket would’ve overcome that fear. It remains to be seen what Joe Biden can do, and whether or not Obama can re-energize Democrats and convince the fearful undecideds to give him a chance.

Fear and loathing…

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Maybe it’s because I have a heavy heart, being apart from my wife for so long. Or else it could be the stress involved in this life transition: Moving, searching for work, financial insecurity, etc. But that’s not what I fear. I fear that I’m just past my peak, washed-up, burned-out. Getting older has a lot to do with the growing sense of dis-ease. I’m noticing changes on a daily basis, it seems. Hair thinning, gut growing, moles popping up everywhere. Is that a hair growing out of my ear? For the love of Christ.

Last night I watched “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” For the record, I thought it was terrible. “Pointless” is the word that jumps to mind. I put it in my Netflix queue because the new Hunter S. Thompson documentary is not available yet, and despite not really being a huge Thompson fan, I find myself drawn to his story. I enjoyed the book “Fear and Loathing,” and I like the whole “Gonzo” vibe in general. The guy had fire and could write, and I say I’m not a huge fan simply because I haven’t yet read much of his work. The movie, however, just seemed to be, well, pointless. It was like: “This is how a psychedelic trip can be portrayed on film.” And not much else. But I continue to be drawn to Thompson’s life story: the gonzo, all-out approach to experience and art, and the seemingly inevitable downfall, in his case ending with a self-inflicted gunshot blast to the head.

Disillusionment. This word has weight for me right now. I’m at a point in my life where I can look back and see how certain life experiments are panning out. And the data is not always inspiring. Did I think I could somehow avoid the inevitable slings and arrows? What DID I expect anyway?

I’m certainly not ready to give up the ghost just yet. I’m just sinking down a bit into the mire, and I don’t like it. All this struggling, this grasping for a way out. Out of what? Where do I think I’m going?

To pee or not to pee…

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It took me a few seconds, but now I’m grasping the concept: I’m emailing myself. In one sense, it’s not that strange. It’s a way of journaling while I’m at work, without having to save files on my work computer. On the other hand, it just epitomizes the sense of being imprisoned–in my own skull, my own little cubicle, my own world–that has been setting in as I wind up week number two on the job. It’s difficult for me to imagine working here beyond my two month temp assignment. The whole “office culture” thing is just bizarre in many ways, which makes it such fertile ground for sitcom writers I suppose. Don’t get me wrong, though. This is no “holier than thou” put down aimed at the people around me. There are some bright and bubbly people bouncing around the place, making the rest of us look like sleepwalking clock-jockeys. I’m just saying that strange internal worlds have come into being during my short time here, and I can only assume I am not alone, that from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, suspended above countless cubicles like Dilbert dialogue boxes, there exist these strange, idiosyncratic psychological universes, any one of which would make the Twilight Zone seem ho-hum by comparison.

My own private world revolves around the bathroom, or more accurately, the three or four bathrooms nearest to the office. I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t want to hear about this guy’s bathroom habits.” Bullshit. Then why are you still reading? At worst, it’ll just make your own life seem a little less insane. Anyway, not only do I guzzle water all day long, but I typically “drop anchor” three to five times a day, like clockwork. I like to be as comfortable as possible during these little breaks, and for me this means having some privacy, which of course is not a guarantee in a public restroom. If I walk in and see shoes in the stall–any stall–I just turn around and head to another bathroom. Unless, of course, a co-worker standing at the urinal or on his way out spots me, in which case I’ll pretend I was just stopping in to wash my hands. This happens at least once a day. Some days I’ll have rotten “bathroom luck” all day long, other days the stars are aligned in my favor. The worst is when the cat’s already out the bag (so to speak) and someone who doesn’t share my need for privacy comes in and plops his ass right down next to me. Now, if I’ve just sat down, or I’m still prepping the seat with a double layer of TP, I will not hesitate to abandon ship and head to another bathroom. Nothing says “You gotta be kidding me” like listening to another man grunting and whistling Dixie out his ass for ten minutes. I’ll pass. But sometimes there’s no choice, which means I’ll either hurry things along or else wait the other guy out, depending on the circumstances. After lunch today–after having already gone in and out of two over-crowded bathrooms, I was just getting settled in when three–count ’em three–dudes came bursting through the door, one camping out next door with a newspaper and letting loose a stench that could make birds drop from the sky.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a neurotic freak when it comes to such things. I’m also cursed with a “shy bladder,” and so I don’t particularly enjoy the urinal scene much either. I know I’m not alone in this though, because I’ve “heard” many a man come up empty after standing awkwardly beside me for way too long, waiting for the stream to burst forth but finding no relief, only the shame of having to zip up and walk away with his hope for humanity fizzling if not extinguished entirely.

When it comes to number one, I’m a stall guy–call me crazy. I mean, what the hell, I spent the first eighteen years of my life getting used to going into a bowl in total privacy, then all of a sudden I’m in a college dorm standing in front of some trough hanging from the wall, making small talk with a Jewish kid from Long Island, trying not to notice his kosher kielbasa in the periphery of my vision. Like Ernie and his rubber duckie, bathroom time for me was always a time to relax and experience the joys of bodily release. In any event, it’s not a social activity. Which reminds me of another formative freshman dorm experience. I was finishing up a numero dos in one of the stalls when I notice this very tall kid (a six foot six basketball player we called “Stick”) looking down at me from the next stall. As if he were asking me the time he says, “You wipe standing up? I’ve never heard of such of thing.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so. Why? Do you do it sitting down?”

“Of course, man. I mean, you’re already sitting down, and your butt cheeks are nice and spread out that way, so why get up?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess that makes sense man. I really never thought about it before.”

From that day forward I wiped sitting down. An eighteen year daily habit was transformed just like that. There’s a lesson there, but I’m still trying to figure out what it is.

One thing I know for sure is that there’s something about public restrooms that invites otherwise respectable citizens to act like disgusting freaks. I mean, the building in which I work is populated by professional types exclusively. We’re talking guys with PhDs. Graduate students. Well-dressed executives. Yet at least one of these guys thinks it’s okay to piss on the seat once in while. And the wall. And the toilet paper dispenser. For Christ’s sake, what are these people thinking? And which one of these Soccer Dads leaves us these racist screeds and homoerotic cave drawings? I would love to know. Or would I?

With that, I think I understand your earlier hesitancy about exploring this territory together. Maybe our private worlds are better off left to ourselves. Maybe making such things public is taboo for a reason. Sometimes when we tug on that thread we end up with an unsightly hole or, worse yet, the whole bloody works comes apart at the seams. I’ll have to think about it some more. In fact, I think I hear nature calling again, and with a little luck I’ll have some quiet time to contemplate. I think I’ll try the bathroom up on the third floor. I’m pretty sure most folks in that office go home by 4:30.

King corn

Watching tonight’s new episode of Celebrity Rehab was, admittedly, a complete waste of time (I knew Daniel Baldwin was full of shit!). Same goes for ninety-nine percent of all my television viewing. I’m left with a vague sense, a twinge in the gut that says, “Diminishment.” But then there’s TED.

TED started out as an annual conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design) gathering together cutting edge thinkers, activists, and visionaries. Now, these fascinating talks are available to the public, via the TED website and Blog.

The latest TED Talk is by author/gardener Michael Pollan, who has an interesting take on the power of perspective. I dig it. All the political rhetoric I’ve been hearing lately, propping up us Americans as if we were the pinnacle of creation, the center of the fucking universe. If Pollan is right, maybe corn is really king…

Celebrity Rehab

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Okay, so I couldn’t resist. I don’t have cable TV in my own home, but since I’ve been staying at my parents’ house (recovering from knee surgery) I’ve succumbed to the power of the remote. Last night I sat in front of the tube for three hours straight, first to watch the Democratic debate and then to check out the latest episode of Celebrity Rehab.

Now, for those who don’t know, I spent the last three years of my professional life working at an adolescent substance abuse recovery center, so I could pull a Pete Townshend and claim my watching the show is strictly “research.” The truth is, though, I cannot look away.

At first I was disgusted by the entire premise of the show. Especially disturbing were the scenes of an obviously mentally ill Jeff Conaway weeping and threatening suicide. It quickly dawned on me though, as I continued to watch on, that what I was seeing on the show almost exactly mirrored what I saw day in and day out on the job. I’m telling you, it’s positively uncanny. Everything is right out of the Adolescent Chemical Dependency Unit playbook — from the patients trying to hook up with each other, the sneakiness and rule breaking (secret cell phone conversations), the “these rules are stupid” attitude, the constant threats to leave treatment, the mind-boggling contradictory statements, the rationalizing of any and every behavior, the horror stories of abuse, the emotional immaturity, the group dynamics, the crazy visitors and dysfunctional relationships.

The main difference, other than the cameras and microphones, is that the majority of the kids I worked with were court-ordered and had zero motivation for change. The similarities are striking though, and how it is that rural Kentucky teenagers can be so much like washed-up semi-celebrities, I just don’t know. The obvious answer is: “They’re all addicts.” But I don’t think I’m buying that.

In fact, the more I think about it, the less sure I am about what “addiction” really is. Frankly, the party line towed by many addiction professionals — that addiction is a treatable, medical disease, based in the brain — seems to me to be a deeply confused misreading of the available data. I’m in the process of exploring some alternative approaches, which I’ll discuss in more detail some other time. For now, you can check out my Integral Recovery page, which is part of my new Integral Psychology Portal (an ongoing project to both clarify and share my evolving perspective on life and whatnot).

The Next American President

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I once joked that Americans may just as well elect the next president via a reality TV show: “The Next American President.”

Not only do I believe a president COULD be elected this way, I’m starting to think it’s ACTUALLY happening. Instead of Simon, Paula and Randy we have Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly.

All they need to do now is share the voting results in a suspenseful way, like Ryan Seacrest does:

Barack [gasp] …You are safe [deep exhale]. You can have a seat. That means Hillary and John, you are in the bottom two. One of you will go home tonight. We’ll find out who, after a word from our sponsor.

[Returning] John, you sang “Working man’s blues.”
Wolf thought you were a bit too white, but he liked the way you stayed positive.
Keith thought your hygiene was immaculate, but he said your delivery was ‘Ho hum.’
Bill liked your energy, but thought you should’ve lost the southern accent.

Hillary, you sang “Black Magic Woman.”
Wolf thought it was your best performance yet.
Keith thought your voice was strong, but that your dance moves could use a little work.
Bill just snarled and called you a “Liberal Fascist.”

America has voted. Hillary, you are…

SAFE! Congratulations, you will be moving on to the finals.

John, I’m sorry, that means you will not be The Next American President.
We’ll miss you around here, big guy.

[Roll video montage]

John, how ’bout taking us out with one more stump speech.
America, let’s give it up one last time for John Edwards!”