"Alisa, 42, found herself in an Emergency Room in southern California, with no recollection of how she had gotten there. Her problem started many years earlier when, bored and unsatisfied in her marriage and role as a stay-at-home mother of two school-aged children and feeling isolated from her close family in Boston, she began drinking alcohol just to "have fun" and be social. She had found some friends, mostly other moms from her children's elementary school, with whom she could go out for drinks and enjoy herself. Over time, she developed a habit of going out to run errands once her kids were settled in and doing their homework after school, and would stop into a local bar by herself to have a few drinks before going home"--
While historically a topic of great interest, controversies and general public discourse surrounding addiction have been growing rapidly, particularly in light of the rising death toll resulting from the opioid epidemic. Debates are heating up over issues of opioid prescribing practices, legalization of marijuana, the potential for substances such as marijuana to be truly "addictive," the use of medication to treat individuals with addiction, and much more. In light of the common misconception that addictive behaviors are entirely volitional, misinformation and stigma have had a deleterious impact on the public's understanding concerning the nature, causes, and treatments of substance use disorders. Despite decades of research and tens of thousands of published and peer-reviewed investigations, critics continue to ask whether addiction is a genuine medical condition or a choice.
In Addiction: What Everyone Needs to Know®, leading expert in the science and treatment of addiction Suzette Glasner aims to clear the air of some of the most polarizing and misleading information that dominates public thinking about addiction. Providing straight talk and sound guidelines for the general public as well as health professionals and policymakers, Glasner raises important questions related to addiction and answers them in an accessible yet empirically informed manner throughout the book. Offering an insightful overview of addiction from its origins, to forms of treatment and complications, this book will be the go-to resource for authoritative, up-to-date, accurate, and compelling information about this topic.
In Addiction: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Suzette Glasner aims to clear the air of some of the most polarizing and misleading information that dominates public thinking about addiction. Providing straight talk and sound guidelines for the general public as well as health professionals and policymakers, she raises important questions related to addiction and answers them in an accessible yet empirically informed manner throughout the book. Offering an insightful overview of addiction from its origins, to forms of treatment and complications, this book will be the go-to resource for authoritative, up-to-date, accurate, and compelling information about this topic.
