Topic: signs and symptoms

Craving has finally been added to the symptom list. I was never entirely clear on why it wasn’t included in DSM-IV, since there’s an impressive body of research on craving measurement.

It was never really about the job, or an article in Time, or anything except his own fervent desire to keep drinking and prove everyone else wrong.

In the early and middle stages of addiction, addicts may experience mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms without recognizing them.

Ultimately, you are the only one that makes decisions about your life.

There’s a big difference between “knowing” that something is a disease, and actually treating it as one.

The drugs or alcohol have turned someone you love into a monster. How can we turn them back?

It isn’t that big a challenge; you simply add a basic questionnaire on the subject to your intake paperwork.

But to start opening those doors, someone has to be in the room — that is, they have to be identified (by themselves, preferably, but frequently by others such as the court system or family members) as possible/probable addicts.

If you notice any of these signs, it’s a good idea to make an appointment right away, talk to your group leader before/after a group session, or bring them up in your support or step group.

Many of us already have painkillers sitting on a shelf in the bathroom medicine cabinet, alongside the aspirin and the allergy meds. Sometimes they’re unused from prior medical or dental problems.