Addicted to Addiction
“Currently, we are concerned about young people using the Internet, eating too much, spending irresponsibly, and being promiscuous, and these worries are being expressed in the language of addiction. The medical terminology helps us to believe we’re avoiding moralization or blame, and popular science has given us a sound bite of pseudo-neurology to support our...
The Best Worst
This is a danger in all group therapy of being the “best worst”. If you can’t be the best, best you can always be the “best worst”. Anyone who has been inpatient knows what I'm talking about. There are some patients that want to make sure you know that their eating disorder is the...
The Dr. Drew Response
Lately, I’ve been reading Dr. Drew’s latest book, “The Mirror Effect.” It addresses celebrity narcissism and the extreme behavior that goes along with it. Dr. Drew does a great job at highlighting what has become typical tabloid material – multiple stints in rehab, sex tapes, drug use, eating disorders, etc. – and explaining the self-destructive...
Nothing more than ordinary
It feels a little cliche quoting Grey’s Anatomy on Grey Thinking, but there are so many good quotes…. and I’ve been re-watching the series from the beginning (hey, why not?), and it’s funny how some things stand out to you when watching for the second time. You’re happy? You’re happy now? The Meredith I knew...
A Treatment Refresher
While I do have several new posts on the way, I want to highlight a couple of older Grey Thinking posts (some are several years old! I bet you were not reading GT two years ago) that talk specifically about treatment, your attitude toward treatment, recovery expectations, etc. While there are a couple of people...
You say that like it's a bad thing
Chase: How would you feel if I interfered in your personal life? House: I’d hate it. That’s why I cleverly have no personal life. If you replace “personal life” with “personal issues,” I could have written those lines (although much less eloquently and using three times as many words). It’s much harder to be hurt...
It's not about what you are doing
Since I have a serious Dr. Drew Pinsky addiction (irony intended), I was really sad when his podcast was cancelled. Thankfully, Celebrity Rehab 2 and Sober House came out shortly after the podcast ended, so I was able to watch those repeatedly for awhile. When VH1 stopped running CR2, I read his books. Now, having...
That's not actually a deep question
“I’m not deflecting because I’m avoiding something deep. I’m deflecting because I’m avoiding something shallow.” – House, MD One of my biggest treatment pet peeves is when professionals ask non-deep “deep” questions. For example: What does it mean to feel? How did it feel to be in that space? How does it feel to be...
Testing your therapist
Last night I watched all of the “In Treatment” Sophie episodes. I am just engrossed in this show. I feel so connected to the patients and to Paul. I think that they discuss such intimate details that I feel like I am part of some deep relationship. I can relate to a lot of what...
Caring makes you vulnerable
If you haven’t seen “In Treatment,” you definitely need to look it up. It’s on HBO, so I would have never known it existed were it not for a good friend of mine. Thank goodness she brought it to my attention, because I am so captivated by it. While it can seem a little slow...
In tune with each other
I’ve been reading Dr. Drew’s book, “Cracked: Life on the Edge in a Rehab Clinic.” There are a million things that I could talk about concerning this book, so don’t be surprised if it’s referenced several times in future posts. Tonight, the following quote really caught my attention: “Most believe [addicts] connect around a common...
Anti-ED Coach
I’d never heard of a “Sober Coach” until watching VH1′s “Sober House.” In the last episode (I think), Will, who is Seth’s Sober Coach, accompanies him to his first concert and make sure that nothing happens to jeopardize his sobriety. While watching this I thought, “Well that’s convenient — I could use someone protecting me...
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