Addiction

Return From the Overeaters Anonymous Wilderness

April 11, 2013 Addiction

Last summer I wrote a post about being lost in the Overeaters Anonymous wilderness, filled with discontent and a fair amount of self-righteousness. I have no regrets. We all need to step back from time to time and reevaluate pieces of our lives. Now that I’ve done that, I’ve decided to return from the wilderness. Mood [...]

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The Day Kurt Cobain Died

April 4, 2013 Addiction

Tomorrow is the 19th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. I wrote this for last year’s sad anniversary. I remember exactly where I was 18 years ago today, when I saw the news flash about Kurt Cobain’s suicide. I was lying in bed, depressed and reclusive because of frequent fear. Mood music:  I was living in Lynnfield, [...]

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Layne Staley, 11 Years Later

April 4, 2013 Addiction

“What’s my drug of choice? Well, what have you got?” –Layne Staley, Alice in Chains This week marks 11 years since Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley was found dead. Mood music: Like Kurt Cobain, Staley had a big impact on me in the early 1990s. But while I identified with Cobain’s depression, I identified [...]

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Mindy McCready and the ‘Celebrity Rehab’ Curse

February 19, 2013 Addiction

CNN doesn’t say so directly, but in its follow-up coverage of country singer Mindy McCready’s death, it suggests that those who appear on Celebrity Rehab are cursed. Mood music:  JunkheadAlice In ChainsDirt The report notes that McCready is the fifth Celebrity Rehab alum to die in the last two years. She follows former Alice In Chains [...]

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The Shame a Binge Eater Feels

January 7, 2013 Addiction

As a recovering binge eater, I don’t necessarily see my own habits reflected in a recently released University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study about the weird concoctions food addicts ingest. But I relate to the emotions study participants describes all too well. Mood music:  Cold SweatThin LizzyThunder And Lightning The study says food concocting — making strange [...]

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Hostess Was My Main Dope Supplier

November 16, 2012 Addiction

A lot of people are sad this morning because Hostess, maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business after striking workers failed to heed a Thursday deadline to return to work. That’s the company’s official line, anyway. Mood music:  Heart FailureSixx:A.M.The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack Me? I feel badly that 18,500 workers are [...]

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Time for Tea

November 6, 2012 Addiction

This is going to shock a lot of you, given the steady flow of coffee you’ve watched me drink day after day, but try to stay calm. I’m drinking tea, and lots of it. Mood music:  TeaKing DiamondThem This change wasn’t planned. No doctor told me to do it or risk a heart attack. And [...]

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Reefer Madness: Vote Yes on Question 3

September 20, 2012 Addiction

When Massachusetts residents go to the polls this November 6, they’ll have the opportunity to vote on the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative, also known as Question 3. If voters approve the initiative, medical marijuana will be decriminalized in my home state. I’m in favor of this for a variety of reasons. Mood music:  White Punks On DopeMötley [...]

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Lost in the Overeaters Anonymous Wilderness

August 22, 2012 Addiction

I’ve explained how food is my addiction — an uncool addiction at that. I’ve written about how Overeaters Anonymous (OA) was my salvation from that addiction. And I’ve told you I’ve been living the 12 Steps of Recovery. Now it’s time to tell you about my summer of going astray, and how I don’t completely regret [...]

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Screw You, Las Vegas — And Thanks To Good Friends

July 30, 2012 Addiction

The author travels to Las Vegas on business, his addictive personality is put to the test and some good friends carry him through it mostly unscathed. Mood music:  Given To Fly – Mexico City 12/10/05Pearl JamPearl Jam Live As locations go, Las Vegas is the absolute worst for a guy like me. I have a [...]

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