Throughout the world, there is discord around the theories of addiction. Many believe it to be a disease or a chip in one’s DNA that leaves them predisposed to its throes. This idea seems to claim the popular vote—at least, it has in this writer’s experience. Having lost my father to alcoholism, I’ve fielded countless…

ASK A THERAPIST Q Over the course of the pandemic, I developed some new problems with substance abuse that I didn’t have before. It started as a way to cope. But it went too far. I’m working on getting sober, and I’m doing well. How do I make sure it lasts? —Isabel M. A First,…

This is a story of addiction, decline, recovery and family. It is also the very embodiment of empathy. In Lost in Ghost Town, Dr. Carder Stout recounts a middle-class upbringing and a childhood of privilege, at least from outside appearances. Underneath was a family history of alcoholism and crime that shape Stout’s destiny – or…

  This Question came from a woman named Beatrice who was concerned that her dreams were ordinary. She said that she dreamt about friends, people she knew and places she had visited. She also expressed her belief that there should not be a template in regards to the various themes in dreams. Here is my…