Addiction
Quotes - We don't have a mobile phone. The mobile phone has us
“Why
do large observational studies such as that of Fiorentine and Moos seem to
suggest that AA is effective, while smaller controlled studies like those of
the Brandsma, Walsh, and others included in the Cochrane Review do not? The
likely explanation is simple: people stay in AA if they’re getting better and
leave if they aren’t. This is understandable. If you are able to stop drinking,
then continuing to attend AA is a comfortable and affirming choice. If you
struggle with drinking and can’t make use of the AA approach, then you are less
likely to keep attending. Over the long term, the people who remain in AA are,
by definition, the success stories. But they represent a very small slice of
the people who start there; as we will see shortly, the dropout rate from AA is
extremely high. These facts—that AA works for the diehards and fails for the
dropouts—are perennially misunderstood by the press and even by some
researchers. Proponents of the program proudly point to the fact that people
who stay in AA tend to be sober, ignoring the tautological nature of this claim.
Reviewing this logic, Harvard biostatistics professor Richard Gelber said, “The
main problem is the self-fulfilling prophesy: the longer people stick with AA
the better they are, hence AA must be working. It is like saying the longer you
live, the older you will be when you die.” As we will soon see, this
fundamental error in logic undergirds nearly every claim of AA’s efficacy.”
―
Lance Dodes, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs
and the Rehab Industry
“In
2008, J. McKellar (writing as lead author, with Ilgen, Moos, and Moos as
coauthors) concluded that “clinicians should focus on keeping patients engaged
in AA.” This recommendation is even more dogmatic than Moos and Moos suggested
in their original paper. In fact, this paper itself notes that pressuring
people to attend AA is usually unhelpful: “a significant number of substance
abuse patients never attend self-help groups after discharge,” that is, when no
longer mandated to attend.”
―
Lance Dodes, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs
and the Rehab Industry
“On
Darkest Paths by Stewart Stafford
Temporal
loop on a ravenous street,
A
vampire denied a ticking heartbeat,
Restless
spirit of night's prettified edge,
Bound
acolyte of the infinite pledge.
Human
life, another planet’s memory,
This
skittish flock, a prized delicacy,
Blood
frenzy mingles with death's choir,
A
living essence merged with undead fire.
No
loving touch nor warmth of light,
I
must stay numb, shun my plight,
Solitary,
not lonely; sated yet lost.
A
fickle captive in my permafrost.
I
spurn self-pity’s indulgent call,
My
wastrel's drudge to primal thrall.
A
millstone for necks of mortal strays
Perishing
slowly in diminished ways.
An
inversion of creation, a deviant lie,
A
predator's bloodlust can never comply,
Rogue
feeders, unbound by pack affliction.
Until
driven away or freed of addiction.
©
2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
―
Stewart Stafford
“I
remember asking Rayya . . . if there was anything that somebody could have said
or done back in the day, that might’ve convinced her to quit drugs sooner. She
replied, “The only thing that might’ve made me clean sooner would’ve been if
every person in my life he cut me off sooner. Because as long as I still had
anyone left out there who I could bullshit and use, or borrow money from, or
crash with, or who would listen to my sob story, there was no reason for me to
quit. It wasn’t until I had burned every bridge, and there was nobody left, who
would even pick up the phone when I called, that I really had to face myself
and decide whether I wanted to live or die. But I had to do that alone, when
there was nobody left to manipulate. If I’ve gotten to that place sooner, I
might’ve quit sooner.”
―
Elizabeth Gilbert, All the Way to the River
“You
need to choose bravery over shame," Leanne says. "Humility over
pride. Otherwise, you're hiding the shadows.”
―
Elin Hilderbrand, Winter Solstice
“We
don't have a mobile phone. The mobile phone has us.”
―
Tamerlan Kuzgov
“You
can’t love someone out of addiction. All the oceans are the tears of those who
have tried. We’re not allowed to die for our children. The universe won’t let
us. Because then there wouldn’t be any mothers left.
She
helped him get into a rehabilitation program. He made all sorts of promises and
broke every single one. He was drawn to parties like smoke finding it’s way
toward the sky. He loved music, lived for dancing.
Sometimes
he cycled home. Sometimes he traveled in a police car. Sometimes in an
ambulance. She knew he was living too fast, he was running out of time, but it
was like trying to stop sunshine.”
―
Fredik Backman
“All
I had was his program, and now that was being aken away too. All I wanted was
to get help and strength I needed to return to my nothing.
"Have
you booked your flight yet?" asked an impatient nurse who was peeking into
my room. I wiped the tears from my face an shook my head no.
"An
hour ago you wouldn't even let me take a private pee. Now you're just going to
open the door and let me walk out? Is this what you do? Just push suicidal
girls out the door?" I asked her with bewilderment. I had been blindsided
not even ten minutes beofre, and they expected me to have a flight booked
already? Was she serious? An hour ago I was on lockdown, not to be trusted to
move freely...now I was being asked to leave for the nearest airport with no exit
plan, no guidance, no support whatsoever.”
―
Erin French, Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch
“It's
back. For a second there I hoped. I had hope. Then there it was again.”
―
David Foster Wallace
