Discover seven science-based insights into addiction and lasting change
This blog explores the wider terrain surrounding addiction, recovery, and human change — from contemporary drug policy and cultural trends to the quieter questions of meaning, purpose, and resilience that shape long-term wellbeing. Some posts respond to current events; others reflect on clinical insights, lived experience, or emerging research. Together, they aim to offer context rather than quick answers, and to support thoughtful engagement with the personal and social dimensions of substance use, recovery, and life transitions.
This blog explores addiction, recovery, life transitions, and meaning—engaging current events and lived experience with a grounded, integrative perspective.
Prescription medications can relieve pain, calm anxiety, improve concentration, and restore normal functioning. But what happens when the relief itself becomes something we begin to crave? Using Johnny Cash’s experience with prescription stimulants and sedatives as a...
Why do the things we crave so often fail to satisfy us? Drawing on the image of a cracked vessel—an ancient metaphor for our attempts to fill an inner emptiness—this article explores the surprising connection between craving, addiction, and the human search for...
Recovery coaching is often misunderstood as a form of counselling or mentoring, yet its true purpose is to help people grow into the person they aspire to become on their own terms. In this article, I explore how effective coaching focuses less on fixing problems and...
Why do we sometimes react in ways we barely understand? Why do the qualities we condemn in others often provoke our strongest emotions? Carl Jung believed the answers lie within the shadow—the hidden aspects of ourselves that shape our thoughts, relationships, and...
What do we really mean when we ask about the meaning of life? This article explores the distinction between semantic and experiential meaning, drawing on the work of Viktor Frankl, neuroscience, and addiction research. Discover why hope depends on uncertainty, how...
Resolving B.C.'s Drug Crisis British Columbia has spent years searching for answers to the toxic drug crisis. Public debate often focuses on individual policies—harm reduction, treatment, decriminalization, enforcement, or recovery—but lasting solutions are unlikely...
How one statistical mistake convinced the world that alcohol was good for us For decades, many of us have heard that a glass of wine with dinner might be good for the heart. This idea became so widespread that moderate drinking was often viewed as part of a healthy...
Being a science writer with a background in Computer Science leaves the door open for criticism from those versed in the lore of their respective specialities, especially when the non-specialist's communications (in this case mine) impinge on their turf. This article...
“ I wrote the words about a friend of mine; his name was Gareth Spaulding, and on his 21st birthday he and his friends decided to give themselves a present of enough heroin into his veins to kill him. This song is called ‘Bad.' ” – U2's Bono, Gothenburg Sweden, 1987...
Life is Chemistry My quest to understand what makes us tick inevitably led me to a consideration of neuro-chemistry. Our bodies use chemicals to transmit the electrical signals that create both the objective and subjective state of affairs we call life. Reading...