August 19, 2004 at 4:34 am ·
Filed under General
This my response to a Venezuelan friend/resident, who asked me if I'd observed direct evidence of Chavez' likely alcoholism:
I have found nothing about Chavez directly. I have confirmed that most megalomaniac tyrants have been alcohol or other drug addicts. Addiction to psychotropic drugs (those capable of causing distortions of perception and memory in susceptible individuals) causes egomania. The reason for this is a key distortion that all alcoholics experience, one that makes them think that everything they do or say during a drinking episode is good and right, nothing bad or wrong. In other words, it makes them view everything they do/say in a self-favoring light. If you are always right and never wrong, you must be God.
This seems to ...
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August 17, 2004 at 11:30 pm ·
Filed under General
A recent purchaser of my books and tape wrote that he was defrauded of "big bucks" by an addict in the oil and gas industry. He now realizes that addiction seems pervasive in the business and would like to sell my books on his web site in a quest to warn other investors about this phenomena. He has already warned his children by gifting them my works. Here's my response:
You have discovered an overlooked area in which addicts wield power over others. Yes, Charles Ponzi was an alcoholic. I strongly suspect that many if not most of those in industry convicted of defrauding others are driven by alcoholism. Kozlowski of Tyco and Barry Minkow of ZZZZ Best are just two ...
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August 6, 2004 at 10:56 pm ·
Filed under General
Already subscribed, already received, already read and already forwarded to my wife, an addictions counselor. Good publication, keep up the good work!
And, Jan informs me that since she is such a believer in early intervention, she has just ordered all 3 of your books. I look forward to reading them as well.
Don
Great newsletter, Doug. Excellent read.
BobP
What a great letter!
Marty K.
Thank you for being such a helpful person and for your newsletter.
Fred
And now, the one out of five who just doesn't get it, proving that even "professionals"(whatever the PhD behind the name means) don't "get"the idea behind addiction. But first, the FIRST paragraph in the FIRST issue of the NEW Thorburn Addiction Report, to which she responded:
"Stating that ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:33 pm ·
Filed under 5 - Amazing Alcoholic Antics, General, Thorburn Addiction Report
AUGUST 2004
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
Disability " or not " is no impediment to alcoholism
Story from This is True by Randy Cassingham, with "tagline:â€
"BACK SEAT DRIVER: Michael Johnston, 47, of Peachtree City, GA, allegedly had too much to drink and thought it might be best if he didn't drive. So he had his friend Samuel McClain, 35, drive his golf cart for him; golf carts are common around Peachtree City. Johnston, police say, gave McClain directions while McClain drove. McClain's guide dog was along for the ride too -- McClain is blind. The s werving duo managed to make it for about two miles before crashing into a parked car. Both men were charged with reckless conduct. (Atlanta ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:30 pm ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month, Thorburn Addiction Report
AUGUST 2004
Alcoholic Myth-of-the-Month
There are countless myths about alcoholism. When I began writing my upcoming book, "Myths and Realities of Alcoholism: Removing the Stigma from Mankind's Most Destructive Disease," I figured I'd come up with a few dozen myths. I had to stop at over 100. The problem with myths is that they often lead to stigma, serving to reduce the odds of its identification in others. Unidentified disease cannot be treated, and without treatment, tragedy will inevitably occur. Therefore, the myths desperately need discrediting. The tragedy of movie producer Don Simpson was one of those that might have been prevented if close persons had identified addiction as the root of practically all his other problems"and if those persons had forcefully ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:29 pm ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug..., Thorburn Addiction Report
AUGUST 2004
Dear Doug,
I was bullied by two co-workers for several years in my office, which serves law enforcement. The co-workers threw objects at me, slammed doors in my face, "accidentally"ran into me on many occasions and stole personal items. Management refused to take the necessary action to end the abuse. Deciding enough was enough, I took early retirement. I can't imagine why anyone would engage is such juvenile behavior. I've had a difficult time recovering emotionally. While I don't think they should permanently get away with abusing others, I don't look forward to waging a legal battle. What should I do?
--Abused
. . . . . .
Dear Abused,
Other columnists might only ask if these co-workers think ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:27 pm ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews, Thorburn Addiction Report
AUGUST 2004
The Count of Monte Cristo
This month's movie fits right in with the Kobe trial: the 2001 version of "The Count of Monte Cristo,"with magnificent performances by Guy Pierce as Fernand Mandego and Jim Caviezel (Christ in "The Passion of the Christâ€) playing Edmund Dantes, who later becomes the Count of Monte Cristo.
The story is billed as one of revenge. Yet the more important aspect is alcoholic egomania, taking form in betrayal and false accusations, embedded in a great movie.
As with Al Pacino's portrayal of Lt. Col. Frank Slade in "Scent of a Woman,"most viewers didn't pay attention to or remember the alcoholism. Yet, when you rent the movie this weekend, it will seem obvious. From the beginning, ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:25 pm ·
Filed under General
Accuser's sex life will be fair game at Bryant's assault trial
Top Story: Stating that the credibility of the accuser was a factor in the Kobe Bryant case, the judge ruled July 23 that her sexual escapades (my term) during the week preceding the alleged rape can be used against her. The likelihood of multiple sex partners immediately before (and, apparently, after) the event is an excellent clue to addiction because wielding such sexual power can be very ego-inflating. A false accusation would fit right in with the profile.
False accusations are common to alcohol and other drug addicts and decidedly uncommon among non-addicts. In a classic case, Charles Whitman, District Attorney of New York, framed police lieutenant Charles Becker ...
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August 4, 2004 at 3:23 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories, Thorburn Addiction Report
AUGUST 2004
Accuser's sex life will be fair game at Bryant's assault trial
Stating that the credibility of the accuser was a factor in the Kobe Bryant case, the judge ruled July 23 that her sexual escapades (my term) during the week preceding the alleged rape can be used against her. The likelihood of multiple sex partners immediately before (and, apparently, after) the event is an excellent clue to addiction because wielding such sexual power can be very ego-inflating. A false accusation would fit right in with the profile.
False accusations are common to alcohol and other drug addicts and decidedly uncommon among non-addicts. In a classic case, Charles Whitman, District Attorney of New York, framed police lieutenant Charles Becker for ...
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July 29, 2004 at 11:08 pm ·
Filed under General
A good friend notes "The Internet has turned into one big drug distribution center. A large portion of spam is about" drugs.
This has not gone unnoticed. It seems all-too-easy to get drugs; yet, my work centers around not prevention but rather early intervention. These drug users are all around us, usually going undetected because those close don't know that the occasional out-of-control behaviors they witness or hear about are subtle clues to addiction.
The tragedy stems from the myth that "I don't do drugs" if the drugs are legal. Hardly anyone seems to grasp the idea that a drug capable of causing distortions of perception and memory, damaging the neo-cortex and allowing the limbic system a controlling interest does the same ...
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July 22, 2004 at 12:14 am ·
Filed under General
From a note July 21, 2004, Robert Prechter writes: I am convinced that no person should graduate in psychology without reading your book. It will save any psychologist months and years of wasted time with patients.
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July 8, 2004 at 8:09 am ·
Filed under General
It seems a rather long jump from the letter written on speeders
to the assumption that they (or even some of them) are alcholics.
I am not even sure that the writers would approve of that leap.
Perhaps you could modify this somehow to indicate the "possiblity"
that "some" of these offenders are under the influence.
My response:
Actually, I disagree that this is a leap. There are few if any non-alcoholics who would attain such speeds in what is obviously a residential area--even when young. Alcoholism is almost always triggered during the first drinking episode, average age 13 in the U.S. This degree of speed almost requires an alcoholic sense of invincibility. The National Highway Safety Transportation Administration conducted a study of driving misbehaviors and ...
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July 8, 2004 at 7:59 am ·
Filed under General
My letter to the editor of the Frazier Park Mountain Enterprise, in response to a letter writer's urging of community support for speed bumps in Pine Mountain Club (about an hour north of Los Angeles):
Dear Editor,
Paul Puskar and Ronni Wilde have clocked cars doing 75 mph in a 25 mph zone in Pine Mountain Club. Such speeds remind me of Henri Paul, who drove himself and Princess Diana to their deaths at 90 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Henri Paul was a highly tolerant alcoholic whose blood alcohol level (BAL) was .18 per cent when he died. This is the equivalent of two bottles of wine, or twelve shots of 80-proof liquor in four hours for a 200-pound ...
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July 8, 2004 at 7:44 am ·
Filed under General
My letter to the editor of the Daily News, responding to an editorial dated July 6, 2004, suggesting that we should no more tolerate barbaric prisons in California than in Iraq:
As in Iraq, the worst abuses are likely alcohol-fueled. If we really don't want to tolerate barbarism and truly wish to clean up the prisons, we need to test the guards and staff for possible alcoholism.
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