Dry drunks and drug treatment

AA (Alcoholics Anonymous for those who don't know) pointed out decades ago that there were such people called "dry drunks". These were the people who might have managed to stay off the demon booze: but who still had the underlying pathologies which had led to their addiction in the first place. The 12 steps program is as much an attempt to deal with those pathologies as it is to stay off alcohol. In one of the more significant advances of recent years in drug treatment we've also incorporated this insight into drug addiction treatment.

The point is that just as millions drink lightly and responsibly there are those who take drugs who do not become addicts, even under the widest definitions of addiction. But there are those who most definitely do and we'd like to know what is the difference between these two groups before we try to design a program of drug treatment. For it might be that the underlying problem is what leads to the addiction, not purely the intake of drugs (or alcohol or anything else).

This insight has led to the development of dual diagnosis drug treatment. We can see clearly and obviously the problem of the addiction: but what might be the underlying pathology which leads to it? Clearly and obviously, we're only going to be able to cure the addiction if we can also deal with that underlying cause. For some of course the cause of the addiction is clear: it can indeed be simple physical addiction to the substance being taken, it can be to the psychological (as opposed to the physiological) effects. Or it might be some more deep seated disturbance in either the body or the psyche.

One of the treatment centers working with this dual diagnosis paradigm is the Pat Moore Foundation: click through any of the links to find out more about these techniques.

Gordon Brown's letter of condolence

This is absurd.

This is also the letter of condolence that Gordon Brown, who we might remember is the Prime Minister, sent to the family of a soldier who died in the line of duty.

It is packed with spelling mistakes: good grief, he even manages to get the family name wrong.

And please, just look at the handwriting there. This is a disgrace, a foul calumny even.

The least we can do is have a Prime Minister who is actually capable of writing a few words on a piece of paper: and getting them right.

Holmes, no, Not Sherlock, Katie

Katie Holmes has a new site dedicated to her: and to brining you thenews you need about one of your favourite celebrities, Katie Holmes.

There's a collection of news stories and photographs of her, both with and without her husband, Tom Cruise.

There's even a section on Katie Holmes' marriage.


It's the best resource on the net for all of your celebrity news needs, it even has video feeds of he major stories about her!

Slicing the Top Off

When people discuss circumcision it very quickly degenerates into an argument about bodily mutilation. Which is a pity:

There are definitely health benefits but are these outweighed by the loss of sensitivity, and thus the loss of sexual pleasure?

There's actually a very good argument that the loss of sensitivity itself leads to greater pleasure, not lower.

So, err, that argument against circumcision thus fails, don't you think?

Mr. and Mrs Rodriguez

Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez are said to be reunited and attempting to stave off a dovirce after hubby's dalliance with Joslyn Noel Morse.

I have to admit I've never realy known why it is that the moment a man gets out of the wrong bed everyone starts baying about divorce. We all know that infidelity is rife, that alpha males (and alpha females too) get more than their fair share and that this is just the way the world is.

So just because he gets up with a few high jinks with a stripper, as Joslyn Noel Morse is, why all the fuss?

Kenney Chesney

I have to admit that when I hear the word "entertainer" I begin to worry:

Kenny Chesney proved he was king of the boy’s club at the Academy of Country Music awards on Tuesday with his third consecutive entertainer of the year award. The award featured a host of male country singers (there were no female singers nominated) – including George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw.

During his acceptance speech, Chesney gave tribute to some of his country music heroes – including Strait and Keith Whitley.

In his acceptance, Chesney stated: “When I first started playing music, I was in college and I would go rent all my equipment and put it in the back of a pickup truck. The only thing I wanted to do was cut a record as good as Keith Whitley did, and I listened to that music over and over again.”

Note that he's not being honoured for creating good music or anything.....

Why Get a Mosquito Ringtone?

A lot of people may laugh at the thought of mosquito ringtones for your cellphone. There are a lot of free ringtones and free MP3 ringtones on the Internet, so why get a queer ringtone the sound of a buzzing mosquito in your phone?

There is actually a reason for this. Studies show that the human ears would lose their ability to recognize high frequency sounds as it ages. As one gets older, the inner ear and the eardrum are becoming less active and flexible. If this happens it can no longer recognize high frequency vibration sound. So if you were a teenager living with an adult or your grandparents, they probably won’t be disturbed with the high-pitched sounds of your mosquito ringtones.

So get the best usual free Cingular Ringtones or free Sprint Ringtones now and leave these buzzing sounds.