"The Urge: Our History Of Addiction" with Dr. Carl Erik Fisher

This week on the podcast, I'm speaking to Dr. Carl Erik Fisher.

Carl Erik Fisher, M.D., is an addiction psychiatrist, bioethics scholar, and author. He is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, where he studies and teaches law, ethics, and policy relating to psychiatry and neuroscience, especially issues related to substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors. He is the author of the nonfiction book The Urge: Our History of Addiction, an intellectual and cultural history of addiction, interwoven with his own experiences as an addiction psychiatrist at Columbia and as someone in recovery himself.

Our conversation covers:

• Th origin of the word "addiction" and why we might need to reframe how we think about the word.
• Physical dependence vs. pyschological dependence--is it important to separate the two?
• Should we be using people's happiness as a better gauge for whether or not they're "addicted" to something
• How the recovery industry needs to focus more on the core of what drives people toward addiction and less about abstinence.

Resources Mentioned:

Episode 23 (Cutback Coach now Sunnyside)

Sunnyside.co/minimalist

The Urge: Our History of Addiction

Dr. Carl Erik Fisher

Flourishing After Addiciton

Buy Breaking the Bottle Legacy: How to Change Your Drinking Habits and Create A Peaceful Relationship with Alcohol on Amazon or most online retailers.

US Kindle

US Paperback

UK Kindle

UK Paperback

Apple Books

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Join my private FB group Alcohol Minimalists here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/changeyouralcoholhabit

Has this podcast helped you? Please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram: @AlcoholMinimalist

Have you grabbed your free e-book, "Alcohol Truths: How Much is Safe?" Get it here.

Low risk drinking guidelines from the NIAAA:

Healthy men under 65:

No more than 4 drinks in one day and no more than 14 drinks per week.

Healthy women (all ages) and healthy men 65 and older: No more than 3 drinks in one day and no more than 7 drinks per week.

One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. So remember that a mixed drink or full glass of wine are probably more than one drink.

Abstinence from alcohol Abstinence from alcohol is the best choice for people who take medication(s) that interact with alcohol, have health conditions that could be exacerbated by alcohol (e.g. liver disease), are pregnant or may become pregnant or have had a problem with alcohol or another substance in the past.

Benefits of “low-risk” drinking Following these guidelines reduces the risk of health problems such as cancer, liver disease, reduced immunity, ulcers, sleep problems, complications of existing conditions, and more. It also reduces the risk of depression, social problems, and difficulties at school or work.

If you' are unsure about whether or not you have alcohol use disorder, please visit the NIAAA for more information.

★ Support this podcast ★