Neuroscience of Addiction
This brain chemical is heavily involved in pleasure, motivation, and reinforcement, and is repeatedly activated by addictive substances.
What is Dopamine?
These two men are considered the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Who are Bill W. and Dr. Bob?
This DBT module of skills focuses on surviving emotional crises without making the situation worse.
What is Distress Tolerance?
This distortion involves seeing situations in black-and-white terms with no middle ground.
What is All-or-Nothing Thinking?
This defense mechanism involves refusing to accept reality or facts.
What is Denial?
This part of the brain is responsible for impulse control, decision-making, and judgment, and is often impaired during active addiction.
What is Prefrontal Cortex?
This physician authored The Doctor’s Opinion, framing alcoholism as a disease affecting both the body and the mind.
Who is Dr. William D. Silkworth?
This DBT concept balances emotional thinking and logical thinking.
What is Wise Mind?
This distortion is a branch of Jumping to conclusions that involves assuming you know what others are thinking without evidence.
What is Mind-Reading?
This defense involves blaming others for one’s own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
What is Projection?
Over time, repeated substance use causes this process, where more of the substance is needed to achieve the same effect.
What is Tolerance?
This man is recognized as the founder of Narcotics Anonymous, which began in 1953 to address addiction beyond alcohol.
Who is Jimmy Kinnon (James Patrick Kinnon)
This DBT module focuses on understanding emotions, reducing vulnerability, and building positive emotional experiences.
What is Emotional Regulation?
This distortion occurs when someone believes a single negative event means they will always fail.
ex. After one bad relationship, we may say "All men suck", or "All woman are terrible".
What is Overgeneralization?
This defense mechanism occurs when a person reverts to earlier, less mature coping behaviors when under stress or emotional overwhelm.
ex. Tantrums, thumb sucking, disproportionate sobbing, slamming doors, "child-like" behavior.
What is Regression?
This term refers to the brain’s ability to change and rewire itself, which makes recovery possible over time.
What is Neuroplasticity?
This principle emphasizes helping others as a way to strengthen one’s own recovery and maintain sobriety.
What is Service / Carrying the Message / 12th step work?
This DBT skill set, or module, focuses on asserting needs, communicating better, setting boundaries, and maintaining self-respect while preserving relationships.
What is Interpersonal Effectiveness?
This distortion involves predicting the worst-case scenario and treating it as inevitable.
What is Catastrophizing?
This defense involves making excuses or logical explanations to justify harmful behavior.
What is Rationalization?
This term describes the reduced ability to feel pleasure, often experienced in early recovery as the brain recalibrates its reward system. This concept explains why early recovery can feel emotionally flat or joyless as the brain’s reward system recalibrates.
What is Anhedonia / Dopamine downregulation?
Which word, often associated today with the first 3 steps, is surprisingly no where to be found in the first 164 pages of the main text. This word was heavily used by the the Oxford Groups, and Bill W, wanting to stand apart from the religious group, deliberately used other phrases to express the same concept.
What is "Surrender"?
This DBT idea emphasizes that two seemingly opposite things can both be true at the same time.
ex. "I can accept who I am in this moment in my life AND I can embrace change and growth".
ex. "I'm capable and able to get and stay sober AND I need support to help me"
What are Dialectics?
This cognitive distortion involves attaching a global, negative identity to oneself or others based on a single behavior or mistake. This distortion tends to turn behavioral level problems into identity/character level problems unnecessarily.
What is Labeling?
This defense involves expressing unacceptable impulses in a socially acceptable or productive way. It can seem "healthy" at first, but doesn't actually address causes of pain.
What is Sublimation?