Help and support for people and families
dealing with drug and alcohol problems
Video: Dr Robin Lawrence, the Illness of Alcoholism
Friday, June 11th, 2010
We caught up with our old friend Dr Robin Lawrence at the Soberlink launch, where he spoke about the illness of alcoholism, its psychological symptoms and how our brains process threats and the alcohol we use to deal with them as a replacement for the ancient ‘fight or flight’ response.
Explaining the curious relationship between the pleasure centres of the brain stimulated by alcohol and the Mesolimbic system that detects threats; alcohol, the friend that initially helps us overcome the small social phobias ultimately becomes the bigger problem when increased consumption actually causes anxiety and depression.
Robin talks passionately about abstinence based programmes as a key psychological component of recovery and the power of self-help groups in addressing the fear and isolation brought on by the condemnation and shame still associated with addiction.
