I spoke with Dr. Kenneth Blum today. Dr. Blum is truly a leader in the treatment of addiction. In fact, he is the man who coined the phrase, Reward Deficiency Syndrome, or RDS. We are hoping to have Dr. Blum give the keynote presentation at the first annual Neuroscience of Addiction conference in Boise, Idaho in 2018! This will be a conference dedicated to the education of healthcare professionals. More on this later.
I believe that in the next few years, we will see a shift in the way we discuss addiction. I believe RDS will become the new terminology for addiction. This term will become the verbiage utilized in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual) and other medical diagnostic criteria.
RDS is a more robust term for what addiction is really all about, dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical responsible for drug high, which is responsible for repetitive action. Addiction is not about drugs, as much as it is about dopamine releasing behaviors. Gambling, sex, shopping, video games and other dopamine releasing behaviors are the addictions of the future.
What are we going to do when society realizes smart phones are actually a drug? Games, images, likes, comments, texts, are all linked to dopamine. Our current view and treatments for addiction are too limited. RDS opens up the way we see addiction, behavior and treatment.
I encourage anyone working with addicts to read some of Dr. Blum’s work and look for themselves. I will be posting more on the 2018 conference scheduled for August, as the date grows closer! If you want to join a mailing list for updates, subscribe or contact me below.
#addiction #addictiontreatment #addictioneducation #addictionconsulting #benseymour #seymourconsulting #neuroscienceofaddiction #drugrehab #alcoholism #recovery #drugsandalcohol
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