Marc Lewis's Blog, page 2

Good drugs vs. bad drugs? Or just drugs?

If you read my blog you know that I try to post smooth, polished pieces. I try to produce something coherent, even conclusive. This one’s different: a bunch of notes that I recently found in a forgotten file from five years ago. The notes pose questions that intrigue and trouble me as much now as […] (Read the rest.)

Meditation and IFS: similar places, different paths

In response to my last post, some of you expressed interest in mindfulness/meditation as a means for overcoming addiction. Today I want to relate the calm centre of IFS with the calm place we find in meditation. They are similar in some ways and very different in others. There will be more posts on mindfulness, […] (Read the rest.)

Next posts? Comments welcome!

First, a bit of housekeeping. If you correspond with me via email or use the “contact” field in this website, please note that my account is buggy. I can’t send or receive at the moment, and I don’t know when this will be cleared up. The Dutch are very stern when it comes to work […] (Read the rest.)

2. Shame and addiction: under the skin

One problem with my last post was the implication that shaming and soothing both come from outside, from other people. IFS (and some other therapeutic approaches) take a very different stance. It’s what’s inside that counts. The comments on last week’s post were great, and I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to reply yet. […] (Read the rest.)

1. Shame and addiction: a personal window

We frequently hear about the intimate relation between addiction and shame, and many of us have experienced it. But what is the subjective feeling of shame that makes it not only very unpleasant but a potent trigger for further substance use? Today I want to explore my own experience of shame and get down to […] (Read the rest.)

Shame and addiction: a personal window

We frequently hear about the intimate relation between addiction and shame, and many of us have experienced it. But what is the subjective feeling of shame that makes it not only very unpleasant but a potent trigger for further substance use? Today I want to explore my own experience of shame and get down to […] (Read the rest.)

Brain parts, mind parts, and psychotherapy for addiction

My blogging days may be winding down. But if they do, as they do, I want to put more energy into methods for helping beat addiction than ideas for explaining it. It’s critical to understand addiction in depth, and I still believe that linking neuroscience with lived experience provides a potent frame of reference. But […] (Read the rest.)

Recruiting “parts” to fight addiction: a three-step exercise

Last post I promised to share some ideas for breaking the feedback cycle of addiction. Today I want to suggest a three-part intervention strategy for doing just that. In a nutshell, (1) tune into your emotions, (2) see what “parts” (in IFS terms) those emotions belong to, and (3) guide those parts toward helping each […] (Read the rest.)

Befriending the part that wants to get high

People who use drugs (or drink) addictively are caught in a feedback loop. The addiction makes us feel like losers, blameworthy, perhaps worthless. We carry around this negative self-concept almost constantly — and it’s painful! Perhaps ironically, using or drinking seem the only way to relieve that pain. Yet the net result is that we […] (Read the rest.)

Part 2. Hiding the bad stuff

The concept that a person is either authentic or inauthentic (either a liar or not) is based on the premise that people have unitary, coherent personalities. In contrast,  IFS takes the view that people’s inner worlds are made up of parts, or sub-selves, each of which has its own distinct style, motives, and beliefs. Interestingly, […] (Read the rest.)