weird-oh wrote:
Why I drink more when I'm around others, for instance. I wonder how this affects a course of Naltrexone treatment. Seems it would be hard to fight genetics.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/ ... cial-gene/Situational factors, like the presence of others drinking, or emotional highs and lows, can affect how much a person using TSM drinks on a given occasion, but this does not interfere with the pharmacological extinction process. Alcoholism, for most alcoholics, is caused by repeated endorphin reinforcement of drinking over years. The addictive "wiring" in the brain is removed over time by repeated sessions of drinking on naltrexone. This process is not impeded by social or emotional factors. Most TSMers, myself included, experience varying levels of drinking, especially in the early months of treatment. But ultimately the addiction is extinguished in the majority of patients.
--Ben Spees