Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Archives - The Ranch

For Adi, what began as alcohol abuse, marijuana experimentation and cocaine addiction quickly progressed into a full-blown crystal meth addiction. For more than five years, the drug became his world as he turned to it regardless of his current mood. It didn’t matter if he was happy, sad, bored, tired, or alert, crystal meth quickly […]

Problem gambling is a silent destroyer. Unlike those addicted to drugs or alcohol, compulsive gamblers show no outward signs of their dependency. If they do all their gambling anonymously in casinos or alone at home on the Internet, even their closest friends and family members may never realize how out of control their gambling has […]

Popular culture has helped shape an image of the “classic alcoholic” in people’s minds. Usually we imagine an alcoholic as a middle-aged man who looks a bit disheveled and staggers in and out of bars all day and all night. He’s so easy to recognize because he makes no effort to hide his drunken condition. […]

As we look at the drug addict in our life—the bad decisions, the deteriorating life, the hopeless condition—we can’t help asking, why doesn’t he or she just quit? Why don’t these people see the error of their ways? Why do they continue to spread destruction throughout their own lives and the lives of their loved […]

By Sara Schapmann If you or a loved one is trying to get sober, you’ve likely heard time and again how destructive alcohol abuse is to the mind and body. Still drinking? A recent study shows that negativity might not be the best route to sobriety. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Monty Python was […]

There was a time when homelessness was thought of as the domain of people who had given up on life and preferred to sleep on the beaches of Venice ― or the streets of any city ― than take part in normal society.  The homeless were seen “old drunks” or “beggars.” People just stepped over […]

Addiction to food is pervasive, which means it can affect people of all ages and cultures, and can involve any variety of food items or food groups. This makes it difficult, though not impossible, to learn to eat normally after recovering from food addiction.

In addiction treatment, we talk a lot about codependency and enabling because the word “codependent” is usually associated with addiction. It refers to the dynamic between the addicted person and codependent family members and significant others who contribute to the addictive behavior — often referred to as “enablers.” The term “codependency” can also be associated […]

Narcissism and sexual addiction often go hand in hand. According to research on sex addiction and narcissism, both men and women in the sex- and pornography-addicted population also have narcissistic tendencies. In one study of pornography, it was discovered that the time spent viewing internet pornography correlated to participants’ narcissism levels as compared to those […]

Antisocial personality disorder is a mental health condition marked by an ongoing pattern of involvement in behaviors that exploit or manipulate other people, or significantly violate their rights. People with this condition are sometimes referred to as sociopaths or psychopaths. While doctors can only officially diagnose its presence in adults, signs frequently begin to appear […]