Schaler Archives - The Clean Slate Addiction Site

Essential Reading List for the Truth about Addiction, Alcohol, and other Drugs

The hysteria and myths about alcohol, other drugs, and addiction runs deep in American culture – and I believe it is causing us to have more problems with alcohol and other drugs. The more people learn the truth, the more we can create a cultural shift that decreases these problems. The following is my study… Continue reading Essential Reading List for the Truth about Addiction, Alcohol, and other Drugs

Review: Addiction Is A Choice, By Jeffrey Schaler

Addiction Is A Choice, by Jeffrey Schaler Ph.D, was published in 2000, so why am I reviewing it 13 years later? Well for one, I wasn’t writing reviews back then, but more importantly, this is still, to date, the best book I’ve found refuting the disease theory of addiction. If you have any interest in… Continue reading Review: Addiction Is A Choice, By Jeffrey Schaler

Alec Baldwin’s “Gaming Addiction” and Other Nonsense

Alec Baldwin has been labeled an addict for an altercation over cell phone use on a plane. This case makes it clear that addiction hysteria is all about judgment. The so-called mental illnesses of hoarding, Facebook addiction, texting addiction, gaming addiction, and substance addictions are not real illnesses – they are simply behaviors unapproved of by others.

Disclosure & Copyright Notice

Many links to books referenced throughout this site go directly to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You will also notice some ads for books from Amazon as well, from which I will also earn a commission. I have chosen to link only to books I personally approve of to fund the upkeep of this website ethically.

© Steven Slate/The Clean Slate Addiction Site, 2010-2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any original written material on this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven Slate and The Clean Slate Addiction Site with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Addiction Is Not A Brain Disease. Logic, neuroscience, epidemiology, and social psychology all demonstrate this.

This site is dedicated to presenting a different view of addiction: That it is all about choice, and that you can permanently change your substance use habits without fear of relapse or a lifetime spent in meetings and treatment.

Some of you might be wondering whether I know about all the scientific proof that addiction is a brain disease. I'm well aware of the scientific facts and their misinterpretation. Here's my critical analysis of the brain disease model of addiction.

This site is not presenting a model of "recovery" because addiction is not a disease from which one can recover. It is freely chosen behavior, which anyone can freely choose to abandon at any point. This is not recovery from a disease, it is a change like any other change in day to day living that people make in their lives.

I am dedicated to presenting information about addiction from a non-disease perspective, so that people can learn how to feel free and in control of their substance use, and be empowered to change it to whatever degree will make them happiest in their lives. "Addiction is a choice" - that is, you can choose whether to hold or dismiss every thought and belief that motivates you to use substances heavily - and thus you can choose whether to continue any pattern of substance use or not - at will.

Reading any particular article on this website will not force you to change. Hopefully though, you will find some information that helps you to believe that change is possible for you - that it is within reach. This is one key ingredient in changing the mindset that fuels "addiction."