Dr. Adam L. Front, Psychologist

You may be reading this because you have tried - probably more than once - to get and stay clean and sober from alcohol or other drugs, or perhaps you have a family member or other loved one who has been engaged in this struggle. Over the more than 3 decades that I have worked with recovering addicts and alcoholics I have clearly seen that the more times a recovering person relapses, the harder it becomes to take up the task of getting sober and stabilizing recovery. Why is it such a strugg...

"Facts not fear," the current tagline on a local San Francisco news channel, is a great mantra for dealing with the impact of the current worldwide health crisis resulting from the Corona virus pandemic. There is a lot of misinformation available, as well as a lot of reasonable, scientifically-based information. I recommend not watching the news TOO much, as it can heighten our anxiety about it. But there is a lot of good and simple information that can help, both in terms o...

I hope to start posting blog entries more regularly on this site.  One of the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that I may actually have more time to do things like that.  Of course, as we all do, I sincerely hope that the public health emergency passes as quickly as possible.  However, in addition to the many dangers and hardships that come with these times, I hope that you have had some positive changes come from the need to slow down and become more thoughtful abo...

Yesterday, May 31, 2017 was "World No Tobacco Day," started by the World Health Organization in 1988.  Coincidentally, I personally quit smoking earlier that same year.  If you smoke, quitting may be the single most important thing you can do to improve your health.  The insidiousness of nicotine addiction makes this very difficult, however.  The urge to smoke, if you are a smoker (or a nicotine addict, if you prefer not to sugar-coat it) gets under your skin and can be so...

     Most people think that addiction is a problem for a minority of the population. It's "those people," and certainly not me. But suppose that addiction is something more to do with the way our brains are wired than any particular substance that people abuse?

      Statistically, about 10% of the population is alcoholic. Probably another 10% are addicted to either street drugs (cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamin...

      One example of the "medicalization" of human unhappiness is ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or, as it is now referrred to in the diagnostic manual, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I do think that Attention Deficit Disorders exist, but I believe that they are not half as common as many people (including doctors who treat such disorders) think they are.  I have become acutely aware of this "disorder of the ...