Conquering Cravings
A wave of new drugs targeting addiction offers hope to people battling the habit
Talk, too. A number of studies have shown that therapy raises success rates; in July, a National Institutes of Health panel found that telephone hot lines and counseling were effective in helping smokers; adding counseling to drugs increases the odds of quitting. "The current thinking is that the medications act on the part of the brain that deals with drives and motivations," says Bohn. "And psychological help increases activity in the prefontal cortex," which deals with reasoning.
For O'Connor, Vivitrol blunted the physical urge to drink while counseling gave her insights on-and thus more control over-the psychological ones. "I was drinking to cope and to numb myself to the stressors in my life," she says. Counseling taught her to manage stress by cultivating other pleasures-like walking the dog or making plans with friends.
Next, investigators hope to figure out which people respond to which treatment-and why. Those with a certain genetic subtype of opiate receptor, for example, tend to get better results with naltrexone than other heavy drinkers, says Bohn. A personalized prescription for addiction treatment is still a long way off; for now, choosing the right drug is a matter of trial and error. Moore is thankful to be among those who have finally found their cure. "I used to get up, put on coffee, and have a cigarette while it was being made," she says. "But I started to go outside and walk around and look at my flower beds instead." Now, that's her new habit.
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