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I help people work through the trappings of their own mind and self destructive behavior.…
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Is Addiction a Choice? Not really
Is Addiction a Choice? Not really
By Dr. Daniel Hochman As a psychiatrist in the addiction field, I enjoy the endless thought-provoking discussions that…
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Daniel Hochman, MD shared thisMost people think addiction is about the substance. But in my experience, the substance is usually the surface-level symptom. Underneath addiction, there is often pain, shame, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, discontent, or emotions that feel too overwhelming to sit with. The behavior becomes a way to regulate what feels unmanageable. That’s why lasting recovery requires more than willpower. It requires understanding. I recently joined Dr. Ken Huey on The Voice of Hope Podcast to talk about addiction, emotional regulation, relationships, shame, self-mastery, mindfulness, and why I continue to feel hopeful about recovery. One of the core ideas we discussed is this: Recovery is not about becoming “strong enough” to never struggle. It’s about building the capacity to face discomfort without needing to escape it. When people understand what is driving their behavior, they gain more freedom to choose something different. Grateful to Dr. Huey for such a thoughtful conversation. You can listen to the full episode at the link in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts: What do you think is most misunderstood about addiction and recovery?
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Daniel Hochman, MD shared thisMost people think they're stuck because they lack discipline, motivation, or willpower. In reality, many of the behaviors we struggle to change are serving a purpose beneath our awareness. I recently joined Tracy Steen on the Move Daily podcast to talk about: • Why people get trapped in patterns they genuinely want to change • What stress does to the brain and nervous system • The connection between emotional regulation and addictive behaviors • Why shame rarely creates lasting change • How greater self-awareness can open the door to real transformation Lasting change doesn't come from fighting yourself harder. It comes from understanding what your mind and body are trying to accomplish in the first place. We had a thoughtful conversation about recovery, mental health, behavior change, and what it means to work with yourself rather than against yourself. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts. Link is in the comments. #mentalhealth #addictionrecovery #behaviorchange #behavioralhealth #stressmanagement #wellbeing
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Daniel Hochman, MD shared thisSome people in recovery are taught they’re powerless. And I understand why that idea sticks. It can bring relief, reduce shame, and open the door to support. But it’s worth asking: at what point does that belief stop helping… and start holding you back? In this conversation with Sonia Kahlon, we explore a different frame: → You can need help and still be in charge of your life → You can struggle and still have agency → You can interrupt patterns, even when they feel automatic Recovery isn’t just about what’s happening to you. It’s about how you learn to relate to it. And that shift, subtle but powerful, can change everything. 🎧 Link to listen will be in the comments #sobriety #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #mentalhealthmatters #selfgrowth #sobercurious
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Daniel Hochman, MD shared thisI recently had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation that went beyond the usual talking points. Not an interview in the traditional sense, more of a philosophical exploration. We talked about the parts of addiction and recovery that don’t always make it into clinical frameworks or public discourse: – The internal experience of pressure and relief – Why high-functioning individuals often struggle in silence – The gap between insight and actual behavioral change – What recovery looks like when it’s not driven by crisis One of the recurring themes was this: Most people don’t relapse because they don’t understand what’s happening. They relapse because, in the moment that matters, relief outweighs intention. If we don’t address that mechanism directly, we end up relying too heavily on awareness, willpower, or external structure. And those are often not enough. If you’re interested in a more nuanced, less surface-level conversation about addiction, recovery, and human behavior, you can watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gjVBbEGR Curious what resonates (or doesn’t).Psychiatrist COMPLETELY Redefines Addiction (w/ Daniel Hochman)Psychiatrist COMPLETELY Redefines Addiction (w/ Daniel Hochman)
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Daniel Hochman, MD posted thisPhones and Relationships: The Invisible Distance Few things erode connection faster than divided attention. I’ve worked with couples where the main complaint wasn’t infidelity, money, or conflict. It was, “I feel invisible when you’re on your phone.” One partner said, “I don’t want all of their attention. I just want some of it.” Phones don’t just take time. They take presence. And presence is the currency of intimacy. The goal isn’t perfection or rigid rules. It’s intentionality. Asking: What am I using my phone to avoid? When is it costing me connection? What moments actually deserve my full attention? Put the phone down, not because it’s bad, but because the person in front of you matters more. #ModernRelationships #Presence #Connection #SelfRecovery
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Daniel Hochman, MD posted thisListening Is an Act of Love Many couples believe the problem is what they’re arguing about. In reality, the problem is how they’re listening. I worked with a patient who said, “Every time I bring something up, my spouse explains why I’m wrong.” Over time, she stopped sharing altogether. Not because she didn’t care, but because it felt unsafe. Listening with curiosity sends a powerful message: Your experience matters to me, even when it’s uncomfortable. You don’t have to fix everything in the moment. You don’t have to defend your intentions. You just have to stay present. When your spouse reaches out, that’s not the time to win. It’s the time to connect. And connection, more than being right, is what keeps relationships alive. #Intimacy #CommunicationSkills #SelfRecovery
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Daniel Hochman, MD shared thisDaily Practices That Deepen Emotional Health Connection isn’t just a feeling, it’s a practice. I encourage everyone to think in terms of small, intentional acts of giving: • Tell someone you appreciate them. • Offer help without being asked. • Acknowledge someone’s effort, even when it goes unnoticed. These aren’t grand gestures. They’re daily investments in relationship health and emotional well-being. And while giving without expectation sounds idealistic, it’s also practical: it strengthens trust, confirms self-worth, and reminds us that suffering isn’t a solo experience. In a world that often feels transactional, let’s choose connection. #MentalWellness #PersonalGrowth #SelfRecovery
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Daniel Hochman, MD posted thisWhat Constant Stimulation Does to the Nervous System I see this pattern constantly: People say they’re exhausted... but they’re never still. Between notifications, messages, social media, and endless information, the nervous system never gets a break. There’s no space to settle, reflect, or reset. One Self Recovery participant described it perfectly: “My body feels like it’s always on standby.” That’s not a motivation problem. That’s chronic overstimulation. When we fill every quiet moment with a screen, we lose our capacity for boredom. And boredom is where creativity, insight, and emotional processing live. Try this experiment: Leave your phone in another room for 20 minutes. Notice the urge to check it. Then notice what shows up underneath that urge. That’s the work. #Burnout #NervousSystem #MindfulLiving #SelfRecovery
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Daniel Hochman, MD posted thisCuriosity Is the Antidote to Defensiveness In relationships, defensiveness is usually self-protection. Curiosity is connection. A Self Recovery participant once shared how every serious conversation with her partner felt like a fight, until she tried something different. Instead of preparing her rebuttal, she paused and asked: “Can you tell me more about that?” Her partner softened immediately. Not because the issue disappeared, but because he felt heard. That’s what most people are actually asking for. When your spouse says something that triggers you, try this reframe: They are not criticizing your character. They are inviting you into their inner world. Curiosity sounds like: “What made this feel important to you?” “When did you start feeling this way?” “What do you need from me right now?” Intimacy grows when we stop defending and start listening. #HealthyRelationships #Attachment #MentalHealth
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisI'm a physician who's built three digital health companies, so I can say this with confidence: most of what passes for men's health right now is theater. It's not because of bad science, quite the opposite, we have better data and tools than ever. TRT, GLP-1s, peptides, labs, scans, wearables data, etc. The problem is nobody "runs" any of it for you. I checked out around 30 current services, mostly online, that are mostly a version of shopify with a telehealth clinic bolted on. You get a prescription and a shipping confirmation, and then you're on your own to figure out if it's working. I did some digging: most men don't make it. Somewhere between 47 and 65% of people on GLP-1s quit within a year. It doesn't seem like the companies prescribing and selling it rarely follow up to understand why beyond one or two follow up telehealth visits. And the platform churn is brutal...everyone keeps this close to the chest, but i found some numbers. Real churn is averaging around 50%. Half of the people who sign up stop using these services. A real protocol doesn't end at the prescription. There's a better way. Working on it...will reveal more soon. #MensHealth #Longevity #DigitalHealth #startups Poonacha Machaiah
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisIf you have ever felt uneasy about AI showing up in mental health care, this podcast episode is worth a listen. You will hear my perspective as a mental health professional where I also bring in my perspective from having worked in tech. The conversation is an honest look at where AI helps, where it does not belong, and what practitioners should be watching for. Thank you to Richard Zwicky for an excellent conversation and for sharing his valuable perspectives. https://lnkd.in/gVrX3gA6 #AI #Mentalhealth
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisEveryone keeps saying men are lonelier than women. The data doesn't really say that. What it says is more specific, and worse. Men and women report loneliness at pretty similar rates. The difference is that men reach out far less when they're struggling, and they're significantly more likely to say they're not meaningfully part of any group or community at all. One stat that stuck with me: in 1990, 55% of men said they had at least six close friends. By 2021 that was down to 27%. But the share with no close friends at all roughly quintupled. It's not that men feel the absence more. It's that they've lost the structures that would typically fix it: being part of a team, a regiment, a congregation. Being around guys you actually built something with. The guys in the pub or the shed. That's a structural problem, and structural problems have structural fixes. Which is the part I and others have been quietly working on.
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisMy dad was supposed to be dead 35 years ago. He was born in India in 1955, where the avg male life expectancy was 40. He's now 75 now, an interventional cardiologist, still in the cath lab, still loves it. He didn't just beat that number. He lapped it. But I remember he didn't start interventional cards until around 38-40. I think about this every time I hear a 45 year old talk about himself like the good part's behind him. 40s and 50s are becoming the killer years. The young millionaire founders in dorm rooms exist but are actually rare despite how much they show up on social media. The average founder of the fastest-growing companies in America is 45. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel at 41. Reid Hoffman started LinkedIn at 35 and wasn't a billionaire until his mid 40s. Dave Duffield built PeopleSoft in his 40s, then founded Workday, a company now worth billions, in his 60s. It's not just tech. Ray Kroc, Sam Walton, Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull): 40s and 50s. A 50 year old is nearly twice as likely to build a success as a 30 year old. It's the experience. The reps, the failures, the pattern recognition, knowing what works and what's important. The shift I'm noticing right now: men in their 40s and 50s are waking up to the fact that this stretch isn't the slow decline they were sold. They just need some help navigating the tools and knowledge to reclaim energy, drive, their edge, and to stay healthy. Don't write yourself off at 45, or even 55. You're not behind. You're just getting started. We're working on building the tools... Poonacha Machaiah (graph from "Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship," Azoulay, Jones, Kim & Miranda (MIT/Census, NBER 2018 / American Economic Review: Insights.") #startups #longevity #menshealth
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisShame doesn’t help people change. In many cases, it does the opposite. One of the most powerful moments from my conversation with Daniel Hochman, MD was his distinction between accountability and shame. You can address a problem without attacking a person. You can say, "Your drinking has increased. What's going on?" You don't need to say, "You're a failure." When we make mistakes, we need honesty. We need responsibility. We need a path forward. What we don't need is more shame. Because shame doesn't create growth. It erodes hope. If you're a parent, clinician, leader, or someone supporting a loved one, this clip is a powerful reminder that how we respond matters just as much as what we say. Follow me for more conversations on mental health, healing, leadership, and finding hope when life gets hard. Did you find this post useful? Drop a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Daniel Hochman, MD liked thisDaniel Hochman, MD liked thisWhat If Addiction Isn't the Problem? | Daniel Hochman, MD on Escape, Emotions & Human Behaviour When you hear the word addiction, what comes to mind? For many people, it's something that affects other people. But what if addiction isn't a binary condition? What if it's a spectrum that we all find ourselves on from time to time? In this thought-provoking conversation, psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Hochman challenges the way we think about addiction, labels, and the human need to escape emotional discomfort. Whether it's alcohol, food, work, social media, shopping, or something else entirely, the question isn't always what are we doing? The deeper question is: What are we trying not to feel? In this clip: 🔹 Why addiction is better understood as a spectrum 🔹 The hidden emotional distress beneath addictive behaviours 🔹 Why labels can distract us from the real issue 🔹 The difference between coping and escaping 🔹 How awareness creates the possibility for change Sometimes the behaviour isn't the problem. It's what the behaviour is helping us avoid. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/daBVHjSd 📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dyrMwnPd #SLJCoach #YourLifeYourCall #DanielHochman #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealth #SelfAwareness #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalWellbeing #HumanBehaviour #Mindset #Coaching #Psychology #Leadership #Resilience #MentalFitness #Podcast #YouTubeCreator #LetsTalk
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Education
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University of Colorado Denver
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Activities and Societies: Chief Resident. Psychiatry Academic Achievement Award. Psychotherapy Scholar Supervisor. Instructor for psychiatry residents, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Step Up to Recovery Group Co-Chair. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Residential Program. Traditional Chinese Medicine Apprenticeship. Integrative Nutrition Treatment for Obesity Co-Director.
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Fawad Taj
What is the measure of true recovery in schizophrenia? Can GLP-1s help us redefine it? Second Generation Antipsychotics (SGAs) help restore function, but often at the cost of metabolic side effects and their sequelae. The double-blind RCT published in #JAMAPsychiatry found 30 weeks of semaglutide lowered HbA1c, reduced weight, and improved physical quality of life in SGA-treated patients with schizophrenia. https://lnkd.in/gquNYyiB Other early studies suggest GLP-1s may also offer neuroprotection, reduced inflammation, and possible cognitive benefit, though stronger evidence is still needed. https://lnkd.in/ggS_--BB Will better metabolic health with GLP-1s improve adherence, prevent relapse, and truly enhance functional outcomes in schizophrenia? #Psychiatry #GLP1 #Cognition #IntegratedCare
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