12-STEP METHODS –
March 8, 2025 – He is, he tells me from a hotel room in San Francisco, “a nine-times convicted felon”. His drug of choice was “eight balls of meth”.
Addiction is everywhere, and affects everyone, he says: “Nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, food, video games, work, heroin, social media, porn, television, cocaine, gambling, cannabis, pain pills, shopping, methamphetamine – you can likely find yourself, and many people you know, somewhere on the list.”
Jaffe came from a privileged, affluent background – when he got out of jail, this meant that despite nobody wanting to employ him, he was able to return to education and get a doctorate in his field of expertise: addiction.
Now he works with “super high net worth individuals and celebrities” – he doesn’t say who – and has just written a book, Unhooked: Free Yourself From Addiction Forever.
In it, he outlines a recovery protocol which combines traditional 12-Step tools – abstinence, being of service, cultivating gratitude, accountability – with more contemporary treatments like psychedelic therapy, the addiction drugs naltrexone and acamprosate, breathing exercises, and the Japanese practice of ikigai, which is all about finding your purpose in life.
