THE CHOCOHOLIC CONFERENCE

A wry twist on traditional news.

Is chocolate addiction a problem for you? There’s a treatment for that. For $150 per day, cocoa addicts can attend a conference to receive “therapy” and discuss their shared “problem” this April 10-12 at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire. Held by Ray Baldorf and Joan Kelly, a psychiatrist and anthropologist husband-and-wife duo, the so-called treatment will include presentations by chefs, workshops, and of course—taste tests.

The previous event, called “Chocolate Binge,” attracted 2,000 people. Baldorf believes there is a biological explanation for the sweet habit, saying, “I think there’s some biologic, biochemical predisposition, maybe neurochemical, that starts in the brain and leads to a chocolate craving. Some people are more sensitive to this stimulation than to others.” Many attendees report unhealthy behavior around the candy, using it to treat emotional pain, hoarding it, and feeling panic when they run out. Baldorf believes the only way to reduce the unwanted behavior is by addressing the root problem, “I can help people relieve their anxiety by helping people understand it’s not the chocolate that is wrong with their lives, but something unhappy in their lives. And when they get their lives together, they may still binge on chocolate but they’ll be happier, more fulfilled people.”