Treatment Centers Addiction Recovery Community Blog Entries tagged 'recovery'

Traditional Medicine Vs. Alcoholism.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:00:00 +0100

How the Medical Profession Handles Alcoholism.

by Ken P., Bob T., and Scott B.

The progressive nature of alcoholism leads to a predictable series of steps by the family of any alcoholic. By "progressive," we mean that alcoholism always progresses...it always gets worse unless sobriety comes about through some means. In a typical family being ravaged by alcoholism, when [...]

How Hard Is It For A Man To Attend An Al-Anon Meeting?

kenandjody@comcast.net — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:00:00 +0100

How Hard Is It For A Man To Go To An Al-Anon Meeting?

This tale is too extraordinary to be fiction.

Al-Anon is a support [...]

A Father With An Addicted Child On The Power of Powerlessness.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Thoughts from a father with an alcoholic child.

[...]

Stuffing Is For Turkeys

kenandjody@comcast.net — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Stuffing Is For Turkeys

A Consequence of Avoiding Feelings

All she said was "...Ken, you need to replace those air filters in the hall."

My stomach instantly knotted. Furious thoughts answered in my thoughts. How can she order me around? I'm not some little kid she can boss. I have credential [...]

The D.T's...What Is It?

kenandjody@comcast.net — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

DT's...What Is It?

This is what I witnessed.

The scene is a frenetic one in an inner-city hospital ER. It is a Saturday night and I am one of three hospital reps from my pharmaceutical company participating in a training program. We have been strapped to a third-year internal medicine resident for a week now, day and night, and it is his weekend to work the ER.

He [...]

Cirrhosis...The Final Days.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Cirrhosis...The Final Days.

In our last post we described the battle being fought by the liver for survival in the face of continuous heavy drinking by an individual. After using up the limited supply of enzyme to break down alcohol, the liver resorts to tucking the alcohol into little Baggies called vacuoles within itself in a delaying action. Unfortunately, with continued drinking, even when the liver "catches [...]

How An Alcoholic Woman Slips Through The Legal System.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

All of us know about the lawsuit happy public. Suppose you are a police officer, and you are making the decision to arrest or not to arrest a clearly drunk woman you have just stopped. You might imagine the confrontation between yourself and this "sweet young thing" sitting in court with a capable DUI attorney. The attorney is droning on in front of the jury with something canned like this;

..."studies show that her lung volume is smaller t [...]

BABY BOOMERS AND ADDICTION

sherry@sgabatherapy.com — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

MIDDLE AGED BABY BOOMERS AND ADDICTION

A woman enters my office disheveled, thin, mid forties, with hollow eyes. It is as if the sparkle in her eyes ceased to exist a very long time ago. She tells me she has been drinking and is using methamphetamines. I am not surprised to hear this because lately my practice has been filled with middle aged baby boomers seeking help for their serious addictions. Whether it is alcohol, cocaine, crack, methamphetamines, pa [...]

ALCOHOL TREATMENT

jason@harmonyplace.net — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2006, 23.6 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem (9.6 percent of the persons aged 12 or older). Of these, only 2.5 million—10.8 percent of those who needed treatment—received it at a specialty facility. These are dire statistics, considering th [...]

Addiction and Codependency vs. Maturity

kenandjody@comcast.net — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Heard at a meeting:

When I first came to a meeting I was here to check you out. I had it all together. I was so far into denial that no matter how chaotic the situation was I would just re-fashion the truth to make it work for me!

Vinny

When the co-dependency and/or addiction begins at an early age, one huge price paid by the individual (and ul [...]

Denial Is Not Funny (but this joke is)

kenandjody@comcast.net — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

This is a great joke told for years around 12-step programs about how profound the state of denial can be.

"Three men who had grown up together and become great drinking buddies went through college, careers, marriages, and a whole lot of booze until one of them finally died of sclerosis.

The other two had to get well oiled before attending his funeral, and as they were standing over the open casket one said to the others...

The Deadly Duo: Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The Deadly Duo: Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol.

Three Big Lies

Think about this, please. One of the largest beer companies in the world makes Miller Beer. Miller is owned by what was until recently called Philip Morris. Philip Morris was the primary target of multiple law suits levied by individuals, states, and governments because their products so obviously killed people. Philip Morris is still working [...]

Why Ask For Help With Addiction?

kenandjody@comcast.net — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I am aware that these words will only reach a select few. I am writing to anybody who has reached their true "bottom" and given up on the whole life process. If you are like me, you were brought to this point by the impact of the two diseases of addiction and codependency. If you have just started reaching out for help through one of the 12-step programs, then continue reading. If you are just miserably despondent right now due to thes [...]

ALCOHOL TREATMENT CENTERS FOR WOMEN

jason@harmonyplace.net — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Alcohol treatment centers for women, and female addiction in general, were until very recently, not even a subject which was discussed in “polite company.” Fortunately, thanks to the courageous honesty of women like Betty Ford, Carrie Fisher and of course, “celebutantes” like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, not only are women finally able to “come clean” about their struggles with drugs and alcohol, but there are finally gender specific resources to h [...]

ALCOHOL REHABILITATION #3

jason@harmonyplace.net — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

According to communication professionals and commentators in media psychology, there appears to be a vast shift in the manner in which Americans receive information. Gone are the days of three major network news programs. News radio has become an information delivery source reserved primarily for the politically-bent or polarized minds. The future of the information highway, warn savvy pundits of media psych, lies in the ill-informed hands of entertainment-based programs, [...]

Why "Big Boys" Should Admit Being WRONG.

kenandjody@comcast.net — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

One night while attending an open AA meeting , God spoke to me through an AA member with only a few months of sobriety. Mike, like me, had developed the habit of practicing his 10th step at night just before going to sleep.

(For reference, here is the 10th step; We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it).

He would lay there and go through his day thinking through each incidence where he had been w [...]

REHAB CENTER

jason@harmonyplace.net — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The idea of entering a rehab center to seek recovery from drug abuse or alcoholism can be an overwhelming concept. For the addict or alcoholic struggling with the problem, the facilitation of even investigating recovery options is often completely compromised by their own substance abuse. For a friend or family member, the choices available now on the internet are daunting and confusing. How does one know what will prove the right “fit?” What will be the fina [...]

REHAB CENTER

jason@harmonyplace.net — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

DRUG REHAB CALIFORNIA

jason@harmonyplace.net — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When legendary ‘70’s group “The Eagles” released their Grammy-winning record “Hotel California” in 1978, band member Don Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles." Now 30 years later, Henley & Co.’s sardonic tribute to the hedonistic Southern California lifestyle has assumed an entirely different, yet ironically related connotation. “Drug Rehab [...]

Why Do "Big Boys" Have Trouble Feeling Feelings?

kenandjody@comcast.net — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Men are confused. We are taught early in the game a basic lie. We are taught as little boys that emotions (yes, I'm goanna talk about the "F" word here guys, feelings), are bad and WRONG. We therefore confuse emotions with faults (short-comings if you are a 12-stepper, sins if you are many Christians).

As a man in al-Anon, a 12-step program for people who are being adversely effected by somebody else's drinking, I have listened to men speak during meetings [...]