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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Podcast: From Impulsive Actions to Compulsive Habit

Link from my Friend Ruth:
Interesting podcast re:Neurobiological basis for addiction - "Drug Addiction: From Impulsive Actions to Compulsive Habit"
THOMAS JANES OAKLEY Lecture Institute Of Psychiatry
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Not my kid... not my family.



IMAGINE THIS:
after a sophomore at Colorado State University in Fort Collins drank herself to death, her family lamented that it was just "one mistake" that killed her. Not so, points out reporters at the Denver Post. They found the personal web site for Samantha Spady, 19, where she posted photos of herself drinking with captions such as "I was drunk" and "Drunkass me". Just before her death from a blood alcohol level of .43 percent, she posted "I'm also going to get extremely wasted this weekend." A family spokesman points out Spady was a great student and a former DARE volunteer, but still insists her death was a "terrible accident" caused by "one mistake." He admits the family had seen the web site, but hadn't seen the multiple photos of her getting drunk. (Denver Post) ...the real "one mistake", then, is not opening their eyes. reported by This is True.

Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.
Carl Jung
This morning while uploading Images to myRECOVERY.com I stumbled across SOBER COACHING YOUR TEEN. Reading through the pages, I thought of all the parents walking through the terrors of addiction with their child. How many nights they lay awake spinning, thinking and praying for answers. Parents agonizing over the behaviors of their once beloved son or daughter. Can you imagine the disappointments, dread and feelings that surface as they get the first call from the school or police? Do you suppose they flounder as to what to do?

Now it’s in your own home! It used to be something that happened to other people. So what is someone to do? Fortunately one can now go online and find thousands of sites about addiction. It’s a daunting task to sort out which are believable and which are not. It's often difficult to see whose bottom line is money from those whose heart is for sobriety/recovery and the addict's family.
Here is the gist of the Sober Coaching website:
Sober coaching is becoming educated about the disease of addiction, utilizing the resources available, such as support groups (for both us and them), avoiding enabling, and setting and enforcing boundaries.

There are excellent resources for parents on understanding addiction then coaching a teen through the stages. The SOBER COACHING angle is something to sink your teeth into. This website contains the steps to take as parent that work. Learning to coach rather than enable cuts through traditional parental knowledge. This concept prepares parents for “fight of their life” in regards to the teenager who is now abusing substances. What I like best is the support they give to anyone who visits the site. They share their knowledge for free, and in my sight it’s worth supporting with dollars and the purchase of their books.

Here are the stages of Addiction with a short definition:
Prevention Mode: All too often parents and even professionals overreact and take drastic measures when they aren’t warranted. If you are in prevention mode, there are some very good resources listed in this section for you to follow up on.
Crisis Mode: Once your teenager has been arrested, precipitated a drug crisis, or some other family crisis as a result of drug abuse or drug addiction, the rules have changed.
Sober Coaching: Exactly what do we mean by sober coaching? A sober coach helps those in recovery learn how to handle all the stressors and relapse hazards of newfound sobriety. Since addicts' lives have typically revolved for years around the maladaptive drug-using lifestyle, they need to learn how to cope with life while sober.

Here are free downloads of chapters from their books YOUNG, SOBER AND FREE and SOBER COACHING YOUR TOXIC TEEN. Other books include: ADDICTION: WHY CAN’T THEY JUST STOP? And KNOWN CURES FOR ALCHOLISM, GETTING YOUR CHILDREN SOBER.

Please order through the site so they get proceeds and support to continue their work. No blaming. Take action today. Buy the book that shows you what really works. Two tracks--one for prevention (your son or daughter is on a troubling path) and one for the young person who is clearly in crisis. A workbook that works!

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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Are Drug Co's Indirectly Answerable for Addiction?

First For Fun - Create your own disease with steps on how to get rich at the same time... Makes you think twice about what is truth and what is not! So try it now:
Generate Your Own Disease
The Disease Mongering Engine is a satirical commentary on various matters we believe to be of public concern and are offered as Free Speech within the protection of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

Now visit the origination site, a wonderful find thanks to my friend for sharing it with the intention of a fun thing to do on Friday nights! NaturalNews.com.
The NaturalNews Network is a non-profit collection of public education websites covering topics that empower individuals to make positive changes in their health, environmental sensitivity, consumer choices and informed skepticism.

Amazingly here's something else I found that pointedly goes along with this post about addiction.

Are Pharmaceutical companies indirectly responsible for all the addiction?



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Friday, November 21, 2008

THOUGHT: Positive Alternative

Learn the art of tea -
Check out the entire post on amalgamarts!

there are many choices when it comes to tea. tea leaves are black, green, white, flowered, sprinkled with flavors, tiny popped corn. and oolongs just to name a few varieties. then there are tea pots, cups and spoons all part of the lovely ritual of tea. i like my tea sweet and use plain sugar. in japan we used liquid sugar which was also excellent for iced tea. so tea is sweetened or not, filled with cream, hot or cold, in a cup with or without a handle.

my greatest pleasure was sitting with friends, sipping tea, sharing stories as we poured not only from the endless pots of tea, of our lives and ideas. to me having tea, coffee and being social is quite a lost art today. with all the social networking online it's easy to forget to take time to smell the aroma of jasmine teas, fresh brewed coffee with one another. but all isn't lost - even online one can sip tea while chatting and writing on facebook, yahoo or any other messenger.

it's simple. never forget to make it to real places with real people as the core of your socializing.

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Be Sober, Be Healed.
Are you or someone you know struggling with addiction?
It affects everyone. Ready for a change?
Addiction Rehab is available.
Make a choice today.

Monday, November 10, 2008

THOUGHT: forgiveness and addiction

every one must forgive.
as difficult as it is forgiveness is the best healer of all. no matter what the injury or wound, the addict/sinner (please click to look at the definition from original Hebrew scripture) is also one deeply wounded. as we begin to move forward with community, in our families, reaching out with understanding with the offer of forgiveness as a path of restoration.

It's judicial on both sides, a judgment of sorts, because one needs also to admit wrongdoing and hurts as well to make amends. Something most 21st century society is not familiar with. Actually, I find one TV Show that uses apologies, asking forgiveness as well as admitting mistakes and that is BROTHERS AND SISTERS on ABC. It's one of my favorite shows to watch because the relationships show reality and truth in all American Families. It's successful in showing the complex way families hang in the balance between unity and brokenness.

substances being abused will fade with knowledge, love and forgiveness. standing in the face of abusers is not a task easily faced. it takes commitment and unfailing trust that GOD is in control and is bigger than any problem at hand.

jumping out of the circle dance of blame and into the pool of forgiveness and healing. put down the pride and defense.... right now in this present moment this is good medicine...


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Be Sober, Be Healed.
Are you or someone you know struggling with addiction?
It affects everyone. Ready for a change?
Addiction Rehab is available.
Make a choice today.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Learning from the past


Back in May, I wrote about a friend, Terry, a repeat offender with 12 DWI's. I updated the link as the video no longer exists on KRQE's site. Symbolically it made me think - it's time to update Terry's progress in life, as well as the link deleting the video.

I talked with Terry in October on a visit back home. If the troubles of a year probation and all the junk that goes with it can teach one to turn the other way, Terry has done just that. I observed a tremendous change and polish to him. He's calm, not angry and is working the 12 Step program with a zeal I rarely see in others. His business is flourishing and life seems to be falling in place. There's something to be said about sobriety. I've always liked him regardless of his addictions. We all have them in some form or another. It's only when addictions come to full fruition and hurt others that it's had to see past the sin. Or in other words: wrong doing, error, failure, immoral acts, criminal offense or misbehavior.

Terry never lost his sense of humor, ability to learn and move on during his struggle with addiction. Nor did his faith in God. He also is involved in his musical talent a gift worth polishing. His family stayed the course with him. My friend, his ex, kept a light to "normal" life out to him. Otherwise, he may have missed the forgiveness and restoration he enjoys now. I see the light in Terry and it makes me happy to know one more didn't bite the dust!

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Subscribe today! ADDICTSHUN | addictions
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be Sober, Be Healed.
Are you or someone you know struggling with addiction?
It affects everyone. Ready for a change?
Addiction Rehab is available.
Make a choice today.