What is addiction Tuesday, Mar 31 2009

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them.

What are the alternatives we alluded to in the last communique? There are a plethora of programs that run the gamut from the Original Alcoholics Anonymous (12 Step Program) to the Guru Programs( You don’t need AA or NA, come here and get cured in 30 days!). In all fairness I cannot qualify any program as better than any other one, being as I have not personally been to them, all I can vouch for are the ones I have tried while practicing my addiction. AA, NA, GA, PA, Over Eaters Anonymous or any other of the multitude of these programs are all based on the 12 Steps principal and have worked extremely well for the people they serve.

But there are always folks with a newer and better way of doing it, take for example a heroin addict going to methadone maintenance treatment, exactly what has that person accomplished, in my estimation, nothing. That person just traded one drug for another, but in a program, it’s legal, ethical you decide, switch one substance for another, get habituated on the substitute drug, and still continue using the original drug, don’t sound right to me.

The high end programs, are just that, high end. Not discounting their services, the prices they charge are to say the least outrageous. Middle end programs run on the average about $6,000 – $7,000 for a thirty day stay, high end $9,000 and up depending on the accommodations. On the other end of the scale is the indigent programs. There is no charge for these programs, the services are equal to the high end programs without all the fancy trim.

The effectiveness of thee programs is not dependent on the location, or the accommodations, but rather on the staff working there. A PhD in Psychology as opposed to a street smart LCDC does not improve your chances of success any more than a fancy Brandy snifter makes you any less of an alcoholic then a guy that guzzles right from the bottle. What I am trying to say is the program does not guarantee success, the people in it and their commitment to the success of the client does.

There is another alternative, usually found in your own neighborhood, Churches are now getting far more visible as a source of help for addiction of all types. The people of the local church body have developed a program called Celebrate Recovery, it is open to anyone, it does not just focus on chemical dependence, but rather a very broad spectrum of addiction related problems. This focus is primarily a God centered recovery program, which by the way is the basis for all the 12 Step Programs in existence.

No matter which type of program you choose, choose carefully, you are betting your life on it. Find out all you can before you commit, it will make a world of difference. See you next week.
Something new check it out at www.addictsr.com, it’s finally live.

2 Responses »

 

What is Addiction? Monday, Mar 16 2009

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them.

If the “Addiction Cycle” is so powerful in the life of a person who is addicted, how can it be overcome? That question presents many problems, depending on which perspective is used. From the standpoint of the recovery programs, you receive the basis for overcoming the cycle through their ministrations, which in fact is partially right. From the standpoint of Counseling, the continuation of professional intervention plus the support of a group such as AA, NA, etc. will vastly increase the probability of success.

Programs run the gamut from Indigent, at no cost, to the high end, at anywhere from 6,000 to 15,000 for 30 days of therapy and relaxation depending on which you prefer. But at the best, the prognosis is often less than good (success rates < 15%), no guarantees. If the rate of success is so low, then how come these programs appear to be doing so well?

The answer is the dream of every on-line Marketer on the planet, “Return Business.”

It is not a big thing to see people in treatment 3, 4, or 5 times, which could run up a tab of about $30.000 in a three month period. If this seems exorbitant, your right, it is. But, that’s the business of recovery, with the involvement of insurance the cost rises exponentially. Which in the end, you pay for anyway.

You are probably wondering if there are any alternatives? As a matter of fact, there are. But it requires involvement, and dedication. When you think of that, think of this, The person that is the subject of this involvement is someone special to you, or you wouldn’t be doing it, would you?

In the next chapter, we will start to explore some of these alternatives, just remember, there is always a way to help, and the payback is unimaginable.

Leave a Response »

 

What is Addiction Sunday, Mar 8 2009

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them.

Does an opportunity have to present itself in order for a person to become an addict? In a word, YES. The reason I say this is, each and everyone of us has the ability to become whatever we choose, often times, this choice is for the better. But, there are times when we manufacture opportunities in order to get what we want.

It is during these times of self manufactured opportunities that far reaching mistakes are made, and these mistakes will not be realized until latter in our lives. When we give in to the ease of doing things from home, IE, shopping, communicating, running a business, on line dating, we have a tendency to more and more seclude ourselves and interacting with others less and less. The more we do this, the more we are apt to develop methods of entertaining ourselves by ourselves.

When we run out of ways to do it on our own, we begin to seek methods of doing it by introducing either substance or situations as the opportunity arises, more often than not we manipulate our environs so these situations do arise.

The question then becomes, What is the goal of this manipulation, the answer is not pleasure, although that is part of the matter. The answer lies somewhere between realization and actualization. We realize that for some reason that we don’t know, something in our lives is missing, but trying to find out what that is is a problem of immense proportion, far to great for us to fathom. So the answer then becomes “Replace the missing with something I have enjoyed before, nothing wrong with that.”

When this action is employed, it eventually leads to tolerance which then leads to the deterioration of functions. This deterioration of function then leads to the loss of identity/relevance, which leads to depression, which leads to increased usage or increased instances of participation in situations we have chosen to engage in. Also known as the “Addiction Cycle”.

Leave a Response »

 

What is Addiction Thursday, Mar 5 2009

Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them. Although well said, the beginning of addiction is a personal choice, there are other factors that make their presence felt in the equation of addiction. Lets take a look at that equation:

Substance/Situation+Person+Opportunity+The absence of identity/relevance/purpose=addiction.

The person does make the choice to continue to use, as of yet, none of the implications of addiction have come home to that person. The uppermost thing in the future addicts thought pattern is the return to that feeling of the “Virgin High” complete and total euphoria, no concerns about what tomorrow may bring, no fears to deal with today, no concerns about what to wear, what to say, how to look, or what to own to be part of “The Group” The only thing that matters is what we think and feel, everything else is extraneous.

In todays society, individuality is pushed to the maximum, advertising is aimed at the individual IE; “You deserve it” “You are worth it” “it was made for you” “it is you” “An Army of One” “You deserve a break today” “Better living for you through chemicals” “Think of the fun you could have with this product” More and more we disenfranchise ourselves from our neighbors and friends and families. Neighbors become the person next door, friends become acquaintances, families become holiday contacts.

Intrinsically man is a gregarious creature, he is designed to be among others of his kind. In the Book of Genesis God created man and woman to be together not to live in two different sections of the house, alone and separate, children were created to be with families, not alone, friends were created to share, not horde, neighbors were created to say hello, nor seclude themselves. I don’t know what happened to create the difference we now experience, but happen it did. What purpose does it serve to have everything but be able to share nothing? Though this sounds like nothing, look again at the equation above, see if this does not lend itself to the fourth part of the structure?

Next the subject will be the third part of the equation, the opportunity, I hope you will return.

Leave a Response »