My Name is Roger, and I'm an alcoholic

I would like to share with you my thoughts about a Blog post that Roger Ebert did a few days ago that I found to be quite intriguing and informative. It's not every day that people in the spotlight decide to discuss their struggles with Alcoholism and their journey towards recovery outside of the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Roger Ebert has not had a drink in 30 years and thought that perhaps sharing a little bit of his experience without going into a full on "Drunkalog" might help some body work towards starting their own journey towards recovery. As Ebert says: "You may be wondering, in fact, why I'm violating the A.A. policy of anonymity and outing myself. A.A. is anonymous not because of shame but because of prudence; people who go public with their newly-found sobriety have an alarming tendency to relapse". Ebert conservatively opens the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous to the outside world and gives people a glimpse of what it is about and how it might be able to help. I believe that he very carefully goes about his post in order to not break the principles set forth by A.A.

Let's face it, there is a lot of social stigmas regarding A.A. and many people refer to it as a religion or a cult. Roger Ebert attempts to clear up some of those ideas regarding the program, "A "cult?" How can that be, when it's free, nobody profits and nobody is in charge? A.A. is an oral tradition reaching back to that first meeting between Bill W. and Doctor Bob in the lobby of an Akron hotel. They'd tried psychiatry, the church, the Cure. Maybe, they thought, drunks can help each other, and pass it along. A.A. has spread to every continent and into countless languages, and remains essentially invisible. I was dumbfounded to discover there was a meeting all along right down the hall from my desk".

A.A. helps those people who want to be helped, it is not a program of idea pushers and there is no one way to work a program; if it works for you, than it works and nobody is going to tell you that you are working the program the wrong way. It is a collective of similar minds with similar problems, all working towards one common goal - Don't drink no matter what!

Roger Ebert in my opinion rather beautifully discusses his experience upon arriving at the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and talks a little bit about the serenity that he found once he became a member. Without breaking peoples' anonymity he talks about some of the people he met and who helped him see things a little more clearly along the way. Alcoholism is not something you manage on your own and if that were the case there would be no need for such a program; people find strength to not pick up their next drink inside the rooms of recovery and it may seem simple and that is because it is a simple program based on 12 steps that one can live their life by.

"'Everybody's story is the same,' Humble Howard liked to say. 'We drank too much, we came here, we stopped, and here we are to tell the tale.' Before I went to my first meeting, I imagined the drunks would sit around telling drinking stories. Or perhaps they would all be depressing and solemn and holier-than-thou. I found out you rarely get to be an alcoholic by being depressing and solemn and holier-than-thou. These were the same people I drank with, although now they were making more sense", relates Ebert.

I encourage everyone to read Roger Ebert's post: My Name is Roger, and I'm an Alcoholic because it is a very enlightening piece from one man's lips about millions of people's experiences. I would love to hear your thoughts...

My Take #8 What is the best way to begin to normalize the dysregulated brain function and allow the person to regain some behavioral control over the use of the addicting substances?My Take #8

The best way to provide a successful result is a residential treatment program. The program begins with a medical assessment before the detoxification begins. The purpose of the detoxification to remove the drugs that are acting on the mesolimbic dopamine system (MLS). Slowly there is fleeting control changes giving back the power to the fore brain (thus the decision make become more normal). 

 Many treatment options are available, and are individualized to fit your recovery needs.  Stopping active addiction is just the beginning.  Recovery is a process of healing the mind, body and spirit.  Our program covers a wide variety of therapeutic areas and techniques designed to get you back into living a happy, clean, and sober lifestyle. For instance gym workouts and groups at the beach in the sunshine allow the nature body chemicals to begin to help take back the brain. Time is the great restorer. Slowly the forebrain gains mental clarity and the loving descent law abiding person returns. This is the beginning stages of getting “CHOICE” back into the equation relating to substance abuse. We use multiple disciplines to help the individual complete the process of early recovery. The process is healing the mind, body and spirit.

Our Goal is to resolve the core psychological problems that trigger the use of the substances. Thus, we provide psychological counseling in one-on-one and group settings through the utilization of the latest advances in Addiction Medicine, individual and group counseling, immersion in 12-Step recovery principles, long term continuing care planning, patients find that full recovery is more than just a possibility.

We teach an understanding of how and why the midbrain Hi-jacks the person away from “the seat of all that we are” in the fore brain. Teach techniques to control the ‘Cravings” that every addicted person has when they are becoming clean and sober. Time and good recovery tools leads to a less intense craving

Ernie @ Hope By The Sea

My Take # 6 Out patient alcoholic and Drug Treatment

Out Patient treatment of alcohol and Drug Addictions is one of the options But unless you have a client who is stable treated as out patient with a caring staff can be done but the result are less successful

 Outpatient treatment should recognize and treat co-occurring disorders by psychological counseling, drug and alcohol counseling as well as educational and group counseling.  It begins with an assessment of the alcohol and drug abuse/dependency as well as an assessment of the patient’s mental status.  From this a plan is formulated which is time limited to and measurable to treat the dependency/abuse as well as the co-occurring mental illness.  

One of the problems with out patient treatments is compliance since most of their time is not monitored or controlled in any way ,the need to stop using an addictive substance is not as clear to the addicted frontal brain and use is much more likely. But in some cases it is the only real option.

Ernie In South Orange County Calif.

My Take # 3 What is the alcohol and drug treatment ?

The treatment of drug and alcohol abuse or addiction starts with a dedicated staff who is committed to helping the client  achieve there goals in life.

To have fulfillment instead of frustration -

To have influence instead of importance - 

To have peace instead of conflict -

To love and be loved -

To be truly happy -

 You already posses the ability to have all these attributes and more.The Staff can help you reach your goal to have a fulfilling life. So in the end it is more than staying sober and clean for life!!!!

Ernie in Orange County California

My Take # 4 What are the types of drug & alcohol treatment facilities available?

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facilities are divided in to several categories :

Public vs Private

Hospital vs Clinic  vs Residential

Contracted with Insurance vs Private Pay

Non-profit vs Partial Scholarship
Inpatient vs Out-patient  

Meth Addiction, My Story Part 4

"Methamphetamine is a powerful psychostimulant and sympathomimetic drug. It is a member of the family of phenylethylamines.
Methamphetamine enters the brain and triggers a cascading release of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. It is highly active in the mesolimbic reward pathway of the brain, inducing intense euphoria, with high-risk for abuse and powerful addiction."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_meth)

In my last blog I talked about My first decisions as an adult. I refered to them as my "Man" decisions.
I dropped out of high school the day after my 18th birthday, Maybe the day of, not sure. This is when the "Party" really started for me. I also had a lot more good ideas(see meth virtually shuts off the frontal lobe of the brain, this is where good judgment and reasoning lie). To support my habit I would sell meth, and so I could learn how the police operate, I would start criminal justice classes at the near by community college. I know, you are thinking, that is brilliant. Thats what I thought.

Life started to get really crazy, really fast. I was buying from the gang members, selling as much as I could, but I have to be honest(it is part of my recovery, ha ha) I just wasn't a very good drug dealer. Why you ask? well because I like to use, oh a little co-depentent also, had to get you high to, if you were there.

Anyway things where starting to really get out of control, I was smoking $100's of dollars of meth a day. and at the end of the week when it was time to pay up, I was always a little short and you never, let me repeat, you never come up short to a chicano gang member. So I did what any good addict would do, I stole what ever I could, from who ever I could, and sold it where ever I could and to who ever I could. This was a life or death matter.
The next nine months where extremely crazy, my introduction to the street life. learning the rules of the streets and learning who you can trust, NOBODY.

The longer I used and the more days I stayed awake the more paronoid I got, but for some reason there was a comfort in this crazy paranoia when I was livin' the street life.

let me explain my paranoia in the early days, cause part of it is justified and the other part is meth induced mixed with lack of sleep.
The justified paranoia: the feeling that everyone is out to get you. justified? Yes, because for the most part, they are.
The unjustified paranoia: when you think your best friend of 15 years is a undercover police officer. Unjustified, yes, you have known him virtually all your life, when did he go through the training. a rat maybe, undercover cop, no.
A Rat: an individual who narcs on or helps the police in anyway to get out of trouble for something illegal that they have been caught for.(AS defined by the streets volume 1)

Here is the funny thing, this is only the first nine months of my adult life. I am just barely getting started. I haven't even been arrest as an adult yet. tune in for more.

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