Intervention Books:Addiction Triggers

What are triggers?  A trigger is anything that reminds a substance abuser of fond memories directly related to using drugs or alcohol.  Maybe a trigger is a song that reminds a user of the fun nights with a drug or maybe a certain smell reminds the user of the euphoric feeling of a high or maybe a trigger is a billboard sign promising a beer drinker a guaranteed good time with a cold beverage while watching a football game, but whatever one's triggers are, unfortunately triggers are impossible to avoid.

Although triggers can not be completely avoided, there are certain steps to be taken to reduce the number of triggers a former substance abuser is exposed to.  For example, a former drug user can immedietly turn the radio station when a triggering song comes on or not attend a party where alcohol will be consumed.  Some addicts and alcoholics even go to lengths of cutting the tie to their television in order to avoid the constant wave of beer and liquor adverisements.  Yes, recovery from addiction takes work, sometimes more work than what a user wants to put forth, but without taking action to reduce triggers maintaing sobriety will only become more difficult.  At times the power of a drug or drink  is nearly unstoppable so why add more momentum to a nearly unstopabble train?  Find your triggers, be aware of them, take whatever action to avoid the triggers, and when avoiding the trigger is not possible reach out to someone to talk through the decietful thought that drinking and drugging is worth risking everything.

Addiction Memoirs: Al-Anon

Are you tired of feeling that your loved one is putting their addiction before you?  Does it seem like your relationship with someone special in your life, whether it's a family member or a significant other, seems to be fading into unknown territory?  If so, you are not alone.  Millions of people are connected to somebody they know that is struggling with substance abuse.  In my personal experience, anytime the topic of addiction comes up in conversation, the person I am talking with, will almost always bring up somebody close to them that is struggling with addiction.

The biggest misconception of dealing with the addiction of someonebody else, is a feeling of being alone.  Addiction is everywhere folks and everyone is effected by it.  The more we isolate the problem, thinking we are alone, the worse the situation.  We must reach out to other human beings going through the same struggle we share and talk through the situation.  Unity is stronger than any individual and to think you can take on someone else's addiction without a supportive environment is as insane as the user thinking he or she can keep using without paying any serious consequences.  The supportive environment I am talking about is Al-Anon.  Al-Anon is a group that meets about how to handle the addiction of someone close to you.  If you are personally struggiling with somebody going through addiction or is in recovery, Al-Anon will give you a whole new life.  There are meetings for Al-Anon all over the country and all over Georgia.  For a complete list of where to find a meeting near you, click on this link. Al-Anon

Intervention Two Excerpt

Although my grades were shot, I thought for sure, I was going back to the school the next semester.  It was my first semester in college and I was almost expected to do bad.  Everybody does poorly their first semester.  Seventy percent of college freshman make a grade point average below a 3.0.  So maybe I was below a 1.0 but I would change.  The next semester was going to be completely different. 

Two days after the semester ended, my parents and I were sitting in the living room watching a Christmas special.  They had seen my grades, but a conversation about the semester never came up.  I figured we were on the same page, next semester would be different.  My Dad shut off the television, he looked over at me.  “Chad you’re not going back to school next semester.”

            “What?”

            “We gave you a chance and you blew it.”

My Mom’s eyes were filled with disappointment and anger.  She was quiet.  I was quiet, lost in Dad’s words.

I had to convince them they were wrong.  My emotions were boiling on the inside, but I knew to look calm on the outside.  I started with an even and convincing tone, “Guys, it was just a rough start, I’ll do better, I promise.  College is important to me.”

My Mom read straight through me, “I don’t think so Chad, you’re done, not with a failing GPA.  We can’t trust you.  Plain and simple”

“Guys, I’m serious, I’ll do better, I’ll go to meetings down there, I’ll do whatever it takes.  I need this.”

“Chad.”  My Dad’s tone was in manager mode.  “This isn’t a discussion, you’re moving home.”

The emotions were too strong.  I couldn’t hold my cool any longer.  I threw my head back and let out a few words of disbelief.  It was over.  Their expressions weren’t budging, their minds were set and I was back to living at home.

During the Thanksgiving break, I worked a seasonal position at a furniture store near my parent’s home.  Originally, I planned to work the Thanksgiving break and the Christmas break, hoping to make enough money to pay back my parent’s back, but now I was going to be working the entire next semester, living back under my parent’s rule.  It was depressing.

The night after my parents informed me I would be moving home, I drove back to school to collect my belongings.  When I moved in, it was a glorious day for both my parents and myself.  Now, I was by myself, collecting the pieces of my broken first semester of college.  I blew it, straight up, just like my Dad told me. 

Drug and alcohol memoirs: Enabling... The Addiction

Anyone that is currently connected to someone suffering through an active addiction may want to take time to reflect on the enabling side of addiction.  Enabling is a serious problem that can keep someone on the path of addiction and must be addressed.  

As a caring human being, the last thing we want to do, is cause someone pain.  Well what if we are causing more pain for the struggling addict and not even realizing it?  What if we are keeping that person stuck in their pain by giving them the means to continue to use.  Believe me, there is nothing harder than denying someone you love the means he or she needs to survive in this world.  Everybody has to eat.  Everybody needs shelter, a job, and even some of the finer things in life, right?  Of course and naturally it feels right to help someone get those necessities of life.  But what if we took those things away?  What if the addict had to figure out how to balance a life of substance use with the necessities of life? Would the addict survive? 

The majority of us aren't willing to take that chance, because it scares us, so instead we continue to help the person with things like food, water, and shelter.  However, let's think about this; if the addict or alcoholic had to suddenly fend for himself or herself, they may not be able to survive, but that doesn't mean they will die, it means they may be more likely to seek help.  We must stop enabling people, so the person we love can feel how bad their addiction is, then we can work with a mindset that realizes things are beyond their own control.

Addiction memoirs: Changing the negative stigma toward addiction

If addiction is a disease then why do we treat it with a hush hush mentality?  When we hear someone is diagnosed with cancer, we don't start saying things like, "Oh well you brought this upon your self," or "What's wrong with you?"  So if the new thinking regarding addiction is centered on the disease model then why is their still a negative stigma toward addiction?  I can tell you right now.

Changing the mindset of the general public from thinking addiction is self-inflicted to a mindset that addiction is a disease and some people may have fallen into addiction not because of poor choices but because of external situations or even a different chemical make up in the brain, starts with the people in recovery not being afraid to say they are in recovery.  Plain and simple.  If the person in recovery thinks addiction is bad then of course everyone else is going to think addiction is a bad.  Ok, so maybe you're thinking well the person in recovery is afraid to say they are in recovery because people whom don't struggle with addiction will judge the person in recovery.  Is this accurate?  Probably, but this mindset will never change unless the members of the recovery program stand up and say yes I struggle with substances, however look at me now.  I know what's wrong with me and I have made a conciseness decision to improve it, now let's talk about what you are doing to improve your defects because everybody knows there's something wrong with everyone!

More to come on this topic, just getting warmed up.

Addiction books: The negative tone towards addiction

Addiction is a disease, there is no doubt about it. But why do people whisper or hint around the topic when they are talking about someone they know whom is struggling with substances? Let's face it, at some point or another, we have tiptoed around using the words addicted or dependent. There's just something about the word that terrifies us. Maybe your perception of someone addicted to drugs and alcohol is a dark shadow in the alleyway or a homeless person under the bridge or even a dangerous criminal.

However, is that truly valid ? Does everyone who suffer from the disease of addiction end up like one of these three people. No. Of course not, but it does not mean our perceptions have changed. Amy Wilson, the Clinical Director at ExecuCare Addiction Recovery Center, recently wrote an article about people's perceptions toward addiction. In her article, Amy discussed the results of a recent survey posted in The American Journal of Psychiatry. The survey revealed data to suggest the general public still carries a negative attitude toward someone struggling from the disease of addiction.

Why do people still carry a negative attitude toward addiction? Could it be that our education system taught us that drugs are dangerous and people that do drugs are bad? Remember, when you were in elementary school and pictures of dangerous people were paired with drugs and alcohol? Well, these images have most likely not left our mind. However, I'm not saying what the school system did was wrong, in fact it's best to associate drug use with danger, but none the less, it's imperative as human beings we recognize people may be using drugs to deal with traumatic life events. Sexual, physical, and verbal abuse is a major reason many people use drugs and alcohol.

The disease model for addiction suggests some people have a genetic blueprint that is more likely to become addicted to drugs and when this personality type is combined with a traumatic life event, drug usage may be unstoppable. With this in mind, I challenge the public to step back and take a deeper thought before associating the word 'bad' with someone suffering from the disease of addiction. Think about why this person is struggling with addiction and offer compassion before you offer judgement. 

Intervention 2 Excerpt

One sunny afternoon in the middle of October, I reached into my pocket to answer the vibrating noise of my cell phone. Across the screen, read Dad. An anxious and nervous feeling shot through me. I hesitated to answer the phone call. 

The phone continued to vibrate in my hand. I stared at it debating. Do I answer? He's going to ask about my grades. What do I do? Why's he calling? Just answer.

I made my voice sound clear and innocent, “Hey Dad.”

His voice was stern, I could immediately tell this wasn't going to be good. When he's angry with me, he uses a voice that makes me cringe and he sarcastically pretends to be excited, “Hi Chad, how's it going down there?”

Even though, I knew he wasn't calling for a friendly chat, I responded in a way that I hoped would make everything sound good, “It's great Dad, been studying a lot, hanging out, going to class, it's good, no problems.” A knot formed in my throat. What a lie.

He didn't waste any time, “Really? That's interesting you mentioned studying a lot.” He paused for a second. It made me panic. What's he talking about? Does he know something? What's going on. The world seemed to go into slow motion. The birds quit chirping, the sun quit shining, and the cars quit moving. He knows something! The terror prevented me from speaking. I stayed silent until I heard my mom's voice join the conversation, “CHAD! We just saw your midterm scores. You're practically failing everything!”

What! How! How! How does she know that? I didn't even know that. Failing?

I had to make it sound like everything was under control. “No guys, I just did bad on the first tests, that's all. College is different than high school, I didn't know what to expect. I'll do better. I'm studying more now.” Please buy it. Please believe me.

My mom's voice made me want to hide. “Chad!” I didn't respond. “Chad, you listen to me. Are you listening?”

“Yes mom.” I was starting to feel agitated. They were getting in the way of my plans.