Recovery...as this drunk sees it #1

"The cost of living has gone up another dollar 

a quart." 
~ W. C. Fields

The first word that needs to be understood 

before anyone  can even begin to deal with 

an addict/alcoholic is:

Denial....

D - don't 
E - even 
N -no (know)
I - I 
A - am 
L - lying

How can you tell when an alcoholic is lying?? 
- His lips are moving.

   Most people are good, moral, upstanding individuals who know the difference between right and wrong. Under the influence, alcoholics forget everything that has to do with making the right choice and they go into a survival mode. If it takes lying, cheating and stealing to get more of the substance that their bodies crave, they will do what they must to get it. The denial system of survival set up by the sick and suffering may and usually involves and affects everyone around them.
   Those who allow (or refuse to admit) the alcoholics immoral behaviors become the enablers of the addict/alcoholic. Enablers, (husband, wives, parents, bosses, friends? employers, significant others) 
are in themselves very sick and need education or treatment just as badly as the alcoholic.

   Rehabilitation means to return an individual back to a sane and normal moral existence.

   During the rehabilitation process education means to discover those behaviors that are destructive to the alcoholic and those around him, and compare them to the behaviors that are acceptable. 
Treatment is the series of exercises and activities suggested to change the identified negative behaviors into acceptable ones.
   After the in-patient treatment, most good rehab facilities will have a new lifestyle plan for the client to put into place upon their release from the facility. This next phase of recovery is a topic for future posts.
   One drink for the alcoholic who is trying to rehabilitate themselves means a total destruction of any progress that may have been made towards the return to a normalized behavior pattern. Often, a relapse by an addict/alcoholic, may add insult to injury. The affected has, by relapsing, added additional guilt and shame to their already diminished egos.Treatment for the relapsed addict/alcoholic (a client who has completed at least one prior stay at a 28 day facility) is a totally different and specific entity in the rehab/treatment field. Some of the more prominent rehabilitation centers in the United States have separate satellite locations or separate on campus facilities specifically assigned to relapse clients.

   Rehab, education, and treatment are to no avail if the affected do not cooperate.

   You can tell a drunk, but you can't tell him much.

   Although this article is addressed to the Addict/Alcoholic, most of the attitudes and behaviors described can be attributed to those who suffer from addictive personalities. It is not what substance one uses, but how they abuse the substance. Gambling, food, sex, workaholic, or any other obsessive compulsive behavior that cause an individual to neglect normal responsibilities or make improper moral judgements, are included in the treatable realm of addictive disorders. 
   Many rehabilitation centers are exclusive to one type of addiction or to a select few addictions that they deem to be equally well treated by their program. 
   Be aware that some of the addictions may be better treated in a clinic situation . Sex and Love addicts and the dual diagnosed usually do better when they are in controlled therapy sessions (Self-help programs) in addition to their twelve step program work. Many self help meetings are not advertised the way AA meetings are publicly scheduled and may need to be sought out by seeking professional guidance. This secrecy is not to hide from public scrutiny to avoid the social stigma, it is done to keep sexual predators and untreated deviates from stalking the vulnerable individuals who need to attend the meetings. Doctors and lawyers have a referral system they use to keep their self help meetings limited to only those in their profession. This type of activity is against the traditions of AA, however, this type of exclusivity only helps to underscore the negative stigma that alcoholism has in the general society.

The following link is to one of the most highly recommended Drug and Alcohol treatment centers in theUnited States. This facility is located in the eastern mid-Atlantic states area.
http://www.fathermartinsashley.com

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Michael_e

My Short Story

This is a short story, just like me, short.

I'm not a midget, but, for the egomaniac

who suffers with an inferiority complex,

any character defect is/was enough to drive

me crazy, short drive.

I did not fit in, I did not know how to fit in,

still don't, but I have learned that not

fitting in does have its benefits.

At forty-nine I stopped drinking because my fuse was burning rapidly

and I could not see my life for the smoke.

After fifteen years the smoke lifted and I started to learn how to listen.

At first I listened to those who had traveled a  path similar to mine and they

taught me the most important lesson I have ever learned, how to listen to my

own quiet small inner voice, the intuitive song that is provided by the

Spirit of the Uni-verse, the song that flows through everyone and everything.

I read books, I read blogs and I saw it written many times and many ways,

writing is very good therapy both for the sane and the insane, I couldn't miss.

I put together the two lessons, listening to my gut feelings and to start writing

because it is therapeutic and ergo I was launched on a daily routine of writing

that has surpassed four years.

For the first year and a half I wrote 4 to 6 hundred words a day by choosing

a word that was positive, a word that related to changing ones behaviors and attitudes

or a thought that helped me better understand myself, even though the writing was

supposedly for the benefit of the reader,.

The therapy for me was in the proof reading, was I just talking the talk (writing the write),

or was I walking the walk.

Two Thousand and ten saw the advent of "Happiness Is", 365 posts about happiness,

followed by "Love Is" in two thousand and eleven  and I am half way through

two thousand and twelve writing "Life Is".

I have a friend who reads my blog from time to time and sometime during

two thousand ten I chastised him for not reading a particular blog because the topic

was about an issue that he was having trouble with (women), and I was sure that

he would benefit from my sage advise.

He told me that at 250 to 300 words per day, it was too long and too tedious for his

little brain to wrap around.

Two lessons, write short, Love Is and Life Is are 100 words +/- per day, and lesson

number two, the most important lesson, I am writing for MY benefit and if someone

receives some motivation or pleasure from my writing, God bless them.

Do I want to publish my thoughts, the ego says yes, the retirement income says it could

use the boost, but the truth is I am content to write for myself every day.

Faith, God has provided me with inspiration every day over the span of the exercise

and my life is just as good as God wants it to be, my needs are being met and

my wants know their place.

The moral of this short story, learn to listen and listen to learn.

.

Hugs, love and prayers, ME and the Boss

.

.

The Boss is either God or my wife,
depends on who is standing behind me at the time
giving me the inspiration needed to get the job done.
.