Category Archives: Addiction

A Personal Note To My Loyal Readers

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This is a permanent post.

New material is below this entry.

If you have been around here much, you will have noted that lately my posts have dropped off dramatically. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in Digital Dharma, but rather a matter of time constraints.

For about a year I have been writing a blog for a chain of drug and alcohol detox facilities. I took on the job primarily because it was a unique way to facilitate the spread of information and hope regarding addiction and recovery. Over the past few months it has turned into a sort of full-time part-time position, and my duties have expanded to writing informational material that will eventually be placed in such a way as to reach most everyone who contacts any of the facilities.

This is far more reach than I had hoped for Continue reading →

An Oldie But A Goodie…

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It’s time to re-post this; one of my best, IMNSHO:

I was considering the way some of us in the rooms seem to think of ourselves, based on the way we talk. We say, “I’m not a bad person trying to get better, I’m a sick person trying to get well.” Then we continue talking about our shortcomings and defects of character. We say things like “I’m an alcoholic, and my problem is Bill.” (I don’t measure up; I’m defective; I’m a problem.) That is not an affirmation.

The language of 12-step groups is the language of seventy years ago–more like a hundred if you consider when the authors got their actual educations. We now know a great deal more about psychology than in the era of Freud and Jung. We also know a great deal more about addiction and alcoholism.

Read More…

Boxer Says Alcohol, Cocaine No Problem

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Ricky Hatton, a British boxer currently in treatment for “depression,” denies drug addiction or alcohol abuse:

…Hatton, whose treatment at The Priory clinic is for depression, also said: “I’m not the slightest bit worried about the cocaine. Problem? What problem?”

He said his drinking is not an issue either, after confessing to downing nearly 50 pints of Guinness a week.

“You would associate alcoholism with shorts like whisky and vodka – but I have never really had that,” the News of the World quotes him as saying.

More at Sunrise Detox Blog

PAWS after 10 years?

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To Kevin,

Your uncle is not suffering from PAWS after 10 years.  In the worst cases, Post-acute withdrawal lasts only about two years after complete abstinence.  Complete abstinence includes opioid and synthetic opioid pain meds as well as all benzodiazepine tranquilizers, among other drugs.

There are a number of other conditions with similar symptoms, including diabetes. He needs to discuss them with a good internist, and he needs to be totally up front with the doc about his history of drug use and his recovery.

Special Report: High finance and corporate pot, California style

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While I don’t especially like the idea of introducing another legal drug to add to the problems we have with alcohol, it seems inevitable.  It is certainly preferable to the completely inhumane laws that now send people to prison for selling weed, while down the street the government sanctions the sale (and taxation) of a substance that is known absolutely to destroy hundreds of thousands of lives a year.

“If California legalizes marijuana, the rest of the nation may well follow. One way or the other, cut rate, highly potent California weed is unlikely to stop at the state’s borders.

The U.S. state that first allowed sales of medicinal marijuana, in 1996, may take away all restrictions on adult use of the drug in a November vote, giving local governments the option to regulate sales and growing of marijuana.

The magnitude of the experiment is difficult to fathom — the world’s eighth largest economy will tear down barriers to the most used illegal drug in the United States….”

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66M1YH20100723

There Are Bad Drugs and Good Drugs, And You Probably Aren’t Qualified To Decide Which Is Which

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This Memorial Day and all those following will have a special meaning for us.  The 29th of May marked the one-year anniversary of our granddaughter’s suicide.

The death of a beautiful 19-year-old is always tragic.  Cadi’s was especially so, because it almost certainly didn’t have to happen.  She suffered from profound depression, had gone off her medication (which had been working well), and had been drinking.  The details don’t matter.  She’s gone, along with a piece of the hearts of everyone who knew and loved her.

The point here is that there are definitely good drugs and bad drugs.  I bring it up because in my correspondence and other contacts with people in recovery I often run across their expressed desires to get off all drugs, not just their drugs of abuse.  This unfortunate impulse is often supported by people who consider themselves to be well-versed in recovery issues but who, in actuality, are just people with opinions, not facts.

We have to keep a couple of points in mind here — important facts about addiction, depression and recovery.

  • Addiction causes changes in our brains that take from one to two years to return to “normal,” (if they ever do).
  • Depression is part of withdrawal, and “post acute” withdrawal can last for many months.
  • Antidepressant drugs can help, but they have their withdrawal issues as well.

As all addicts and many other folks know all-too-well, withdrawal symptoms are, generally speaking, the opposite of whatever pleasurable effects the drug may have had.  To put it another way, we took drugs or drank to feel good, then we did it to feel normal, then we did it because we had to — but in all cases, when we stopped taking them we felt discomfort ranging from icky to “Oh My God!”  If we used uppers, we were depressed when we stopped.  Quitting downers made us feel agitated, have blood pressure spikes, etc.; and our digestive systems’ reaction to the removal of opiates, which cause constipation, made us throw up along with all the other withdrawal symptoms that we know and appreciate.

Well, folks, antidepressant drugs cause withdrawal too, and the major one is — you guessed it — depression.  The return is often sudden and profound.  It can also be fatal, especially if we combine it with a depressant like alcohol.  That’s what Arcadia did, not too long before she jumped from a 200-foot bridge.

If you are on antidepressants, for heaven’s sake don’t stop taking them without careful detox by medical people who know what they are doing.  This is especially true if you are in early recovery, or if you are actively using other drugs.

It can stop your recovery.  Dead.

An Alcoholic’s Savior – Was It God, Belladonna or Both?

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In October 1909, Dr. Alexander Lambert boldly announced to a New York Times reporter that he had found a surefire cure for alcoholism and drug addiction. Even more astounding, he stated that the treatment required less than five days. The therapy consisted of an odd mixture of belladonna (deadly nightshade), along with the fluid extracts of xanthoxylum (prickly ash) and hyoscyamus (henbane). The result is often so dramatic, Lambert said, that one hesitates to believe it possible.…

An Alcoholic’s Savior – Was It God, Belladonna or Both? – NYTimes.com

A Letter To A Recovering Friend

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Dear (unnamed friend),

(Unnamed website) looks interesting, and I’m glad that you are getting something out of it.

Please understand that my remarks are not specific toward (unnamed website).  I don’t know enough about it to judge.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever reviewed or recommended a commercial site.  Once that starts, everyone and his brother wants a review, and I’m not able to take the time (nor do I have the expertise) to read books, evaluate programs, analyze philosophies and so forth.   In any case, I’ve read too many explanations of karma already — some accurate, and some off the wall — and too many efforts at trying to take millennia-old ideas and wrap them in new paper for the sake of selling what is widely available for free.

But the main reason I avoid recommending programs of this kind is that they are not specifically about recovery, and do not focus people’s minds on the details that are necessary to recover from addiction.  Being told that the Universe is watching over us is of little use when we’re jonesing for a drink or a hit, or subtly convincing ourselves that “one or two won’t hurt.”  At that point we need people to talk to who will understand exactly where we are coming from, won’t shame us and call us “weak,” and who can share with us the intimate details of how they got through such tough spots themselves.  In other words, we need a 12-Step or similar support group of addicts and alcoholics working with other addicts and alcoholics, not spouting lofty philosophy.

Finally, I am convinced that if a person gets involved in AA, NA or the other groups, and really puts his or her mind to it, that it will take all the time and energy they can muster for at least several months.  There is no time for distractions.  This is a life and death issue. Personally, I almost distracted myself into a major relapse because I thought those folks had nothing to tell me.  I was different. I was better-educated.  I knew how the world worked. What could that bunch of people have to teach me?  Besides, they were too cheerful.  Didn’t they know the world was a serious place?  Et cetera, et ctera, et cetera…

All they had to give me was a proven way to save my life, that I almost missed.

I don’t push the 12 Steps because they’re a fad, or a religion, or anything like that.  I participate for the same reason I’m a Buddhist, because both are based on cold, hard reasoning.  They both provide guidelines for emotional, physical and spiritual improvement.  They are both specific to me and my life.

But your mileage may vary, and that’s OK.  As long as you do the next right thing, and don’t drink, and stay open to change and new ideas (not the strong suit of most alcoholics), you’ll be OK.  The key is change.  As I’ve said before, if you keep on doing the same old things, you keep on getting the same old results.  To quote another philosopher, “You can run, kid, but you can’t hide.”

Namasté

Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

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Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction – CNN.com

A new study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Silent Killers

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Chaz’ journey back.

My wife and I were discussing some of the silent relationship killers that we have observed recently.

The big things are easy to spot…. abuse, infidelity, raging, name-calling, etc. Those are no-brainers. Any relationship would be endangered where these are present and it would be obvious.

But what about the silent killers?

In binge-tolerant Japan, alcoholism not seen as disease

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In binge-tolerant Japan, alcoholism not seen as disease | Reuters

Alcoholic beverages are readily available at convenience stores and vending machines, liquor ads are often on evening television and building work ties by going drinking is common.

Katsuya Maruyama of Kurihama Alcoholism Center, a leading hospital for treating alcohol dependency, said Japan is too tolerant when it comes to drinking too much, which makes it hard for both society and alcoholics to realise they have a problem.

“There is no proper teaching on how alcohol can be dangerous, so no one knows alcoholism as a disease,” he said.

Millions struggle, lack access to substance abuse treatment

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In September, the country observed National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month. The observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is not impossible.

According to a U.S. Health Department survey, 23.1 million Americans need specialized treatment for a substance abuse problem, but only approximately 10 percent, or just 2.3 million people, get help.

Millions struggle, lack access to substance abuse treatment

What is Alcoholic Cirrhosis – Liver Disease?

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Habitual drinking of alcohol can damage the liver. There are 3 types of damage: alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. The amount of damage depends on the amount of alcohol used and how long the drinking continues. The type of alcohol is not important.

What is going on in the body?…

24Medica – What is Alcoholic Cirrhosis – Liver Disease?