| Overcoming Addiciton |
| Lets Talk About Addictions |
No offense to any1 who has this disease which my father died from but correct me if I am wrong. Isn’t alcoholism a disease & I thought once an alcoholic always an alcoholic even AFTER you’re sober aren’t you still an alcoholic? What’s the difference?
If so what guidance can you give towards “drying” as it were?
Most of us really don’t have a clue about drugs and alcohol, except that they do bad things to us and our kids. All it takes is not knowing truth about what drugs can do to your children. And, not knowing how to pass the truth about drugs on to them. You know your kids are pretty smart. They can make good decisions about many things.
The new national figures have just been released for drug use and addiction for 2007 and the news is not good. Nationally, nearly 20 million people (aged 12 and older) used an illicit drug each month, and more than 23 million were classifiable as needing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse. Only 2.4 million people actually got treatment leaving many millions in danger of losing their homes, their families, their health, their very lives.
But anyone who has been around an addict knows this fact: the addict is not the only one suffering. The families, the employers, teachers and friends of the addict suffer too. A survey done in 2004 showed that 63 percent of adults surveyed said that they had needed to grapple with the addiction of someone close to them, usually a family member. This means that in America, 142.5 million people struggled with someone’s addiction.
For many of those who did receive treatment, unfortunately, addiction rehab has a “revolving door,” meaning that many of those who go through rehab often repeat their trips to rehab over and over again.
“We have had people arrive at Narconon Arrowhead for treatment after ten or even twenty times through other addiction treatment programs,” said Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions and Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Canadian, Oklahoma. “The tragic thing is that it’s not necessary to go through treatment repeatedly if you get down to the bottom of the reasons for the addiction and address them thoroughly. That’s what the Narconon program is known for.”
The Narconon program utilizes a dry-heat sauna and a strict nutritional regimen to flush out the residues that drugs leave behind that may be involved in cravings, then employs counseling and life skills training to help a person recover their self-esteem and values that may have been destroyed by drug use.
“We want people to know that there is a holistic option for them, one that treats the whole person and that does not use drugs or psychotherapy,” added Mr. Hallmark. “Graduates of the Narconon program find drug-free success 70 percent of the time, and we want to make that fact known to all the family members and friends of those suffering from drug or alcohol addiction.”
I’m really confused. Are they different or are they similar? What are the differences between alcoholism and alcohol abuse (if there are any)? Which one is worse?
A person seeking help for addiction and guidance about how to stay clean from their addictive behaviours will have a wide variety of options to choose from. However, most do not realise that in order to stay clean once out of treatment, a daily programme of recovery is needed such as a Twelve Step Programme to keep them present and aware.
When a person is immersed in obsessive and compulsive behaviours, their life revolves around this behaviour. Whether it is substance abuse, sex addiction, gambling addiction, alcoholism or any other addiction, the addict will usually have been on a path of avoidance regarding their feelings and reality for a long while. Addiction is seen by many today as a disease, incurable, progressive and eventually fatal if it is not arrested.
Addicts in recovery often report having felt ‘different’ and somewhat uncomfortable with life and normality since a young age, despite sometimes appearing normal, healthy and well balanced on the exterior. Most addictive behaviours are not simply about the substance or the behaviour, they are about the individual. Abstinence is the start of the recovery process. Change and healing is the rest of the process, occurring for the rest of a recovering addict’s life.
Going Into Rehab
When a person seeks help for an addiction by going into a rehabilitation centre this provides a safe and constructive environment for their being able to deal with their deeply rooted issues and begin a healing process.
Life in a rehabilitation centre is also a learning experience and preparation for them to begin a new life after rehab. Any addiction requires the using habit to be broken and ceased completely before healing can begin.
Intense therapy will help deal with issues of the past, anger of the present and fear of the future. However, after a period in treatment, an addict will often leave, feeling they have been ‘cured’ and can carry on their lives without attending to themselves any further. This usually leads to relapse, taking the addict to an even darker place than they were before.
Secondary Care and a Programme of Recovery
So how does an addict stay clean after leaving a treatment centre? Therapy and abstaining for a time seems not to be enough, which is why many treatment centres endorse working a Twelve Step programme and continued treatment at a secondary care facility.
A primary care facility is usually a facility where patients stay on the property under supervision the entire time. A secondary care facility is a rehabilitation centre where addicts have more freedom and responsibilities than in a primary care facility and is an incredibly helpful step in assisting newly recovering addicts in re-integrating back into normal life in a safe and assisted manner.
An addict has the best chance of maintaining sobriety if working a programme set to help them deal with life constructively and provides a tight net of support and guidance. Life is not easy, whether clean or using. Every person alive has to face pain. Losing a loved one, work problems, break ups and divorces and other problems and disappointments, even simple boredom. Yet addicts deal with these emotions in self-destructive ways.
It is easy for an addict to slip into old ways. An addict needs constructive methods to process heavy emotions, the same thing applies to happy emotions. Some addicts have no idea how to feel happiness and celebrate without using. Extreme emotions are one of the hardest things for an addict to experience after years of numbing themselves with compulsive acts which remove them from their feelings.
Applying the Steps
The only price an addict will pay for working a Twelve Step programme is vigilance.
Knowing is not enough - an addict in recovery needs to work at bettering themselves on a daily basis. A Twelve Step programme will help them to have a better quality of life - as has been mentioned, pain is inevitable. Yet misery is optional. With working a programme, an addict will heal the pain of living and have a method of coping with life on life’s terms, not the addict’s terms.
A Twelve Step fellowship offers a daily programme for maintenance and growth for an addict, mixed with the support of other member’s experience and new comer’s needs. When two addicts help each other in life to find a better way of living, true recovery is seen. The main purpose of addicts working a Twelve Step programme is to help those that still suffer so the suffering may find help and the addict who is helping may find a way to give back what they have been given.
Such a fellowship is not affiliated with treatment centres but treatment centres are allowed to advise clients to follow the programme and work the steps whilst they are there as well as participating in therapy. A Twelve Step programme is what will help an addict to stay clean from compulsive and self-destructive behaviours after leaving treatment.
The programme consists of attending meetings regularly, working the Twelve Steps through written work on the Twelve Steps, giving back to their respective fellowship (such as Narcotics Anonymous), reading literature, working with a sponsor (a more experienced member of the fellowship - it does not relate to finance), giving back through service (such as sponsoring, helping out at meetings or even putting chairs out before a meeting) and allowing a loving higher power and spiritual principles to work in their lives (the Twelve Steps are not religious, they are based on spirituality).
Through working the Twelve Steps, an addict will find their life become more focused on doing good for themselves, becoming responsible for their actions and finding a new way to live that is far from the hell of active using. The steps help an addict stay present and aware of their behaviour and patterns and can be a powerful force in alerting an addict as to a possible imminent relapse or negative behaviour.
At meetings, it is emphasised that “alone we can’t but together we can”. Knowing that they are not alone is incredibly comforting and helpful for any addict in recovery - especially an addict that is struggling or wanting to get abstinence from their compulsive, self-destructive behaviours.
After getting help for addiction and learning how to stay clean, an addict faces quite a big feat in staying abstinent from using. With the help and support of a programme in their lives, they are able to find a reprieve from themselves and live a normal life, without the use of addictive behaviours. Many addicts become extremely successful, marry and become wonderful parents and constructive members of society. But due to the nature of their disease, vigilance and awareness of themselves and their condition as well as working on their patterns is an important tool for their continued survival.
For example: red wine complements steak, i know that.
Likewise what kind of alcoholic beverages go well with the following (cooked in different ways)?
Fish & Seafood
Red meats
Chicken
Pasta dishes
Salads
+ add more if you wish.
I am no alcoholic, but occasionally when I go to a nice I do want to order something that goes well with the main dish…
Also, I love mixed drinks. Martinis, bellinis, mojito, etc…
I was asked to determine which alcoholic drinks/beverages to bring to a friend’s bachelor party. I really don’t know what I should bring. Can you please give me some suggestions. It would be reaaaally helpful. Thank you very very very very much.
I read this question about the activities included in drug treatment programs and the best answer chosen stated that patients are given whirlpool baths during the duration of the program. Are whirlpool baths really necessary? What are they for anyway?
(1) ONLINE GAMING
Play is an important contributor to human development, maturation and learning. That is why games are an essential ingredient in the curriculum of every school and college and also a popular pastime for adults. However, today’s busy lifestyle and living in matchboxes leave neither time nor room for outdoor games. This is when the internet comes in as a saviour to all those sports freaks who lack the opportunity.
Yes, online gaming is here to stay! Though computer games have been around for as long as there have been personal computers, online gaming is an increasing pastime and is popular due to the convergence of virtual worlds, games and social networking spiced up with Rich Internet Applications. Thousands of players from all over the world come together in one massive web that knows no team, nationality or boundaries. It is just a one to one challenge in a click’s notice!
Online gaming is a multi-million dollar industry today and thousands of websites have mushroomed in cyber-space that vie for the clicks of eager online gamers. Some have their link on another website but many are a separate entity. One such site is
addicting-games.org.uk which is solely dedicated to passionate gaming. Want to set the racing track on fire? Or be the sharp detective and break a coded message? Feel like helping Mario rescue the helpless girl? Then head for addicting-games.org.uk. From racing games to puzzles to board games to Harry Potter, this fantastic site offers a plethora of options to pacify gamers of all ages, likes and abilities.
As the name suggests one might get addicted to the site and never want to pull out of it! Besides giving the gamer the opportunity to learn new games and the pleasure of sharpening existing skills, online gaming also promotes social interaction. A player could have an opponent from the other side of the world who could be many years younger and from a completely different educational background. But all that matters here is skill. Interspersed with play is a chance to interact socially too. Best of all, online gaming follows a 24 x 7 calendar which is convenient for everyone living in any time zone on earth.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab the mouse! Surf the cyber space to enter the mesmerizing world of addicting-games.org.uk and addict yourself…..forever!
(2) BEST GAMES WEBSITE
It’s the weekend and you are bored stiff with too much TV. You are wondering what to do! Chances are you will hit the internet and logon to some social networking site to join an ever increasing web of online gamers!
The online gaming community is growing. At a fast and furious pace! And why not? There is no need of joining expensive clubs to play some golf or football. You can hit those fantastic fours and sixes against a Bret Lee delivery with a deft click of your mouse. Or blaze past Raikkonen on the winding tracks at a Grand Prix from your chair! Or, easier still, you can opt for a more intellectual challenge with games that test your skills at solving puzzles, words and other popular games like chess.
The expansion of online games is largely an outcome of easy internet access and ever growing social communities on the net. Endless possibilities have also arisen after the integration of software like Flash and Java to the internet browsers. This has enabled streaming audio and video on websites and also made user interaction easy. Ranging from simple text-based games to those with complex graphics, online games have come a long way from single user to Massively Multiplayer Online Games.
One of the resultant effects of this is the growth of websites with links to playing online games or those that are completely dedicated to the games itself. One such popular site is
addicting-games.org.uk. It is mainly a community driven online gaming website whose main focus is online games but also provides for meeting up with new people and chatting with online buddies. With 578 games categorized under various genres of action/adventure, sports, puzzles, racing, shooting etc, the site boasts of a more than 390 members and still counting! All you have to do is to log on, register and start playing. It is that simple. You can create your own profile and strike up some good online buddies as you play. The best thing is that all of it is for free and anyone can join!
So, look no further, log on to addicting-games.org.uk and discover a whole new world of challenges and fun. All from the comfort of your home!
(3) GAMES AND FRIENDS IN ONE WEB!
Are you an online gaming freak who cant wait to log on to the net to play? Then join the ever increasing web of online game addicts who pursue their gaming interests passionately. The world wide web has indeed shrunk the world by many degrees and one of the most popular gathering places are online gaming communities.
While there are many websites that offer various kinds of games for enthusiasts,
addicting-games.org.uk is one that offers its members a unique cocktail of variety and spice! With a collection of 578 games and more than 390 members, it is slated to grow with popularity. It has a simple system of registering and then, logging on to start playing.
The website addicting-games.org.uk is solely dedicated to games. In a mood for action or adventure? There are 32 different games to choose ranging from Exreme Racing to Lord of the Rings battle! There are a still more under various genres like Puzzles (like Code Breaker and Jigsaw Puzzles) Shooting (like Asteroid Attack and Liner Assault) Retro, Sports (like Billiards, Mini Golf and Football) and Racing( like 3D Motorbike racing and MotoRush). Apart from this is a collection of miscellaneous games to suit the needs of gamers who like to try out different games. For new users, there are trial lessons along with clearly mentioned rules. Some games offer the user the choice of continuing the game the next time he or she logs on. This eliminates the nuisance of starting from the easier levels all over again the next time. Statistics of games played, points won and highest ever score etc make it more interesting and meaningful. You can climb up in the rank charts as you are rated according to your playing ability and in comparison to other players.
While playing, the user can also strike up some buddies online as there is room for social interaction also here. Creating an interesting profile will definitely be an attraction to other members with similar interests and could be the beginning of a long lasting friendship for you. Facilities to chat while playing adds spice to the game because one could be interacting with a person from the other side of the world which provides a good, healthy opportunity to exchange information about the countries, culture etc.
So, enter this virtual world of online games and get hooked forever!
(4) AN ADDICTING GAMES SITE
Are you an online games freak in search of a website that offers you a variety of games to choose from? Then, addicting-games.org.uk should be a permanent bookmark on your browser.
This unique website unfolds before you a collection of fascinating games to satisfy players of all ages and with different likes and abilities. A simple registration makes you a member and then starts the fun. Each game has a brief description to guide newcomers through the game and of course, trial lessons can give you the feel of it before you plunge into the actual game itself. Once you’ve challenged yourself many times and mastered the game you can try your skills out against an opponent from the ever-growing list of members registered on the site.
The games are sifted into genres according to the fare they offer. Under Action/Adventure, you can choose from a variety of games. There is the Ninja Hunter where you can wield your samurai against the toughest of enemies. Never learnt Karate or Kung Fu? No problems. You can try it out here at IK, and that too without the risk of breaking your back!!! The sky is the limit they say. In the real world, that’s a tough one you will agree. But in Reach the Sky, all you need is a few deft clicks of the mouse and some well-timed keyboard moves! Feel like being Harry Potter? Well, get ready to use your charms and spells to escape from Knock-Turn Alley.
Feel like playing some real sports? Then, click on Sports link and enter the virtually real world of sports! Realize your unfinished childhood dream of being the star of the sprinting track here as you take the 100m Dash challenge. You could be living in the hot tropics but you can still have a go at Ice Hockey from your keyboard! Feel like doing a Ronaldinho stunt? Then, Kicker it is.
On those days when you are in the mood to tickle your intellectual skills, hit the Puzzles link at addicting-games.org.uk for a variety of brain tickling challenges. You can play Robert Langdon and crack the encrypted codes to get the Da Vinci Code feeling. Or try worming out of tough Labyrinths. Or piece together intricate jigsaws.
All this and a lot more under the Shooting, Racing and Miscellaneous sections awaits you. The website also offers you a profile page where you can post details about yourself which you would like to tell others. You too can browse through hundreds of other profiles to find friends with similar interests.
Shouldn’t be long before you to get addicted to this wonderful gaming site which is perfect mix of pleasure and entertainment!
(5) CALLING ALL ONLINE GAMING ADDICTS
Does the very mention of Games pump up your adrenaline and make you want to pick up the sports gear and dash off to the nearest club or gym? What do you do if there is no gym or club around? Well, you don’t have to get depressed because this is the cyber age where everything and anything is always a possibility. Including games and sports! It is a virtual explosion of play out there in cyber space where virtually all sports fields, courts and boards are created and becoming a champ is only a matter of dexterous clicks of the mouse!
The world of internet is experiencing a new high in the arena of online gaming especially after the induction of Flash and Java into browsers. While online gaming started with subscription rates for members, today it has become so popular that many sites have offers for free, though a paid member has access to more and better services.
This has given rise to many gaming links and websites wooing surfers to try out their skills. Many sites have well planned gaming choices that are attractive and also safe to use. For instance, addicting-games.org.uk is a site where a plethora of games that cater to a variety of age groups and ability levels are available. What is more, it offers a wonderful chance to mingle with other members as well through chat windows and discuss game strategies besides striking up a lasting friendship.
Though online games have been frowned upon for its addictive side effects, it is touted as one of the best ways of improving your game skills coupled with social skills. An online gamer often starts with a challenge against a programmed computer. This not only enables the gamer to sharpen his own skills but also to learn new tactics in the game. Later, when the gamer is pitched against another gamer, there is further opportunity to try out these skills, learn more and compare oneself to others, and all this from the comfort of your home. It is an arena where every player has no nationality or boundary or age limit or physical ability. All that is required is deftness with the mouse and keyboard and a zest to play!
Online gaming has become so popular that it is an essential part of many social networking sites where meeting people and making friends over a board of chess or a game of football has become a favourite pastime. Playing against an experienced, champion in the game can be a valuable lesson in picking up expert advice to improve strategies of the game. Playing against another person from another part of the world can initiate a sort of “mouse-pal ship” with meaningful exchanges of cultural information as well!!!
Online gaming is a global phenomenon and is here to stay. It is perhaps, the key to bringing about a universal union of human beings and wean people away from differences of caste, creed or religion, uniting them into peaceful earthlings.
Hello there! What are some alcoholic drinks or punches that are relatively strong but don’t taste of alcohol or have a very faint alcoholic taste? Preferably recipes that can be made in quantities of three or four drinks and aren’t particularly weak the way most girly drinks are (for instance, amaretto sours, malibu and pineapple and other drinks made with weak liqueurs). The stronger, the better! Thank you kindly.