Monday, February 27, 2012

Depression and Addiction

Addicts live with depression. 

The active addict is generally depressed, feelings of worthlessness, loneliness, anxiety, fear, and anger leading to the absolutely over-powering and overwhelming need to escape their world. I know. I am one. Shame is the biggest contributor to this depression, being born of the others, and also the precursor to them. A dichotomous irony.

The general reasons for escaping to alcohol and drugs are the everyday problems of life allowed to become so large in the addicts' mind that they can see no way to solve them. Dealing with employers, lovers, friends and family often entails complicated and unclear remedies which are very hard to deal with, especially if their best efforts have produced no resolution. Powerlessness over these situations leads to feelings of shame, which in turn leads to low self-esteem, anxiety, and anger. These lead to a choice to escape, many times using substances as the vehicle.

Substance abuse deepens depression by magnifying the inadequacies and insecurities the addict already feels.These are also reinforced by the horrible and despicable actions we choose while using, and add immeasurably to the feelings of worthlessness and shame.We as addicts become hopelessly depressed by the very act of addiction, and continue this vicious circle by continuing to choose substance abuse, escape, as our answer. We all know this does not work.

Addicts have been taught that they are "diseased", incapable of making rational choices, and unable to understand themselves. This fallacy adds to the addicts depression and brings the pendulum full-swing. We cannot make right choices, therefore we make the choice to keep using. This is the control factor. We as addicts cannot control our emotions, our circumstances, our actions, so we make the choice about the one thing we can control. We choose to use.

Addicts are not "diseased". Addiction is a choice, made consciously to escape the problems we feel we cannot solve or control. We allow ourselves to become unable to deal with life by choosing to give up.

We are responsible for that choice, and are wholly and unequivocally responsible for the choices we make after.

We are Responsible.

We make our choices, and arguing that we didn't understand what we were getting into is no excuse. We cannot excuse ourselves form our responsibility by using a "disease" as our fall guy. We relapse, which is just another conscious decision to use instead of stand up and face our problems, and we are told this is part of recovery. Relapse is NOT part of recovery. Relapse is part of using. Plain and simple.

All of these factors cause depression to spiral out of control until the depressed state is the only state in which we feel comfortable, and substance abuse is the means by which we refill the depressive coffers and therefore continue in our new comfort zone. My conclusion is that substance abuse becomes secondary as the primary driver of our actions, and therefore I conclude, in my experience, that substance abuse is separate from the problems which caused us to look for escape in the first place.

I realized that I needed to understand I was wholly and totally responsible for my choices and my actions.

I needed to take responsibility for my emotions and own them. I had made the choice to use, and in making that choice I also took on the entire responsibility for all that happened after. I came to realize that once I had reconciled myself to that responsibility, and understood that it was mine wholly, I needed only to make one choice to recover from addiction. I made the choice to stop using. Detox for 12 days and rehab for 6 months cleared my mind enough to allow me to think deeply about my choices, and I understood for the first time that the addiction and the problems that drove me to escape were separate entities, and that the problem lay in the intermingling of the two.

I made the choice to stop using, and have not used in 10 years. I was free, after making that choice, to revisit the problems which caused my feelings of shame, inadequacy, and insecurity in the beginning and start the work of dealing with them. I could not have done this had I subscribed to the "disease" model and the "relapse is part of recovery" fallacy. My addiction was a choice I made, consciously, by making the choice to use and continue using. These choices caused the depression which led to my believing myself hopeless and helpless, therefore creating deeper depression, the circle continuing ad infinitum. Choosing not use was my recovery from addiction. That simple.

I work very hard these days at making good choices, understanding that I am responsible for each one. I do not think about using or escape. I have made the choice to deal with my life as it comes and to understand there may not be an answer every time. The work that makes this possible does not include reliving my addiction. Taking responsibility for all I have done precludes allowing myself to place any responsibility on my substance abuse. Two separate issues. Choosing not to use solved the substance abuse issue. Choosing to work hard on dealing with life as it comes is alleviating the depression I felt before I used, and choosing not to use has alleviated ALL the deeper depression the shame of using brought with it.

Addicts suffer from depression because they use, much more than they use because of depression. The reasons for escape are separate from the substance abuse. Choose not to use and you have solved the problem of addiction. The work may then begin on dealing with the original problems. 

Written By: Mark

Mark is a regular guy interested in helping addicts recover and reclaim their lives. He was an addict for over 20 years, a liar, a cheat, a thief. He destroyed relationships with family, friends, employers. He spent those years mired in the hurts of the past, unwilling to face them. Mark finally came to realize that he could choose to recover and has been in recovery now for 10 years. He is still repairing those relationships and working out those hurts. Life is not perfect, but he is happy. Mark believes that if he can do it, anyone can. Cliche? He doesn't think so.

I Want to Change My Life
How to Overcome Anxiety, Depression and Addiction
Discover a five-point plan for overcoming anxiety, depression, and addiction. Learn the symptoms, causes, treatment, and relapse prevention strategies. Learn new coping skills including a new approach to stress management and cognitive therapy and how they can help you. The book includes a one-month step-by-step program to get you started. Dr. Melemis is a leading expert in addiction and mental disorders who has helped thousands of people improve their lives.
Get I Want to Change My Life directly from Amazon, HERE



   
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Did Whitney Houston Die of a Drug Overdose?

Whitney Houston Found Dead in a Bathtub possibly of Xanax and Alcohol Overdose.

Found dead in a bathtub Feb. 11, it is thought that her cause of death may have been a drug and alcohol overdose. And while the real cause of Whitney Houston's death may not be known for weeks, the 48-year-old superstar not only had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, she is thought to have had a prescription for Xanax.

Toxology reports can take weeks to complete, but it is known that a combination of Xanax and alcohol can be deadly, said Dr. Marvin Seppala, chief medical officer at Hazelden, a preeminent treatment center for alcohol and other drug addiction.

Everybody who knows anything about drugs, knows that when mixed with alcohol, the effects of Xanax are intensified and breathing can be impaired. Whitney should have known this, so let us not rule out other possible causes for her death completely.

Xanax, the generic name for the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, is classified as a benzodiazepine. These are powerful sedatives to increase your natural calming ability and is often used for stage fright or other types of anxiety.

They work very quickly, often within 15 minutes, though the effects only last a few hours. Tolerance to the drug develops quickly if it's used on a regular basis, resulting in the user wanting to increase the dosage steadily, sometimes having to supplement the supply through multiple doctors or black-market dealers. Although alprazolam is known to be extremely addictive, it is still one of the most prescribed drug in the United States.

Xanax is abused a great deal and has the potential for addiction, especially if someone with an addictive personality, who has a genetic predisposition for addiction.

Xanax can cause the control mechanism of the respiratory system to slow down and ultimately stop, which is what probably happened to Whitney.

Withdrawal effects are unpleasant, including headaches, insomnia, depression and extreme nervousness, so that few heavy users can manage to quit using without professional help.

Abuse of Xanax has become epidemic, with the demand for the drug so high, that clinics have reportedly stopped subscribing the drug.



Whitney had checked into rehab centers at least three times during her career, though she had supposedly been clean lately. She had been hoping for a comeback this year, even talking of a comeback album. 

It is hard to figure out what could have happened the days before her death, as it was reported that her behavior had appeared erratic. She was seen wearing mismatched clothes and appeared with wet hair on the set of a television interview. She even is said to have slurred her in her speech and acted as if drunk, both typical signs of Xanax abuse.

In death, it appears she had her comeback! In fact, since her death on Saturday, Whitney Houston's catalog has seen a huge sales bump, selling over 1 million albums and singles.

There are those who believe she might have been drowned, others believe she overdose, but we won't know for sure until after the coroner's report.

But no matter what he the MA reports, the world has lost another star, while the night will not shine quite as bright for quite some time.

Written By: Tom Retterbush

Whitney Houston - The Greatest Hits
The MP3 version is available now as well.
Get Whitney Houston's Greatest Hits directly from Amazon, HERE









     
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The 439 Affirmations of Alcoholics Anonymous, for Your Success, Serenity and Happiness

Positive Affirmations promote Growth.

Although  A.A. has undoubtedly helped many people get sober, I am not a big fan of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or any other anonymous group. Yes, they do have their virtues, but they're not for everyone. What I do like about A.A., N.A. and the other Anonymouses however, are some of their philosophies, including the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, 8 Paradoxes and such.

Recently I came across something from A.A. that I'd never heard of before, called the 250 A.A. Slogans. They had been posted on Google Plus by a friend, who goes by the username, Bsober and Listen

I never thought I would find even more slogans than he had come up with. I couldn't imagined someone coming up with 12 A.A. slogans, much less 250, but over 400, with most of them being really good? Wow!

Although Dr. Joseph Purch M.D. of Addiction Medicine & Psychiatry claims that AA slogans can harm recovery, even after reading his essay rationalizing his findings, I can't see any harm in contemplating positive affirmations. 

Apparently, some say number 1 through 5 are the standard AA slogans, while others say it's 1 through 9, like in the picture above. I don't know which is true, and I don't know where the rest came from, I just know they're pretty cool.

Little did I know that there was a legend of sorts that lead up to these slogans, no matter if you count 5,9, 250 or 407 of them.

Birth of an A.A. Slogan

In 1935 Bill Wilson met Dr. Bob Smith, the founder of A.A., in Akron, Ohio. According to popular legend, Bill and Dr. Bob became good friends, getting close... closer than you may have imagined. At the time, Bill was still suffering from the physical ravages of alcohol, even though had already been sober for about 6 months. His problems included hemorrhoids, as well as a variety of urological problems including bladder infections and an enlarged prostate.

As luck would have it, or as some people would call it, "the Will of God," Dr. Bob's specialty was proctology. As a friend, Dr. Bob naturally examined Wilson's rectum pro bono. Wilson's behind was extremely tender, and as Dr. Bob inserted his finger, he cried, "Easy does it, Smithy!"

According to legend, "Easy Does It" not only became a slogan, but also a sort of running inside joke between the founders. Bill loved to say it in Dr. Bob's presence because the Good Doctor would blush every time, without fail. It was Bill's way of having a little fun at the Doctor's expense. Gradually, the saying caught on with others. Today, "Easy Does It" is inscribed on plaques around the world in A.A. clubhouses. Few know that it came straight out of Bill's ass.

Needless to say, Dr. Bob ended up giving Bill the treatment he needed, and "Easy Does It. But Do It!" has become quite popular in A.A.

So without trying to read too much into them, I'm going to list them bellow and let you figure out their meanings yourself.
 
The 407 Slogans of A.A.

1) Easy does it.
2) First things first.
3) Live and let live.                                                                           
4) But for the grace of God.
5) Think think think.
6) One day at time.
7) Let go and let God.
8) K.I.S.S.---Keep It Simple Stupid.
9) Act as if.
10) This, too, shall pass.
11) Expect miracles.
12) I can't, He can, I think I'll let Him (Steps 1,2,3).
13) If it works, don't fix it.
14) Keep coming back, it works if you work it.
15) Stick with the winners.
16) Keep on trudgin.'
17) Sobriety is a journey, not a destination.
18) Faith without works is dead.
19) Poor me, poor me, pour me another drink.
20) To thine own self be true.
21) I came; I came to; I came to believe (Steps 1,2,3).
22) Live in the NOW.
23) If God seems far away, who moved?
24) Turn it over.
25) A.A.= Altered Attitudes
26) Nothing is so bad, a drink won't make it worse.
27) We are only as sick as our secrets.
28) There are no coincidences in A.A..
29) Be part of the solution, not the problem.
30) Sponsors: have one use one be one.
31) I can't handle it God; you take over.
32) Keep an open mind.
33) It works it really does! (page 88 in the Big Book)
34) Willingness is the key.
35) More will be revealed.
36) You will intuitively know.
37) You will be amazed.
38) No pain, no gain.
39) Go for it.
40) Keep the plug in the jug.
41) Do it sober.
42) Let it begin with me.
43) Just for today.
44) Sober `n` crazy.
45) Pass it on.
46) It's in the book.
47) You either are or you aren't.
48) Before you say I can't, say I'll try.
49) Don't quit before the miracle happens.
50) Some of us our sicker than others.
51) We're all here because we're not all there.
52) Alcoholism is an equal opportunity destroyer.
53) Practice an attitude of gratitude.
54) The road to sobriety is a simple journey for confused people with a complicated disease.
55) Another friend of Bill W.'s.
56) God is never late.
57) Have a good day, unless of course you have made other plans.
58) Decisions aren't forever.
59) It takes time.
60) 90 meetings in 90 days.
61) You are not alone.
62) Where you go, there you are.
63) Don't drink, read the Big Book, and go to meetings.
64) Use the 24-hour plan.
65) Make use of the telephone therapy.
66) Stay sober for yourself.
67) Look for the similarities rather than differences.
68) Remember your last drunk.
69) Remember that alcoholism is incurable, progressive, and fatal.
70) Try not to place conditions on your sobriety.
71) When all else fails, follow directions.
72) Count your blessings.
73) Share your happiness.
74) Respect the anonymity of others.
75) Share your pain.
76) Let go of old ideas.
77) Try to replace guilt with gratitude.
78) What goes around, comes around.
79) Change is a process, not an event.
80) Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
81) Call your sponsor before, not after, you take the first drink.
82) Sick and tired of being sick and tired.
83) It's the first drink that gets you drunk.
84) To keep it, you have to give it away.
85) Man's extremity is God's opportunity.
86) The price for serenity and sanity is self-sacrifice.
87) One alcoholic talking to another one equals one.
88) Take what you can use and leave the rest.
89) What if........
90) Yeah but.........
91) If only.........
92) Help is only a phone call away.
93) Around A.A. or in A.A.?
94) You can't give away what you don't have.
95) One drink is too many and thousand not enough.
96) Half measures availed us nothing.
97) Anger is but one letter away from danger.
98) Courage to change.
99) Easy does it, but DO it.
100) Bring the body and the mind will follow.
101) Accept your admission.
102) Remember when!
103) Tighten up (financially).
104) We A.A.'s are 'gifted' people.
105) There are 12 steps in the ladder of complete sobriety
106) Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.
107) Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear.
108) I want what I want when I want it.
109) There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.
110) A.A. is not something you join, it's a way of life.
111) We can be positive that our drinking was negative.
112) Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves.
113) Faith is spelled a-c-t-i-o-n.
114) Take the mess to your sponsor, take the message to the meeting.
115) If I think, I won't drink. If I drink, I can't think.
116) Stay in the main tent, and out of the sideshow.
117) The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.
118) Formula for failure: try to please everyone.
119) Sorrow is looking back worry is looking around.
120) Willpower=our willingness to use a Higher Power.
121) A. A. is an education without graduation.
122) When your head begins to swell your mind stops growing.
123) A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step.
124) G.O.D.=Good Orderly Direction.
125) Be as enthusiastic about A.A. as you were about your drinking.
126) You received without cost, now give without charge.
127) Humility is our acceptance of ourselves.
128) Trying to pray is praying.
129) Get it ---give it---grow in it.
130) Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation.
131) We're responsible for the effort not the outcome.
132) This is a selfish program.
133) E.G.O.=Edging God Out.
134) Keep your sobriety first to make it last.
135) I drank: too much---too often---too long.
136) A.A. will work if you want it to work.
137) Minds are like parachutes----they won't work unless they're open.
138) What you hear and see here, stays here.
139) Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you you're all right.
140) If you turn it over and don't let go of it, you will be upside down.
141) An A.A. meeting is where losers get together to talk about their winnings.
142) A.A. is a school in which we are all learners and all teachers.
143) God taught us to laugh again but God please don't let us forget that we once cried.
144) Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amid the storm.
145) A.A. may not solve all your problems but it is willing to share them.
146) It isn't the load that weighs us down------it's the way we carry it.
147) Principles before personalities
148) When you do all the talking you only learn what you already know.
149) The 7t's ---Take Time to Think The Thing Through.
150) There are none too dumb for the A.A. program but many are too smart.
151) We all have another drunk left in us but we don't know if we have another recovery in us.
152) To be forgiven we must forgive.
153) When we surrender to our Higher Power, the journey begins.
154) The person with the most sobriety at a meeting is the one who got up earliest that morning.
155) Knowledge of the answers never made anyone slip---it was failing to practice the answers known.
156) H.A.L.T.=Don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.
157) F.E.A.R.=Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment.
158) The 12 Steps tell us how it works; the 12 Traditions tell us why it works.
159) Without A.A., it's Amen.
160) If faith without works is dead; then willingness without action is fantasy.
161) When a person tries to control their drinking they have already lost control.
162) The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
163) Seven days without an A.A. meeting makes one weak.
164) You are not required to like it, you're only required to DO it.
165) When wallowing in your self-pity, get off the cross, we need the wood.
166) In A.A. we don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.
167) The results are in God's hands.
168) We are not human beings having spiritual experiences; we are spiritual beings having human experiences.
169) Remember nothing is going to happen today that you and God can't handle.
170) Your Turn in the barrell.
171) Don't watch the slippers, watch those who don't slip...watch them go through difficulties and pull through.
172) If we knew which drink was going to cause wet brain; we would stop just before it.
173) It's a shame we can't forget our troubles the same way we forget our blessings.
174) Be careful what you pray for; you're liable to get it.
175) The time to attend a meeting is when you least feel like going.
176) I've been sober and I've been drunk. Sober's better.
177) A.A. is the highest priced club in the world. If you have paid the dues, why not enjoy the benefits?
178) The first step is the only step a person can work perfectly.
179) The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.
180) Your Big Book is your sponsor too.
181) A.A. never opened the gates of heaven to let me in, A.A. did open the gates of hell to let me out.
182) The only thing we take from this world when we leave is what we gave away.
183) Time wasted in getting even can never be used in getting ahead.
184) Some A.A.'s are so successful that they turn out to be almost as good as they used to think they were when they were drinking.
185) Sobriety delivers everything alcohol promised.
186) Possibilities and miracles are one in the same.
187) Get out of the driver's seat and let God.
188) H.O.W.=Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
189) Taking others inventory (when you should be taking your own).
190) First we stayed sober because we have to...then we stay sober because we are willing to...then we stay soberbecause we want to.
191) Slogans are wisdom written in shorthand.
192) Active alcoholics don't have relationships; they take hostages.
193) Everyday is a gift that's why we call it the present.
194) If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.
195) Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour.
196) Each and every alcoholic, sober or not, teaches us valuable lessons about ourselves and recovery.
197) We had to quit playing God.
198) Don't compare---identify.
199) Don't intellectualize----utilize.
200) RULE 62: don't take yourself seriously.
201) A.A. has a wrench to fit every nut that walks through the door.
202) Living in the here and now.
203) How does one become an old-timer? Don't drink and don't die.
204) A.A. spoils your drinking
205) Faith is our greatest gift; its sharing with others our greatest responsibility.
206) If you want to drink, that is your business...if you want to quit and can't, that is A.A.'s business.
207) In a bar, we got sympathy-----as long as our money lasted. In A.A., we get understanding for nothing.
208) My worst day in sobriety is better than my best day drunk.
209) The elevator is broken-------use the Steps.
210) Let it begin with me.
211) When all else fails, the directions are in the Big Book.
212) Trust God, clean house, help others.
213) Anonymity is so important it's half of our name.
214) If we don't grow, we gotta go.
215) All you need to start your own A.A. meeting is a resentment and a coffee pot.
216) Religion is for those who fear Hell, spirituality is for those who have been there.
217) Intolerance= Contempt, prior to investigation.
218) When you are a sponsor, you get out of yourself. If I serve, I will be served.
219) Why recovery never ends: the disease is alcoholism, not alcoholWASm.
220) The A.A. way of life is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions.
221) The smartest thing an A.A. member can say is, help.
222) You are exactly where you are supposed to be.
223) God will never give you more than you can handle.
224) Slow but sure.
225) A coincidence is a miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.
226) There is no such thing, as a bad meeting.
227) Give time time.
228) I can do something for 24 hours that would appall me if I had to keep it up for a LIFETIME.
229) The lesson I must learn is simply that my control is limited to my own behavior, my own attitudes.
230) A.A. works for people who believe in God. A.A. works for people who don't believe in God. A.A. NEVER works for people who believe they ARE God.
231) Just for today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life problems at once.
232) There are two days in every week which we have no control over----yesterday and tomorrow. Today is the only day we can change.
233) It is not the experience of today that drives people mad, it is remorse of yesterday and the dread of tomorrow.
234) A drug is a drug.
235) Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth.
236) God has no grand kids.
237) There is a God and I'm not it.
238) The road to resentment is paved with expectation.
239) Be nice to newcomers one day they may be your sponsor.
240) Denial is not a river in Egypt, but you can drown in it.
241) Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.
242) The flip side to forgiveness is resentments.
243) There is no magic in recovery only miracles.
244) Fear is the absences of faith.
245) Courage is faith that has said its prayers.
246) Depression is anger toward inward.
247) Alcoholics heal from the outside in, but feel from the inside out.
248) 3 A's in A.A.-----affection/attention/appreciation
249) If it is meant to be, I can't stop it. If it isn't God's will, I can't make it happen.
250) There are A.A. members who make things happen there are A.A. members who watch things happen there are A.A. members who DON'T KNOW anything happened
251) Don't drink, don't think and go to meetings.
252) A.A. is the last stop on the train.
253) One is too many, a thousand is not enough.
254) To be of maximum service to others.
255) We'll love you, until you learn to love yourself.
256) When you run out of quarters for your a--kicking machine, I've got an extra roll for you to use.
257) Try to be grateful and resentful at the same time, you can't serve two masters.
258) Write a gratitude list and count your blessings.
259) You can always tell an alcoholic, but you can't tell him much.
260) Faith chases away fear.
261) Take other people's inventory until you can take your own.
262) Pain before sobriety and pain before serenity.
263) Unity, recovery, and service.
264) If you want to hide something from an alcoholic, hide it in the Big Book, because that's where he'll find it.
265) Sobriety, then serenity.
266) Live life on life's terms.
267) She came through the back door of A.A. (Alanon).
268) When we couldn't dominate, control, or manipulate, we would ask for terms and conditions.
269) People who are wrapped up in themselves make a very small package indeed...
270) The bottle, big house, or the box.
271) Death, insanity, or recovery.
272) We have a choice.
273) We don't get run over by the train, we get hit by the engine (1st. drink).
274) If you wonder if you're an alcoholic, you probably are.
275) Instant a--hole, just add alcohol.
276) I didn't get into trouble every time I drank, but every time I got in trouble I was drunk.
277) Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over, and over again, expecting different results.
278) We are without defense against the first drink, our defense must come from a power greater than ourselves.
279) Success means getting your BUT out of the way.
280) Newcomer is someone with less than five years sobriety.
281) The easier softer way is one through twelve.
282) Don't work my program, or your program, work THE program.
283) If you want what we have and you're willing to go to any lengths to get it
284) Ask us how we did it, then do what we did.
285) Qualifications for me to help you, one) you have to need it, two) you have to want it, three) you have to ask for it, four) you have to ask me.
286) The alcoholic's mind is like a bad neighborhood, don't go there alone.
287) Faith without works is dead.
288) Get to the meeting early and go to the meeting after the meeting.
289) The definition of an alcoholic; an egomaniac with an inferiority complex.
290) Cunning, baffling, powerful, and patient.
291) When the pain of staying sober becomes less than the pain of getting drunk, you'll stay sober.
292) None of us came here on a winning streak.
293) The farther I get from my last drink, the closer I get to my next drunk.
294) This, too, shall pass.
295) Where do I find sobriety? Twelve steps past any lengths.
296) How does it work? It works just fine.
297) If you hang around the barber shop long enough, you'll get a haircut.
298) Don't hang around wet places and wet faces.
299) Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.
300) I might have another drunk left in me, but do I have another recovery?
301) Short version of the Serenity Prayer: Lighten up.
302) You don't have to wait till the basement to get off the down elevator.
303) Those that don't go to meetings aren't present to find out what happen to them what doesn't go to meetings.
304) F.E.A.R.= False Evidence Appearing Real.
305) F.E.A.R.=False Expectations Appearing Real.
306) F.E.A.R=Face Everything and Recover.
307) F.E.A.R.=F--- Everything And Run.
308) F.I.N.E.=F--ked-up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional
309) G.O.D.=Group of Drunks.
310) In A.A. I get an owner's manual to go with my new life.
311) N.U.T.S.=Not Using the Steps
312) Y.E.T.=You eventually, too
313) When you sober up a horse thief, all you have is a sober horse thief.
314) First things first
315) If you can't remember your last drink, maybe you haven't had it.
316) If you want to stay sober, make the coffee.
317) If you fly with crows, you get shot at.
318) Analysis is paralysis.
31) A.A. isn't a religion, we can't open the gates of Heaven and let you in, but we can open the gates of Hell and let you out.
320) I got sick of being sick and tired.
321) It's easy to talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk.
322) Life starts when you stop.
323) You have to give it away in order to keep it.
324) Fake it till you make it.
325) It's a selfish program.
326) Today there's still a monkey on my back. He's just sleeping. He's real easy to wake up.
327) Fear alone won't keep me sober, but for a newcomer, it's not a bad place to start.
328) I've been here a few 24 hours.
329) H.I.T.-Hang In There.
330) Under every dress there's a slip
331) You have to go to these meetings until you want to.
332) Don't let unpleasant people rent space in your head.
333) Daniel didn't go back to the lion's den to get his hat.
334) If you stick with the bunch, you'll get peeled.
335) It gets better.
336) The doors swing both ways.
337) You have to put in the time.
338) Try it for 90 days, and if you don't like it, we'll gladly refund your misery.
339) Don't drink, don't think, and don't get married.
340) Some people drink normally, and I normally drink.
341) A slip is a premeditated drunk.
342) A.A. is the easier, softer way.
343) Go to meetings when you want to, and go to meetings when you don’t want to.
344) It's been a good meeting so far.
345) None of us got here form drinking too much coffee.
346) We have a disease that tells us we don't have a disease.
347) We have a living problem, not a drinking problem.
348) We have a thinking problem, not a drinking problem.
349) If you don't want to slip, stay away from slippery places.
350) The mind is like a parachute, it works better when it's open
351) Pain is the touchstone of progress.
352) My daily sobriety is contingent on my spiritual condition.
353) Yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, only today is cash in the bank.
354) F.A.I.T.H.: Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him.
355) Sorrow shared is halved; joy shared is doubled.
356) There is pain in recovery. Misery is optional.
357) Lead us not into temptation. I can find it myself.
358) A treatment center is where you go and pay $15,000 to find out that A.A. meetings are free.
359) Ask an alcoholic what time it is and he'll tell you how to build a clock.
360) Please be patient---God isn't finished with me yet.
361) I am unique, just like everybody else.
362) Reality is for people who can't handle drugs.
363) My best friend became my worst enemy.
364) When my insides match my outside, I'm practicing a good program.
365) Today I soak up A.A. the way I used to soak up alcohol.
366) When I drank, I was committing suicide on the installment plan.
367) My Higher Power was: To Whom It May Concern.
368) My first Higher Power was Howard, as in Our Father, who art in Heaven, Howard be thy name.
369) I'll always have another drunk in me, but I'm not sure I'll have another recovery.
370) Chairman at meeting asks: Anybody from out of town? Out of state? Out of their minds?
371) A winner is a loser who keeps trying.
372) I don't always know what God's will is for me, but I always know what it's not.
373) I didn't get sober to be miserable.
374) I didn't experiment with alcohol and drugs. I was in advanced research and development.
375) Are you walking towards a drink or away from one?
376) God could and would if He were sought.
377) I love you, God loves you, and there's nothing you can do about it.
378) Today I have more solutions than problems.
379) If God is your co-pilot, switch seats.
380) I did my drinking from Park Avenue to park bench.
381) Don't go in your head alone. It's a dangerous neighborhood.
382) With a stomach full of A.A., you won't have room for a beer.
383) Listen like only the dying can.
384) If your ass falls off, put it in a paper bag and take it to a meeting.
385) There's safety in numbers. One through twelve.
386) An ounce of prevention is worth a gallon of relapse.
387) My disease is doing pushups, getting stronger--just waiting for me to slip.
388) A.A. is a simple program for complicated people.
389) My best thinking got me here.
390) I am a walking miracle.
391) Don't romance the drink.
392) When I start wondering if everything's okay, it's probably not.
393) If hanging around A.A. doesn't work, try hanging out inside A.A.
394) Before I got into A.A., I was dying for a drink.
395) God grant me patience. Right now.
396) My sponsor says I'm trying. Very trying.
397) 20/20: Come 20 minutes before the meeting, stay 20 minutes after.
398) Don't try to clear away the wreckage of the future.
399) When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
400) You can't speed up your recovery, but you sure can slow it down.
401) Every drink I drank got me here. Every drink I don't drink keeps me here.
402) It takes time to get your brains out of hock.
403) Stand by the coffee pots. It's a good way to meet people.
404) People who think they know it all are very irritating to those of us who do.
405) It don`t matter how your jackass got in a ditch, just get him out.
406) Don't drink or use between breaths.
407) Always remember the insanity...Be thankful for the pain...But most of all be thankful for the days that

Well, that's the 407 Slogans of Alcoholics Anonymous. Pretty cool, huh? Well, as a bonus, I will include for you The A.A. Pradoxes as well.

The 8 Paradoxes of A.A. 

1) From weakness(adversity)comes strength
2) We forgive to be forgiven.
3) We give it away to keep it.
4) We suffer to get well.
5) We surrender to win.
6) We die to live.
7) From darkness comes light.
8) From dependence we found independence. 

The 12 Traditions of A.A. 

1) Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2) For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3) The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4) Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
5) Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6) An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7) Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8) Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9) A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10) Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11) Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.
12) Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The 12 Steps of A.A.

1) We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Well, that about all the slogans, steps, paradoxes and whatever I could find, but let's hope that's enough to get us started.

Ain't sobriety great!!!???!!!

Written By: Tom Retterbush

Narcotics Anonymous Collection: Basic Text, Sixth Edition; It Works - How and Why; and Just For Today, Revised

Basic Text, Sixth Edition First published in 1983, NA's primary book was revised in 2009 to incorporate new personal stories in the Sixth Edition. "Our Program" contains ten chapters explaining the NA Fellowship and our program of recovery. "Our Members Share" includes personal stories from NA members worldwide, organized. There is such a wealth of material here, that if you can't get clean with the help of this information, you're not going to get clean! For a detailed description of the material, follow the "HERE" link, bellow.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Parents, Here's where Your Kids Hide their Drugs!

If Your are Worried Enough to Search Your Kid's Room, at least look where they would really Hide their Drugs, Alcohol, Porn or Weapons.

In past articles I've told you some of the crazy and bizarre things kids and teens do while under the influence of drugs. This article covers the crazy and bizarre places children use to hide their stash; places few parents would consider looking. So, let's investigate and find out what they're into...

People have been hiding contraband, particularly drugs, everywhere imaginable. From under the bed to inside dead soldiers coming home from the Vietnam War, people have been really imaginative even downright disgusting when hiding dope. Of course, normally your kid's hiding places won't be as elaborate as those of a drug smuggling operation, but then again, that only depends on how determined he or she is for you not to catch them.

The thing you as parents have going for you is, most of the time your children believe they have you fooled. More often than not, your kids won't believe you would actually spy on them, much less search their room. And even if they have reason to suspect your snooping, maybe because "they know that you know" that they are getting high, they usually think you are far to out-of-touch or naive to guess where they hide their stash.

Common places kids like to hide their drugs:
  • Between mattresses
  • In shoes in the closet
  • In pockets of clothes hanging in the closet
  • A fake stack of CDs in a storage case
  • Hollowed out candles
  • Under a fish tank
  • The drop ceiling of their room
  • In a computer case
  • In a speaker system

If your kids suspect that you are searching their room, and they give you some credit for intelligence and creativity, here is a list of the more elaborate hiding places:

  • In their car
  • In your car 
  • In a bathroom, taped underneath the tank or inside an exhaust fan
  • Outside in the yard, maybe under a rock or in a drainage pipe
  • The drop ceiling of a basement or storage room
  • Underneath the insulation in the attic
  • In a birdhouse
  • In a fish tank
  • In a brother or sister’s bedroom
  • Behind a book in a bookcase or on a shelf
  • In a hollowed out book
  • Inside a hair brush
  • Inside throw pillows
  • Inside any electrical appliance
  • Inside the wall plate on the light switches
  • Taped to the inside of air-conditioning ducts
  • The gap between your bottom drawer and the floor in a chest of drawers
  • A custom made soda or other aerosol can with a bottom that screws open

Yes kids actually use these and other places to hide drugs. Some are so out of the ordinary that I didn't list them here, because your loved ones will hopefully not be paranoid enough to go to such extremes to hide their dope. If they do, that would be a sign that the problem is even more serious as initially anticipated.

If your kid is shooting heroin, cocaine or methamphetamines with a syringe he or she will probably be using one of your tablespoons or a bottle-cap to cook the dope in. You should be looking for a spoon that is bent and charred black on the bottom or a blackened, charred bottle-cap, both with maybe a little piece of cotton in it. Sometimes kids will use the bottom of a soda can to cook their dope, so the can will be cut in half, and again it will be back at the bottom.

If you notice a bunch of water being left in the child's room (like several cups laying around) and he/she never much cared for water before, then suspect drugs.

The bathroom is one of the favorite places a kid will go to get high. It's got plenty of water and it's private, so no one will walk in on them while they are using. If the kid goes into the bathroom frequently or takes an unusually long time using the toilet, taking a bath or whatever, you may have reason to suspect drugs.

If you find "brillo" pads and/or some kind of glass tube, your kid will most likely be smoking crack cocaine or methamphetamines, aka. ice. Look for a glass tube with dark residue inside it along with a brillo pad filtering device. If your brillo pads are disappearing quicker than before, your child is definately smoking dope. 

Most of the things listed above I used myself when I was still getting high and/or selling drugs, so I've been there and done that. The kids may be able to fool the cops, but they had better get up pretty early before they fool this old ex-dope-fiend.

One friendly piece of advice to the kids: “If you gotta worry about it, you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.”

Written By: Tom Retterbush


How to Keep Your Kids Drug Free
How to Keep Your Kids Drug Free is a valuable resource for parents, pastors and teachers who want to go beyond the rhetoric of today's anti-drug program. Discover what the Bible says about the effects of drugs and learn to apply Scriptural solutions for protecting your family from one of society's greatest problems. Written by Dr. Robert Morey. "A brief but convincing argument from Scripture against the use of drugs. Also contains practical counsel advice for teachers, pastors and parents of drug abusers." - Christianity Today
Get How to Keep Your Kids Drug Free directly from Amazon, HERE




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