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More AA = More AbstinenceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study grouped treatment-seeking individuals (n = 1825) by common patterns of 12-step attendance using 5 waves of data (75% interviewed Year 9) to isolate unique characteristics and use-related outcomes distinguishing each class profile. The “high” class reported the highest attendance and abstention. The “descending” class reported high baseline alcohol severity, long treatment episodes, and high initial attendance and abstinence, but by Year 5, their attendance and abstinence dropped. The “early-drop” class, which started with high attendance and abstinence but with low problem severity, reported no a...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - February 1, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12-Step Groups Addiction Alcohol Alcoholics Anon Alcoholism meeting attendance More AA More Abstinence predict abstinence Source Type: blogs

Where Did The 12 Steps Come From?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
By Bill W. co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous From the July 1953 A.A. Grapevine AAs are always asking: “Where did the Twelve Steps come from?” In the last analysis, perhaps nobody knows. Yet some of the events which led to their formulation are as clear to me as though they took place yesterday. So far as people were concerned, the main channels of inspiration for our Steps were three in number — the Oxford Groups, Dr. William D. Silkworth of Towns Hospital and the famed psychologist, William James, called by some the father of modern psychology. The story of how these streams of influence were brought t...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 31, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Higher Power Spirituality Bill W co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine Source Type: blogs

Reward and Punish: Say Hello to Dopamine’s Leetle FriendEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dopamine recruits a helper to track drug rewards. Ah, dopamine. Whenever it seems like researchers have finally gotten a bead on how that tricky molecule modulates pleasure and reward, and the role it plays in the process of drug and alcohol addiction, along come new findings that rearrange its role, deepening and complicating our understanding of brain function. We know that the ultimate site of dopamine activity caused by drugs is the ventral tegmental area, or VTA, and an associated structure, the nucleus accumbens. But dopamine neurons in the VTA actually perform two distinct functions. They discriminate acutel...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 31, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

HumilityEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It is sometimes said that humility is the most elusive virtue for to be truly humble one must be unaware of being so. Alcoholics, addicts and co-dependents work the 12 Steps so as to eliminate negative traits. Recovering humility is perhaps at the core of this journey. In his autobiography’ Benjamin Franklin shows the elusiveness of-this virtue. He tells of writing down a list of moral qualities he desired to possess and of examining his conduct daily to see if he was succeeding in his expression of them He was told by a Quaker friend that he lacked humility, so he added it to his list. But Franklin never felt that he...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 30, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Wisdom Humility most elusive virtue Pride is the opposite of humility truly humble Source Type: blogs

Out of the depthsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
When you are distressed or are feeling downhearted, as storm-clouds of trouble seem heading your way remember how often your fears have departed, and you were brought back from the edge of dismay, Remember how often when faith seemed to languish, and hope faded out in the dark tide of pain, you found a relief from the mind’s bitter anguish, and comfort and happiness found you again, The long night will end in the joy of the sunrise, your heart will be singing a gladsome refrain. - Anonymous :The Spirit of AAPromises of RecoveryTeens, It’s Not Your Fault!Avoid Excess Stress in Early RecoveryElmo (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com)
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 29, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Emotions Wisdom edge of dismay fears have departed feeling downhearted Source Type: blogs

5 Flirting StylesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
What Type of Flirt Are You? How You Flirt Says a Lot About Your Chances at Love Recovering alcoholics, addicts and co-dependents may be interested in new relationships but have lost touch with flirting behaviors. Ever wondered what kind of flirt you might be? Want to change your chances of getting dates? Want to be able to recognize a flirt when they are flirting? These styles may apply to heterosexual, gays, bisexual and lesbian people. Researchers have identified five styles of flirting and they say understanding how you communicate romantic interest may help you improve your chances in love. The 5 Ways of Flirting Ph...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 29, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Fun Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Sexuality flirting love Source Type: blogs

Step OneEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable It took me to the age of 42 to discover the first part of this Step, I had had many illustrations of this but put it down to the fact that everybody drank to excess sometimes so not to worry. However due to a visit to an Alcoholics Anonymous Group in Brisbane and listening to the speakers who stressed the disease aspect of AA I realised there was such a thing as an alcoholic and decided that I was one. So I went home on a pink cloud. At last I had found the answer to all my troubles, life was going to be wonderful from now on. Littl...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 28, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Denial Disease Recovery disease aspect of AA drank to excess powerless over alcohol Step One Source Type: blogs

The Downside of MethadoneEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
An Article by Mike Berens and Ken Armstrong, Seattle Times, discusses some of the problems with using methadone as a first-line treatment for pain: When it comes to battling pain, Washington health officials have encouraged doctors to reach for methadone, a powerful and inexpensive prescription drug. For the past decade, the state has declared methadone to be as safe and effective as any other narcotic painkiller. But in a striking reversal that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that methadone is riskier and more dangerous — a drug of last resort — because it’s unpredictable and ...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - January 28, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: SuboxDoc Tags: acute pain Chronic pain methadone pharmacology receptor actions risks side effects health advisory medication side effects morphine oxycodone pain drugs Source Type: blogs

10 Ways to Enhance Your Emotional IntelligenceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Up your Emotional Intelligence quotient. Alcoholics, addicts and co-dependents do a lot of work on emotions in recovery. Here are some points that may enhance the 12 Step program. Everyone’s talking about Emotional Intelligence (EI) but what exactly is it? One important aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions – in oneself and others – and to use that information appropriately. For example, recognizing emotional intelligence in oneself can help you regulate and manage your emotions, while recognizing emotions in others can lead to empathy and success in y...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 28, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Emotions Recovery Relationships EI Emotional Intelligence emotions in recovery Source Type: blogs

Al-Anons Promises for RecoveryEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Growing Up in an Alcoholic Home For Co-dependents and Adult Children of Alcoholics. If we willingly surrender ourselves to the spiritual discipline of the Twelve Steps, our lives will be transformed. We will become mature, responsible individuals with a great capacity for joy, wonder and fulfillment. Though we may never be perfect, continued spiritual progress will reveal to us our enormous potential. We will discover that we are both worthy of love and loving. We will love others without loosing ourselves, and will learn to accept love in return. Our sight, once clouded and confused, will clear and we will be able to p...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 27, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Adult Children of Alcoholics Al-anon Alateen Codependency Emotions Recovery Recovery Books Al-Anons Promises Alcoholic Home Source Type: blogs

Successful Utilisation of AA by Whites and BlacksEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study examines whether the effects of formal substance use treatment utilization and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) on 30-day abstinence vary for black versus white Americans. The current analysis utilizes data from a longitudinal sample of 1013 black and white, dependent and problem drinkers across a 7-year period. Participants were identified through a probability survey in the general population and consecutive intakes in chemical dependency treatment programs in a California County. Generalized Estimating Equations assessing interactions between race and treatment utilization incorporated variables from four post-basel...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - January 26, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anon Alcoholism Demographics Recovery Target populations alcohol abstinence blacks and whites substance use treatment Source Type: blogs

Alcoholism, a Family ProblemEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Problem drinking doesn’t just affect society, it also affects people at a more personal level – at home – and can create serious emotional problems for all family members. Maybe you’re reading this because there’s an alcohol problem in your family. If so, you’ve taken the first step in helping yourself. Let’s look briefly at what can happen in a family when one member of the family has a drinking problem. Usually, the alcohol problem is creating a lot of stress in the home. Maybe the person with the alcohol problem isn’t doing their share of taking care of children or pa...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 26, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Disease Family drinking legal trouble problem drinking Source Type: blogs

Indoor ExercisesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Make the Most of Indoor Exercises Alcoholics, addicts and co-dependents in recovery may need to address their physical condition or just exercise. Whether the weather is clear or foul this regime may be of use. Many of us love being outdoors for physical activities. But when the weather gets crummy—too cold, too hot, or too much rain or snow—we stay on the sofa, maybe for months, until things get better. There’s no reason to give up exercising just because the weather stinks. You can stay physically fit, or get there, without leaving the comfort of indoors. These tips can help make your indoor workouts work wo...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 25, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Recovery Indoor Exercises Source Type: blogs

Recovery Essay Contest Winners Talk About Methadone, Naltrexone and SuboxoneEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Essay contest winners described their addiction recovery in their own words, and explained how medications like methadone, buprenorphine (Suboxone and Probuphine) and naltrexone (Vivitrol) helped them get sober. Over 125 people from the US and the UK entered the essay contest. The winners are: First Prize: Darlene DeMore of (Pennsylvania, USA) Darlene wrote about her methadone treatment and 14 years of recovery. When I became pregnant, I was terrified that I would not be able to take care of my child. MAT allowed me to become well, function normally and raise a beautiful daughter. Second Prize: Louis Buchhold (Cali...
Source: Recovery Helpdesk - January 24, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: recoveryhelpdesk Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Inebriety QuotesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. -Ernest Hemingway A hangover is the wrath of grapes. -Author Unknown The first thing in the human personality that dissolves in alcohol is dignity. -Author Unknown When the wine goes in, strange things come out. -Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, The Piccolomini, 1799 If drinking is interfering with your work, you’re probably a heavy drinker. If work is interfering with your drinking, you’re probably an alcoholic. -Author Unknown O God, that men should put an ene...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 24, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcohol Alcoholism Sobriety drink drunk Hemingway Inebriety Quotes Lord Byron Shakespeare Source Type: blogs

Heroin in Vietnam: The Robins Study ReexaminedEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
How everything we knew about heroin was wrong. Editor's note: The famous Robins study on heroin use among Vietnam veterans has been so often—and so recently—misinterpreted that I felt motivated to reprint an older post on the subject. [Originally posted 7/24/10] In 1971, under the direction of Dr. Jerome Jaffe of the Special Action Office on Drug Abuse Prevention, Dr. Lee Robins of Washington University in St. Louis undertook an investigation of heroin use among young American servicemen in Vietnam. Nothing about addiction research would ever be quite the same after the Robins study. The results of the Robins investi...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 24, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Bipolar and PregnantEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The first book to tackle one of the leading concerns of women with manic depression and related disorders You have bipolar disorder and want to start a family. There is so much to know and manage when thinking about becoming pregnant and having an optimal pregnancy and postpartum period. What are the risks? Can I go off my meds? How will my partner react? Will my child also become bipolar? How do I navigate through the often confusing and ever-changing research on mental disorders and pregnancy? Kristin K. Finn was diagnosed with manic depression as a teenager. Upon deciding to become pregnant, she and her husband...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 22, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Disease Dual Recovery Medications mental health Recovery Books Youth Bipolar and Pregnant manic depression pre-natal pregnancy Source Type: blogs

Pill Mill Prosecution and the Pain Relief NetworkEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Wow. I just read an email about a story that I was vaguely aware of– about a doctor in Kansas and his wife, who were together linked to scores of overdose deaths. But that is just the beginning. The doctor was supported, during his trial, by Siobhan Reynolds, founder of a nonprofit advocacy group called ‘Pain Relief Network.’ She started the group back in 2003, when her ex-husband was suffering from severe pain from a congenital connective tissue disorder. He (the ex-husband) found relief in combinations of high-dose opioids and benzodiazepines, at least until his doctor, Virginia pain specialist Willia...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - January 22, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: SuboxDoc Tags: acute pain addiction Chronic pain education legal Public policy Dr. Schneider grand jury overdose deaths pain relief network pill mill siobhan reynolds Source Type: blogs

Interesting Video ‘Gary Interview’Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Posted From Karen Halls’s Ipad Author’s Description: Gary Smith is a Professor of Human Development at Binghamton University College of Community and Public Affairs in Binghamton New His class on alternatives in addiction treatment focusses on the Habilitat His hand selected class travels to Hawaii each year for a life changing opportunity to live the Habilitat His partnership with Habilitat has exposed numerous young adults to the field of addiction Many of his students have gone on to become probation officers, social workers and police Habilitat is a long term residential substance abuse program located in ...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - January 22, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Meth Recovery Source Type: blogs

Al-anon Helps all the FamilyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Research proves that the Al-anon method of encouragement and support is one of the best ways to help a recovering addict stay sober A recent American clinical study examined the effect of perceived criticism on relapse back to substance abuse, and found that the perception of criticism was a very significant factor leading to relapse. Families can best help in the recovery process by remaining encouraging and supportive, and additionally attending both therapy with the alcoholic, as well as some form of family support organization. The Al Anon philosophy: Al-Anon has but one purpose to help families of alcoholics. We do t...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 21, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Al-anon Alcohol Alcoholism Codependency Family Help an Alcoholic Recovery Relapse Relationships family support organization help a recovering addict help families of alcoholics Source Type: blogs

Alcohol Screening in HospitalEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many Patients Approve of Nurses Delivering Alcohol Screening in Hospital Many hospital patients are comfortable with having nurses deliver screening and brief intervention for alcohol, a new study suggests. According to the researchers, the findings indicate that nurses can be important partners in helping to screen for hazardous drinking. Medical News Today reports the U.S. Joint Commission recently approved new hospital accreditation measures regarding alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for all patients who are hospitalized. Until now, little has been known about inpatient opinions o...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - January 20, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcohol Alcoholism Assessment Brief Intervention Stages of Change Symptoms of addiction Target populations hazardous drinking referral to treatment Source Type: blogs

Sexuality After DivorceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Discover how to reconnect with your sexuality after divorce Recovering alcoholics, addicts and co-dependents often suffer divorce. Divorced people are very vulnerable to alienation and isolation as well as open targets for 13th steppers. After a divorce, there will come a time to begin thinking about having a sexual relationship again. Often times when divorce has occurred, the couple had not been sexual in some time because the relationship had been on the decline. When people get out of the routine of being physical with a partner, it can sometimes push the desire for physical closeness right out of one’s vocabular...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 19, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Relationships Sexuality 13th steppers sexual relationship sexuality after divorce Source Type: blogs

Are You A Compulsive Overeater?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
. This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive overeater. Many members of Overeaters Anonymous have found that they have answered yes to many of these questions. Do you eat when you’re not hungry? Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason? Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating? Do you give too much time and thought to food? Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone? Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time? Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone? Is your weight affecting the way you live your lif...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 19, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Emotions Food Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Overeaters Anonymous binges diet escape guilt hungry obesity overeating remorse willpower Source Type: blogs

HIV Infection Linked To High Drug Overdose RiskEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Drug users who are infected with HIV are 74 percent more likely to experience drug overdose, a recent study suggests. Researcher Traci Green, Ph.D. says factors contributing to the increased risk may include poorer physical health, poverty and poor access to medication-assisted therapy to treat opioid dependence. Green points out that drug treatment with methadone or buprenorphine (Suboxone) has been shown to protect against fatal drug overdose, and she suggests that improved access to these therapies would be one important way to reduce high overdose risk in this population. The study was conducted by Rhode Island Hospita...
Source: Recovery Helpdesk - January 14, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: recoveryhelpdesk Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Video: Liko Martin- Waimanalo Blues Exclusive at Habilitat Hawaii 2011Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Sent From Karen Halls’s Iphone: Author’s Description: Liko Martin- Waimanalo Blues Exclusive at Habilitat Hawaii 2011 for our Christmas He is a living legend of Hawaiian Music, regarded as one of the most influential song writers of our A famous composer of classic songs like Waimanalo Blues, He plays beautiful Slack Key Guitar and sings his own An original member of the famed Hawaii group Country Comfort, he continues to share his life lessons through music and He visited Habilitat Hawaii for Christmas and played a private show for our holiday Habilitat is a long term residential addiction treatment center i...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - January 14, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Meth Recovery Source Type: blogs

Mike Doughty Talks About “The Book of Drugs”Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Former Soul Coughing front man on sobriety and life as a solo artist. Over the phone, Mike Doughty doesn’t have much to say about his former band, Soul Coughing. When I mention it, he gives out a low growl as a warning. He said it all in The Book of Drugs, and it doesn’t sound like he had much fun. Although the avant-garde rock band created music that was spiky and sneaky and immensely popular, topped off by Doughty’s monotonic but strangely penetrating vocal delivery on such classics as “Super Bon Bon,” “True Dreams of Wichita,” and “Circles,” Doughty was drug-dependent and miserable. Musician pitted a...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 14, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Sexual Effects of AntidepressantsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Incidence of sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressants This research is presented here to assist people in recovery from alcoholism, addiction and co-dependency but applies to every person. The research is not solid evidence that this will happen to you but it does give an indication of the risk of sexual dysfunction. Please remember; Some of these medications are highly addictive (Check the information at the linked articles), Some of these can cause you to be more restless, irritable and discontent, Do not stop taking medication before talking to your doctor (Withdrawal can be life threatening) Methods Pr...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 12, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Drugs Medications Recovery Sexuality antidepressants Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Sexual dysfunction Source Type: blogs

Interview with Howard Shaffer of the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health AllianceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Defining addiction, making research more transparent, and dealing with the DSM-V (The “Five-Question Interview” series.) Like many incredibly busy people, Dr. Howard J. Shaffer, associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, is generous with his time. This paradox works to the advantage of Addiction Inbox readers, as Dr. Shaffer, the director of the Division on Addiction at the Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, has graciously consented to be the next participant in our “Five-Question Interview” series. In addition to maintaining a private practice, Dr. Shaffer h...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 11, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Brain Scans and Addiction Research: The Early YearsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
X-ray specs for drug effects. The science of addiction and the technology of brain scans have both developed exponentially in the past two decades. The search for specific neurobiological markers for addiction was made possible by positron emission tomography, better known as the PET scan. Known more casually as the PET/CT scanner, the device was named the Invention of the Year in 2000 by Time Magazine. (The CT scan, for computerized tomography, uses an X-ray machine and a contrast die to measure absorption rates in different brain areas.) The idea of a PET scan is simple: Doctors inject test subjects with radioactivel...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 8, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Video – Stuart Kloda, MD – Xanax Detox – NYCEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I thought this was pretty interesting and wanted to share it with my readers Author’s Description: - Call Kloda directly at (646) 713 – 6578 Concierge addiction treatment for New York City and New Dr Kloda completed a rigorous two-year Addiction Medicine fellowship at the Addiction Institute of New York, a Columbia University affiliate in Manhattan located at Luke’s & Roosevelt His experience includes serving as the medical director for the inpatient drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation unit at Roosevelt Kloda cared for many patients with co-occurring psychiatric and medical Kloda prov...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - January 7, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Medical Detox Source Type: blogs

A Drug for Head Lice and Heartworm Shows Promise Against Alcohol AbuseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Unlikely candidate helps alcohol-dependent mice cut back on the sauce. Say what you will about glutamate-gated chloride channels in the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus—but the one thing you probably wouldn’t say about the cellular channels in parasitic worms is that a drug capable of activating them may prove useful in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions. When scientists go looking for drugs to use against addiction, they do not typically begin with a class of drugs that includes a medication for use against head lice and ticks. But that is exactly where the trail led Daryl Davies, co-director o...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 5, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Definition of RecoveryEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAMHSA announces a working definition of “recovery” from mental disorders and substance use disorders A new working definition of recovery from mental disorders and substance use disorders is being announced by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The definition is the product of a year-long effort by SAMHSA and a wide range of partners in the behavioral health care community and other fields to develop a working definition of recovery that captures the essential, common experiences of those recovering from mental disorders and substance use disorders, along with major g...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - January 4, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addiction Alcoholism Disease of addiction Drugs Mutual-help Recovery Relapse prevention Relationships Self-help Spirituality Definition of Recovery mental disorders SAMHSA Substance use Disorders Source Type: blogs

Sexuality gets Better with Age for WomenEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article may help, A new study of sexually active older women has found that sexual satisfaction in women increases with age and those not engaging in sex are satisfied with their sex lives. A majority of study participants report frequent arousal and orgasm that continue into old age, despite low sexual desire. Researchers evaluated sexual activity and satisfaction as reported by 806 older women who are part of the Rancho Bernardo Study (RBS) cohort, a group of women who live in a planned community near San Diego and whose health has been tracked for medical research for 40 years. The study measured the prevalence ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 4, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Recovery Sexuality low sexual desire older women sexual satisfaction Source Type: blogs

Secrets of a Good QuickieEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Quickies are fun, but they’re fraught with erotic peril. Many people in recovery from alcoholism, addiction or co-dependency may have concerns about quickie sex. Lets face it most sex in the past was probably fast and convenient involving very little ‘lovemaking’. Open your mind to satisfying quickies Sex therapists agree that the most satisfying, most deeply erotic lovemaking involves slow sex–leisurely, playful, massage-inspired, whole-body sensual touch all over. But sometimes there’s no time for it, and sometimes lovers want fast, rip-your-clothes-off quickies. Sex doesn’t always have to be ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 3, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Sexuality erotic lovemaking quickie sex Quickies are fun Sex therapists Source Type: blogs

Making People StopEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Below is an e-mail that I changed just enough to hide the person’s identity. Every week, I receive messages that describe similar situations. My husband has struggled GREATLY with substance abuse since in his 20′s; he is now in his mid-40′s. He is the kindest sweetest man and he is the BEST husband and father. When he is using he becomes someone he is not. We have run the gamut from jail to overdose. Six years ago a friend introduced him to Suboxone and it LITERALLY gave him his life back. He bought it off the friend for years, where it was very expensive. Finally I brought him to a doctor a bit over a ye...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - January 2, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: SuboxDoc Tags: 12 steps addiction buprenorphine Public policy relapse Suboxone Subutex addiction treatment maintenance methadone opioid dependence stopping suboxone Source Type: blogs

A Few Words About GlutamateEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Meet another major player in the biology of addiction. The workhorse neurotransmitter glutamate, made from glutamine, the brain’s most abundant amino acid, has always been a tempting target for new drug development. Drugs that play off receptors for glutamate are already available, and more are in the pipeline. Drug companies have been working on new glutamate-modulating antianxiety drugs, and a glutamate-active drug called acamprosate, which works by occupying sites on glutamate (NMDA) receptors, has found limited use as a drug for alcohol withdrawal after dozens of clinical trials. Glutamine detoxifies ammonia and co...
Source: Addiction Inbox - January 2, 2012 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Emotional Sobriety GuideEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Emotional sobriety a term first coined in 1953 by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) co-founder Bill Wilson in a letter for AA’s publication the Grapevine, Wilson wrote that if we look very closely at every imbalance we have, big or small, we’ll find at the root of them some form of dependence. Yet, by giving up and surrendering these dependencies “we may then be able to gain emotional sobriety.” Tian Dayton author of Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance, explains that emotional sobriety refers to a person’s ability to self-regulate, to discover and maintain emotional balance when they g...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - December 31, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous Emotions Emotions Anonymous Recovery Spirituality dependence EMOTIONAL SOBRIETY Source Type: blogs

The ACOA Laundry ListEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Adult Child of Alcoholism The Adult Children of Alcoholics Laundry List These are some characteristics we seem to have in common due to being brought up in an alcoholic household. We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures. We became approval seekers and lost our identity in the process. We are frightened by angry people and any personal criticism. We either become alcoholics, marry them, or both, or find another compulsive personality such as a workaholic to fulfil our sick abandonment needs. We live life from the viewpoint of victims and are attracted by that weakness in our love and friendship relati...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - December 31, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Adult Children of Alcoholics Al-anon Alateen Alcoholism Codependency Denial Emotions Family Recovery Spirituality acoa anger childhood guilt isolate pity victim workaholic Source Type: blogs

FurtherEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
(Source: Addiction Inbox)
Source: Addiction Inbox - December 31, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Transformation Through SufferingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A Study of Individuals Who Have Experienced Positive Psychological Transformation Following Periods of Intense Turmoil This transformation is very familiar and similar to the spiritual awakening experienced by many members of 12 Step fellowships and described in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The interpretation is from the humanistic psychology perspective (see below). This research report summarizes a study of 32 individuals who experienced psychological transformation following periods of intense turmoil and trauma in their lives. Several individuals reported temporary spiritual experiences following turmoil, bu...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - December 29, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Psychological Illness Recovery Relationships Spirituality humanistic psychology Psychological Transformation spiritual awakening Source Type: blogs

The Economic Cost of Heavy DrinkingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Some food, or rather, some drink for thought. A recently released study conducted for the CDC Foundation estimates that the economic costs of excessive drinking in American totaled $223.5 billion in 2006. Binge drinking accounted for 76.4%, or $170.7 billion of the total costs, according to the report. Binge drinking is defined as 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men within a two-hour period. The report estimates that the per capita cost of excessive drinking was approximately $746 for every man, woman, and child in the United States in 2006. Here is a breakdown of the cost of excessive d...
Source: Addiction Inbox - December 28, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Slips, Busts and RelapsesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Bill W. a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous answers questions about alcoholism in a discussion in 1960. Question; What about slips or relapse in general? You must have witnessed a lot of them. Bill W.: The subject of slips is a very large one. It takes in a lot of territory. Slips can often be charged to rebellion and some of us surely are more rebellious than others. Slips can be charged to carelessness, to complacency. Many of us fail to ride out such periods sober. Slips are due to the illusion that one can be “cured” of alcoholism. Things go fine for two or three years then the member is seen no more. He gets busy...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - December 26, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Disease Emotions Faith Relapse Bill W rebellion slips newtag Source Type: blogs

Reader Question – dating an ex-meth user?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many of you might be asking this same question so I’m posting with the answer here. Enjoy. The question is from Melanie R I’ve been dating this guy a few months. He’s amazing. Respects my morals, makes me happy, supports my school work, and has recently started going to church with me. The only thing that bothers me is he used be a Meth user. He told me about it pretty soon after we first started going on dates, and he spent a good amount of jail time for his drug use/selling.He now goes to support meetings, has a sponsor, is working a program of recovery, and is getting off probation early. Also, he goes...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - December 26, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Meth Recovery Source Type: blogs

Are You Okay?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A variety of drinking tests: the good, the bad, and the silly. Here’s a short, no-nonsense questionnaire that uses your weekly drinking habits to produce an at-a-glance comparison of how your intake stacks up against others your age and sex. For example, your result might say: “Only 4% of the adult male population drinks more than you say you drink.” Which is food for thought, at least. Join Together (sponsored by The Partnership at DrugFree.org and Boston University School of Public Health) provides this service. Here is the Mayo Clinic alcohol use self-assessment test, which says with refreshing frankness: “Thi...
Source: Addiction Inbox - December 26, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Increase Sobriety and Reduce CostsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CONCLUSIONS: Promoting self-help group involvement appears to improve post-treatment outcomes while reducing the costs of continuing care. Even cost offsets that somewhat diminish over the long term can yield substantial savings. Actively promoting self-help group involvement may therefore be a useful clinical practice for helping addicted patients recover in a time of constrained fiscal resources. Humphreys K, Moos RH. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Jan;31(1):64-8. Encouraging posttreatment self-help group involvement to reduce demand for continuing care services: two-year clinical and utilization outcomes. See also; Brief-T...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - December 24, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12-Step Groups Alcohol Alcoholism Brief-TSF Source Type: blogs

Definition of RecoveryEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAMHSA announces a working definition of “recovery” from mental disorders and substance use disorders A new working definition of recovery from mental disorders and substance use disorders is being announced by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The definition is the product of a year-long effort by SAMHSA and a wide range of partners in the behavioral health care community and other fields to develop a working definition of recovery that captures the essential, common experiences of those recovering from mental disorders and substance use disorders, along with major g...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - December 22, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Disease Drugs Dual Recovery Relationships Spirituality Treatment Definition of Recovery mental disorders SAMHSA substance use disorders Source Type: blogs

Brattleboro Vermont To Addicts: Stay Stoned!Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I was stunned to see this story about the town of Brattleboro, a town in Vermont with a name famous for the rats that grew up there. As an aside, my PhD thesis involved working with vasopressin receptors in the brain, and that is why I’m familiar with Brattleboro rats– a species of rat that spontaneously mutated and lost the ability to make vasopressin. One would think that inhabitants of a town made famous over a rat would be on their best behavior. But they behaved worse than their namesakes at a meeting intended to get the OK for a clinic to treat people using Suboxone. I’ll let you read the articl...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - December 20, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: SuboxDoc Tags: addiction buprenorphine legal Public policy Suboxone brattleboro Brattleboro drug treatment opioids treatment clinic Source Type: blogs

Q&A: Question about meth abuse and recovery?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I was looking through some old posts and found this question. I thought it was a good one so I wanted to post an answer here. The question comes from ‘CK’: I used meth everyday for over a year. I stopped cold turkey just before I got married and have been clean for 3 years. Ever since I stopped using the drug I feel like I never really got back to my old self again. Things that I used to love doing don’t interest me anymore and it takes a lot to make me happy and I am easily irritated and not as layed back as i used to be. It has gotten a lot better over the years but I am still not my old self yet. My wi...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - December 20, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Meth Recovery Source Type: blogs

A 12 Days of Christmas Blog MemeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Wrapping it up. From DrugMonkey’s blog: “The rules for this blog meme are quite simple. Post the link and first sentence from the first blog entry for each month of the past year.” (Credit to Janet Stemwedel and John Lynch for the idea.) Here are the 12 first lines from 2011 here at Addiction Inbox: January: Films popular in Europe feature more drinking episodes per movie than their equally popular American counterparts, according to a report by the European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing (EUCAM). February: The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a warning about the new s...
Source: Addiction Inbox - December 20, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs

Relapse in an Era of BuprenorphineEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A recent experience with a patient helped me realize some of the dramatic differences in the treatment of opioid dependence, in an era of buprenorphine. I drug-test patients who are treated with buprenorphine or Suboxone. The point of testing is not to catch someone messing up, but rather to determine when a person is in trouble. It would be great if we could simply rely on the word of our patients, but once a person is using opioids, his/her own ability to know what is true falls apart. All of us who treat addiction have heard patients rationalize relapse as something they ‘had to do’ for one reason or another, fo...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - December 18, 2011 Category: Addiction Authors: SuboxDoc Tags: 12 steps addiction buprenorphine drug testing pharmacology psychodynamics recovery relapse Suboxone Subutex insight opioid dependence Source Type: blogs