Thursday, April 23, 2009

WOW..... We just won

WOW..... We just won the Prism Award and while I was waiting for my car look who I meet to top the night off!!! Thank you both for watching the show...... Honor to meet you both!!!!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

WOW an amazing day t

WOW an amazing day today in LA. Going to hit an AA meeting and get out and enjoy it....

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I just meet with Dav

I just meet with David Kohl, he has some great ideas on a recovery show on www.onlinerecoverynetowrk.com ummmmmm

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Went to coffee down

from HelloTxtWent to coffee down the street from my house and looked up and saw this on Beverly

Attention! I have de

Attention! I have decided at the last min to join the race to 1MM against Ashton & CNN we have 3 hrs to get 999,860 followers. HELP ME! Send to everyone you know please.. LOL

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

Intervention Treatment Admissions vs. Getting To Treatment in Other Ways


Find more videos like this on The Intervention and Recovery Network


Is there a difference in effectiveness between typical "Rock Bottom Admissions" vs. "Intervention Admissions"?

Jodi Sweetin's Addiction to Meth



Jodi Sweetin, child star of Full House, speaks candidly about her unexpected and destructive addiction to meth.

Success Story and Thank You

Fabian was an intervention that Ken Seeley did for the A&E show,"Intervention".
Here is what Fabian says, in his own words...


"It has a been a long road to recovery. I'm here to be of service. It is possible. I used to shoot up daily. I was officially hooked. Thanks to an INTERVENTION by Ken Seeley I find myself with more confidence.
Don't get me wrong I'm still fragile and have some shitty days but it gets better. We have a disease, in unity we can fight it. Alone you will eventually will only lead to doom. Discontent, feeling suicidal is a terrible roller coaster of misery. I live in Sober Living in Venice, CA with available beds. I'm here because I care for the suffering addict.

Ken,
Words will never be enough for the gratitude and patience you offered. I ranted, fought my sobriety. Thanks to you and the Lord I'm in a better place. "

FABIAN

Below, watch a clip from the episode of "Intervention" featuring Fabian.

Interview with Ken Seeley, Interventionist

Click here to listen to the BHC Journal's exclusive interview with Ken Seeley, interventionist. He speaks about his personal recovery from his near-death addiction that has motivated him to save the lives of others.

In The News: Suboxone Played Role in Wisconsin Death of Teen




Apr. 1, 2009--Investigators suspect that a lethal combination of alcohol and a prescription drug -- Suboxone -- likely played a role in the death of a 19-year-old freshman found dead Monday in a dorm suite at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, according to a university official and a Milwaukee County medical examiner's report.

Suboxone is the same drug that may have been taken by Whitefish Bay teen Madison Kiefer, who died March 1. It is used to treat heroin addiction.

Two UWM students -- a man and woman -- have been arrested in connection with the death of Luke David Murphy of New London, whose girlfriend found him unresponsive in her dorm room Monday morning, according to university spokesman Tom Luljak and the medical examiner's report.

Both students were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, Luljak said.

The man who was arrested was in custody Tuesday night at the Milwaukee County Jail, according to jail records. The woman was released by UWM police Tuesday but ordered to meet with the district attorney's office, Luljak said.

The students also could face discipline from the university, Luljak said.

Murphy's death follows the Feb. 21 death of Ali MarieRaddatz, also a UWM freshman, who died after consuming alcohol and prescription drugs at an off-campus party.

Murphy's cause of death will not be known until the results of a toxicology report are received in the coming weeks, Luljak said. Murphy's family couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the medical examiner's report regarding Murphy's death:

Murphy's girlfriend told investigators that Murphy watched basketball and drank alcohol at a friend's house on Sunday.

She told investigators that Murphy took pills while at the house. Investigators believe he may have taken Suboxone.

The report says Murphy received a text message Sunday night that said, "How crazy do you feel?"

Murphy's girlfriend told investigators he seemed high when he arrived Sunday night at her room in Sandburg Hall. He brought a bottle of beer, a half-bottle of juice and a bottle of vodka that was about one-eighth full, the report says.

Murphy's girlfriend told investigators he didn't seem completely intoxicated, but she said he was "intoxicated, tired and slow acting."

Murphy passed out in her bed and began "snoring loud, like he was somewhat gasping for air," she told investigators. Murphy often snored, but his girlfriend said she was concerned because he was also drooling.

Murphy's girlfriend found him unresponsive about 5:15 a.m. Paramedics were called, but Murphy was pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m., according to the medical examiner's report.

Luljak said administrators have been in constant communication with employees at the university health center, and administrators are meeting "to discuss how we can communicate the tremendous risks that are present when people abuse alcohol and drugs."

"This is an enormous tragedy and one that the university administration takes very, very seriously," Luljak said.

Particularly concerning to officials is information from the campus' health and wellness center suggesting that employees have seen an increasing number of freshman students arriving at the school with drug and alcohol issues, Luljak said.

"I think it is a reflection of what's happening in the high schools and even in the junior high schools around the state," he said. "It is a problem that does not begin when students come to college. Sadly, many of them have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol before they arrive."

Prescription drug abuse has increased on college campuses across the country in recent years, but UWM officials have not seen a spike in Suboxone abuse, said Paul Dupont, a clinical psychologist and counseling director at the university's Norris Health Center.

"Many students, whether it's high school students or college students, view (prescription drugs) as safer than illegal drugs because these are prescribed. In some students' minds, they can't be that dangerous."

But prescription drug abuse is extremely dangerous, especially when the drugs are combined with alcohol, Dupont said.

"When you mix alcohol and narcotics or tranquilizers, they multiply each other's effects, thereby dramatically increasing the risk of overdose," Dupont said.

Suboxone, a narcotic, has been prescribed with increasing frequency, increasing the potential for abuse, said Carlyle Chan, a professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Glad Monday is almos

Glad Monday is almost over..

The Promises of Alcoholics Anonymous




If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and selfpity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.


Like most addicts and alcoholics, when I first thought about putting the drugs and the drink down, I wanted to know one thing: what's in it for me?
Enter The Promises taken from pages 83-84 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. These pages were the answer to my question and over the years, I have found them to be true. Looking back, they materialized right before my eyes.
Although beginning a program of recovery is tough and even unpleasant at times, these promises are the reason that people stick it out and stay around. These promises have taken me through some very difficult times and as they say, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, they will always materialize if we work for them.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Ken Seeley Addresses His Eating Disorder Using 12 Steps



The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are not simply a way to quit drinking. Rather, they are 12 steps that when implemented on an ongoing basis result in a new way of life. It would make sense, then, that these 12 steps can be used for any unmanageable behavior.
Ken Seeley has been in recovery for over 19 years. He has decided now to start a video blog that will document the progress he makes as he deals with his eating disorder using the 12 steps.

Check back often for updates on Ken's progress.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

In The Rooms® Recovery Network




Intervention911 is now a part of the largest growing recovery network on the web! Please join us and thousands of others share our experience, strength and hope with one another.

In The Rooms

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Face It and Fix It by Ken Seeley



World-renowned interventionist Ken Seeley, one of the hosts of A&E's hit television series Intervention, has spent the past twenty years helping people and their families deal with and overcome life-threatening addictions. His clients have ranged from the homeless to multimillionaires, each needing professional help with every problem imaginable, including alcoholism, drug dependency, excessive gambling, sexual addiction, abusive behavior, and mental disorders. A few years into his career, Ken realized that the one common characteristic with each of his clients was denial. He has since built his success on a proven program for pinpointing and dealing with this core issue.

Whether coping with a severe or a soft addiction, a life-threatening situation, or just an impediment to true happiness, we're all in denial about something.

It might be small and seemingly innocent, such as the fact that you're not trying to excel in your job as much as you could or should be. Or it could be much larger and even potentially lethal, such as a full-blown addiction that at this very moment is destroying your life. The truth is, no matter who you are, no matter how small or large your problems may seem, denial is holding you back from living your life to the fullest.

Denial is the number one symptom of addiction. It's the mask that lets addicts ignore and avoid the consequences of their actions. But what most people don't know is that denial is also the fuel that creates an addiction in the first place—as well as nearly every other disorder, behavior, and habit that can negatively affect your life. In Face It and Fix It, Seeley leads readers through a three-step process to remove life-damaging denial in order to live balanced and healthy lives. He helps readers first to identify life-damaging behaviors; next he gives the tools necessary to break down the walls that denial builds up over time; and finally he shows how to maintain balanced lives and relationships.

Whether you're looking for help for someone you love or struggling with an addiction of your own, Face It and Fix It will leave you with a greater sense of self-awareness and the skills you need to both improve your relationships and to live the life you deserve.

Pre order here!

Dear Ken...

Here is yet another reason that we at Intervention911 continue to be the hand of help...

Dear Ken:
One week ago my family and I cried out for help and your staff was there to field the call. I contacted the number I saw on your web site and Jeffrey Seltzer answered.

I am sending you this message to thank you for this service. Words alone cannot express my appreciation for Jeffrey Seltzer and the job he did. His passion for helping families in their time of need was overwellming. He matched our case with the perfect interventionist who was the perfect man to help us in our time of need.

Today, my sister is getting the help see needs at Whiteside Manor in Riverside, CA. I can't say enough about your entire staff. They help perfect strangers in their most difficult times. They are forever part of our family.

Thanks again and God Bless

Choose Your Bottom



There is nothing worse than watching a family member struggle with addiction. They simply are not the same people we once knew. As family members watching the tornado of destruction they create everywhere they go, we are familiar with the stealing, string of constant lies and excuses, the anger and the frustration. Above all, we feel helpless to do anything. We have cried, screamed, prayed, and lectured until we are blue in the face. However, there is a way to stop being helpless and start making positive choices for our loved ones. Enter the intervention.
An intervention is not a lot of things: it is not cornering the addict and trapping them into submission, it is not forcing them to go to treatment, it is not a situation that involves blame, criticism or shame. It is a structured, professionally guided, unified show of support and love by a group of people who care too much about the addict to continue to love them to death or to let them die. What's more, it is a way of the family of addicts to take back the power they have lost to help their loved one. Keep reading...
The pure and simple fact of the matter is that every addict or alcoholic is going to hit bottom. A lot of people think that in order to allow the addict to do that, the family has to sit back and watch them suffer until the bitter end. Not so. By being a part of an intervention, the family and interventionist is going to be providing the addict with three things: the gift of recovery, the chance at a new life lived in sobriety and a safe bottom. The keyword is safe.
Take Johnny for example: his family is a wreck. They have been watching him abuse heroin and opiates for years. They have prayed many many times for Johnny to end up in jail or for something so drastic to happen that it creates what will be his "bottom". Unfortunately, it's not really going as planned. Johnny has gone from having a wife and child with a decent job and a car to crashing on couches, sometimes seeing his daughter and leaving his wife with what seems like her only option, divorce. Johnny has overdosed, lost his job and clearly, his life is out of control. One would think that any number of these things would prompt Johnny to see that he needs help to stop abusing drugs and to reach out to get that help. Although Johnny's parents try to do the right thing, they aren't helping. They have bailed him out of jail after he promised to go to rehab, they have been assisting his wife with money to keep Johnny's bills paid and until last month, they were helping Johnny make his car payment. When Johnny needs somewhere to go, his parents will let him crash at their house, all the while hoping he is coming there to get clean.
It is obvious to most that Johnny is not being impacted by the continual loss of the things in his life that used to mean so much to him. It is time for an intervention. The real problem with random bottoms is that we don't get to choose what that bottom will be. It could be a car accident, a fatal overdose, a life lived in prison as a result of a drug related crime, and the list goes on. By participating in an intervention, the family is standing together and saying "we will not help you with your illness any longer, we will only help you in your wellness." Healthy boundaries are set by the family and the addict is presented with this "safe bottom" in a loving, kind way. Each interventionist works with the family to develop a custom strategy for guiding Johnny to the right choice, that choice being treatment. In the end, the choice will be Johnny's alone, but the simple effective way it is presented to him as a result of a professionally guided intervention allows Johnny to see that this option truly is the best option.
If you have a friend or family member that has an addiction, my condolences go out to you. It's definitely not a fun place to be. However, you do not have to sit back and wait for a bottom. Take some control back and give "Johnny" the best gift he'll ever get.

It Didn't Happen Today



As I've blogged about before, I tend to struggle with living in the present. I find myself worried about the future a lot, especially in stressful times, instead of turning my concerns over to God as I have been taught.
So, I went to my homegroup last Friday and was listening to someone talk about this very topic. What she said was that sometimes at the end of the day, it's very helpful to remember that all those worries and concern DIDN'T HAPPEN TODAY. If I'm worried about losing a job, for instance, I can remember that it didn't happen today. All those bad things that are maybes and could happens and might happens DIDN'T HAPPEN TODAY.
What's more, the real lesson that was reiterated to me again was that when I actually take the right action and go to a meeting, I seem to hear exactly what I need to hear. It always ends up that way.

Monday, April 6, 2009

A Good Night's Sleep — Testimonial

Working in the intervention field is at times very stressful, very difficult and exhausting. However, when we receive feedback like this, it makes it all worthwhile.

Dear Intervention911 Team:
I feel like I can put my head on my pillow tonight and be able to close my eyes! I really need sleep! My brother is safe, and is in a safe place with people who will get him through this!

I can't tell you how wonderful and how pleased our family feels about the entire process of this Intervention. All of you from the start were warm, caring, down to earth people who gave great advise, wasted NO time and guided us through with such ease!

Beth was WONDERFUL!!! I feel like I've known her for years! She did a great job and was so, so caring but strong at the same time. She knew exactly what to say, when to say it and I can't say enough about her. We could have NEVER done this without her!

From my heart, I thank all of you. I'll now pray for my brothers success with his treatment instead of praying that he lives through another day.

Can you please send on to me Beth's Email address. I know I have it here somewhere. It would be great if you could forward that on to me.

Thank you ~ My best to all of you,

Anonymous Client of Intervention911

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Suboxone: Miracle drug or more of the same?



As you may have heard, there is a new drug that is being used nationwide to assist opiate addicts with their withdrawal symptoms while trying to kick their habit. Buprenorphine hydrochloride, better known by its brand name, Suboxone, is a narcotic that is available for prescription from a regular doctor, as opposed to methadone, which is available only at approved clinics.
What does it do? In simple terms, it alleviates the addict from typical opiate withdrawal symptoms such as body ache, nausea, cravings, insomnia, cold and hot sweats and many other absolutely horrific symptoms. Sounds great, right? Yes and no.
Yes, this is a wonderful new drug when used properly, but like any other narcotic, if misused and abused it too can become addictive.
It is extremely important to remember that opiate addiction is no simple matter. Opiate addicts are still in need of intensive inpatient treatment, with or without Suboxone. The problem we are seeing with this new miracle drug is that doctors are freely prescribing Suboxone to opiate addicts with no program of treatment to go with it. When this happens, not only does the addict transfer addictions from opiates to Suboxone, but many times they are combining this new drug with their already out of control addiction to heroin, Oxycontin, etc. One may see proof of this in the headlines from Google News:

"They allege he stole the prescription medication Suboxone from a residence in Lisbon earlier this month."

"Suboxone is an opiate therapy drug, and “what we’re finding is, just like methadone, it is being widely diverted and sold, just like methadone,” Crandall said, adding that one “can” get high off it."

"Police tell the Patriot-Ledger of Quincy that they raided the home at about 5 p.m. Tuesday and arrested 56-year-old Janet Evans and seized 70 small bags of heroin, Suboxone and Seroquel pills, marijuana, and a small amount of cocaine with a street value of about $1,500."

"Michael Wellman, 48, pleaded guilty to the three charges involving the prescription drugs Vicodin and Suboxone. He was arrested after police investigated the death of Aundrea Benson, 20, who died of a drug overdose in October."

This new epidemic was brought to my attention because as of late, I have been working with a plethora of families who are reaching out to Intervention 911 seeking advice and guidance about a loved one who is on Suboxone, but still seems to have a flourishing addiction. This is because Suboxone is not a miracle drug. Although the withdrawal symptoms may be alleviated for a time or the addict is not using nearly as much of their drug of choice, their addiction and the sickness that accompanies it is still alive and well. This drug is not an effective replacement for treatment and must be used ALONG WITH a program of recovery. Otherwise, we will continue to see what we are seeing now: prolonged addictions and no realistic, life of freedom in sight. A life lived dependent on any chemical is a life lived in bondage.
Our goal at Intervention 911 is to help families free themselves and their loved ones from the ties of addiction. This doesn't mean finding a less harmful alternative to opiates, it means getting to the core of the problem and dealing with the issues that are causing the addict to continue to use.

Ken Seeley Speaks the Truth About Intervention



Interventionist Ken Seeley explains intervention & what families should do to help addicted or alcoholic family members. Our treatment centers have all the tools you need to help your family member stop drinking or doing drugs.