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.

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.

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.

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.