12 Step Program isn’t Working for You?

If you know you need help with an addiction but the 12 step program isn’t working for you. You should try a different kind of program,  we found some information about SMART options for recovery from addictions. The SMART Recovery Method is supported by American Academy of Family Physicians.

12 step program isn't working for you?

An Alternative To Addiction Treatment

Today’s addiction treatment options may seem fairly limited. So if you are considering options for alternative addiction treatment methods…why not look into addiction treatment from home? Self-help groups like SMART Recovery or self-empowering addiction treatment methods like Practical Recovery use psychotherapy techniques as alternative options to addiction treatment for both chemical and behavioral addictions.

So what is SMART Recovery?

SMART Recovery is a recognized resource for addiction recovery by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Center for Health Care Evaluation, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

In the SMART Recovery program, you are responsible for doing the work and teaching yourself how to cope with life without drugs or alcohol using their guidelines and free tools. Learn more about SMART Recovery and its recovery tools from the President of SMART Recovery,  Tom Horvath, Ph.D.  He is  a California licensed and board certified (ABPP) clinical psychologist and presents more about SMART Recovery here.

What Are SMART Recovery “Recovery Tools”?

SMART Recovery is based on the intersection of successful scientific findings about addiction recovery, what is self-empowering, and what is workable in a support group led by a non-professional facilitator. The recovery tools  developed by SMART are therapy techniques that have also been used by professionals, but can work in a support group.

For instance, perhaps our most commonly used tool is the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). Usually participants begin by identifying what they like about their addictive behavior (either substance use, or an activity addiction such as gambling), and then what that behavior costs them. If the addictive behavior is significant, the CBA will reveal that the benefits of the behavior are short-term and the costs long-term.

More importantly, if it is a significant addiction, the costs will dramatically outweigh the benefits. In many cases participants will not have listed out these costs and benefits. The hope in using the tool is that by looking at all costs and benefits set out together, the participant will be more likely to draw the conclusion that the disinterested individual would draw, that the addictive behavior is damaging overall, despite its momentary benefits.

What Does A SMART Recovery Meeting Look And Feel Like?

If someone has attended a 12-step meeting, SMART Recovery may look and feel rather different. The biggest differences are likely to be the discussion format, the effort to work on specific recovery tools, and the check-ins and check-outs that give everyone a chance to participate in sequence. Additionally, the language of the meeting is different. Although participants are free to use any language and terms they like, the facilitator will emphasize that SMART Recovery does not include the terms alcoholic, addict, higher power or disease.

What Do You Mean By A Discussion Format?

After a brief welcome, and going around the room for a brief check-in, the facilitator sets an agenda for the discussion section of the meeting. One or more topics may be selected, based on what was said during check-in. For instance, one participant may have had a slip, one participant may not be sure he is ready to stop drinking, and a third may be upset about work stress and concerned that a relapse is more likely.

These facilitator would confirm that these participants are willing to discuss these issues. Then an order for discussing them would be decided on, and discussion would begin. For instance, if the first topic were the recent slip, the discussion might begin with a presentation of the basic facts of the event by the participant.

Then other participants might ask questions, to enhance their understanding of what occurred. Depending on how the discussion unfolded, it might end with the participant having “gotten off his chest” what happened, or it might move on to a tool that could be employed.

Are There Any Other Noteworthy Aspects Of A SMART Recovery Meeting?

My favorite meetings are the ones in which the participants open up deeply. Perhaps it is to discuss a recent slip or relapse. Perhaps it is to discuss a highly emotional event that might interfere with recovery. In some cases the meeting might not even use a tool to address these issues, but simply allow open expression and discussion of difficult issues. In these discussions many participants may reveal experiences similar to the experience that started the conversation. As with any support group on any subject, just knowing that you are not alone can be enormously helpful.

If the 12 step program isn’t working for you, learn more about different methods of recovery and choose one that makes sense for you. The important thing is that you get started as soon as possible.

Marijuana is the Most Widely Abused Illicit Drug Worldwide

Marijuana is the Most Widely Abused Illicit Drug Worldwide

Photo credit: kconnors from morguefile.com

Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug worldwide and those numbers just keep climbing. I am sure a lot of people are unaware of the actual physcial effects of THC on the human body and the truth is most of the science has huge gaping holes in it, however I really think it’s important to share information that we do have on Marijuana since so many are choosing to use it.

Psychoactive drug – Cannabis is not only the most abused illicit drug in the United States (Gold, Frost-Pineda, & Jacobs, 2004; NIDA, 2010) it is in fact the most abused illegal drug worldwide (UNODC, 2010). In the United States it is a schedule-I substance which means that it is legally considered as having nomedical use and it is highly addictive (US DEA, 2010). Doweiko (2009) explains that not all cannabis has abuse potential.

Today, marijuana is at the forefront of international controversy debating the appropriateness of its widespread illegal status. In many Union states it has become legalized for medical purposes. This trend is known as “medical marijuana” and is strongly applauded by advocates while simultaneously loathed harshly by opponents (Dubner, 2007; Nakay, 2007; Van Tuyl, 2007). It is in this context that it was decided to choose the topic of the physical and pharmacological effects of marijuana for the basis of this research article.

What is marijuana?
Marijuana is a plant more correctly called cannabis sativa. As mentioned, some cannabis sativa plants do not have abuse potential and are called hemp. Hemp is used widely for various fiber products including newspaper and artist’s canvas. Cannabis sativa with abuse potential is what we call marijuana (Doweiko, 2009). It is interesting to note that although widely studies for many years, there is a lot that researchers still do not know about marijuana. Neuroscientists and biologists know what the effects of marijuana are but they still do not fully understand why (Hazelden, 2005).

Neurobiology:

As a psychoactive substance, THC directly affects the central nervous system (CNS). It affects a massive range of neurotransmitters and catalyzes other biochemical and enzymatic activity as well. The CNS is stimulated when the THC activates specific neuroreceptors in the brain causing the various physical and emotional reactions that will be expounded on more specifically further on.

Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is the relationship between THC and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin receptors are among the most stimulated by all psychoactive drugs, but most specifically alcohol and nicotine. Independent of marijuana’s relationship with the chemical, serotonin is already a little understood neurochemical and its supposed neuroscientific roles of functioning and purpose are still mostly hypothetical (Schuckit & Tapert, 2004). What neuroscientists have found definitively is that marijuana smokers have very high levels of serotonin activity (Hazelden, 2005)…

Emotions:
Cannibinoid receptors are located throughout the brain thus affecting a wide variety of functioning. The most important on the emotional level is the stimulation of the brain’s nucleus accumbens perverting the brain’s natural reward centers. Another is that of the amygdala which controls one’s emotions and fears (Adolphs, Trane, Damasio, & Damaslio, 1995; Van Tuyl, 2007).

I have observed that the heavy marijuana smokers who I work with personally seem to share a commonality of using the drug to manage their anger. This observation has evidenced based consequences and is the basis of much scientific research. Research has in fact found that the relationship between marijuana and managing anger is clinically significant (Eftekhari, Turner, & Larimer, 2004).

Neurophysical Effects of THC:
Neurological messages between transmitters and receptors not only control emotions and psychological functioning. It is also how the body controls both volitional and nonvolitional functioning. The cerebellum and the basal ganglia control all bodily movement and coordination. These are two of the most abundantly stimulated areas of the brain that are triggered by marijuana. This explains marijuana’s physiological effect causing altered blood pressure (Van Tuyl, 2007), and a weakening of the muscles (Doweiko, 2009). THC ultimately affects all neuromotor activity to some degree (Gold, Frost-Pineda, & Jacobs, 2004).

Why isn’t there any withdrawal?

The flip side of the tolerance process is known as “dependence.” As the body stops producing its own natural chemicals, it now needs the marijuana user to continue smoking in order to continue the functioning of chemicals without interruption. The body is now ordering the ingestion of the THC making it extremely difficult to quit. In fact, studies show that marijuana dependency is even more powerful than seemingly harder drugs like cocaine (Gold, Frost-Pineda, & Jacobs, 2004).

While research has shown comparable withdrawal reactions is marijuana users as in alcohol or other drugs (Ashton, 2001), what I have witnessed many times in my personal interaction with clients is the apparent lack of withdrawal experienced by most marijuana users. Of course they experience cravings, but they don’t report having the same neurophysical withdrawal reaction that the other drug users have….

…THC can take up to thirty days until it is fully expelled from the body (Doweiko, 2009). When THC is ingested by the smoker, it is initially distributed very rapidly through the heart, lungs, and brain (Ashton, 2001). THC however, is eventually converted into protein and becomes stored is body fat and muscle.

This second process of storage in body fat reserve is a far slower process. When the user begins abstinence, fat stored THC begins its slow release back into the blood stream. While the rate of reentry into the body’s system is too slow to produce any psychoactive effects, it will aid in easing the former smoker through the withdrawal process in a more manageable and pain free manner.

Conclusion / Reflection:

While I am not comfortable weighing in on the controversy of the legalization of marijuana, in conclusion of this research paper there are clear implications for me as a practitioner. Alcohol too is quite legal, as is nicotine, but for the addiction counselor it is important to continue keeping a directive on the biopsychosocial considerations regarding the misuse of any substance. Because of the large lack of empirical knowledge regarding the neurobiological properties associated with exact brain functioning, a crucial focus moving forward will prove to be keeping tabs on breakthrough discoveries in the neuroscience of THC and other cannabanoids.

Read the full length article here…

Abuse of “Study Drugs” on the Rise

Addiction to "Study Drugs" On the Rise

The abuse of “study drugs” is on the rise according to college officials. What are “study drugs”? Mainly prescribed for young people with ADHD, drugs like Adderall and Ritalin help them to focus and help them focus on a normal level.

In the following article appearing in City Town Info, Compiled by Doresa Banning we learn that When these drugs are used by those who do not have ADHD it can cause terrible side effects and damage to the brain chemistry.

The Abuse of Study Drugs on the Rise

In light of soaring use of prescription medications to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, college administrators are now worried that illegal use of these drugs by students is on the rise. They are also grappling with the question of whether their use constitutes academic cheating.

Study drugs are “kind of a silent issue,” Daniel Swinton, president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration and assistant dean at Vanderbilt University, told The Washington Post. “Everyone’s aware of it, but I think we’re all focused on the more prevalent one–alcohol.”

Medications such as Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse are psychostimulants that increase mental acuity and allow people with ADHD to concentrate, reported The Battalion. Students without ADHD, however, use these drugs to stay awake and focus intently on studying, often obtaining or buying them from friends with legitimate prescriptions.

During this current fall semester, Duke University went so far as to announce that the unauthorized use of prescription medication was cheating and consequently updated its Duke Community Standard to reflect that, reported The Daily Tar Heel. According to The Washington Post, the White House Office of Drug Control also recently addressed concern about increased use of study drugs in its 2011 strategy report, which outlines goals for reducing drug use by 2015.

Debate exists, however, whether these study aids give students an academic edge and if their use is academically unethical, The Battalion pointed out. Even if colleges and universities like Duke prohibit unauthorized use of pharmaceutical stimulants, they run into difficulty enforcing such a rule. Use of these study aids is hard to spot.

When students are caught illegally using prescription drugs to study, it’s often from investigation of other infractions, such as traffic violations. According to a Washington Post analysis of data from local schools, a major university responds to just a handful of illegal prescription stimulant complaints during an average school year. This compares to hundreds of alcohol-related incidents and dozens involving street drugs. Of the nearly 1,400 drug-related cases during the previous two school years at more than 10 major colleges in the Washington area, about 36 involved prescription drugs, primarily ADHD medications.

At Duke University, students discovered to have these drugs without a prescription, or to distribute them, face legal repercussions and perhaps even expulsion from their school, depending upon policy, The Daily Tar Heel noted.

Perhaps most alarming is the potential side effects students could suffer from abusing these stimulants. Adderall, for instance, releases dopamine, which plays a major role in addiction. It also could exacerbate predispositions for mental illness such as psychosis and anxiety.

“It’s risky,” Allen O’Barr, director of counseling and wellness services at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Campus Health Services, said in The Daily Tar Heel. “It is monkeying around with the brain’s chemicals.”

I don’t think there is any realistic way to establish a connection between “study drugs” and cheating. What signs would a teacher point to that would be conclusive? I’m not saying it’s a good thing at all for any student to enhance their performance by artificial means, but catching kids who are using Adderall to boost their grades is a lot harder than catching kids who may be drinking or taking harder drugs. That being said the abuse of ‘study drugs’ is on the rise and it needs to be dealt with somehow.

What do you think schools and colleges should be doing to prevent the abuse of study drugs like Adderall and Ritalin?

Drinking More During the Holidays to Drown Out Loneliness

Many people are drinking more during the holidays to drown out loneliness.

If Christmas gives you the blues you may find yourself drinking more during the holidays to drown out loneliness. Santa and his reindeer, falling snow, the smell of pine trees are triggers for a lot of people. The problem is drinking more alcohol or even taking extra medication won’t change your feelings of sadness or depression. The Huffington Post provides this insightful article on holiday loneliness and suggests several ways to help you cope without resorting to excessive drinking.

There are many festive signs that the holidays are upon us: Christmas carols on the radio, department store Santas, holiday window displays, ads for the latest gift ideas. While many of us welcome the pageantry, others feel a powerful loneliness that undercuts any possible feelings of comfort and joy.

According to a 2006 survey conducted by the research firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the American Psychological Association, one in four Americans report experiencing loneliness during the holiday season. Perhaps you’re among them. If so, you might dread the feeling and wonder what you can do to avoid it.

Reasons for Holiday Loneliness

Why, during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s, can a person feel lonely? After all, they are times of social gatherings, shared rituals and reminiscences. And if a person is lonely at other times, why do holidays seem to make the feeling even worse?

“Loneliness is or seems more intense during the holidays because of all the media coverage that describes holidays as a time for gatherings, friends and family,” says Elaine Rodino, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in State College, Pennsylvania.

She asserts that this Norman Rockwell-like characterization of the holidays can seem unreal to people whose families don’t fit the traditional-nuclear-family mold due to circumstances within or beyond their control. Deaths, divorce, misunderstandings, financial problems, geographical separation — these and other factors can affect a person’s sense of isolation during the holidays.
Holidays also have a way of bringing up the past, causing us to compare current holidays to previous ones. According to Susan Anderson, LCSW, a psychotherapist and author of “The Journey from Abandonment to Healing” and “Taming Your Outer Child,” “The sights, smells and sounds of holidays hearken back to childhood when you were nestled in your family and create a painful contrast to your current aloneness.”

Of course, that’s if your past holidays were happy ones. But what if your memories of those times are sad or even traumatic? In that case, you might still feel lonely if your emotional wounds haven’t been addressed and healed.

Loneliness and Depression 
Is feeling lonely on holidays the same as being depressed? “The pain of loneliness mimics severe depression,” says Anderson. “Loneliness can include the sadness, self-loathing and lack of motivation that typify severe depression. But loneliness is temporary and circumstantial in that it can instantly lift when companionship becomes available.”

Rodino agrees: “When a person feels lonely, it is based on the actuality of being alone or feeling different than those around [him or her]. This, for example, may be a person alone in a new city for a new job. There is a reality to the loneliness. If the person is feeling down and lonely, yet they have easy access to family and friends, this sounds more like depression.”

Taking Charge of Your Feelings

Rather than dread the isolation and loneliness you feel during the holidays, there are things you can do to minimize those feelings and experience greater emotional balance and personal fulfillment. Anderson and Rodino offer these suggestions:

• -Recognize your loneliness instead of denying it. Your feelings are real and worth exploring. If you feel you can’t share with family or friends what you’re going through, consider talking with a therapist.
• -Anticipate your loneliness and plan for it. Reconnect with people with whom you’ve lost touch. Create your own social event and invite people to it.
• -Celebrate the holidays in a different way. If being at home or attending a family event is a source of discomfort, take a trip. If giving gifts or making holiday preparations stress or depress you, pare down those tasks or share them with others.
• -Take care of yourself. Do what you can to reduce your stress and connect with things and activities that you enjoy. Get plenty of rest, eat delicious and healthy foods, go to a museum or movie, get a massage, take a bubble bath — do whatever feels safe and brings you comfort.
• -Limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant, and as such it can magnify your feelings of sadness.
• -Reach out and help someone else. Volunteering is a powerful antidote to loneliness because it boosts one’s feelings of self-worth and usefulness. Embracing the holiday spirit by giving of your time and efforts to those less fortunate might increase your connection to others and give you greater perspective and inner peace.

If you struggle with alcohol or drug addiction then the holidays can sometimes be an excuse to have “just one.”. With so many opportunities surrounding you at gatherings with friends and family and all the added stress of the holidays normally bring it is a real challenge to stay clean and sober. Just remember sobriety is the gift you give yourself and drinking more during the holidays to drown out loneliness or to feel like part of the crowd will not result in a Happy New Year.

I hope these suggestions help you stay sober and reduce your feelings of stress and loneliness. Why not share them with others by clicking “like” for facebook.

Study Finds Men’s Addictive Behaviors Are Linked to DNA

Study finds mens addictive behaviors are linked to DNA

A new study finds men’s addictive behaviors are linked to DNA that controls impulsive actions. While not conclusive by any stretch the study out of the University of Nebraska  is looking at this connection very carefully. Livescience interviewed one of the researchers in the study Scott Stoltenberg, to help us understand how mens addictive behaviors are linked to DNA. 

“The gene, a snippet of DNA called NRXN3, has previously been linked to nicotine dependence, as well as alcohol dependence, opiate addiction and obesity. The new research suggests a common denominator of impulsivity underlies all of these troubles.

“The other studies basically showed the NRXN3 seems to be associated with some addictions and with obesity,” said study researcher Scott Stoltenberg, a psychologist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. But our study is really the first to flesh out the mechanism by looking at behavioral control, looking at impulsivity.”

Behavior and DNA

“The connection between single genes and behavior is complex, to say the least, and NRXN3′s connection to impulsive and addictive behaviors is not a “straightforward, simple story,” Stoltenberg told LiveScience.”

“Nor is NRXN3 the only gene linked to impulsivity. A 2010 study found a different gene mutation associated with impulsive, violent behavior in Finnish men. Yet another gene variant found in 2006 was linked to impulsive aggression. And a single “thrill-seeking” gene has been linked to everything from a tendency toward promiscuity to a love of horror films.

In no case, however, do these genes doom one to a violent life full of sex and horror films (though some might wish they did). Environment and multiple genes act together to build personality, and there’s no straight lines to be drawn from single genes to certain behaviors, Stoltenberg said.”

“You almost can’t paint a complicated enough picture of how genes are associated with behaviors,” he said. “There are a lot of factors out there that influence our behaviors, and genes are just one of them.”

“Nonetheless, genes can raise the risk of falling into certain traps like addiction and obesity. In some cases, Stoltenberg said, genes directly make people more susceptible to addiction to a certain substance. In other cases, genes play on maladaptive behaviors, such as impulsivity, that make addiction more likely.”

Impulsivity, genes and addiction

“To figure out why NRXN3 kept popping up in relation to addiction and obesity, Stoltenberg and his colleagues recruited 439 white, college-age volunteers to offer up a geneticsample in the form of an inner-cheek swab. The researchers used only Caucasian volunteers to prevent race-based genetic differences from skewing the results.”

“The volunteers filled out questionnaires about their personality as well as their use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. They also completed a task in which they estimated the progress of time, a test that measures patience versus impulsivity.”

“The results revealed two intriguing and somewhat mysterious links between NRXN3 and behavior. In men, but not women, having a certain variant of NRXN3 increased the risk of problems with alcohol by 2.5 times. (The researchers didn’t formally diagnose alcoholism, but relied on red flag answers in the questionnaires to determine who struggled with alcohol abuse.)”

“Likewise, in men but not women, a different variant of NRXN3 was associated withimpulsive behavior. As in other studies, impulsive behavior was closely linked with alcohol and drug troubles.”

“NRXN3 is a gene associated with maintaining the connections between brain cells, Stoltenberg said. The gene variant associated with impulsivity represents a change on a promoter region of the gene, meaning it’s a part of the gene that controls how a certain protein gets made, not the structure of the protein itself. The amount of the protein that gets made could end up influencing the brain, and thus behavior, Stoltenberg said.

“It doesn’t change the structure of the protein, but it might change whether you get a lot of it or a little bit of it,” he said.”

Unanswered questions

“Stoltenberg and his colleagues, who will report their results in an upcoming issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, aren’t sure why the gene is associated with impulsivity and addiction in men but not women.

“I don’t have a ready explanation for that, other than there are differences in rates of alcohol problems in men and women, and also men and women differ in biology,” Stoltenberg said. The gender-based finding highlights the complexity of behavioral genetics research, he said.

While the study cements NRXN3′s role in addiction and impulsivity, Stoltenberg said much more research is needed to understand, for example, why one variant influences impulsivity and another is linked to alcoholism.

“It seems that genetic variation in NRXN3 plays a role in these behavioral problems,” Stoltenberg said. “But I think we’re pretty far from having a complete understanding of it.”

We know that there are many things that effect a persons behavior and the scientific studies on addictions and behaviors are creating more questions than answers, it seems. So we have no choice but to go with what we know and be as creative as possible when it comes to getting people into recovery and educating young and old alike on the dangers of drug addiction and alcoholism. I think it’s great that that scientists are working on finding causes for these complex problems and  hopefully solutions too. This study finds mens addictive behaviors are linked to DNA and maybe this information will lead us to real solutions in the future.

Courage to Beat Addictions is Earned by Acting In Spite of Fears

Courage to beat addictions is earned by acting in spite of fears that you cannot control. Knowing, feeling and accepting whatever you are afraid of then choosing to take action to move forward in a positive way is what courage is all about. For many just putting their feet on the floor when they wake up is an act of courage. Courage comes in small doses and is often overlooked. You must learn to recognize that courage to beat addictions is earned by acting in spite of fears and take your small doses of courage when they come.

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” – Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (ca. 4 BC – 65 AD)”

“Courage is something that most of us in recovery long ago learned to value. When we see courage displayed by others, we are often in awe, wondering where in the world they came by it, wishing that it could come easily to us in turn. But the truth is that courage isn’t easy to come by. We have to earn it.”

“Earn it? How can we possibly earn courage? We earn our quotient of courage – actually quotient is a misnomer, since we can have endless courage – by acting in the face of fear. Action is a proactive step that we take. It isn’t us sitting around wallowing in our fear about the unknown. Courage is acting in spite of fear, during fear itself, actually. Courage comes about as a result of us making a decision and going ahead with action even if our knees are shaking and we’re anxious at the pit of our stomach.”

In spite of your fears you can choose to move forward in a positive direction.

“If anyone asked us outright, most of us would say that we don’t have a courageous bone in our body. We may feel that to speak about courage is somehow to diminish it, even jinx it. But we do possess the ability – all of us do – to act even when we are afraid.”

“Think about those among us who have persevered through terrible adversity to overcome our addiction. Many of us are left with profound cognitive deficits as a result of chronic alcoholism or drug use. Yet we don’t let that stand in our way as we continue to pursue our path of recovery. In fact, with every passing day, we may find that our cognitive abilities improve, as research has found they often do with continued abstinence and other healthy behavioral changes.”

“There are also those among us who are in decline, medically-speaking, whether due to advanced age, the cumulative effect of addiction, or compounded by a number of medical conditions, or all of these. Continuing to live in such circumstances can be considered an act of courage in itself.”

“One thing that we will all need to face inevitably is the fact that we will die. We will all come to that finality at some point. Once we recognize that fact of life, that death is inevitable, it may make living in the present that much more imperative. We may find, for example, that it helps us find and reinforce our reservoir of courage.”

“Can we practice being courageous? Are there simple tips we can follow to help boost our ability to move ahead in the face of fear, to make the right decisions and feel good about our actions? There’s nothing like proceeding with time-proven strategies that have worked for so many others in recovery. We can begin by talking with our 12-step sponsor about how we gain courage, but we shouldn’t be disheartened if we don’t feel like we’re ready just yet to act.”

“We might, for example, be afraid to venture into a roomful of strangers, perhaps at a new 12-step group meeting that we haven’t previously attended. We may not be outgoing and we’re deathly afraid of interaction with others. We may be too new to recovery to know yet how this whole sobriety lifestyle works, or works for us. The best thing to do is to go anyway. Step out of our comfort zone and get in the rooms. We don’t have to say anything right away. Just listen to what’s being said and take comfort in the knowledge that these are all individuals who, just like us, are taking action to maintain their sobriety.”

Based on this article found on Addiction-Recovery.com, watching and learning by example is an important part of discovering how you can face your fears and continue on in spite of them. When you hear others reveal their own fears and then observe how with the help and support of the group they are able to accomplish a small achievement you discover that the courage to beat addictions is earned by acting in spite of fears and past failures.

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Long Time Heroin Addict Helping Others “Start2Stop”

"Start2Stop" is a recovery program founded by Cosmo Duff Gordon

There is a long time heroin addict helping others “Start2Stop” deadly addictions. His name is Cosmo Duff Gordon and he can be found on a quiet street in West London helping other relatively successful folks who have addiction problems and have not yet reached bottom. They may be holding their jobs and families together, but just barely. Alcoholics and drug addicts are reaching out to this long time heroin addict helping others “Start2Stop” deadly addictions that threaten to destroy their whole lives.

“Old Etonian and former drug addict Cosmo Duff Gordon hails from privileged and somewhat notorious family. His great-great uncle and namesake, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, was vilified as the “Coward of the Titanic” for escaping in a lifeboat as the luxury liner sank.

“The sister of a great-great aunt was the erotic fiction writer Elinor Glyn who inspired the doggerel: “Would you like to sin/ With Elinor Glyn/ On a tiger skin?” Another ancestor broke her neck and died after riding a bike while drunk. His mother, Grania Villiers-Stuart, a former Chanel model, was an alcoholic whose addiction overshadowed Cosmo’s early childhood.”

“I’d wake up in the morning and there would be jugs of Buck’s Fizz and lots of vodka in the fridge,” he reveals. “I was very used to helping myself to booze. I grew up with the hedonistic awareness that rules are for other people.” Later, his drug of choice was heroin, spending 15 years in the grip of a habit which earned him a criminal record and threatened to destroy his life.”

“Duff Gordon, 43, has been “clean” for nearly a decade and is putting his past to good use. Now a qualified counsellor and published writer on addiction, he is also the brains behind a new outpatient programme for high-functioning (and usually wealthy) addicts. The Start2Stop clinic, which operates from a discreet mews in Kensington, west London, enables cash-rich, time-poor addicts of drugs or alcohol to get intensive treatment out of working hours, without needing to reveal all to bosses, colleagues or even spouses.”

Clients of the 100-day programme, which costs £5,000, have so far included hedge-funders and bankers.

“Start2Stop is for those halfway down the addiction slope, who still have marriages and jobs,” explains Duff Gordon, who trained as an addiction counsellor in South Africa, where he also underwent his own rehab. The clinic, of which he is chief executive and clinical director, bridges the gap between residential rehab, such as that provided by the Priory, favoured by stressed-out celebrities, and less intensive one-to-one sessions with a therapist…”

By reaching out for those who still have some hope, Duff is like a small safety net for those   who are falling through the cracks at an alarming rate. If they get help before they really and truly lose everything there is a better chance for success. I chose to recognize today this long time heroin addict helping others “Start2Stop” because we are all being affected by addictions whether it’s a family member, friend or even yourself and the sooner we open our eyes and deal with it, the more positive results we will see.