AA Thought for the Day
April 28, 2007
Rewards
The rewards of sobriety are bountifuland as progressive as the disease they counteract.Certainly among these rewards for meare the release from the prison of uniqueness,and the realization that participation in the AA way of lifeis a blessing and a privilege beyond estimate-- a blessing to live a life free from the pain and degradationof drinking and filled with the joy of useful, sober livingand a privilege to grow in sobriety one day at a timeand bring the message of hope as it was brought to me.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Biological Elements of Addiction - Example
I found a site called "Addiction Science Network" that has graphics showing what happens in the brain when someone uses Heroin or Cocaine.
Addiction Science Network - A Biological Basis of Addiction
The first animation shows an example of 'normal' dopamine activity in the brain. A second example is given afterward to show - again with animations - how dopamine activity is changed when drugs are present in the brain.
The rest of the page explains 'the role of dopamine in motivation and reward.'
To switch emphasis about 'Motivation' back to being motivated about 'Recovery,' here are some comments about staying clean and dealing with addiction to alcohol or drugs.
Set realistic goals.
Love yourself enough to believe you deserve to accomplish change in your life.
Visualize successful change.
Reinforce self success, not matter how small.
Be committed to personal health and self-satisfaction to attain and sustain change.
Realize that changing for the better is a life-long process, not a single, important event.
Devote energy, effort, sustained vigilance, and personal sacrifice.
Meditate often - if you don't make this time for yourself, nobody else will.
Accept personal responsibility for problem behavior and circumstances.
Believe that only through personal efforts can a problem behavior be changed.
Break big goals into small parts that can be reasonably attained.
Make goals that are quantifiable - measure-able - and KEEP TRACK of them.
If your goals are complicated, make sub-goals, to ensure that you can keep on track.
Accept that change of old habits is a lifelong process.
Replace old habits with new, healthy habits so that old habits have no nest to return to.
Remember that failure is not an end result of all things - failure provides a lesson.
Realize that the efforts to change do not end once initial cessation of old behaviors is attained.
Believe that a work-oriented recovery lifestyle model is a lifelong process.
Sustain the change in problem behaviors.
Transform failures into knowledge of things you've already done that didn't work.
Stop repeating things that don't put out healthy results.
Commit to a lifelong contract of behavior change.
Addiction Science Network - A Biological Basis of Addiction
The first animation shows an example of 'normal' dopamine activity in the brain. A second example is given afterward to show - again with animations - how dopamine activity is changed when drugs are present in the brain.
The rest of the page explains 'the role of dopamine in motivation and reward.'
To switch emphasis about 'Motivation' back to being motivated about 'Recovery,' here are some comments about staying clean and dealing with addiction to alcohol or drugs.
Set realistic goals.
Love yourself enough to believe you deserve to accomplish change in your life.
Visualize successful change.
Reinforce self success, not matter how small.
Be committed to personal health and self-satisfaction to attain and sustain change.
Realize that changing for the better is a life-long process, not a single, important event.
Devote energy, effort, sustained vigilance, and personal sacrifice.
Meditate often - if you don't make this time for yourself, nobody else will.
Accept personal responsibility for problem behavior and circumstances.
Believe that only through personal efforts can a problem behavior be changed.
Break big goals into small parts that can be reasonably attained.
Make goals that are quantifiable - measure-able - and KEEP TRACK of them.
If your goals are complicated, make sub-goals, to ensure that you can keep on track.
Accept that change of old habits is a lifelong process.
Replace old habits with new, healthy habits so that old habits have no nest to return to.
Remember that failure is not an end result of all things - failure provides a lesson.
Realize that the efforts to change do not end once initial cessation of old behaviors is attained.
Believe that a work-oriented recovery lifestyle model is a lifelong process.
Sustain the change in problem behaviors.
Transform failures into knowledge of things you've already done that didn't work.
Stop repeating things that don't put out healthy results.
Commit to a lifelong contract of behavior change.
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