Can You Tell Myth From Fact?

Some statments about alcoholism and addiction.

Can you tell what things are true and which are myth?


1. Beer is not as intoxicating as "hard liquor".

2. Alcohol, a depressant drug, slows down reaction time and affects judgement. The effects of alcohol (and any other drug) depends not only on the amount consumed, but also on a number of other factors such as, the past drinking experience of the user, the way in which it is consumed, the feelings and mood of the person.

3. Spider and insects who are victims of the cycle of addiction are truly a new and widespread concern among scientists who only realized in 2006 that arachnids and insects actually had a propensity for addiction. Before the 2007 film, "Spiders On Drugs," (which detailed the results of extensive studies on spiders in the Canadian Hinterlands), the world merely thought that spiders and insects were nominal, unimportant, gross little creatures - acting upon instincts - rather than exhibiting addictive and co-dependent behaviors.

4. People who drink or use drugs harm not only themselves, but others such as their families and friends who care about them. The costs are even greater if a person drinks and drives.

5. Drinking coffee or taking a cold shower are ways of sobering up quickly.

6. Eating before drinking will keep a person from getting drunk.

7. Just as many women have drinking problems as men. However, women are less likely to seek treatment because of lower self-esteem, the stigma attached to being a female drinker, and the barriers associated with family responsibilities.

8. Drinking among natives is higher than drinking among the general population.

9. Blacking out and passing out are the same thing.

10. Beer is as intoxicating as "hard liquor". The same amount of alcohol is in a 12oz. bottle of beer and 1½ oz. of "hard liquor". Sometimes these beverages affect individuals in different ways but they are just as intoxicating.

11. If a person drinks or uses other drugs, they are only hurting themselves.

12. The "Spiders On Drugs" Video is a joke project put together by US higher-education students, therefore, addict spiders, including the 'Crack Spider's Bitch,' don't really live in the Hinterlands of Canada.

13. If a person can abstain for weeks or even months between drinking bouts, he/she does not have a drinking problem.

14. Eating before and while drinking slows down the body's absorption of alcohol, but there is no magical way to keep alcohol out of the bloodstream.

15. There is no help available for people with alcohol and other drug dependency problems.

16. Passing out is when a person who has consumed alcohol loses consciousness (goes to sleep). A blackout occurs after a person consumes alcohol and doesn't remember what happened, what he/she did or said even though they are conscious. They experience chemically induced memory loss.

17. A high percentage of alcoholics are skidrow bums.

18. Drinking is not as harmful as using illegal drugs such as marijuana, LSD, etc

19. There are no short cuts to sobering up. The body metabolizes alcohol at the rate of approximately one drink per hour. Time is the only way to sober up.

20. Less than 3% of the people who have alcohol problems are skidrow bums. Alcoholism affects people of all ages, social, and economic backgrounds.

21. More men have drinking problems than women.

22. Although alcohol use is legal and more socially acceptable than using illegal drugs, it is still classified as a drug. Alcohol has the potential to be abused and is one of the most abused drugs in society. Alcohol like illegal drugs can be physically and/or psychologically addictive.

23. Research indicates that the prevalence of native drinking is approximately the same in non-native groups. However, of those who drink, more natives have an "excessive drinking" pattern rather than a "social drinking" pattern (Moss 1979, cited in Moss et al, 1985).

24. A person does not have to drink every day or every week to have a problem with alcohol. As well as looking at the amount of drinking, the effect of alcohol on a person's major life areas such as; home, friends, social, school, job, legal, leisure, medical, and financial need to be considered. If sonemone's drinking affects even one of these areas, the person should consider receiving help to keep it from causing more problems.

25. There are a wide variety of services available worldwide people with dependency problems, as well as their families. Self-Help groups (Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Alateen, Adult Children of Alcoholics), detoxification units for males and females, outpatient counselling services, and inpatient counselling services are all available to those who will only seek the help they require.

26. A little drinking doesn't affect driving ability.

How many of these can you guess? How many are true, how many are false or myth?

I'll come back and post the differences soon.

Just for today beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee HAPPY!!

:)

April 28/07 Daily Dose From Bill's Book

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.

Old Timer's Prayer

Lord, keep me from the habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details - give me wings to get to the point.

I ask for the grace to listen to the tales of others pains.

Help me to endure them in patience.

But seal my lips on my own aches and pains - they are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet.

I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.

And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all - but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends in the end.

Of Tantamount Importance Pt 3 - Conclusion

Alright, so the dreaded (and dumb, in my opinion) joke is past.

*whew*

Back to the study:

The German study conducted to determine differences in how recovering addicts/alcoholics differ from 'healthy' people regarding 'HUMOUR' - basically tells us that

Recovering addicts often have trouble with processing 'humourous' material!

(Sometimes) Addicts Can't Take A Joke.
(Sometimes) Addicts Don't 'Get' Jokes.
(Sometimes) Addicts don't find things 'funny' that other people do.

The areas tested in the research all involve skills that people use to interpret and understand jokes. Aside from 'mood,' all of the other areas imply that:

An addict's intellectual ability, skewed from abusing substances, is less intellectually tuned to figuring out 'joke material, and...

An addict's memory, skewed from abusing substances, is less capable of drawing on 'previous' information learned - that might assist the addict to 'get the joke'

An addict's psychomotor skills, in question - damaged from substance abuse, are less capable of assisting an addict in the realization of 'punch lines.' You may not think that this 'more physical' area tested wouldn't have anything to do with 'brain-work' but IT DOES because...Psychomotor skills include - INPUT FROM THE EYES, so that external data can be entered to become part of 'brainwork' and the thinking process! An addict's poor 'mentalizing' ability hinders the process of interpreting jokes!

In short - recovering addicts have quite a few damaged areas (even if known only to be scant measures of mental impairment) that fog their ability to see humour as healthier people see humour!

Now that this is known, it's not the end of the world! I thought it was, at first, but after some 'problem-solving,' I realized that if recovering addicts - as well as 'healthy' individuals just keep this information in mind, the addict can learn to think differently by NOT RELYING on only deficient parts of their make-up while healthier people can, if they're aware that the joke they are telling is being processed by a recovering alcoholic, GIVE THE ADDICT MORE TIME for sorting the joke out........and more importantly - BE CALM if the addict is unable to see the humour right away.

Maybe addicts will have to resolve to allow other people to find certain jokes FUNNY even if they don't appreciate the same joke - instead of thinking 'that joke was stupid and that person who thought it was funny - is actually pretty weird (or has a weird sense of humour).'

All in all, if we all agree to disagree, we can all get along, funny or not funny!

How does this further related to addiction, recovery, or this blog - where 12-Step information is ALL OVER THE PLACE?

Well...

Bill W. and Doctor Bob do, in fact, mention in a few places in The Big Book - not to take our addict selves too seriously - but I believe these messages are often overlooked and dwarfed by more graphic wording in The Big Book.

Maybe Bill and Doc Bob were ON TO SOMETHING (that they couldn't properly define in one spot during their time).

Maybe Billy and The B. Doc were trying to say, in a totally non-scientific-non-German-research type of way that:

"Hey heads up! ADDICTS DONT PROCESS HUMOUR THE SAME WAY AS OTHER PEOPLE SO HEADS UP - You'll have to WORK ON IT." (K.I.S.S. version)

Maybe Bill and Doc Bob were (doh) letting fellow-alcoholics KNOW that we often don't understand humour or see humourous content because OUR MINDS process things in a serious fashion...due to long-term damage from our substance abuse. Fellow alcoholics aren't at fault by way of 'character' but by way of physiology - as is supported by the German research.

So, recovery suggestions NOT TO TAKE THINGS SO SERIOUSLY all the time and to DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMOUR - really are of tantamount importance, aren't they?

(even if the joke is awful)

Twelve Traditions

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

---These were taken from my 'A.A. Big Book.'

Damage Control Explained Pt 1 (Video Here, Too)

It's a darned good thing that Bill W. was a rotten, lousy, stinkin' DRUNK...'cos once he and Doctor Bob got together and figured out how a program with 12 simple (not easy - SIMPLE - don't confuse the two!) steps could help other drunkards, alcoholism lost its POWER over a great many people. Bill W. and Doctor Bob must have known that I would be born in their same century and that by year 2004, I would have lived 20+ years of drunkennes and NEED THEIR HELP DESPERATELY!

I'm glad that Bill W. was a lousy, drunken jerk - 'cos without his efforts, I would probably be dead by now. Or - I'd be sittin' in a run-down bar or lounge INFLICTING CHAOS on anyone near. (Have you seen "My Name Is Bill W" with James Woods (Bill W.) and James Garner (Doctor Bob)? You should!)

The 12-Steps are definitely DAMAGE CONTROL for me.

I don't think the world is out to get me anymore - therefore I treat people with respect now (change in THINKING and in action).
I don't think the only way to cope with EVERYTHING is to have a drink - therefore, I engage in many productive activities now (changes in decision-making, problem-solving, and in actions).
I don't get drunk anymore - so I don't drive drunk, fall down, pass out or throw up anymore in public! (change in behaviors, less self-centred perceptions - able to think of others)
I don't manipulate people to buy me drinks anymore - so I don't cost people money anymore. (changed behaviors, spiritual growth, and a new moral integrity).

If I never do anything otherwise HELPFUL in the world for the rest of my life, I have already alleviated a TON OF CHAOS from the world by not being drunk anymore!

People are SAFE on the roads near my house - because I'm not on the roads or walking down the street with a beer, either driving illegally or walking drunk. Yes, I actually had tickets before when I drank - for 'walking drunk.'! (No rocket science here - I got 'walking drunk' tickets - I also lost my driving permit...as many drunks do).

Am I embarrassed to say that I used to manipulate people for money (so that I could continue to drink), fall down, pass out, drive drunk, walk drunk, lose my driving permit, and create chaos?

Heck - yeah - I'm still kind of embarrassed at the things I was doing 3 years ago. For sure.

But if I share that DAMAGE CONTROL has gotten me UNDER CONTROL, then maybe someone else hearing of someone so rotten drunk that they drove drunk, got tickets for walking drunk, passed out, manipulated people and created chaos - will think that maybe THEY TOO can get their chaos under control with the help of 12 Step programs. Damage Control is available to ANYONE.

To tell the honest truth, I don't KNOW a great deal about 12 Step programs and that's the beauty of them! You don't have to understand every single detail of the 12-Steps in order to benefit.

I underwent counselling for alcohol issues before I used 12 Step programs effectively - and I 'figured out' the ghist of the counselling, then decided I was sooooo smart...and I went and congratulated myself for being so smart...by going to the bar and buying myself a well-deserved drink! My counsellor didn't get on my back, either...we were talkin' about 'harm reduction' and all that jazz...so I drank less for a while and did less harm LOL. Finally - after about 5 weeks of this counselling, I decided that the counsellor was taking up way too much of my 'harm-reduced' drinking time!

Whatever.

12-Step program literature, when I read it, didn't mince words. The A.A. 'Big Book' used PLAIN ENGLISH that frightened me - words like:

death, lies, Higher Power, powerless, surrender, honesty, self-assessment, disease, spiritual bankruptcy.

THAT kind of language GOT MY ATTENTION.

In A BAD WAY, at first (because I ran away from it before I had read enough)...

I was scared peepless at first, and put THAT NASTY BOOK DOWN for a few months and headed out to the bar where there were PEOPLE TO PROTECT ME FROM THAT AWFUL LITERATURE! LOL. (The 'few months' stretched into 30+ months).

When I found A.A. literature again, I was at my lowest E-V-E-R. I was so depressed during hangovers that I feared for my life. Acquaintances said, around this time (and for the last 6mo of my drinking career), that when I passed out, I was 'out' for so long, and so still, with breathing so shallow that they were worried I was dead. They used to check on me - not to see if I was okay - but under the fear of having to call authorities and explain my death. My hangovers were literally 'fevered,' I had blackouts while the alcohol was leaving my system (would suddenly pass out after being awake, hungover, for a few hours), had uncontrollable shakes and definitiely worried about seizures. Not to mention the PANIC attacks...

I recalled the word 'death' in the literature, but not many others at the time. Just 'death,' 'disease,' and 'spiritual bankruptcy.' I realized that when I stopped drinking, my body was FAILING ME due to its need to acquire addictive substances - whether I decided in my mind to stop using or not. I understood that I was experiencing this 'spiritual bankruptcy,' but I STILL DREADED reading about it in the Big Book.

Naturally, at first, I thought that the Big Book was going to just give me more jargon and lists of 'scary' things and I sure didn't need to be more scared on the day that the understanding of 'spritual bankruptcy' hit home for me! I was too weak, too confused, depressed, humiliated by my own incompetency in life to just go to an A.A. meeting. Someone working at a shelter I stayed in finally asked me,

"Are you ready now - can I make a call for you?" and I said,
"Yes."

The shelter worker called a women's Addiction Treatment Centre for me and that began the proccess of recovery for me. A worker at the treatment centre, when I started DAY 1 of a 28-day program told me,

"Don't worry about 'The Book,' the counselling, the group - or anything...just remember, you're in here to learn 'DAMAGE CONTROL.' That's all you need to remember."

Here's a little video to remind of how DAMAGING drugs and alcohol can be.

Warning: The opening minute and a half is quite graphic and 'Adult Themed' tho' it shows some people who could be of 'Youth' age, so I believe it is appropriate enough for this blog. If you are recently 'on the wagon,' however, you might wish to let the video load and come to watch it only once you hear the vocals start.

What Is A 12 Step Program?

I've been involved with 12-Step programs for over 3 years. I've heard all kinds of definitions about what a 12 Step program is, including:

"A 12-Step program is a set of principles by which a recovering addict can re-structure the unmanageablity of his or her life, brought on by his or her previous alcoholic way of life."

(When I was about 1 week CLEAN and heard that one...I didn't even know that sentence was in ENGLISH sheeeeeeeeeesh - I just nodded and smiled and said "yes, yes.")

Here's another one:

"Twelve Step programs are the most laissez faire way of life on earth. 'Laissez Faire' = 'noninterference in the affairs of others.' "

*blink...........blink* I STILL don't understand that one - and I should, because I've been involved with Lassez Faire ooooooooops, I mean 12-Step programs for three years now.

One more:
(I nabbed this one straight from wikipedia so it has to be correct, right? lol)

"The Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or behavioural problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (abbreviated A.A.) to guide recovery from alcoholism."

Again - principles and blahblahblah.

Whatever.

My definition of a 12-Step Program - down to its most SIMPLE (KISS), fundamental impression and meaning:

DAMAGE CONTROL!

12-step programs are DAMAGE CONTROL for addicts.

I had to hear THAT 3 years ago to understand why people were telling me to get a sponsor, go to meetings, and Keep It Simple Smartarse!