1950's Anti-Drug Video (The Terrible Truth)

Here's an interesting Anti-Drug Video from the 1950's

It's a little CHEESY but was probably a pretty shocking view in its time!

It's about 10 minutes long...



Allow the video to load fully so it runs smoothly

It's mainly about Heroin addiction

About SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery is a program that concentrates on 4 main areas of Recovery
(S.mart M.anagement A.nd R.ecovery T.raining - SMART!)

1. Enhancing and Maintaining Motivation to Abstain

2. Coping with Urges

3. Problem Solving (the management of thoughts, feelings and behaviors)

4. Lifestyle Balance (Balancing short and long term satisfaction) Smart Recovery facilitators teach how to deal with the above four points.

The assumptions that SMART RECOVERY folk have concerning why a person becomes an addict have to do with both substance use as well as engaging in certain activities. All people experience degrees of addictive/addiction behaviors, however, those who find that their lives are facing too great a degree of negative consequence according to these behaviors of addiction, may benefit from accessing SMART RECOVERY principles and help.

Smart Recovery attempts to help individuals 'gain libertation from' addictive behaviors.
In simpler terms, Smart Recovery deals with

1-maintaining motivation, 2-coping with craving,
3-thinking rationally, and 4-leading a balanced lifestyle.

Smart Recovery draws much of its information from the psychology field, in the area of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

In this, out of control behaviors surrounding addiction are less a disease - and more like 'complex maladaptive behaviors.'

Though these concepts of 'addiction' differ from 12 Step principles, Smart Recovery doesn't
EXCLUDE the use of 12-Step principles in anybody's recovery.

Many 'Treatment' and 'Rehab' centres utilize 12 Step methods - but there are some who advocate use of Smart Recovery methods. As well, some places utilize an array of other principles, programs, methods and theories. There are all kinds of addicts, all kinds of personal reasons why people are addicted to drugs, substances, and activities. Whichever methods work to combat addictive behaviors in anyone's life should be used as fully and beneficially as possible.


On the SMART Recovery website there is a 'Tool Chest' if you're interested in checking it out:

The SMART Recovery Tool Chest Page

You'll need a PDF Reader to use the free downloadable documents on the SMART Recovery website's Tool Chest page.

If you don't have a PDF Reader, you can grab Adobe products:

ADOBE READER and Other ADOBE PRODUCTS

You should be able to download a free trial/evaluation copy of the Adobe software, however, if you find you can't use the Adobe Reader software - for whatever reasons - here are some other PDF Readers that will work:

VisageSoft eXPert PDF and Other Products

and

Foxit Reader/Software

Now, just to warn you - I've never used the eXPert PDF product, so I can't recommend it highly. I have used the Foxit software and it's really good software, nicely navigable and easy to use. You can get both the latter products for free.

Anyhow - check out the SMART Recovery tools. Even if you're dead-set on 12-Step programs, there are some awesome downloadable 'checklists' and things at the SMART RECOVERY website that are really effective for keeping track of behaviors. 12-Step methods are also about changing behaviors, so it can't hurt to go grab some extra tools!

Let me know how you liked the Smart Recovery site! (It's easy to navigate!)

Survey Says Drug Use Down In Teens

A survey conducted by the University of Michigan, with funding from NIDA (National Institute on Druge Abuse) says that drug use in teens is continuing a decline that began about a decade ago.

*thumbsup* Good news, eh?

Though alcohol and illicit drug use is down, the research still turned up a reasonably high level of prescription drug abuse in teens, so it has been suggested that the area of prescription medication abuse still requires attention and care.

8th - 10th - and 12th grade students participated in the survey/study from across the USA.

Though less than a quarter percent of younger 8th grade students admitted to experimenting with "illicit drugs," very close to HALF the older, 12th grade students had taken "illicit drugs."

Alcohol use declined and the study showed that Marijuana was the most widely used "illicit" drug.

The link for the report is available:

2006 US Teen Drug Use Survey (available from Hazelden.org )

I have further questions about this survey - particularly - about the use of the term 'illicit' drugs.

I have worries that even if the numbers are correct, maybe certain conclusions of the study are NOT CORRECT.

For instance, if we determine that 'illicit' drugs equals 'illegal' drugs - then some 12th graders who drink aren't using 'illicit' drugs if they are of legal drinking age. Don't some of the US States have the age of 19 set for their legal drinking age? If the forms they fill for the surveys - or the questions they're asked in person - contain the term 'illicit/illegal' drugs, and they're drinking but not using ILLEGAL drugs, then certain data might not be well reflected in the final result of the study.

Also - DOH! Everything is illegal and illicit to an 8th grader! lol
There are few doubts that 8th graders are nowhere NEAR legal age for drinking. So even if they had a beer, they did something illicit and illegal.

Anyway, those last couple of viewpoints aren't the REAL POINT here.

Just tossing those in to see if other people ever question some of these 'studies.' I mean - not that the studies are bad or good or anything else. I just always wonder about how to go about getting CORRECT information.

In the media, if you took that same survey and applied only a portion of it in a certain newscast or something, I'm sure you could come out with a statement saying something like, "8th graders showed the lowest drug use around 21%, however, 12th graders graduated on to more serious drugs and abuses at nearly 50%..."

I just wonder about this stuff, is all - because I recently did see a 'survey report' in print - in an established, popular newspaper which attributed teen drug use to broken homes - BUT - the data was faulty, as far as I am concerned

The survey was made up of participants that were kids MOSTLY FROM BROKEN HOMES and the survey was conducted from a TEEN RESOURCE and COUNSELLING SUPPORT CENTRE, where kids were specifically referred there FROM BROKEN HOMES. The centre has a specific program for children from broken homes - for them to 'network' and 'support' other kids specifically with similar backgrounds. That itself isn't any kind of problem. Saying a certain conclusion of a survey based on a mainly 'select' group - is kind of a problem for me.

Just thought I would put that 'OUT THERE'

Not trying to undermine the details of this survey tho' - just expressing that I think it's a good idea to 'research the research' sometimes.

And that's what I'm off to do!

Apparently, this site: "Monitoring The Future"
Has more details about the study, so that's where I'm off to now...

Just to check the research methodology.

Later *waves*

Have a grrrrrrr8 Day!

Alcohol Surveys

Hey People!

I don't know if you ever receive these - or how many 'mailing lists' you're on - but I just received almost a DOZEN 'spam-mail' surveys in the past day.

ALL of this spam pertains to surveys wanting to know my preferences for certain alcoholic beverages! All stuff I cannot drink.

Haha!

Darn - now that I am sober and recovering, I am not going to win the following prizes:

* a 1.5Gig MP3 Player
* 12 Free Hardcover books with the purchase of 1 book for only $4.99US
* a package of coupons redeemable at some USA location that I can't get to (for Wine products)
* a Coors Light cooler
* a ('nother beer company) ballcap w/matching T-shirt
* sports tickets for 2 to some US game that I can't get to anyway (lol)
* $100 cash, redeemable with 6 (Beer brand) proofs of purchase
And a Kokanee bottle opener if I just print a coupon out and take it to a participating liquor store haha.

I'm kinda ticked off 'bout losing that MP3 Player - however, the money I save by not drinking ought to allow me to buy a whole bunch of batteries now for my old MP3 Player, eh?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh It's good to be sober tho'.....

Have a great day!

Still laughing about the Spiders

Alcoholic and Crackhead Spiders beware! We KNOW what you're up to - we're on to you bigtime!

I am trying to track down whoever it was that engineered that Spiders On Drugs video! lol

I want to enlist that person to help make 'Anti-Drug' videos especially for my blog.

If anyone out there has a lead on who actually did that, let me know.

'Til then - please continue to pray for the Crack Spider's Bytch!

(co-dependency sucks, I imagine - whether you're a spider or not eh? Not that I know what it's like to be a spider or a Crack Spider's Bytch)
LOL

teeray~~

"Daily Dose" Will Be At The Bottom

I decided recently to start posting some common 'Daily' messages that can be found in 12-Step Literature.

Since I read literature about addictions from more than one 12-Step organization, I already realized that sometimes I'll post from 'Daily Reflections' material, sometimes from other recovery sources, so just be aware that 'Daily Dose' could be from N.A., G.A., A.A., M.A., or any other recovery source - including, from time to time, an 'Alternate' recovery source such as a 16-Step (Charlotte Kasl) or SMART Recovery information.

I realize that I only posted to the blog twice, as well...

I had posted on a daily basis since I started last week - but left almost every post in 'draft' mode until I could figure out which kind of daily message would be most appreciated. I wondered whether to offer a short daily 'menu' of AA, NA, and an Alternative daily reading each day (which left me tryin' to decide WHICH Alternative source would be best) - to try to cover different perspectives...lol

Leave it to me, a recovering addict - to make things complicated!

Haha - a friend finally told me, "For gosh-sakes - just put whatever you want - down at the BOTTOM and readers can choose to look or not. That way you won't offend anyone by occasionally switching sources." Of course, she also rolled her eyes at me.

I deserve that, I suppose, haha

So that's how I'll do it now, anyway - I'll just change the form at the bottom each day.

Any die-hard 12-Step members who really REALLY dislike other sources - won't have to read the Daily Dose at the top of the blog. They won't need to sort through any of the 'complications' that I had been wondering about. Anything 'Daily' will now be found at the bottom of the blog under that psychedelic-looking banner I recently made. By the way - don't look at that for a long time if you have relapsed and are 'on something' because it will make you pass out pretty quickly lol.

NO I WAS NOT ON SOMETHING WHEN I MADE THAT

haha

I like it - it's staying.

BTW - putting the "Daily Dose" at the bottom, having explained that there will be several sources I will draw from - now also gives me license to select different DAYS, too (I decided this 'cos it's MY BLOG)...so if I'm havin' a really bad day and want to be reminded of something SWEET - I might post a July 15th Sunny-time 'Daily' reading in the middle of December's snowstorms during the Xmas season or something. Xmas isn't my favourite time of year at all, so thank goodness it's only May right now - 'cos I won't have to do any 'adjusting' for a while lol.

Readers beware muhahaha

(I also left a typo in this post that I noticed after I hit 'publish' - but I'm gonna still leave it there just to see if anyone even notices it HAHA - I'm thinkin' my OCD-inspired friend will find it, and I MEAN THAT with the greatest kindness 'odc-friend.' Wow I came back all the way through the 'edit' process in blogger just to type that I am not going to change my typo lol)

Just for Today...

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee HAPPY!!

Spiders On Drugs Video

This ROX!



Watch Very Closely.

Someone needs to help these poor Arachnids. (Alcoholic and Crack Addict Spiders OHNO!)

April 29/07 Daily Dose From Bill's Book

DAILY REFLECTION FOR APRIL 29
"GROUP AUTONOMY"

Some may think that we have carried the principle of
group autonomy to extremes. For example, in its
original "long form," Tradition Four declares: "Any
two or three gathered together for sobriety may call
themselves an A.A. group, provided that as a group
they have no other affiliation" . . . But this ultra-
liberty is not so risky as it looks.
A.A. COMES OF AGE pp. 104-105

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.

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.