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.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
The Prayer of Saint Francis
"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is discord, harmony;Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light, and Where there is sorrow, joy. Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
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.
The Story Of Two Wolves
The following old parable illustrates the importance of staying in the "solution" rather than focusing to strongly on the problem.
An older Cherokee man is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he says to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, selfishness, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is good. He is love, joy, peace, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person." The grandson thinks about it for a minute and then asks his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee replies, "The one you feed."
An older Cherokee man is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he says to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, selfishness, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is good. He is love, joy, peace, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person." The grandson thinks about it for a minute and then asks his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee replies, "The one you feed."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
article location
If anyone is interested - the article about humour and alcoholics is called:
"Theory of mind, humour processing and executive functioning in alcoholism."
A short summary of the research is given at the above link.
Other information if you're interested in finding the entire report yourself:
Published in the following journal
Addiction
Volume 102 Issue 2 Page 232 - February 2007
J. Uekermann, S. Channon, K. Winkel, P. Schlebusch, I. Daum (2007) Theory of mind, humour processing and executive functioning in alcoholism Addiction 102 (2), 232–240. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01656.x
"Theory of mind, humour processing and executive functioning in alcoholism."
A short summary of the research is given at the above link.
Other information if you're interested in finding the entire report yourself:
Published in the following journal
Addiction
Volume 102 Issue 2 Page 232 - February 2007
J. Uekermann, S. Channon, K. Winkel, P. Schlebusch, I. Daum (2007) Theory of mind, humour processing and executive functioning in alcoholism Addiction 102 (2), 232–240. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01656.x
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)
*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)
Of Tantamount Importance Pt 2: THE JOKE
Okay, here's the sample joke from the German study:
It was Mother's Day. Anna and her brother had told their mother to stay in bed that morning. She read her book and looked forward to breakfast. After a long wait she finally went downstairs. Anna and her brother were both eating at the table.
Choice of 4 punchlines:
a) Anna said: "Hi mum, we didn't expect you to be awake so early."
b) Anna picked up an egg and smashed it on her brother's head.
c) Her brother said: "We have a new teacher at our school."
d) Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
Okay, that's IT!
Dumb joke, eh?
Anyhow - a measure of responses to similar jokes in the study showed that less than 68 percent of recovering substance abuse users couldn't determine the correct punchline for this joke. Ninety-Two of the participants considered 'healthy' actually 'got the joke' and answered "d."
Here's how the joke should really work:
It was Mother’s Day. Anna and her brother had told their mother to stay in bed that morning. She read her book and looked forward to breakfast. After a long wait she finally went downstairs. Anna and her brother were both eating at the table.
Punchline: d) Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
When I first saw this, it wasn't funny to me at all (still isn't!). I looked carefully at all of the punchlines, then walked away from the computer for a minute to think...
Actually - I walked away because NONE OF THE PUNCHLINES MADE ANY SENSE TO ME AT ALL!!
While away for about 2 minutes, I forgot that Anna was the sister, NOT the mother (memory glitch), and I CAME BACK TO CHECK THE TEXT AGAIN. actually - I must say that I feel pretty dumb explaining this, but I think I should 'cos it seems highly likely that others in recovery have similar problems. Maybe if I 'tell' on myself - that I have SUCH TROUBLE in this area - others who also have trouble will feel less 'alone.'
After I checked the text, I thought about 'b' - Anna smashing the egg on her brother's head. I took a moment to imagine this and actually though that THIS WAS FUNNY TO ME, some physical humour - and that some kids I know would find this hilarious - but I remembered that I have a pretty low 'maturity' level at times and that probably ONLY kids (or male teens lol) would find this funny. I had to reason that the joke was told to 'healthy' adults and recovering adult addicts and that this would not be the right punchline.
After all of THAT - I thought about Anna's brother's TEACHER and was INSTANTLY SIDETRACKED (again) wondering what the teacher would think of Anna smashing an egg on the head of her brother. I reasoned that the teacher would probably think Anna's brother, along with Anna - was from a WILD HOME where the mother let the kids smash eggs on each others' heads........then I thought (seriously!) "OMG Anna's MOTHER is who this joke is about!!" I made a mental note (seriously) that sometimes teachers 'ASSUME THINGS' about parents that aren't true of the parents - when the kids show up at school and talk about their siblings... I thought of all these things before turning my attention BACK TO THE SITUATION OF THE JOKE.
Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
About this statement, I thought it was totally 'un-funny,' but I thought that a kid (Anna) who would look after her little brother...then I got SIDETRACKED AGAIN, realizing that I only ASSUMED that Anna was the older sibling - without having been given any kind of information about the childrens' ages in the joke! Still, I resolved NOT TO LOOK AT THE TEXT again because the punchlines were only confusing me (really, I WAS confusing ME, according to this research! lol).
Next, I thought 'who cares about the kids' ages? and I went with Anna being old enough to cook breakfast, regardless of how old she and her brother were and I decided that some kids are old enough to cook breakfast. I remembered that the joke was about Mother's Day and that a lot of kids DO NICE THINGS for their mother on Mother's Day. This didn't seem like enough of a reason to pick punchline 'd' but I was completely fed up with the joke by this point and I selected punchline 'd'.........
.............then dashed to the computer to re-read 'my final answer' whether it made sense or not.
It made enough sense - that the kids made 'their' breakfast instead of their Mother's breakfast on Mother's Day. So they were not being nice to Mom on Mother's Day in the way that Mom thought they would be.
Apparently - that is the end of the joke and that's what is funny about it - that there was a mis-communication and that the Mom was thinking like a Mom and the kids were thinking like 'kids' and the Mom didn't get any breakfast.
*shaking my head* Seriously - I worked on this joke for 5 minutes and now that I have explained, in all truth, how my 'recovery-affected' mind dealt with a very simple joke, I am going to once again take a walk and try to forget about the process that seemed to take forever!
I know I said I would post the remainder of the German study, etc., but it will have to wait for a bit.....I am going to go for a walk and try to think of a joke that is actually FUNNY.
It was Mother's Day. Anna and her brother had told their mother to stay in bed that morning. She read her book and looked forward to breakfast. After a long wait she finally went downstairs. Anna and her brother were both eating at the table.
Choice of 4 punchlines:
a) Anna said: "Hi mum, we didn't expect you to be awake so early."
b) Anna picked up an egg and smashed it on her brother's head.
c) Her brother said: "We have a new teacher at our school."
d) Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
Okay, that's IT!
Dumb joke, eh?
Anyhow - a measure of responses to similar jokes in the study showed that less than 68 percent of recovering substance abuse users couldn't determine the correct punchline for this joke. Ninety-Two of the participants considered 'healthy' actually 'got the joke' and answered "d."
Here's how the joke should really work:
It was Mother’s Day. Anna and her brother had told their mother to stay in bed that morning. She read her book and looked forward to breakfast. After a long wait she finally went downstairs. Anna and her brother were both eating at the table.
Punchline: d) Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
When I first saw this, it wasn't funny to me at all (still isn't!). I looked carefully at all of the punchlines, then walked away from the computer for a minute to think...
Actually - I walked away because NONE OF THE PUNCHLINES MADE ANY SENSE TO ME AT ALL!!
While away for about 2 minutes, I forgot that Anna was the sister, NOT the mother (memory glitch), and I CAME BACK TO CHECK THE TEXT AGAIN. actually - I must say that I feel pretty dumb explaining this, but I think I should 'cos it seems highly likely that others in recovery have similar problems. Maybe if I 'tell' on myself - that I have SUCH TROUBLE in this area - others who also have trouble will feel less 'alone.'
After I checked the text, I thought about 'b' - Anna smashing the egg on her brother's head. I took a moment to imagine this and actually though that THIS WAS FUNNY TO ME, some physical humour - and that some kids I know would find this hilarious - but I remembered that I have a pretty low 'maturity' level at times and that probably ONLY kids (or male teens lol) would find this funny. I had to reason that the joke was told to 'healthy' adults and recovering adult addicts and that this would not be the right punchline.
After all of THAT - I thought about Anna's brother's TEACHER and was INSTANTLY SIDETRACKED (again) wondering what the teacher would think of Anna smashing an egg on the head of her brother. I reasoned that the teacher would probably think Anna's brother, along with Anna - was from a WILD HOME where the mother let the kids smash eggs on each others' heads........then I thought (seriously!) "OMG Anna's MOTHER is who this joke is about!!" I made a mental note (seriously) that sometimes teachers 'ASSUME THINGS' about parents that aren't true of the parents - when the kids show up at school and talk about their siblings... I thought of all these things before turning my attention BACK TO THE SITUATION OF THE JOKE.
Anna said: "It's a surprise for Mother's Day. We cooked our own breakfast."
About this statement, I thought it was totally 'un-funny,' but I thought that a kid (Anna) who would look after her little brother...then I got SIDETRACKED AGAIN, realizing that I only ASSUMED that Anna was the older sibling - without having been given any kind of information about the childrens' ages in the joke! Still, I resolved NOT TO LOOK AT THE TEXT again because the punchlines were only confusing me (really, I WAS confusing ME, according to this research! lol).
Next, I thought 'who cares about the kids' ages? and I went with Anna being old enough to cook breakfast, regardless of how old she and her brother were and I decided that some kids are old enough to cook breakfast. I remembered that the joke was about Mother's Day and that a lot of kids DO NICE THINGS for their mother on Mother's Day. This didn't seem like enough of a reason to pick punchline 'd' but I was completely fed up with the joke by this point and I selected punchline 'd'.........
.............then dashed to the computer to re-read 'my final answer' whether it made sense or not.
It made enough sense - that the kids made 'their' breakfast instead of their Mother's breakfast on Mother's Day. So they were not being nice to Mom on Mother's Day in the way that Mom thought they would be.
Apparently - that is the end of the joke and that's what is funny about it - that there was a mis-communication and that the Mom was thinking like a Mom and the kids were thinking like 'kids' and the Mom didn't get any breakfast.
*shaking my head* Seriously - I worked on this joke for 5 minutes and now that I have explained, in all truth, how my 'recovery-affected' mind dealt with a very simple joke, I am going to once again take a walk and try to forget about the process that seemed to take forever!
I know I said I would post the remainder of the German study, etc., but it will have to wait for a bit.....I am going to go for a walk and try to think of a joke that is actually FUNNY.
Of Tantamount Importance!! (you'll never guess) Pt 1
You might not guess what one of the most important things is, when considering 'cleaning up' and maintaining clean recovery...
Nope - it's not the sponsor. A sponsor is important...but what do you do when your sponsor is temporarily unavailable...?
Nope - it's not meetings. Meetings are important...but what do you do when you're in trouble during REAL LIFE SITUATIONS and you can't dash out from a 'business engagement,' school, a family situat, road trip, etc., and run off to a meeting...?
Nope - it's not "Do the work" or "Write it out like 'The Book' says or most OTHER 12-Step-driven suggestions. All of those are important, too...but what do you do if, while you're 'working through,' or 'writing it out,' you encounter SERIOUS emotional reactions (very likely to occur, but this will help you understand YOUR ADDICTION in order to combat it)...and you're taking into consideration what you learned at your last 12-step meeting, all your sponsor's suggestions, etc., and YOU STILL FEEL like you're in trouble...?
THE ANSWER:
Go ahead and go the scientific route!
And that will lead to HUMOUR!!
HUMOUR is TOTALLY USEFUL in recovery!
Seriously!! Humour is really, really really important in recovery.
But first - we need to understand about how substance abuse actually impairs 'humour' in recovering addicts.
A respected Journal simply called, 'Addiction' recently aired a the results of a recent German study that indicated that problem drinkers can't really take a joke as well as some people.
The research subjects were 29 patients in Bochum Germany known to be in recovery because they were - well....... they were in a west-German treatment facility. The control group by which the 'recovery group' was compared were 29 people considered healthy by the researchers' standards. The 29 addicts/alcoholics and the 29 healthy people were all given the same tests.
Part of the testing involved a section where all participants read JOKES! The addicts didn't get some of the jokes, even though some of the punchlines could be realized through logic if one so choose to be 'dead serious' rather than use their propensity for humour! Still - through tools of LOGIC PLUS HUMOUR, the addict group didn't see the humour where they should, as compared with the 29 healthy people. (So - SMARTS plus Humour were lower in addicts than they were in healthy people).
There was more involved in the research other than just measuring responses to jokes. The other things measured helped to uncover WHY addicts might not 'get the jokes.'
Mood was measured
Intellectual ability was measured
Memory abilities were measured
Psychomotor skills were measured
Mentalizing ability (perception and 'other-people-awareness') was measured - aptitude for predicting and understanding other peoples' behaviors.
And, of course, 'capacity to appreciate jokes' was measured.
(Interjection.....)
I read a sample joke from the Addiction Journal article - which was used in the research. I had to read the joke TWICE...and my opinion forever is that it is a really BAD JOKE! I will offer it near the end, after I give you all of the information about the study - PLUS - it's such a total groaner that I don't want to lose readers...I definitely had to USE LOGIC instead of real 'haha-ability' in order to get the right answer, believe it or not.
My 'opinion,' believe it or not - actually SUPPORTS the findings of this study. I'm kinda P-O-ed about this, because I consider myself to have a really broad and open sense of humour! After reading the full article about the study, however, I feel kind of fortunate to have been able to get the right answer...because now I know, from a certain scientific standpoint - that there is a definite 'block' to my funny-bone, so-to-speak, and that I should work harder on seeing things differently. I know now that I may have to use logic along with open-ness to 'humour' - for the rest of my life - in order to understand jokes (humour, intricate uses of language, subtle variations of word-play, and determination of OTHER PEOPLES' behavior etc...) that come easily to healthier people.
(End of interjection...)
Back to the study...
92 percent of the 'healthier' people but LESS THAN 68 percent of the addict group were able to select the correct punchline. As I said before - the joke will follow closer to the end - if I type it in now, you'll GROAN SO BAD - if you're a recovering addict - that you may not even finish reading. Apparently, if you're a 'healthy' person, you'll appreciate and 'get' the joke but I'm worried that you will laugh so hysterically, enjoying the joke - that you'll fall over and not finish reading about the study.
*LOL* ??
The recovery/addict group also fared worse in the mood, intellect, memory, psychomotor skill and 'mentalizing' parts of the testing.
The fact that recovering addicts didn't do so well, especially in the 'mentalizing' parts of the testing, is a pretty clear reinforcement of what is known about an addict's lessened ability to 'socialize' well like more healthy people do.
Jokes occur primarily in social settings. Naturally, there are other ways to put jokes forth, such as through comics, books, forwarded emails, etc., which leave the 'reader' alone with the joke - to interpret the joke in whatever way necessary - however this research concentrated largely on the form of jokes that would occur in a social situation (where the 'receiver' of the joke might gain information from SOMEONE ELSE about how to properly receive the joke).
Because addicts did poorly in other areas tested, we can make a general assumption that addicts really DO HAVE A PROBLEM in the 'HUMOUR' area!
Okay - this post is too long already...and contains some information that recovering addicts might not like at all (I Don't Like It! I can 'appreciate it' but I am still pretty ticked off to find out that I AM ONE WHO DOES NOT INTERPRET JOKES WELL, when before, I thought I ROCKED in the 'getting jokes' area). Actually, I am going for a walk to cool off before I post the BAD JOKE - I am having a 'Drama Queen attack of Can't-Stand-It-itis' over all this! I'll include the *cough*(hiding the 'j' word) , final comments about the German study, and how this all relates to why HUMOUR IS OF TANTAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO RECOVERING ADDICTS in the next post!
Nope - it's not the sponsor. A sponsor is important...but what do you do when your sponsor is temporarily unavailable...?
Nope - it's not meetings. Meetings are important...but what do you do when you're in trouble during REAL LIFE SITUATIONS and you can't dash out from a 'business engagement,' school, a family situat, road trip, etc., and run off to a meeting...?
Nope - it's not "Do the work" or "Write it out like 'The Book' says or most OTHER 12-Step-driven suggestions. All of those are important, too...but what do you do if, while you're 'working through,' or 'writing it out,' you encounter SERIOUS emotional reactions (very likely to occur, but this will help you understand YOUR ADDICTION in order to combat it)...and you're taking into consideration what you learned at your last 12-step meeting, all your sponsor's suggestions, etc., and YOU STILL FEEL like you're in trouble...?
THE ANSWER:
Go ahead and go the scientific route!
And that will lead to HUMOUR!!
HUMOUR is TOTALLY USEFUL in recovery!
Seriously!! Humour is really, really really important in recovery.
But first - we need to understand about how substance abuse actually impairs 'humour' in recovering addicts.
A respected Journal simply called, 'Addiction' recently aired a the results of a recent German study that indicated that problem drinkers can't really take a joke as well as some people.
The research subjects were 29 patients in Bochum Germany known to be in recovery because they were - well....... they were in a west-German treatment facility. The control group by which the 'recovery group' was compared were 29 people considered healthy by the researchers' standards. The 29 addicts/alcoholics and the 29 healthy people were all given the same tests.
Part of the testing involved a section where all participants read JOKES! The addicts didn't get some of the jokes, even though some of the punchlines could be realized through logic if one so choose to be 'dead serious' rather than use their propensity for humour! Still - through tools of LOGIC PLUS HUMOUR, the addict group didn't see the humour where they should, as compared with the 29 healthy people. (So - SMARTS plus Humour were lower in addicts than they were in healthy people).
There was more involved in the research other than just measuring responses to jokes. The other things measured helped to uncover WHY addicts might not 'get the jokes.'
Mood was measured
Intellectual ability was measured
Memory abilities were measured
Psychomotor skills were measured
Mentalizing ability (perception and 'other-people-awareness') was measured - aptitude for predicting and understanding other peoples' behaviors.
And, of course, 'capacity to appreciate jokes' was measured.
(Interjection.....)
I read a sample joke from the Addiction Journal article - which was used in the research. I had to read the joke TWICE...and my opinion forever is that it is a really BAD JOKE! I will offer it near the end, after I give you all of the information about the study - PLUS - it's such a total groaner that I don't want to lose readers...I definitely had to USE LOGIC instead of real 'haha-ability' in order to get the right answer, believe it or not.
My 'opinion,' believe it or not - actually SUPPORTS the findings of this study. I'm kinda P-O-ed about this, because I consider myself to have a really broad and open sense of humour! After reading the full article about the study, however, I feel kind of fortunate to have been able to get the right answer...because now I know, from a certain scientific standpoint - that there is a definite 'block' to my funny-bone, so-to-speak, and that I should work harder on seeing things differently. I know now that I may have to use logic along with open-ness to 'humour' - for the rest of my life - in order to understand jokes (humour, intricate uses of language, subtle variations of word-play, and determination of OTHER PEOPLES' behavior etc...) that come easily to healthier people.
(End of interjection...)
Back to the study...
92 percent of the 'healthier' people but LESS THAN 68 percent of the addict group were able to select the correct punchline. As I said before - the joke will follow closer to the end - if I type it in now, you'll GROAN SO BAD - if you're a recovering addict - that you may not even finish reading. Apparently, if you're a 'healthy' person, you'll appreciate and 'get' the joke but I'm worried that you will laugh so hysterically, enjoying the joke - that you'll fall over and not finish reading about the study.
*LOL* ??
The recovery/addict group also fared worse in the mood, intellect, memory, psychomotor skill and 'mentalizing' parts of the testing.
The fact that recovering addicts didn't do so well, especially in the 'mentalizing' parts of the testing, is a pretty clear reinforcement of what is known about an addict's lessened ability to 'socialize' well like more healthy people do.
Jokes occur primarily in social settings. Naturally, there are other ways to put jokes forth, such as through comics, books, forwarded emails, etc., which leave the 'reader' alone with the joke - to interpret the joke in whatever way necessary - however this research concentrated largely on the form of jokes that would occur in a social situation (where the 'receiver' of the joke might gain information from SOMEONE ELSE about how to properly receive the joke).
Because addicts did poorly in other areas tested, we can make a general assumption that addicts really DO HAVE A PROBLEM in the 'HUMOUR' area!
Okay - this post is too long already...and contains some information that recovering addicts might not like at all (I Don't Like It! I can 'appreciate it' but I am still pretty ticked off to find out that I AM ONE WHO DOES NOT INTERPRET JOKES WELL, when before, I thought I ROCKED in the 'getting jokes' area). Actually, I am going for a walk to cool off before I post the BAD JOKE - I am having a 'Drama Queen attack of Can't-Stand-It-itis' over all this! I'll include the *cough*(hiding the 'j' word) , final comments about the German study, and how this all relates to why HUMOUR IS OF TANTAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO RECOVERING ADDICTS in the next post!
The Twelve Steps of RELAPSE
1. I decided I could handle any emotional problems if other people would just quit trying to run my life.
2. I firmly believe that there is no greater power than myself and anyone who says differently is insane.
3. I made a decision to remove my will and my life from God, who didn't understand me anyway.
4. I made a searching and thorough moral inventory of everyone I know, so they couldn't fool me and take advantage of my good nature.
5. I sought these people out and tried to get them to admit to me, by God, the exact nature of their wrongs.
6. I became willing to help these people get rid of their defects of character.
7. I was humble enough to ask these people to remove their shortcomings.
8. I kept a list of all the people who had harmed me, and waited patiently for a chance to get even.
9. I got even with these people whenever possible except when to do so would get me into trouble.
10. I continue to take everyone's inventory and when they are wrong, which is most of the time, I promptly make them admit it.
11. Sought through the concentration of my willpower to get God, who didn't understand me anyhow, to see that my desires were best, and He ought to give me the power to carry them out.
12. Having maintained my emotional problems with these steps, I can thoroughly recommend them to others who don't want to lose their hard-earned status, but wish to be left alone to practice neurosis in everything they do for the rest of their days.
2. I firmly believe that there is no greater power than myself and anyone who says differently is insane.
3. I made a decision to remove my will and my life from God, who didn't understand me anyway.
4. I made a searching and thorough moral inventory of everyone I know, so they couldn't fool me and take advantage of my good nature.
5. I sought these people out and tried to get them to admit to me, by God, the exact nature of their wrongs.
6. I became willing to help these people get rid of their defects of character.
7. I was humble enough to ask these people to remove their shortcomings.
8. I kept a list of all the people who had harmed me, and waited patiently for a chance to get even.
9. I got even with these people whenever possible except when to do so would get me into trouble.
10. I continue to take everyone's inventory and when they are wrong, which is most of the time, I promptly make them admit it.
11. Sought through the concentration of my willpower to get God, who didn't understand me anyhow, to see that my desires were best, and He ought to give me the power to carry them out.
12. Having maintained my emotional problems with these steps, I can thoroughly recommend them to others who don't want to lose their hard-earned status, but wish to be left alone to practice neurosis in everything they do for the rest of their days.
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