Recovery is a Journey

The Blessing of Confusion

For many of us the first few months of being clean and sober bring with it difficulties in thinking straight, problems concentrating, being able to get anything done, and nightmares. It gets better, eventually. The haze won't vanish overnight. Your brain and the rest of you need time to recover from the abuse. The older you are and the younger you were when you started your journey into hell, the more damage you have done and the more time it will take to heal. Gradually, if you stay clean, your brain will rewire itself and your body will gain strength. Your soul and your spirit will come to life again. The following are some guidelines for dealing with this time in your recovery:

• Your emotions may be, in a way, even more unpredictable than before you got clean and sober. Don't keep these emotions to yourself. Share them with your counselor, with a trusted (healthy) friend, or with your family.
• Some things will slow down the healing. Alcohol use, abuse of drugs other than the one you came into treatment for, poor nutritional habits, not getting the right amount of sleep, and not working will definitely slow down or virtually stop the healing process.
• Remember your spiritual life. For some, this means praying, or going to church. For others it may mean a walk in the park, meditation time, or yoga. For others, it may be either starting or getting back into a nourishing routine with a support group like NA, AA, CA, etc. Still others feel that their spirits are refreshed via the arts, athletics, or music.
• Do something! If all you are doing is just not using any dope, it is very likely you will relapse sooner than later. The road to recovery is an active journey, not a passive one.

The Three Reasons We Use Drugs

1. Avoid what we don't want to deal with.
2. Escape what we are already in and don't want to deal with.
3. Enhance something about ourselves.

HERE NOW
The procedure is called auricular acupuncture. It is helpful for a variety of issues that affect those with addictions.
Please see your counselor.

WHO SMOKES THE MOST

If you are serious about quitting the smoking habit, talk to your counselor or Dr. McDaniel. We can help if you want to quit.

--Rick B.

Up in Smoke!

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in the USA, killing 440,000 Americans per year. Some government agencies and civic action groups are suggesting a ban on all advertising of tobacco. There are tools available to help those who want to stop smoking.

Currently, 44.5 million American adults smoke. Of them, 70% say they want to quit and an estimated 40% make a serious effort to quit each year. Only 5% who attempt to quit smoking are successful. The smoking population in the United States of America decreased to about 21% in 2004 from 37% in 1970. In 2005 an estimated 2.2% of adult Americans were cigar smokers and 2.3% used smokeless tobacco.

The World Health Organization estimates that every eight seconds a person dies of a smoking-related disease. According to the American Lung Association, smoking costs the economy over $167 billion in productivity. The following are conclusions in the 2004 report from the Surgeon General:

1. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general.
2. The list of diseases caused by smoking has been expanded to include abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, cervical cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, pneumonia, periodontitis, and stomach cancer.
3. Cigarette smoking causes most of the cases of lung cancer, close to 90% in men and 80% in women.
4. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the USA and the leading cause of death caused by smoking. Smoking is hard on the heart.
5. Respiratory disease is an all too common side effect of smoking. The occasional smoker's cough is often the first signal of trouble in the lungs. Chronic bronchitis usually follows; if left unchecked emphysema can develop.
6. Seniors face increased risks associated with smoking, including hip fractures, cataracts, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It is never too late to quit smoking. The health benefits of cessation start within minutes of the last cigarette.
7. Smokers have a harder time healing from surgeries and have more overall health issues than non-smokers.
8. Smokers create risks for the unborn children. Not only is smoking toxic to an unborn child, studies have shown that getting pregnant may be more difficult for smokers.

According to the WHO, less than 7% of smokers who try to quit on their own achieve more than one year of abstinence and most relapse within a few days of attempting to quit.