From Clinician Tany DesLoover - Treatment Frequently Asked Questions - Families and Clients

Frequently asked questions - from family members
The most frequently asked question I get from families is, “When will my child, spouse, parent, express remorse for what they have put me/us through? I don’t hear any apologies”. This usually occurs after their family member has been here in treatment for a couple of weeks and in talking about how they are doing, or “coming along”. I explain that what they are talking about is “amends”, which are addressed in the 8th step of recovery. Currently, their recovering person is working on step 1, understanding that they are powerless over their substance of choice. That the 8th step may be months away. It’s helpful to remember and try to separate the person from the disease.

Frequently asked questions - from recovering client

The most frequently asked question I get from the family member in treatment is, “Why don’t they trust me? I’m in treatment aren’t I?” I ask them how long they have been using, and let them know that their family may not trust them until they have been sober as long as they were using. It takes time for them to learn to trust. They have been through an extraordinary ordeal, much of which of which the substance abuser does not even remember…!

Postscript
Recovery is a process and takes patience. Treatment is no panacea; Recovery is a journey for the whole family. It took a long time to get to treatment and it takes a while to put things back together again, or for the first time for some people. Remember that it is an illness, and like cancer, long term recovery works best if everyone is learning to take care of themselves with outside help.

George Bush Discusses His Recovery From Alcoholism

Who says you can’t still do great things even after going to rehab?

George Bush became very emotional and opened up about his alcoholism to a group of people attending a speech he was making at the Jericho Program in Maryland on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008. The Jericho program is a faith based community service program that helps men re-enter society after leaving prison.
George Bush has been sober since his 40th birthday and had to reach out for the help of a faith based program. During his speech he also made reference to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

"Addiction is hard to overcome. As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life," said Bush, who has often stated that religion became a greater part of his life after he gave up alcohol.

"I understand faith-based programs. I understand that sometimes you can find the inspiration from a higher power to solve an addiction problem," he said.

George Bush has become increasingly vocal about his struggles with alcoholism, also talking frankly with struggling group of young addicts who he hosted in the White House in December. George Bush’s date of sobriety is July 6th, 1986.

More Scientific Progress about Addiction, Dopamine

Those of you who were ever clients at SLBTS will remember the phenomenal lectures given by the excellent Dr. Kevin McCauley about the disease model of addiction.

Kevin McCauley's lectures help our clients understand the medical phenomenon that is affecting them and causing them to experience craving because of the surge of dopamine that their midbrain associates with using drugs or alcohol.

To anyone who remembers their addiction education at Sober Living by the Sea, it will come as no surprise that Researchers at Brookhaven Lab have shown that increasing the brain level of receptors for dopamine, a pleasure-related chemical, can reduce use of cocaine by 75 percent in rats trained to self-administer it. Earlier research by this team had similar findings for alcohol intake. Treatments that increase levels of these chemicals - dopamine D2 receptors -- may prove useful in treating addiction, according to the authors.

Yet more scientific progress in the treatment of addiction....

http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=08-33

The Genetics of Addiction

There is often a very lively discussion on the Sober Living by the Sea Campus about the extent that genetics play in the development of addiction.

There is always a hope in the recovery community that "science may one day" provide a solution that will make the changing of addictive behavior much more effortless than it currently is. By identifying genetic components that predict addiction, there is hope that science is progressing to the point where people suffering from chemical dependencies can get a supportive medical regimen that will make it an "easier, softer" process.

There is a new relsease from the National Institute of Drug Abuse indicating that that more research is performed on the genetics of addiction, the more evidence there is that there are genetic components that predict individuals predisposition to addiction. The latest study results focus on nicotine.

Is this a reason to hope that the treatment of addiction might be poised for a breakthrough in the near future? We are all watching and waiting...

http://www.drugabuse.gov/newsroom/08/NR4-02a.html