September 2009 marks National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, which means all active members of recovery fellowships should get involved and show there support for the recovery community as a whole. All month long events will be taking place across the country to try and spread the message that addiction recovery is possible.
One such event is the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovey. The event is sponsored by the online social-networking recovery site, intherooms.com, and features a charitable walk to raise money for recovery scholarships, recovery expert guest speakers, food and games for the family, and a closing concert featuring classic rock artist Richie Supa and Eric Burdon and the Animals.
If you’re in the South Florida area, you should get involved. The vent will be held September 12 in Downtown Miami, Fl, and will only cost $9.00 to participate. Be sure to check the following link to find out more: Get Involved. The linked page provides detialed information on how to get involved as part of the Rally for Recovey and National Recovery Month, whether as an attendant, volunteer, sponsor, or exhibitor/presenter.
The NA Blog would like to be the first to announce that IntheRooms.com goes live with National AA Meetings Database this week. For those unfamiliar with IntheRooms, it is one of the most revered recovery social networking websites on the net. Daily, IntheRooms.com helps its 40,000+ members connect with each other across the globe.
As for the National AA Meetings Database, what makes it unique is that it allows anyone to update it regularly, similar to Wikipedia. The idea is to have the most up to date National Database of AA Meetings on the web. As anyone who has looked for fellowship meeting on the net knows, they are constantly being changed, in terms of time, date and location that it makes it very difficult to have them all up to date.
Well, that’s no longer an issue. Now, anyone can go to the IntheRooms.com National AA Meetings Database and update the hours and locations to be absolutely accurate to the present moment. Please be sure to check out the database at: http://meetings.intherooms.com/wiki/AA_Meetings
Here at the NA Blog we’d like to extend our reviews and recommendations of recovery books to our readers as part of a new segment we’ll be running titled, “Recovery Books.” Check back often for the latest and best reviews of a whole spectrum of recovery books. Also, for future reference, please find all of our future segments in the sidebar, under the category titled, “Recovery Books.”
We start with the book, “A Day Without Pain,” by Dr. Mel Pohl. In A Day Without Pain, Dr. Mel Pohl addresses all the dangers that come with the excessive use and abuse of prescription painkillers that are used to treat chronic pain. Dr. Pohl also goes on to inform readers that are alternatives to prescription painkillers and the (quick addiction that often come with them); namely, holistic approaches that don’t depend on using any kinds of drugs.
Amazon user Gary L Dickinson describes A Day Without Pain by saying, “chemical dependency perspective to chronic pain management (utilizing 12 step approaches and spirituality) make a lot of sense and deepens commitment for patients.”
Just a little about Dr. Mel Pohl; he is a Board Certified Family Practitioner, Vice President of Medical Affairs and the Medical Director of Las Vegas Recovery Center (LVRC), and has many years of addiction and recovery experience. As for the noted contributor, Mike Donahue, he is a journalist who worked close with Dr. Pohl to complete the book.
Republican Congressman John Sullivan of Oklahoma told reporters last week that he checked into Betty Ford rehab center in California to get help for his alcoholism problem.
Congressman John Sullivan released a statement saying, “I value my relationship with the citizens of Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, whom I am privileged and honored to have served for the past eight years. So, I wanted to be open and honest on this tough situation.”
Sullivan is taking a leave of absence from Congressional duties to receive treatment for his alcoholism at the Betty Ford rehab center. No official statement has been released saying when Sullivan would be returning to his term in Congress.
Now in his 40’s, Sullivan told reporters that his alcoholism is a long fought battle, admitting he was arrested in his 20’s for public intoxication. We here at the NA Blog wish Congressman John Sullivan a full and speedy recovery. We also admire his courage in admitting his problem and seeking help.
I recently received an anonymous email from a member of IntheRooms.com asking me to publish the following letter. He/she stressed the importance of the online community, which has really made a difference to his/her recovery. Anonymous In the Rooms Member –
To the Editor of the NA Blog, I noticed you’ve written some articles about In the Rooms, which is great, but I’m not sure if the articles are reflecting all the facets of what In the Rooms does, exactly, to help members.
As an active NA member, I can honestly say that In the Rooms has provided me with a vital tool I use daily for my recovery. I’m recovering cocaine addict and am beginning to have some real success for the first time. Throughout the last few years, I have had several relapses and been in and out of rehab treatment centers. I’d say that in the last 9 months, IntheRooms has helped make a big difference in my recovery.
You see, I travel for my job, which doesn’t help in terms of attending meetings. With In the Rooms, I connect from my laptop at any hot spot and talk to my recovery buddies at the NA group IntheRooms.com, which has over 14,000 members. We chat live, send each other messages, and post discussions in the group.
For someone like me, struggling to get to meetings, I just go onto IntheRooms and connect with fellow NA members. Also, I always check In the Rooms national database of NA meetings, in case I have time to attend a meeting in a visiting city.
I hope my testimony helps people understand and encourages them to join In the Rooms. It can really help to connect with so many people who have so much knowledge about recovery. One of my buddies In the Rooms has been clean 30 years. He’s a tremendous well of knowledge and support to me. Thanks _ AnonymousNAer
The Arizona Star recently polled their readers to find out if they supported the initiative of legalizing marijuana in the state. Shockingly, the majority were in favor of legal marijuana in the state of Arizona. However, the periodical made sure to note that the study was not scientific and that it only reflected the opinion of those who participated.
Nonetheless, when asked: “Do you believe marijuana should be legal for recreation purposes?” 84% of readers agreed that it should. When asked: “How would you view the legalization of marijuana? (In terms of the government’s role)” 53% agreed that it was wise and 39% agreed that it would be a satisfactory means of seeking tax revenue. Finally, when asked: “What effect do you believe legalizing marijuana would have on drug trafficking and its related violence?” 70% thought it would decrease significantly, while only 9% claimed no effect.
For me, the poll reflects the trend of medical and legal marijuana across the US. It also makes sense, as the “Baby Boomer” generation is now in full control of the reins. After all, they were also the generation marked by the “hippie” drug culture. Still, I conclude that these Arizonians, and many others, are oblivious to the realities of legalizing drugs. I would argue from the slippery slope premise and say that there is a snowball effect. Basically, you start with allowing medical marijuana, and then it is all together legal, which eventually leads to the legalization of all drugs.
What kills more people per year, illegal drugs or legal drugs and alcohol? Answer, legal drugs and alcohol. Of course, common sense would tell us because it is more readily available when legal and less controlled.
Just recently, The Recovery Network(TRN) website has gone down. Similar to other social networking sites for recovering addicts, the Recovery Network specialized in connecting people and keeping them informed with blogs and news. It also provided online support that connected members to recovery experts. The Recovery Network was actually one of the first among the circle of social networking sites for recovering addicts; its niche and main base was the continent of Europe. It is unknown exactly why the site is down at this point, but insiders are speculating that it has to do with hosting costs.
Nonetheless, there is a viable and readily available solution. Right now, anyone seeking the same kind of social networking website and more can find it free of charge at intherooms.com. IntheRooms is less than a year old and already boosts 40,000+ members whose combined recovery time has recently been marked at 100,000+ years.
IntheRooms features all of the interface capabilities of The Recovery Network and more. It has a blogroll with at least 20+ blogs, a community forum, live chat for all the fellowships that members belong to (NA Chat, AA Chat, GA Chat, etc). The Newsletter is updated weekly. Each member can set up an account that has email and messaging capabilities; they can set up their own discussion groups for any and all interest broad or niche.
At last count, IntheRooms.com had members in every continent (over 100 countries). Their recovery community is considered global, so for any former members of The Recovery Network seeking similar needs again (because the network is down), please come check out IntheRooms.com. Hope this helps out.
The new “Pokies Cause Pain” campaign is encouraging people that live with a pokie addiction (poker machine) to share their tales online with the hope of preventing others that maybe destined for similar paths.
The campaign was initiated by Australian senator Nick Xenophon and was launched on “Responsible Gambling Awareness Week.” Senator Xenophon told the Australian AP that families had been victimized long enough as a result of pokie addiction and added “It’s an opportunity for people to have that voice. They haven’t had it in the past.”
For anyone interested in making an anonymous contribution to the “Pokies Cause Pain” campaign, the website is up and running and can be found at: www.PokieAct.org.
Still, Australian Senator Nick Xenophon said that the government must find a better way to shift taxes collected from pokies to other areas and ultimately limit the influence of pokies; “There is no doubt that communities would be better off, budget bottom lines would be better off, if state governments didn’t rely so heavily on poker machine taxes,” Xenophon said.
A “New Comer” recently sent me this essay because he wanted to share his experience. I promised I would publish it but also told him that I would comment on the essay as well. Anyway, below are “His” (anonymous) thoughts and below that are my own. I hope this helps any New Comer to NA Meetings.
New Comer to NA: 1st Meeting Experience
Hey Editor of the NA Blog. I wanted to share this story with you and hopefully get some feed back. I attended my first NA meeting the other day and had mixed emotions about my experience. I went because I really want to quit using. This time it’s really for me. Not like all the other times. Anyway, all these guys were old schoolers with like 10 or 20 years clean, and they mostly just talked about there wives and family and money and stuff, and not there recovery or addiction. Also, the meeting was totally disorganized. There were people joking and laughing while the speaker was talking, etc. You know there were some incredible moments, but mostly what seemed like boring conversations between old buddies. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if I want to go back. Let me know if there is anything you can suggest.
- Anonymous
Well, first off, thanks for sharing. A New Comer’s first experience can be very rough. It seems like that is your case. However, I would not suggest that you throw in the towel just yet. Please remember, there are usually dozens of NA groups within close proximity to each other, all with different agendas, that anyone seeking the NA fellowship can attend. For example, just in my area, there are all of the following groups, each with a different focus: “Step 1-2-3 Ongoing; Beginners; Meditation; Youth Oriented; Women Preferred; Basic Text Study;” so forth and so on. I encourage you to seek out the full schedule of NA meetings and maybe try attending some other groups. Every recovery experience is different and it is very important that you feel comfortable in your home NA group. I know sometimes the “old schoolers” can be like that, but like you said, “there were some incredible moments.” Try and look for those if someone is boring you. I can tell you that recovery is not all fun and easy, but keep going back to the meeting and you’ll see that the 12 steps and the NA fellowship works.
With all the recent reports in the news of steroids use in Major League Baseball and other professional sports, The NA Blog felt it important to remind the public of the addictive qualities of Steroids.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has reported that the number of steroid users that become addicted is undetermined. The criterion to be qualified as a steroids addict includes having built a tolerance, compulsive use of the drug regardless of its negative consequences, and withdrawal symptoms once consumption has stopped. Withdrawal symptoms from cessation of steroids use also includes depression that can last several months.
The addictive quality of steroids may explain why MLB baseball players continue its use, in spite of the fact that their athletic career is being put at risk.
For those seeking treatment, NIDA lists some options, including supportive and behavioral therapy, as well as medications that help restore the natural balance of hormones in the individual.
