The place, Beautiful Bicentennial Park in South Florida. This is going to be an all day extravaganz, with a WALK, FESTIVAL featuring Great Food music, arts and crafts, and guest speakers, Finally we top it off with an “Earth Shattering” CONCERT  – JOIN US! For more info Visit: www.intherooms.com   or    www.rallyforrecovery.org

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 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.

As many people may have noticed by now, there is a guy on the Denver Nuggets that looks like a white version of Dennis Rodman that is kicking butt. Well, that guy is Chris Andersen, who has averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks against the Mavericks in the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals.

However, Chris Andersen (aka the Birdman) hasn’t always had such a successful life and career as he has recently. His story is an inspiration to anyone in recovery. See, the Birdman grew up in Texas, where by 11 years-old, his father had placed him and his sister in a children’s home. They spent almost 3 ½ years there before there mom was able to regain custody. Nonetheless, when looking back on it, Chris Andersen has always said he made the best of that time.

Later, the Birdman would have to overcome adversity again as he faced a two year suspension after violating the NBA’s “Drug Abuse” policy by testing positive for an illegal substance. As a result, he lost his 13 Million Dollar contract. However, Chris Andersen rose once again from the ashes like a Phoenix, after he spent time in an addiction treatment center and made a successful recovery. Andersen was reinstated in 2008 and immediately made an impact on the Denver Nuggets.

This summer, Four Circles Treatment Center, for young adults, will co-host its second annual professional development workshop for clinicians interested in recovery therapies that focus on spirituality.  The conference will take place in Asheville, North Carolina on June 5th and the daylong presentation called “Integrating Spirituality into Therapy.”  This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. David J. Powell, President of the International Center for Health Concerns.

Amongst other things, Dr. Powell is Co-editor of the Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment, as well as an internationally recognized trainer, presenter, and author who holds a doctoral degree in human relations and psychology.  He is also a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor, marriage and family therapist, and has served as a diplomat to the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine.

The June 5th workshop is a natural complement to Four Circles’ holistic approach to substance abuse treatment. Four Circles has been offering its outreach programming to professionals in the field of substance abuse treatment since 2006.  Additionally, Four Circles Treatment Center continues working to provide valuable continuing education opportunities to professionals in the substance abuse recovery community.  For more information about Four Circles Recovery Center, please visit: www.fourcirclesrecovery.com

The NA Blog would like to share this moving and enlightening testimonial written by a recovering addict about their struggle with a prescription drug addiction and the wonders that the internet plays in 21st Century recovery. Please keep in mind that the author’s identity has been kept anonymous for the sake of maintaining the basic premise within NA of anonymity.

Painkiller Predicament

As I sit down to write this, I still can’t believe that this is my story. My name is Nicole and I was a competitive bicycle racer for many years. I wasn’t pro or anything but I loved riding my bike fast. I was physically fit, never a smoker or big drinker and my only real addiction was clipping in and riding. One morning I was out on a training run and a car turned left in front of me leaving me no time to stop. I flew over the hood and landed flat on my back. The first thing I did was wiggle my fingers and toes and thank the lord they all moved. I knew I wasn’t paralyzed but I couldn’t stand up or move. After the ambulance, the lawsuit and countless hours of physical therapy I found myself addicted to pain medication.

I don’t have an ugly story of addiction to tell. I never woke up in a strange place covered in vomit. I never sold all of my possessions or lost the deed to my house. But I was an addict nonetheless. I couldn’t get off the painkillers. I kept upping my dosage all on my own. I just didn’t think I was ‘one of those people’, an addict. It was easy for me to rationalize that addicts are all homeless people or that if I was able to go to work I must be fine. However the pills affected my personality, my relationships, my habits and all the other parts of my life. Finally I found help through a website filled with real honest people who had experiences similar to my own. I learned that addiction is a disease and it can affect ANYBODY. Nobody is ‘too good’ to be addicted.

I was taking an ungodly number of pills to kill the pain of depression, my backache and to keep me out of withdrawal for not taking enough pills! I was barely managing to keep my job and I knew I needed help. I was a shell of the athletic and outgoing person that I was. I knew I needed help and enrolling in rehab saved my life.

I want to share my story because there are millions of Americans out there addicted to prescription drugs. My addiction snuck up on me after a devastating accident and my growing addiction to the meds just made everything worse. I was a working professional woman with a good head on her shoulders. I was an athlete and proud of my body but my body took control of me for a while. I needed help and I asked for it. Please, if my story strikes a chord with you, please do not be afraid to ask for help. There are people out there waiting to help you become whole again.