The End of 2013

Steve's Theory of Addiction and Recovery

Steve Timmer’s Addiction & Recovery Theory

I.                   What is addiction, alcoholism, chemical or substance dependency?

Addiction (Substance dependency) and alcoholism is a disease of the brain.  It is a disease because it meets the criteria for all diseases:

1.      It is Primary – not the result of another disease or other factors.

2.     It is Chronic – may progress slowly and subtlety, is constant and lasts for a long period of time.  Other chronic diseases include diabetes, heart disease, emphysema and arthritis.

3.     It is Progressive – left unchecked and untreated, the dependent person moves from an early stage where the substance appears helpful and seductive to an uncontrollable craving.  Over time, the person’s condition becomes more severe and mental, physical, emotional and spiritual problems occur.

4.     It is eventually Fatal – if the dependent person continues to abuse her or her substance, the addiction will eventually lead to a shorter life span. Death may occur due to the following:

                                                            a.      Liver, heart, kidney, pancreas, lung or other organ failure.

                                                            b.      Overdose.

                                                             c.      Suicide.

                                                            d.      Auto, fire, water or other kind of accident.

II.                 What is the cause of addiction or alcoholism?

There is no known specific cause why some people become addicted and others due not.  However, the vast majority of people have one or most the four basic reasons for becoming chemically dependent:

1.      Chemical imbalances in the brain or body,

2.      Past, unresolved trauma.

3.      Poor coping skills.

4.      Perceptions and beliefs that cause the person discomfort, sadness, anger or pain.

Factors such as a family history of alcoholism or addiction, family dynamics, environmental factors, and head trauma also have a high correlation with susceptibility to chemical dependence.

III.              What is the cure?

This causes and conditions can be very complex and subtle.  The cure is what has been driving pharmaceutical companies, medical schools, treatment centers, psychiatrists, psychologists, addiction physicians, addiction researchers and therapists for decades.  By far, the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and other 12 step programs have been the most successful in the treatment of alcoholism and addiction.  Other therapies have also been shown to be effective, including cognitive behavioral therapies, secular and religious programs that seek to adjust perceptions and coping skills while addressing trauma, and some medical therapies.

In an interviewed study, Anne Fletcher, in Sober for Good (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) examined 222 people who had “alcohol problems” and who have abstained from alcohol for over 20 years.  The following was how each one did it:

Recovery Method	No. of People
Traditional 12 Steps	97
Nontraditional Recovery Methods	125
Sober on their own	25
Multiple Paths	25
Secular Organization for Sobriety (SOS)	18
Women for Sobriety	15
SMART Recovery	13
Went to AA, but quit after some years	12
Treatment Center, then on their own	5
Religion	4
Rational Recovery	4
Psychological Counseling	3
Moderation Management	1

As a treatment provider, I look to the bio-psycho-social assessment and other evidence-based diagnostic tools to create treatment plans and to help determine the best course of treatment.  However, since this paper is my theory of addiction treatment, I will share with you my fundamental belief on each individual’s recovery – you do it yourself.  Somehow, some way, you hear the right words or experience the right experience to find the motivation or to perceive a new way of thinking or envisioning your world. 

I have an aunt who wrote a book called By Monomoy Light, in which she describes her experience living alone on an island for several months:

Living simple and in solitude is difficult, admittedly, since it strips you of distraction and defense.  You find out the gravest danger you face – always – is yourself, and that you are your own way out of trouble, the doorway to your own hard-sought freedom.  These are truths not everyone wants to know.  But they can stay at home.

As for me, I plan to remember Monomoy and face the really scary business of day-to-day living with purpose and a sense of my own necessity, as the birds and animals do.

With me I can a page torn out of Crossing Antarctica, the journal of Will Steger, the leader of a six-man international team that crossed the vast southern continent on skis and dogsleds – and faced dangers more tangible and extreme than I probably will ever know.  In the long polar night, in the midst of his expedition of hardships, he recalled the earlier difficult and rewarding times:  ‘During the struggle to raise money to go to the North Pole,’ he writes, ‘we had an ardent supporter in Duluth, Minn., an 85 year old woman named Julia Marshall, whose family owned a hardware story.  At a time when we were desperate for cash, I remember getting a check in the mail from her for $5,000.  Accompanying the check was a nearly illegible note, which took me four or five readings to decipher.  It said simply “WE NEED ADVENTURE NOW.”’

And we can have it.

Of course, adventure, like everything else worth having has its price: I’ve had the discomfort of poison ivy for weeks; I know what it means to be cold, drenched to the skin, and squirrelly from cabin fever.  But a little risk has its undeniable payoffs, too; being awakened at midnight by the eerie, lone cry of a great horned owl; being stopped dead in one’s tracks by a doe diving through bay berry for cover; finding all vital hungers filled.

Talk about fear.  You could move without love, forget how it feels to live.  You could think you were safe – and never know the danger of deep joy, the pitfalls of beauty, and the passion of being free. – North Cairn.

Five Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Dementia, Cancer, Heart Disease and Stroke

In a recent report on the BBC, the University of Cardiff Medical School conducted a 35 year study of Welsh men and concluded that by making five (5) lifestyle choices - 1) No smoking, 2) Regular exercise, 3) Low to no alcohol use, 4) Maintaining a health diet, and 5) Maintaining a low body weight. Selecting just a few of these behaviors can reduce heart disease by 60%, stroke by 70%, full dementia by 60%, cognitive difficulty by 60% and cancer by 40%BBC Science World - Dementia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ncd42

Nelson Mandela's Gift to Addicts and Alcoholics

On October 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela, the first black President elected in South Africa, passed away at the age of 95 years.  He had spent his entire life fighting for the freedom of his countrymen of all colors and races.  Equality and freedom were his two passions.

He has so many lessons for those of us suffering from addiction as well as people generally, but the most important lesson is that resentment - lack of forgiveness is fatal - terminal. 

The second and much more powerful message is that love truly is more powerful than and truly does overcome hate.

The Lies We Tell

If you are struggling with a friend or a loved one who has a substance abuse problem or addiction to a behavior, you know a sad truth.  They are liars - They lie about their problem and almost everything else.  My partner left me because of the lying more so than the drinking.  Addiction is called the disease of deception for many reasons.

One of the reasons that we become liars in our addicted states is because our brain could never accept the truth of what we are doing to ourselves or others. We must lie in order for our behavior to become acceptable to us.  We must lie so that we can live with the intolerable parts of us. 

The first step in recovery is admitting we have a problem.  The first action required is to start telling the truth. 

Choices

Adolescent Intervention

How soon can your child start abusing drugs or alcohol?  Probably not this young, but I have seen kids needing recovery at 6 years old.

Interventions

It is taking its toll.  Always someone is suffering and slow;y killing themselves.  I have been working more and more with elderly and senior citizen alcoholics and I am amazed at how this disease of alcoholism is really anout the "ism"

 

I heard a great acronym last night - ISM - "I separate myself".  That is what alcoholism and addiction do.  They force us to separate ourselves to protect our addictive behavior.  Recovery allows us to reconnect, renew and regain our lives.

What is a sober adventure?

What is a sober adventure? A sober adventure is doing anything that you are afraid to do. Why would we be afraid of doing something? We are usually afraid of the unknown - but that's what makes it an adventure. I remember that I was going to run a 5k Race at the Gasparilla Running Festival with a 10k, a 15k, a half marathon and a marathon. I had to register with 25,000 other people. I did not know the area or what to do. I was nervous and called a sober friend.

The friend said "You're afraid to register for a race? After spending 10 months in prison, you're afraid to register for a race?"
I said, "well, I don't know where to go or where the start will be or the course?"
She replied "Why don't you just follow the crowd? You aren't going to be coming in first are you?"

She was right. I was only afraid because I had never done it before...what if I failed. What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? What adventure does fear hold you back from doing?

Veteran's Day - Start of Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey 21 Day Meditation - Desire and Destiny

Today, I began the Oprah and Deepak Desire and Destin 21 Day Meditation Challenge.  You can find information on the program at the following link - We are so excited to announce our ALL-NEW Meditation Experience, Desire and Destiny, starting November 11!

Nearly 2 million people from around the world have joined us for this original transformational meditation program, mastering the art of living well. Whether you’ve joined us for one of our authentic meditation experiences such as Perfect Health or Miraculous Relationships—or are new to meditation altogether—Desire and Destiny will change your life.

Join us for this FREE 3-week journey toward living with passion and abundance! We’ll be your guides, every day, as you uncover your creative brilliance, connect with your deepest desires, and tap into to your pure potential. Then, watch your soul’s purpose and true destiny emerge, opening the door to living a life in which all things are within reach and your dreams transform into reality.

It’s free and open to everyone—worldwide! We encourage you to sign up now and invite those you love to join us.

We look forward to sharing this powerful experience and celebrating your magnificence with you!

Blessings,

 

On this Veteran's Day, we can honor those who have been through the hell of war and military service by seeking quiet contemplation.

Miracles Are Commonplace

In the early days of my own recovery, I heard two things - 1) Never Give Up Just Before the Miracle Happens and 2) In recovery, miracles are commonplace.  My sponsor sent me this message today:

On this day of your life, I beleive God want you to know...

that miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature." 

C.S. Lewis said that, and it is an enormous insight. 

If we think that miracles are normal, we will expecte them. 

And expecting a miracle is the best way to get one. 

Just pray to whatever Higher Power you believe in for your miracle...

and if you have no belief, then perhaps you can believe

 that I believe you will get a miracle -

it may not come the way you think, but it will come.

 

I remember trying to decide if I should go to treatment and it was the prospect of miracles that made me come and the promise of miracles that made me stay and kept me coming back.   Expecting miracles - large and small - do end up in the manifestation of miracles.  This is our experience.  This is my experience. This has been shown over and over again.

 

 

 

Today, I won...1st place in my age division and there were actually more than three people in the division. Last Saturday, I was 6th from last place. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose...but as I heard once, life is a game that can neither be won nor lost, only played.

Gratitude

Halloween - A good time to think about death - Tragedy or miracle

Interventions help us Overcome Obstacles when we need a helping hand, some hope or inspiration

Getting an Addicted Loved One into Treatment

Although I have only been doing interventions for the past eight years, with about an 18 month break in 2007-2008, I am still surprised how different each intervention is and how similar they all are.  I can never say "this was just like the intervention I did in _______".   Each intervention is as unique as each person and each family has their own dynamic.  But the goals of all interventions are the same - to get the addicted loved one to agree to some action - treatment, therapy, or program - to help address the addiction.  There are other goals that are almost as important:

1. To unite the family together to show support and healing.
2. To break through the walls of denial and delusion.
3. To work together instead of on a 1:1 basis where the addicted loved one cannot manipulate, lie about another family member, or triangulate people.
4. To help the addicted loved one face reality and the existence of a chemical-dependency problem.
5. To give the addicted loved one and family members the information needed to accept help.
6. To offer hope to the addicted loved one and the family and options for a happier, healthier life!!

There are many professional interventionists that charge various rates, but a good place to start is an Al-Anon or Nar-Anon meeting.  It is important not to confuse Nar-Anon with Narcanon.  Narcanon is a drug and alcohol rehab treatment program run by the Church of Scientology. 

Time takes time

TIME = Things I must Earn.  People suffering from addiction and mental health issues are really like people that have a really, really bad flu.  It affects their mood, their perception of reality, and their sense of what is important.  Because they are sick, they are preoccupied with themselves and obvious to others.  This is the nature of addiction - the perfect predator. 

Recovery takes time.  TIME is an acronym for "things I must earn." When I got sober, I so much yearned for my life back, my spouse, my career,  my home, my things...It has taken a long time.  I had to earn this life that I have today - your loved one will too.  Encourage, but for God's sake, let them do it.  It is a journey that should not be robbed from them.   What you can do is encourage, love, and pray for them.  But their time, like my time, I must earn myself.

Change at the rate of PAIN

I was not willing to change until the pain got too great.  When family and friends ask me to do an intervention on a family member, they want me to be the tough one while they keep insulating their loved one from the pain.  Why should they change if nothing is encouraging them to change.  Most people will change when presented with two options:

1. The pain gets so great that they are willing to do anything to releave it. 
2. The reward for the change is so good that it is better to change than to remain the same.

An intervention is simple the two motivations being used in various ways to get people to change from a self-destructive behavior to a self-affirming one.  However, often what is needed is pain and instead we give our family members love and understanding.  "I know you didn't mean to smash your car driving high for the third, no, fourth time this year, but mommy still loves you..." Great, no pain, no change.

My sponsor told me one thing that I will never forget "Why would you deny anyone, anyone, the pain that taught you so much."  It did.  It continues to teach me. 

Running 13 races 13 miles long in 2013

Emmanuel Jal - International Hip Hop Artist and Peace Activitist

The first race I ever ran was a 5 K River City Run (11-01-2008) in my parent's winter home, DeBary, Florida.  I had never done one before, but I did it and it was really great when it was over.  So, I did a few more, and in December, 2008, I ran a 5 K race in Orlando with the OUC Half Marathon.  I saw people lining up and thought, "OMG, they are going to run 13 miles??? Are they crazy???" Then, in 2009, one year later, I ran that half marathon.  I couldn't beleive that I did it.  I did it. 

On January 10, 2010, I ran my first full marathon - the Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando, Florida. I did not do well, but I finished. I never, never, never imagined I could run a full marathon, but I had two things - 1) a burning desire to do something noble after losing my career, my money, my life partner and my self-respect, and 2) I had the music of Emmanuel Jal on my iPod and when I listened to it, I could run for miles.

In February, 2010, I became Facebook friends with Emmanuel Jal and we would chat. He invited me to go to the Clinton Global Initiative in March, but the volcano in Iceland grounded Jal in London and he could not attend. Also, in February, I decided to run the Chicago Marathon which was going to take place on 10-10-10. That date will never come again until 2110. So, I decided to raise money for Emmanuel Jal's charity - GUA Africa. Gua means peace in Jal's home language, Nuer.

The following year, I decided to run 11 marathons, half and full, for GUA Africa. In 2012, I ran 12 full marathons. I thought I would stop after that, but I cannot give it up. It makes me feel so good about myself; it is one of the few things that doesreally make me happy and proud. 



Kids benefiting from GUA Africa, South Sudan

This year, I was running the St. Pete Beach Classic and I thought "I should run 13 halves because that would be 13 x 13.1 x 13 - 13 halves (13.1) in 2013 and try to raise moneyfor GUA Africa by getting 1000 or even 100 people to donate $13.00. So that is the goal...check out my website at www.runforguaafrica.com.

Perseverance

Addiction and Shifts in Perception

One of the reasons that people need interventions from time to time to get help for their addictions or addictive behaviors is that the addiction almost always requires denial and delusion in order to allow the addictive and bizarre behavior to continue.  Much of the time an addict sees the idea of treatment as a horrible, torturous experience.  It is a matter of perception.  Once they get to treatment and are fully detoxed, they are so happy and can't imagine or even remember the hell they put their family and friends through to get them to treatment.

 

 Many non-addicts or normal people often have these distorted perceptions in daily matters.  They will see a situation as bad or unacceptable.  I was talking to several people this morning who were complaining that this was not good or that was not good...and my experience is that just because something is not good does not mean it's bad. Some of the worst things turned out to be blessings in disguise. I am not saying we need to go around loving situations which are difficult, unpleasant, challenging, frustrating, painful or infuriating, but perhaps we should wait and see what lessons we can gleam before we shut the door on possibilities. Difficult, I admit. But it is what I try to do.

 

FEAR - Face Everything And Recover vs. Forget Everything And Run

It is said that "resentments" cause more people to drink and drug than anything else - "The number one offender." However, I am convinced that most people, including myself, react to their feelings of fear more than any other feeling.  There are 6 basic fears:

- The Fear of Poverty
- The Fear of Criticism
- The Fear of Ill Health
- The Fear of Loss of Love of Someone
- The Fear of Old Age
- The Fear of Death

What do you fear most?

 

 

 

This past week, I was at the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting on the Committee for Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAPs) which help lawyers, judges, and law students with addiction and mental health issues. There I was forced to confront the most difficult pasts of my past minute-by-minute and day-by-day. I attended this conference because I have had two career goals for the past 7-8 years - 1) to be the best interventionist possible, and 2) to create a treatment program that really and truly effectively helps legal professionals address their addictions and find recovery.

This year I took Absolute Adventure Addiction Interventions full-time and have started a lawyer treatment program. But it is all difficult. Very difficult. But what truly remarkable challenges are not difficult.

I know we grow when we are outside our comfort zone, but when we fly without a net...it's scary.

One of the reasons that intervention is so important and necessary is that our addictions are the most cunning predators, as a woman I heard today stated, "addiction is the perfect predator because it finds it's place in our brain that will allow it to take another chance at our soul."

The good news about recovery was found in the resiliency - not of the mind, nor of the body - but of the soul. The soul seems to be always under attack and is never destroyed. Thus, the entry point for recovery is not necessarily the mind or the body but through the spirit...through the soul.

Sober Saturday Nights

 

 

Running season is beginning again.  This is the time that I remember most what I am doing with my own recovery and the miracle of my sobriety.  Tonight I am spending time with my parents.  They were there for me when I was at my worst.  Tomorrow I will get up at 5 am and run the length of New Smyrna Beach from Flagler Ave to the jetties and back - about 5 miles.  Then go surfing if there are waves or Stand Up Paddleboarding if there are not.  I am 51 years old and I will do these things as if I am 21 years old.  When I was 41 years old, I was drunk at this time on a Saturday night.  Not this Saturday night or any other for many years.  Sunday mornings feel really good.

 

I am so grateful to take part in this miracle - to be a miracle or a tragedy.  Miracle today, baby!!!

 

Krokodil - Scarier that anything yet!!!

 

There are so many drugs that keep coming up, that continue to develop.  For several years now, "Molly", a form of MDMA or Ecstacy, has been causing havoc among young people experimenting.  Now, Krokodil, a rough form of desomorphine, is potentially making its way into the United States.  I have no doubt it will come; it is only a matter of time.

 

As appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, By Matt Hamilton

11:00 a.m. EDT, September 28, 2013

 

A highly addictive drug whose name derives from the green, scaly sores that develop on users’ rotting flesh was reported to have found a toehold in the United States this week.  In Phoenix, physicians told toxicologists at the Banner Good Samaritan Poison Control Center that they spotted symptoms consistent with krokodil, an intravenous drug that is prevalent in Russia and Eastern European countries, according to a statement released to the Los Angeles Times.  Although toxicology reports have yet to confirm the presence of krokodil, reports in the media sounded the alarm, prompting fascination and speculation.

 

"The Most Horrifying Drug in the World Comes to the US," said Time magazine. Mother Jones minced no words: "Zombie Apocalypse Drug Reaches US: This Is Not a Joke."  The appeal of news about krokodil (pronounced "crocodile") stems partly from its dramatic consequences on the human body: The drug ravages the flesh, exposing the bones, destroying internal organs and leaving users vulnerable to infection. Users quickly develop abscesses and gangrene, and often amputation is the only way to protect a patient’s life.

 

Curiosity also stems partly from the do-it-yourself nature of the drug’s preparation.  According to New York’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, it can be made with ordinary ingredients, including paint thinner, codeine, iodine, hydrochloric acid, red phosphorus, gasoline and lighter fluid.   Krokodil is essentially a back-alley version of desomorphine, which was introduced in 1932 as a less addictive version of morphine.

 

But according to a study in the Journal of Addictive Diseases, desomorphine turned out more addictive and up to 10 times stronger than the drug it was meant to replace, so it was mostly discontinued. Switzerland produced the drug until the 1950s, and today, desomorphine is banned in Austria and Germany.  The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been tracking use of krokodil abroad for at least two years, where the drug has surged in popularity, especially in Russia. Up to 1 million people in Russia are estimated to use krokodil, according to New York's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

 

But has it reached the United States?

 

Absent any definitive proof that krokodil abuse has occurred, the DEA has -- so far -- labeled the Arizona cases anecdotal. Other reports of krokodil in the last two years in Alabama and Arkansas were never confirmed, agency spokesman Rusty Payne said.  “When I hear about about these things like krokodil, I’m skeptical,” Payne said. “I’m not believing it until I get a lab report.”  There’s still no evidence that it has entered the illicit drug market in the U.S., Payne said.  But toxicologists at the Arizona poison control center said they remain worried about krokodil usage, explaining that emerging drug habits are typically first seen by area physicians.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/la-na-nn-krokodil-heroin-arizona-20130927,0,4080579.story