Drug Rehab Comparison

One of my friends shared this on Facebook.   Regaining spiritual health through the 12 steps is one of the most wonderful and joyful aspects of our program it is the program.  Without it we do not stay sober. Enjoy!
Thank you to http://recoverytradepublications.com/blog.html?entry=12-symptoms-of-a-spiritual for the original publication.

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Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy delivered the graduation speech at the sixth Middlesex County Courthouse Drug Rehab program in New Brunswick on Friday May the 4^th.  The ceremony marked the graduation of 23 individuals who had regained their lives through the program.   According to an article in my central new jersey .com these New Jersey Drug courts serve over 4,300 people statewide. Currently there are 316 Middlesex County Drug Court participants.

I have no doubt that rehabilitation works better than incarceration, rebuilds lives, keeps families together and helps people get back into society and lead happy and joyful lives.  What stood out to me was the quote that 62 people had graduated from the program since 2004 that is 8 years.  It stood out because that is a staggeringly low number, don’t get me wrong 62 people saved from jail or death is a win for the program and the individuals involved.  The same result is available to anybody who needs it through becoming an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I see it every day, the exact same result people coming back from the jaws of death, lives repaired, families united and gaining productive useful employment.  All it takes is a desire to stop drinking, a desire to change your life and a willingness to do the work.  I would say in that same 8 years that AA has helped thousands and thousands of people to do the same thing, get and stay sober and rebuild their lives.  There is no pomp and ceremony no graduation ceremony just alcoholics helping other alcoholics to share and work the 12 step programs that saved their own lives.  I congratulate those 62 but my guess is that the prospect of prison made them more motivated than they might have been about their recovery.  I challenge the fact that you need an expensive program that costs the citizens of New Jersey probably a substantial amount of money (but I do not know that).  AA is an anonymous program that is part of its attraction, the fellowship, the support and the love in the program has helped millions of people achieve what this program has done for these people at little or no cost.

The former governor seems to be passionate about helping people but why do we need a niche program to do what is being done quietly and without ceremony around the world every hour every day.  And let’s not forget those who really gave us a recovery program that really works the founders and visionaries of AA.

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For many people new to recovery they hear the term Happy, Joyous and Free used by many people with time in recovery which you can also find in the blue book.  To the newcomer this sounds like babble, they are terrified and very uncertain.  But what most newcomers find when they walk through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous are a lot of people talking about hope and for some that is all that they have.  Hope is a belief that things can get better, that things can change. When I was first new and I heard members who had a lot of time tell their story I would think “My goodness they were in a worse situation than me, and look them now” that is when you first feel hope.  Hope that maybe there is something better than this life of addiction.  The connectedness of AA sharing is priceless in helping newcomers hear the stories of people who were just like them and are now in a very different place.

Many newcomers are afraid of what will happen when they don’t use what will they have to numb the pain, the feelings how will they cope?.  What we do not realize is that the numbing of the pain and and feelings did not just numb the bad it also numbed the good.  We are unable to feel joy all feelings are numbed out good and bad just like antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria.  Joy, is different to happiness, joy is being at one with the universe being just fine and comfortable right here right now.  We can only experience joy when we let go of our obsession with self and connect with the universe around us.  We can all feel happiness, when good things happen, exciting things, new job, great food, but joy puts in a whole other place.  Joy is not about events in our lives but a peace with the spirit of the universe.  It takes much work and thorough working of the 12 steps to get there but when you do its very sweet and for most of us who suffer from addiction its a feeling we have never felt before.  There was too much blocking it, shame, guilt, pain, anger, resentment and fear.  When we work through those issues and connect with a power greater than ourselves true joy can be felt.  You simply (and I saay simply because it is simple ) have to do the work of the magical 12 steps contained in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

You too can feel joy and peace…just work it.  Find a sponsor as a guide you you will be amazed.  I am amazed every day rather than frightened and confused which is what I used to be.

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A 16 year old moscow boy was sent to Rehab by his father after annoucing he was gay.  Its really sad that today being gay is stil lconsdered to be a choice or in this case an addiction.  Perhaps his father was simply acting out of ignorance.  The good news is the boy has been released into the care of his mother.  This poor kid has just been given a huge dose of shame under the glare of the media I wish him well.

You can read the full report on the moscow times http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/gay-teen-forcibly-taken-to-drug-rehab-clinic-released/457529.html

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I was raised by an alcoholic father and I had no idea how this had impacted me and the decisions I went on to make in later life until I entered therapy at age 30.   My father was a brutal, controlling and abusive man and I could not wait to leave my home and get away.  My mother who suffered extreme violence at his hands rarely if ever stood up for us and for many years I blamed her for the violence against us.  I could never understand how she would deliberately tell him our indiscretions for the day when he came home from the bar drunk knowing we would get beaten.  Today I realize she was doing the best she could it was expected of her and tired of her own beatings was at times deflecting to make herself look like the good guy and avoid another beating.

I can remember wanting my father’s approval from a very early age it never came.  I would listen outside the door when I told him about grades to see if he would praise me when I was not around.  I was always disappointed.  That yearning for my father’s love and approval set off a very destructive pattern in my life where I set about finding a man like my father whom I could change since I had no luck with my father’s approval.  I went from one abusive man to the next and typically they were all emotionally unavailable and controlling.  I did not know then that my father had set off a deep false belief that was all that I deserved.  I was very codependent and an alcoholic myself.   As I slipped into alcoholism the trail of destruction got worse I almost married one of these abusive men but thankfully it fell through and I just moved on to the next project.  Daughters of Alcoholic fathers are very high risk for chronic codependency.  I t was only later in my own recovery after thoroughly working the 12 steps that I could trace my patterns back through my life and see where the destructive behavior started.  The desire for my father’s approval made me a perfectionist I set standards on myself and everyone around which were impossible to achieve.  I wanted a perfect relationship where I would have a man to love me like my father never had.   Today I realize my father did love me he was simply too sick to show it.

As part of my recovery I read a wonderful book called “Perfect Daughters” by Robert J. Ackerman which broke down the complex mind and behaviors of the adult daughter of an alcoholic.  This helped me see the patterns of my life even more clearly and I was able to accept at first with deep sadness that I had been severely damaged, that my expectations were a road to nowhere and I needed to start again.  I am glad to say that today many years later I live a happy fulfilled life.  I am no longer codependent or a perfectionist and what a relief that is. Somebody else can save the world I am done.   I have a happy loving relationship with a wonderful man.  If you are the daughter of an alcoholic and many of us are since this is a family disease seek help. If you are not an alcoholic or addict yourself there are 12 step programs to help you like Al-Anon (for alcoholic families) or CODA. Codependents Anonymous

If you think you may be codependent take this simple codependancy quiz.

God Bless

Amy

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