Hey folks, here is a video that TSR made, which features several amazing recovery stories and promotes the importance of addiction recovery! Enjoy (both parts)!
Follow the break for videos. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Every now and then I get to see a surly adolescent, the type with Pink’s so what attitude, the one who asks, in answer to almost any question, How should I know?

And these are kids, and you know they’re responding to the incredibly bad feelings that they’re feeling, trying to master life, push away people who care about them because basically, parents can be so invasive.

Not all of them, but surely some.

Did you ever hear that enmeshment is a set-up for drug addiction and alcoholism? When someone’s trying to invade your space, the best defense, really, is to be stoned,…

We know that “We are everywhere.” New technology from Ann-e helps addicts utilize, support and connect with the recovery network.

From About.com:

You are in recovery, but you have a sudden urge to pick up. You are away from your home base and your 12-step contacts, but you need to talk to someone, anyone who understands. You feel isolated and you need to connect with someone else in recovery.

Now, there’s a app for that.

Annie’s idea for a peer-to-peer phone application was inspired from a shopping encounter where she recognized an addict’s need for help and the loneliness many addicts feel when…

let me drown in rivers red

let me fall in the ravine

do not try to reach for me

do not spoil the view pristine

the attraction of the fall

offered those who dare to drop

over edges into nothing

knowing there’s no way to stop

‘til with time awareness comes

with a dull and painful throb

and your memories return

of the fall you wouldn’t stop

you cry out with tears of rage

you cry out from heartfelt dread

save me from those deep ravines

save me from these rivers red

picture:  http://obscene-emo-queen.deviantart.com/art/And-The-Rivers-Run-Red-54625023

…

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a stay sober trick. Don’t get too tired or too hungry. I think I have it right, correct me if I’m wrong.

It doesn’t take much to trigger an episode, to slip into substance abuse, not if that’s how a person copes with life. Being hungry and/or tired will do it every time.

Let’s take them separately.

Hungry

On an empty stomach, alcohol is absorbed right away. Solid food isn’t there to absorb the liquid. The toxins go right into the blood stream from the stomach. You get drunk pretty quick. Alcoholics know this, so if they…

Definition of Salon:

1. A large room, such as a drawing room, used for receiving and entertaining guests.
2. A periodic gathering of people of social or intellectual distinction.

On Sundays, we gather at 8pm EST, for our Sober Salon Chats. Each week brings a new host, topic and lively discussion.  Our host this week is Tom, aka RUKiddingme? has 16 years of sobriety. He has been blogging here for a couple of months; always packaging insightful posts with humor.

Check out his archives, here!

You will need to create a TSR account to log in to the chat room–but what are you waiting on?!! Go,…

Wikipedia defines duct tape as a strong,  multi-purpose pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. In America, we define duct tape as the multi-purpose, quick fix-it for all circumstances that need an immediate, temporary fix. This can range from taping the spine of a book together or holding a headlight in place until a repair can be done. Duct tape is the all-American fixer-upper.

My father used duct tape in an attempt to fix me. When I used to drink and black out—which was more often than I care to recall—I wasn’t always the best driver. I drank, and I drove, and I bounced off things…

I have been struggling for a while in my personal relationship. This appears to be an area in my life and my recovery where I still have such challenges. I guess we can’t all be good at everything, right? I’m good at work, I am a trusted friend, good at recovery, I am a loving and caring daughter—but I somehow still make a lousy partner. Or is it more that I am still choosing the wrong partner?  Not that I am some innocent angel in relationships, but I have done my share of therapy and work in this area. My…

tears and sadness have been replaced

by hurt and anger i was embraced

sweet talk and promises filled the air

deeds just continued to rip and tear

through my sanity, my resistance

broke and pulled me into the distance

that what brought us together’s no more

now a reminder of pain and uproar

although i’m no longer a victim today

my heart is heavy and filled with dismay

i am not strong enough for your demons

they will drag me back into the dungeons

of a hell i have deigned to escape

and with resolve i have started to shape

my life to one that is worthwhile living

you were there in the war i…

Sorry I have been gone from the blog scene for a while.  I am deep in the process of getting my second memoir, Leave the Light on: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery ready.  It will be released by Central Recovery Press in April.  Check out CRP, they are an amazing new publishing company out of Las Vegas, they also happen to have several great rehabilitation facilities in the country.  www.centralrecovery.com  I tend to get exhausted in the writing process and when I go to blog it’s like the pen’s run dry.  But I think my pen is now running over…

I got clean and sober at Penn State.  I went to college there in early recovery and stayed clean and sober for my entire four year stay there. Sure there were times when it was hard, but my recovery was what enabled me to go there in the first place and become the first person in my family ever to graduate from college.

 I didn’t have a boring experience, in fact, I had a blast at Penn State and I never picked up a drink or drug.

 It is possible to attend a university with a party reputation and stay clean and…

We don’t like to be embarrassed, is the truth, and our friends are a reflection of who we are, so they can embarrass us by association.

So imagine how bad it can be if we take an addicted one of these on a camping trip with people we want to impress, or worse, with family.

We unconsciously try to keep family with family, friends with friends. (Most people don’t know this). They can be a dangerous mix, family with friends, and all kinds of jealousies and rivalries and judgments and blame can spoil a perfectly wonderful time in the blender. Hey, jealousy…

The Sunday Sober Chat series continues with an open, friendly chat tonight.  Join your recovery community from 8-9pm, EST. The first person in the room can pick our topic, and we’ll go from there!

Save the Date.
NEXT Sunday, July 26, 2009, author Joshua Lyons will join us! TSR is extremely excited to welcome Joshua to our chatroom series. We want to make sure he receives honorable mention for his incredible memoir, Pill Head, which just released this month.

We hope you will show your support for Joshua, as he is helping spread awareness about addiction and the pill epidemic. Jousha a journalist who…

I know I wrote about it before, but there’s so much to say on this one. There’s nothing like the alcoholic family that happens to be fun. How often do you hear about that?

The Set Up

It’s not uncommon for a therapist to find couples marrying people from families very different from their own. I tend to like treating these couples, especially when one of the partners is an alcoholic who has married a sober person precisely because he or she knows that sober is better, that this sober person is “good” for him.

(We’ll use “he” – could just…

a sigh of relief as you manage to find

the magic potion for you to unwind

to revel in freedom of words and deeds

that shuts out the fears that on you feeds

that lets you be free in body and mind

that colours your world in magic moonshine

it touches you places before unimpressed

a shady character now a houseguest

that found it’s way into your bloodstream

is all as it’s played out on that moonbeam?

or are there cracks in demeanour there

that promises more than it cares to share?

does previous freedom means hidden deceit

do footsteps sound hollow and quite deplete?

ask a question, wait for a lie

i was ready…

(c) 2009 Allen Berger, Ph.D.

In the two past decade I have studied male initiation rites. In fact I attended a remarkable male initiation performed by Father Richard Rohr in Julian, California. It was a very moving and powerful experience and resulted in the following insight about recovery as a rite of passage, as an initiation rite.

An initiation rite is an experiential event that helps one move through a rite of passage. The process facilitates the transition from one stage of life to another. It creates a personal transformation, a momentous metamorphosis - an experience after which one is never the…

TSR wants to make sure Joshua Lyon receives honorable mention for his incredible memoir, Pill Head. We hope you will show your support for Joshua, he is helping spread awareness about addiction and the pill epidemic. The book hit shelves on your local bookstore today and the full review is here. It is part drug addled memoir and part thoughtful, investigative journalism; it is the story of a pill addict told with unflinching honesty, from first pill to detox. The book weaves together the stories of addicts, doctors, and governmental agents–effectively demonstrating how the lives and decisions of each are intertwined in America’s…

Joshua Lyon, author of Pill Head, has penned a book that could not be more timely. Pill Head, which hits the stores on 7/7, is part drug addled memoir and part thoughtful, investigative journalism; it is the story of a pill addict told with unflinching honesty, from first pill to detox. The book weaves together the stories of addicts, doctors, and governmental agents–effectively demonstrating how the lives and decisions of each are intertwined in America’s new drug epidemic–prescription pills.

Lyon admits that prior to his Vicodin use, he had sampled plenty of goodies from the recreational drug grab bag; ecstasy, coke, mushrooms,…

Maybe I’ll be stating the obvious, but those of us in the mental health biz talk a lot about enabling, and the rule, of course is, DON’T.

Don’t make it easy for someone to stay addicted. Don’t bring him a beer, even if he’s your father and that’s what you’ve always done. If your mother’s half in the bag at your graduation, get really mad at her. Create such a fuss that she thinks, Good golly. I have a problem. I messed up. I better change.

If (s)he is your partner, you don’t go with him to the bar. And if (s)he comes…

i watch the dawn

spreading a hint

of light over far eastern skies

melting away

deep shadows dark

drying up tears in my eyes

light that shrinks shadows

changing the forms

that haunt into those of ease

displacing the dark

with rays of hope

i gratefully soak in some peace

another day

is granted to me

to live a life worth living

to do what’s right

to make amends

give back what to me’s been given

picture: http://onixa.deviantart.com/art/Let-it-fly-127498417

read more

the touch of a father spreads further than

the moments you spend in time

the touch of a father forms your vision

of how through life to climb

my father, the one, with a laugh and a smile

from times i don’t recall

a man that valued the playfulness

who loved my artless scrawl

a dreamer with many a story to tell

who taught me that make-believe

is real if you want it badly enough

and allowed it through you to weave

yet over time his smile become scarce

the jokes and the stories turned dark

i felt a burden on his shoulder

it left on us a mark

his heart become haunted, it touched all of…

You know I work with a lot of program people, meaning I hear many stories from people who are working 12-Step programs. And sometimes themes emerge.

Being a therapist with a research background, you look at things differently. You see your work as a series of qualitative interviews and you look for themes that cross lines.

Here’s one I find interesting. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. It’s about the idea that a person in recovery from an addiction is beginning life where life sober left off.

I find this a very sad and difficult concept to have to lay on people,…

This Sunday Dr. Michael Stein, author of The Addict, will host a one hour chat. The Addict chronicles both the physical and psychological pain of Stein’s patient, Lucy, a 29 year old Vicodin addict, as she seeks to overcome her addiction. Dr. Stein will be blogging at TSR on occasion; his introductory post is here; feel free to leave your questions for the Doctor. His book has been reviewed by Ginger and can be found here.

The Sunday chats have been hosted by a number of bloggers, authors, and recovering addicts. Our conversations are always interesting and the hour is always up…

on this day you’ll see me walk

through each minute of o’clock

there is birdsong in my ears

i see visions that bring cheers

and the world is full of smiles

even through some dreary isles

and each steps a happy whirl

‘cause for sure i own the world

days like these bring me great patience

i can feel a higher presence

i will bring a smile to you

and to you, and you, and you

i can tolerate indifference

i find balance in the silence

and temptation doesn’t trouble

feel quite able in a muddle

and the past is but a tool

as i page through ancient spool

and one day i’ll wake to sunshine

that brings chills…

Cat writes about recovery and changing sponsors, and it brought up all the issues I have, mainly my own insecurities about telling someone to get another therapist, get another opinion. I’m not the only doc in the sea, and am not for everyone.

It’s so ironic, you know, because the patient (or in AA parl, the sponsee) is afraid of hurting the therapist’s feelings (sometimes), and yet the therapist doesn’t want to add to the patient’s abandonment anxiety, ever.

We don’t want to add to the issue when the issue isn’t resolved.

So for me, it’s all about trying to resolve…

I’m in the car with FD. He’s driving south on 1, we’re heading for the tide pools, and two of our grandsons are kicking at the front seat.

I get a call from one of my sons, a married son with children who lives on the opposite coast. Basically, if I want to see my grandchildren, I get to get on an airplane and fly an hour or four. I’m still working it out three days later. My back is, that is.

Oh, let’s segue. I’m not complaining, although I do look silly in the galley on the plane, doing the physical…

The Second Road is happy to introduce Richard Hartnett, the newest member to our blogging team.  We are excited to have Mr. Hartnett’s unique spiritual insight into recovery.  I am currently reading his newest book, “Sobriety and Inspiration” and will be reviewing it soon.

Welcome, Richard!!!!

Richard G. Hartnett, MA, MS, LCADC, the author of Sobriety and Inspiration: Entrusting Ourselves to the Source of Our Healing and Creativity, is a former Jesuit priest who now lives with his wife, Kathy, by a lake in northwestern New Jersey. He has served as the chaplain at Hazelden New York, pastoral counselor at the Chemical Dependency Department…

This article by Dr. Brigitte Lank is a bit long for a blog, but it gives a great amount of direct, usable information.

Your coworker reveals to you that he likes to hire call girls while at a Vegas trade show even though he’s been happily married for 30 years (remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas). Your wife’s brother is fired from his job for violating his company’s electronic usage policy by downloading porn on his office computer. Your email junk box is filled with solicitations and promises for everything from drugs that will guarantee genital enhancement to…

Hi all,

Thanks for having me on the site. I’m just back from the American Society of Addiction Medicine annual meeting where I attended some scientific sessions and was asked to give a reading from my new book THE ADDICT: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year, to a large group of addiction and pain specialists, as well as psychiatrists, nurses, and counselors. Of great interest to me was the growing number of reports I heard of doctors, or doctor groups, refusing to write prescriptions for narcotics to anyone in their practices. Simply declaring this as a policy. It seems that many…