Author Archives: Bill

About Bill

Birder, cat-lover, pilot, poet. Former lounge lizard, pauper, pagan, lifeguard, chauffeur,cop and martial artist, turned pacifist addiction writer. Tries to be a good husband, father and brother, and makes a decent friend. Likes to take pictures. Stumbling down the Middle Path, one day at a time.

Will it be harder to recover if you don’t believe in God?

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If we believe in a loving god who cares what happens to us, looks after us, and answers prayers, the peace that our belief brings will unquestionably be a great support in recovery.  On the other hand, if we believe that a god will take care of us simply because we ask, without our putting any effort into our recovery process, then it is quite possible that believing could hinder our recovery.  Likewise, if we were raised to believe in a harsh, punishing god who will make us pay for our transgressions, we may find that we are emotionally unable to deal with the implications and may so totally reject the “God Thing” (as many of us call it) that we end up throwing our recovery out with our religious beliefs.
Read more…

In Search of the Real Bill W.

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Bill Wilson, ca. 1939 - The Fix

Bill Wilson was no saint. He smoked like a chimney and acted like a pig—cheating on his loyal wife and demanding a glass of whisky on his deathbed. Working with him was sometimes so difficult that decades after his death, many colleagues were still angry at his behavior. The January 1971 nurse’s logs for his last days at Stepping Stones, the house in Bedford Hills he shared with his wife, Lois, show an unhappy man struggling for breath—he was dying of emphysema—who repeatedly asked for a drink and was irritated when he didn’t get one.

And yet. If there is a special place in heaven reserved for those who permanently change the world for the better, Bill W. is certainly there.

Read more: http://www.thefix.com/content/in-search-of-the-real-bill-w8998

When AA Alone Isn’t Working — The Fix

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Some addicts believe that the 12 steps can solve all their problems. But they’re designed to treat addiction—not depression, anxiety, and the like. So how do you know when you need a therapist, and what kind do you need?

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Why Do Addicts Keep Using Despite The Consequences? — Part 2

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Previously we mentioned that the pleasure center is a portion of the brain over which we have no conscious control, and that it can be stimulated by a variety of chemicals — some of them produced inside our bodies and some that we introduce from outside.  We said that the pleasure center rewards us for activities that it interprets as contributing in some way to our survival, whether they be social interactions, exercising, or more prosaic things such as eating.  We also stated that these pleasurable feelings, when pursued too far or for too long can create problems.  Now we need to examine how that happens….

http://sunrisedetox.com/blog/2011/08/24/addiction-alcoholism-compulsion-2/

Quote:

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The difference between an active addict and a recovering addict is that the former keeps it secret, while the latter won’t shut up about it.

2010 in review

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The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 3 fully loaded ships.

 

In 2010, there were 68 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 431 posts. There were 10 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 692kb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was January 7th with 139 views. The most popular post that day was Why We Don’t Get Better Immediately: Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS).

 

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were digital-dharma.net, gettingpastyourpast.wordpress.com, guineveregetssober.com, sunrisedetox.com, and deanesmay.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for post acute withdrawal syndrome, committing an alcoholic, post acute withdrawal symptoms, post acute withdrawal, and can you commit an alcoholic.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Why We Don’t Get Better Immediately: Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) May 2008
6 comments

2

Q&A December 2008

3

Can you commit an alcoholic or other drug addict? July 2009

4

Articles May 2008
1 comment

5

If you get drunk once a week, are you an alcoholic? August 2009
1 comment

Why I Haven’t Been Posting Much Lately

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Both of my faithful readers will by now have noticed that I’m not posting very regularly on this site. It’s not though lack of interest, and I didn’t relapse (in fact, I just celebrated my 21st sober anniversary on 9/14/10).

Thing is, I’ve taken a part-time job writing for a recovery site, and I don’t have time to maintain both blogs. Since the other (paid) job covers the same territory, and since I have the potential to reach more people, it was a no-brainer. I’ll continue to post here from time to time, but it will be irregular at best.

I invite you all to subscribe to my posts at the Sunrise Detox Blog.   (Click the thingy at the bottom left of the page.) Thanks for visiting WhatMeSober.Com, and thanks for your interest.

Keep on keepin’ on,

Bill

Is Marijuana Addictive?

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I received this letter as a comment on another site. It is reproduced with the permission of the writer. Edited for clarity in one place (brackets).

I’ve been smoking pot for about 3 years now, and was smart enough never to get into anything hard because that would equal death.

Around 16 yrs. of age I was put in a juvinile program “rehab” due to all my marijuana tickets. Things were alright for the first couple weeks without out my bud, but as they days went on things became very dysfunctional. I always felt stoned without out the euphoria. My reflexes were slow, I was socially impaired, i couldn’t concentrate, and had mad swings of emotions. I’ve never cryed as much as I did that year. I felt suicidal and very depressed.

I’ve been going on what I call smoking binges for awhile now. I smoke literally all day. I couldn’t work or go to school, because by the time i smoked a few bowls i would be completely sober in a half hour. I had to be high. My tolerance became to high and the bud was not enough, no matter how much i smoked i couldn’t get high because i always felt fried, wihtout the euphoria.

I was wondering if PAWS could [result from] HEAVY MARIJUANA USE? I’ve been having these symptoms for over 3 years now, because everytime i sober up i make usually to 4 months and every thing is so dysfunctional and scary i relapse into another binge. THank you SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT.

The First Step Is No Theory — Part 1

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All 12-step programs use some variation of the following as their first step: “We admitted we were powerless over (insert addiction here)–that our lives had become unmanageable.”  Many of us had trouble admitting to ourselves that we were powerless, and in some cases were unable to come to terms with the idea that our lives were unmanageable.  So here’s as simple an explanation as I can come up with.

http://sunrisedetox.com/blog/2010/08/27/the-first-step-is-no-theory-part-1/

Stress: How to Cope Better With Life’s Challenges

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Stress: How to Cope Better With Life’s Challenges

Feelings of stress are caused by the body’s instinct to defend itself. This instinct is good in emergencies, such as getting out of the way of a speeding car. But stress can cause unhealthy physical symptoms if it goes on for too long, such as in response to life’s daily challenges and changes….

Want to know why we say “No relationships for a year?”

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Want to know why relationships are the number one cause of relapse?

Of course you don’t.  But here’s the reason, anyway:

…love is comparable to a drug  addiction: It activates the parts of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings, according to new research from Stony Brook University.

Researchers were able to show a connection between romantic rejection and a cocaine craving via brain images….

So…we fall in lust, our addiction center is stimulated again, something goes a little bit wrong — or we feel the need to celebrate — and boom, there’s Mrs. Jones.

More Here.  Read it and weep.

Counseling Resources in the UK

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I have been asked to post this notice from counselling-directory.org.uk in the UK.  Please note that this refers to the UK only, and that it is not an endorsement of services.  The proprietor has no connection with the organization.

All addicts, from any walk of life, in any situation, face one universal problem to take the first step on the road to recovery – accepting they are suffering from an addiction.

There is no doubt that this is the hardest part of the recovery process. However, there are still many questions that needs to be asked and answered in order to start healing. Counselling offers a non-judgemental, safe and relaxing environment to discuss problems and feelings out loud, with the help of a trained professional. Underlying issues can be exposed and dealt with, and grief and all its associated feelings can be released.

The counsellor works with what their client tells them, dealing with the issues central to their addiction, and offering practical solutions to working through the most difficult days and coming out the other side. They can also help the person adjust to their life without the source of their addiction.

Dealing with addiction is one of the hardest experiences a person will have to go through. But there are people on hand to help, and though many people have reservations, counselling can be a hugely helping healing and cathartic process.

Counselling Directory (www.counselling-directory.org.uk) provides an easy, worry-free way of connecting those that need help with those that provide it. Simply type in a location and a list of counsellors in the area are displayed, showing the distance from the original location. Each counsellor has their own profile, detailing at bit about themselves, their qualifications, and what areas they deal with. Many counsellors also list their fees. There is then the option to contact the counsellor directly.

To find a counsellor in your area, (UK) as well as information about grief and other types of distress, go to www.counselling-directory.org.uk

Relationship Withdrawal

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Why Breaking Up Hurts: Similar to Addiction, Says Study – TIME

Say you’re a college student who was recently dumped by the person you thought was the One. You’re moping around campus in your I’ve-given-up sweatpants and eating crappy comfort food when you come across a flyer seeking people who are still pining for their exes. You think, at last, someone to talk to!

Well, not exactly. When about 15 sad sacks responded to the flyers, which had been distributed around the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Rutgers University, they discovered they were actually being invited to take part in a psychological study: researchers wanted to gauge the kind of pain felt by people on the business end of a breakup.

The corollary to these findings, that the early lust of a new relationship has qualities almost identical to addiction, is old news to addiction specialists.  It also helps to explain why relationships are the number-one cause of relapse.  They render us  incapable of thinking about other, more realistic issues.