Sparrow, Author at Recovery Is Sexy.com

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Posted on May 21, 2013 at 7:29 am by Sparrow

Poor Emotional Recognition by Addicts, Alcoholics

Drug-abusers Have Difficulty in Recognizing Negative Emotions such as Wrath, Fear and Sadness

University of Granada scientists have been the first to analyze the relation between drug abuse and recognition of basic emotions (happiness, surprise, wrath, fear, sadness and disgust) by drug-abusers. Thus, the study revealed that drug-abusers have difficulty to identify negative emotions by their facial expression: wrath, disgust, fear and sadness.

Further, regular abuse of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine usually affects abusers’ fluency and decision-making. Consuming cannabis and cocaine negatively affects working memory and reasoning. Similarly, cocaine abuse is associated to alterations in inhibition.

For the purpose of this study, researchers carried out a psychological evaluation (with thinking evaluation and emotional processing tests) out of a total of 123 multiple-substance abusers and 67 no-drug users with similar social and demographical variables (age and schooling).

A Sample Including multiple-substance Abusers

The target population were individuals who consumed drugs as cocaine, cannabis, heroin, alcohol, MDMA and methamphetamine, and who were enrolled in two rehabilitation projects Proyecto Hombre and Cortijo Buenos Aires in the province of Granada.

The study revealed that 70% of drug abusers presented some type of brain deterioration, regardless the type of substance consumed. Deterioration was registered in major degree in the working memory, and in fluency, flexibility, planning, multitask ability and interference.

Fernández Serrano thinks that the results obtained “should be employed to develop political and social policies aimed at promoting adequate rehab programs adapted to the psychological profile of drug-abusers”.

Bloggers comment; Many people in recovery from addiction and alcoholism know this syndrome well.

That 1st Drink

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Expressions commonly heard in A.A. are “If you don’t take that first drink, you can’t get drunk” and “One drink is too many, but twenty are not enough.”

Many of us, when we first began to drink, never wanted or took more than one or two drinks. But as time went on, we increased the number. Then, in later years, we found ourselves drinking more and more, some of us getting and staying very drunk. Maybe our condition didn’t always show in our speech or our gait, but by this time we were never actually sober.

If that bothered us too much, we would cut down, or try to limit ourselves to just one or two, or switch from hard liquor to beer or wine. At least, we tried to limit the amount, so we would not get too disastrously tight. Or we tried to hide how much we drank.

But all these measures got more and more difficult. Occasionally, we even went on the wagon, and did not drink at all for a while.

Eventually, we would go back to drinking-just one drink. And since that apparently did no serious damage, we felt it was safe to have another. Maybe that was all we took on that occasion, and it was a great relief to find we could take just one or two, then stop. Some of us did that many times.

But the experience proved to be a snare. It persuaded us that we could drink safely. And then there would come the occasion (some special celebration, a personal loss, or no particular event at all) when two or three made us feel fine, so we thought one or two more could not hurt. And with absolutely no intention of doing so, we found ourselves again drinking too much. We were right back where we had been-over drinking without really wanting to.

Such repeated experiences have forced us to this logically inescapable conclusion: If we do not take the first drink, we never get drunk. Therefore, instead of planning never to get drunk, or trying to limit the number of drinks or the amount of alcohol, we have learned to concentrate on avoiding only one drink: the first one.

In effect, instead of worrying about limiting the number of drinks at the end of a drinking episode, we avoid the one drink that starts it.

Sounds almost foolishly simplistic, doesn’t it? It’s hard for many of us now to believe that we never really figured this out for ourselves be-fore we came to A.A. (Of course, to tell the truth, we never really wanted to give up drinking altogether, either, until we learned about alcoholism.) But the main point is: We know now that this is what works.

Instead of trying to figure out how many we could handle-four?-six?-a dozen?-we remember, “Just don’t pick up that first drink.” It is so much simpler. The habit of thinking this way has helped hundreds of thousands of us stay sober for years.

Doctors who are experts on alcoholism tell us that there is a sound medical foundation for avoiding the first drink. It is the first drink which triggers, immediately or some time later, the compulsion to drink more and more until we are in drinking trouble again. Many of us have come to believe that our alcoholism is an addiction to the drug alcohol; like addicts of any sort who want to maintain recovery, we have to keep away from the first dose of the drug we have become addicted to. Our experience seems to prove this, as you can read in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” and in our Grapevine magazine, and as you can hear wherever A.A. members get together and share their experiences.

Living Sober, 1975, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc

Are You A Compulsive Overeater?

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This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive overeater.

Many members of Overeaters Anonymous have found that they have answered yes to many of these questions.

Do you eat when you’re not hungry?
Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?
Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?
Do you give too much time and thought to food?
Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?
Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?
Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?
Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?
Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?
Do you resent others telling you to “use a little willpower” to stop overeating?
Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet “on your own” whenever you wish?
Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?
Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?
Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?
Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?

If you answered yes to some or all of these questions then there may be an eating problem.

See; Overeaters Anonymous

Jill C’s Recovery Story

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This is my Recovery Story, I Found My True Self

I grew up in a middle-class family in Australia. We had a three-story home with an indoor swimming pool and I had a pony. But home was not as it looked from the outside.

Not How It Looked

My family looked very successful, but my mother drank alcohol daily and my dad drank beer and got drunk.

Mum and Dad had weekly arguments.

My brother was a qualified Chemist at 21. He committed suicide one night— the disease of alcoholism got him.

It took me years to seek my own recovery after two marriage break-ups, loss of homes and a life of unmanageability that I did not recognize. My third husband, whom I love very much, is still out there drinking, although he has been in AA. I have been in Al-Anon (12 Step group for relatives and friends of alcoholics) for nine years.

Recognized My Behavior

Only after eight years in Al-Anon did I admit that I too am an alcoholic, even though I stopped drinking 13 years before, after a shock when I thought I had dropped my baby girl over the side of a fishing trawler during a blackout.

After much soul searching, I finally remembered I had left her at the babysitter’s the day before.

Even though I stopped drinking all that time ago, I listened to AA members speak on weekends and started to identify my previous behavior. I now admit, strange as it seems to me, I too am an alcoholic.

We Need Recovery Too

This disease is cunning, baffling, powerful and causes insanity and death if not treated. I got help in Al-Anon for living life. I get wisdom from AA and life is wonderful now.

Alcoholism affects the family members and we too suffer from the disease of living with an active alcoholic. We need to seek recovery as much as the alcoholic. A friend of mine did not seek recovery after her alcoholic left. Now she is in a mental hospital, not knowing her name and unable to speak. The anxiety and fear she lived with took over her life and she is very sick.

Found My True Self

My brother never made it to Al-Anon and he committed suicide. I have answers now and I have a life thanks to the wonderful friends in the fellowships. This disease seems to be at epidemic proportions throughout the world. Thank God AA and Al-Anon are there for my recovery.

My priority in my life is to be seated on a seat in at least two meetings a week. This is where I find answers and the priceless Gift of Serenity. I found my true self by working the principles in all my affairs.

This is my Recovery Story

Self-Will Run Riot

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Self-Will Run Riot:

This phrase comes from chapter 5 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous,

“Selfishness- self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles…. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!”

The only solution we know is to work the 12 Steps.

See also;
Twelve Steps to Insanity

Cooking up Recovery

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Liz Scott Recovery Cooking

In the Sober Kitchen by Liz Scott

So, what exactly do we mean by a “sober kitchen?” Although it means much more than merely removing alcohol containing ingredients from our cupboards and fridge, striving for an alcohol-free kitchen is definitely a good place to start.

Why is this important? Because contrary to the old wives’ tale, alcohol does not burn off in the cooking process.

In 1989 a USDA study proved that between 5% and 85% of the alcohol added to a dish is retained depending upon the cooking method, type of alcohol used, and the amount of time it is exposed to heat.

Indeed, the act of flambéing, or setting a pan alight, actually retains a whopping 75%! Surprised? I was too, but even more surprising was that addiction researchers discovered the mere smell or taste of alcohol could spark unwanted cravings in the addicted brain.

Consequently, although small amounts of alcohol would seem to be unimportant, our brain cells never forget and are particularly receptive in the early stages of recovery.

But isn’t there more to sober cooking than just preparing food without alcohol? Most certainly!

Just as there is more to recovery than mere abstinence, there are important ways in which what we choose to eat, how we prepare it, and how we relate to food and share it with others can impact our short and long term recovery goals. Maybe you are early to recovery and are just learning to make healthy eating a part of your new life. A neglected body is usually in need of nourishment which only good food can provide.

The idea for these books arose through my own battle with alcohol which forced me to take a long, hard look at my chosen career as a gourmet chef. Among other dangerous triggers I was exposed to in the culinary world, alcohol was a staple ingredient in the professional kitchen and always within arms reach. I knew the booze had to go!

Full story at Recovery Today

Stools and Bottles

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Stools and Bottles

Stools and Bottles: A Study of Character Defects – 31 Daily Meditations
Stools and Bottles uses the concept of a barstool (the seat and three legs) and eight bottles to represent the importance of the first four steps (of the Twelve Steps) of Alcoholics Anonymous. The author began using this concept in a prior book called The Little Red Book and it got so popular that the concept was expanded into its own book.

The Stool

The author begins the book by talking about the “seat” of the stool. The seat, by itself, is “as useless, incomplete, and undependable as the shaky alcoholic it upholds”. For the seat to function, it needs three legs to uphold it, just like the alcoholic needs the first three steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) for support. The author says that the three legs represent the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of recovery for the alcoholic.

The Bottles

Now the stool is complete as a support system to hold the alcoholic up, but the alcoholic must also take action for him- or herself. The author uses the visual aid of eight bottles to represent the Fourth Step of A.A., which is: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Highly recommended for people, the newcomer, in early stages of recovery because it explains the importance of working the Steps of the Twelve Step program.

Bloggers comment; Worked for me.

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@ Amazon books; Stools and Bottles: A Study of Character Defects – 31 Daily Meditations

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Posted on May 17, 2013 at 6:17 pm by Sparrow

Say No to Guilt

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Today I will say no without guilt.

Today I will say no whenever it is in my best interests to do so. Just as important, I will say no without feeling guilty or fearful.

My attempts to separate from my parents were met with threats of abandonment. As a result, I learned to avoid having my own opinion for fear of rejection.

Deep within me now, I feel a strong desire to become my own person, to stand free of all unhealthy attachments and discover who I am. When I disregard my limitations and permit others to violate my boundaries, I harm myself.

Today I will love myself enough to say no when I find it necessary. I will reassure the child within me that those who truly love me will not abandon me when I must tell them no. No matter what the response, today I will treat myself well by saying no without guilt and fear.

- From “Affirmations for the Inner Child” by Rokelle Lerner

Affirmations for the Inner Child – A Recovery Book

Women’s Painful Sexual Intercourse

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Women in recovery from codependency, alcoholism or addiction may have experienced or be experiencing painful sexual intercourse. This article may help identify the problem.

Sex is supposed to be enjoyable, but for countless women suffering from vulvodynia, that’s not the case.

Characterized by;

pain or discomfort with sexual intercourse,
rawness,
stinging,
itching and
burning in the vagina or vulva,
vulvodynia is a common condition, but it is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

“The symptoms of vulvodynia mimic those of other, common vulvovaginal infections,” explains Christin Veasley, associate executive director of the National Vulvodynia Association in Silver Spring, Md. “Women are routinely and incorrectly told that they have a yeast or bacterial infection over and over again.”

Vulvodynia is more prevalent than most health practitioners realize. Roughly 16% of women between the ages of 18-64 have experienced chronic vulvar pain for at least three months or more, according to a survey by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

The word “vulvodynia,” literally means “painful vulva,” which is the part of female genitalia that consists of the mons pubis (fatty tissue at the base of the abdomen), the labia (lips), the clitoris and the vaginal opening. Women who suffer from vulvodynia may experience intermittent or constant pain which can persist for months to years.

Making matters worse, vulvodynia is difficult to diagnose. A diagnosis often occurs only after other conditions are excluded. “Vulvodynia is diagnosed when other causes of vulvar pain, such as yeast or bacterial infections, or skin diseases, are ruled out,” Veasley said. The tissue of the vulva region may appear swollen or inflamed, but more often than not, it looks normal.

The cause of vulvodynia is unknown. This is partly because there has been a lack of research on the disorder in recent years. What is known is that vulvodynia is not caused by a sexually transmitted disease. According to the National Vulvodynia Association, potential causes include:

An injury to, or irritation of, the nerves that innervate the vulva.
An abnormal response of different cells in the vulva to environmental factors (such as infection or trauma).
Genetic factors associated with susceptibility to chronic vulvar vestibular inflammation.
A localized hypersensitivity to yeast.
Spasms of the muscles that support the pelvic organs.

Currently, there is no cure for vulvodynia, but it is important for women to seek medical attention because the pain can be managed and treated. “Treatment is directed at symptom relief and includes drug therapy to ‘block’ pain signals,” Veasley said. “In women who have associated pelvic floor muscle spasm or weakness, physical therapy, biofeedback and/or Botox injections may be incorporated into the treatment plan.” Because each case is different, treatment tends to be tailored based on individual needs and responses.

Some women find self-care measures to be helpful in alleviating the symptoms of vulvodynia. These include:

cold compresses,
anti-histamines,
the use of lubricants before sexual intercourse and
avoiding triggers like
- hot tubs,
- tight-fitting undergarments and
- irritating soaps and detergents.

It is highly recommended to work together with a health care provider who can help identify the approach that works best for each individual.

The National Women’s Health Resource Center also has a number of consumer-oriented materials on vulvodynia available online at Healthy Woman.

SOURCES; US., NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health. “NIH Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness of Vulvodynia, a Painful Disorder Affecting Many Women” .

The Psalm of the Addict

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The tools of the addict

King Heroin is my shepherd, I shall always want.

He maketh me to lie down in the gutters.

He leadeth me beside the troubled waters.

He destroyeth my soul.

He leadeth me in the paths of wickedness for the effort’s sake.

Yea, I shall walk through the valley of poverty and will fear all evil for thou,

Heroin, art with me.

Thy Needle and capsule try to comfort me.

Thou strippest the table of groceries in the presence of my family.

Thou robbest my head of reason.

My cup of sorrow runneth over.

Surely heroin addiction shall stalk me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the Damned forever.

Poor Emotional Recognition by Addicts, Alcoholics

Drug-abusers Have Difficulty in Recognizing Negative Emotions such as Wrath, Fear and Sadness

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That 1st Drink

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Are You A Compulsive Overeater?

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Jill C’s Recovery Story

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Self-Will Run Riot

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Cooking up Recovery

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Stools and Bottles

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Say No to Guilt

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Women’s Painful Sexual Intercourse

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The Psalm of the Addict

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Twelve Step Facilitation

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