December 16 v 9 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

STEP 3 :  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as revealed in the Bible.

Before the twelve steps and my faith in God my heart was full of brokenness and pain..No matter how hard I tried to live life right ,I would just mess it up . Alone and helpless is what I felt every time I tried to get sober . My plans were evil ,always trying to get even with society for all the wrong in my life . My resentment , anger , and pride blinded me to the fact that even though God was there , I did not need Him . My life became desperate ,everything I owned I lost ,homeless is where my plans left me. With the last ounce of life left in me , I cried out to Him and took step one . Realizing in a moment of clarity for the first time in my life , I needed God and to my surprise  , He was with me the whole time but in my blindness I just could not see or feel Him. No I can't explain it but at that moment of surrender all the pain , sorrow, guilt , shame and fear that was choking the life out of me suddenly released me. For the very first time in my life I felt free .My heart felt complete ,and I  knew it was time for step three .That was thirteen years ago and the Lord is directing my steps .My life now is not perfect but it is good and I look forward and feel so blessed with getting the opportunity with every new day. The Proverb is true and Step 3 is a must and I pray and work tirelessly in a hope that you will discover GOD and get set free as I did.

Explore these resources for more information about alcohol problems in Veterans.

Learn more about how problems with alcohol may be related to other issues such as relationship problems, depression, trouble sleeping, chronic pain, and posttraumatic stress.
afterdeployment.org
Take an anonymous and confidential online assessment to evaluate the alcohol-related symptoms you are experiencing and hear from other Veterans and service members dealing with similar issues. http://www.afterdeployment.org/web/guest/topics-alcohol-drugs
VA’s Substance Abuse page
Read more about VA’s programs and services for Veterans dealing with alcohol problems. http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/res-vatreatmentprograms.asp
Vet Centers
If you are a combat Veteran or experienced any sexual trauma during your military service, bring your DD214 to your local Vet Center and speak with a counselor or therapist—many of whom are Veterans themselves—for free, without an appointment, and regardless of your enrollment status with VA. http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/vetcenter_flsh.asp
VA Medical Center Facility Locator
This website will allow you to search for VA treatment programs located near you that address alcohol problems. If you are eligible to receive care through the Veterans Health Administration, you can enroll in one of VA’s treatment programs. http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp?isflash=1
Alcoholics Anonymous
For meeting information, contact a local A.A. resource that provides meeting times and locations. Use this link for a list of meeting resources by state and province in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.aa.org/lang/en/central_offices.cfm?origpage=373

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Related Conditions

• PTSD
• Depression
• Problems with Drugs
• Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury

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• Guilt
• Feeling on Edge
• Stress and Anxiety
• Relationship Problems

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How to Talk to Your Kids When You Think They’re Using Drugs By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.
Associate Editor World of Psychology



You suspect your teen is using drugs. Maybe they’re not acting like themselves. Maybe they’re cutting school or shirking other responsibilities. Maybe their grades are dropping. Or their behavior is worsening. Maybe they’ve started hanging out with a bad crowd.

Maybe they’re being secretive and have even stolen money from your wallet. Maybe their physical appearance has changed with rapid weight loss or red eyes. Maybe you’ve noticed a change in their sleep habits, energy level and mood. Maybe you’ve actually found marijuana or other drugs in their room.

Naturally, the thought and possible confirmation of your child using drugs trigger a rush and range of emotions: anger, frustration, disappointment, sadness, fear.

If you think your child is using drugs, how do you approach them? Where do you start?

Two parenting experts shared their insight below.

1. Be direct and calm.

“This issue is too serious for subtlety,” said John Duffy, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and author of the book The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens. He suggested readers approach their kids “directly and immediately.”

Avoid letting your anger and frustration spill over into the conversation. According to Lisa Kaplin, Psy.D, a psychologist and life coach who teaches parenting classes, “The best way to approach your child is with delicacy, not drama. If you approach them with panic, anger, aggression or accusations, you can be sure your child will tell you absolutely nothing.”

Yelling, threatening and lecturing your child typically leads them to withdraw, sneak around and lie, she said.

Duffy also suggested approaching your child “from an emotional space of genuine concern for well-being.” He understands that being calm and centered is a lot to ask of parents. “But it is, without a doubt, the approach that works best in my experience.”

It’s common for kids to deny their drug use, or to respond casually (e.g.,” It’s just pot, and I don’t smoke it that often, anyway”). If this happens, “give a brief response in which you tell them that you do not want them to use drugs of any kind,” Kaplin said. Reiterate your house rules about drugs and alcohol use and “the consequences that come with that behavior.”

2. Talk when your child is lucid.

Don’t try to have a serious conversation when your child is drunk or high, Duffy said. “This might seem like common sense, but I have worked with many parents who have attempted to lecture an inebriated teenager.”

3. Ask open-ended questions.

It’s more likely that your child will be honest, and talk about their drug use if you ask open-ended questions. According to Kaplin, these are several examples: “Can you tell me more about that? How did you feel in that situation? What will you do if that happens again? How can I help you with this?”

If your child admits to using drugs, again, “ask them with open-ended, non-judgmental questions about what drugs they have used, how often, and if they plan on using again.” You also can ask “for their input on how to proceed.”

4. Don’t punish your child.

Avoid punishing your kids, Duffy said. It rarely works. For instance, “Taking a cell phone away will never keep a drug user away from using.”

5. Show your support.

If your child reveals their drug use, “Thank [them] for being honest with you,” Kaplin said. Let them know that you’re “here to help them. Tell them you love them.”

6. Get your child treatment.

It’s key to take your child to see a qualified therapist who specializes in working with teens and young adults. When talking about professional help, don’t negotiate with your child, or take “no” for an answer, Duffy said.

Instead be brief, firm and clear, he said. Duffy gave the following example of what you might say to your child: “It is clear to us that you have been using something, and we are really concerned for your safety. As your safety is our domain as Mom and Dad, we are going to pull rank here and schedule an appointment for someone for you, and all of us, to talk to about this issue.”

Depending on the situation, you can “give [your child] options regarding therapists or treatment centers,” Kaplin said.

Even if your child is over 18 years old, Duffy suggested having a similar conversation. While you can’t force your older child to attend therapy, you can leverage other things, such as your financial position, he said.

It’s also important to get clear on your limits, communicate them to your adult child and follow through, Kaplin said. For instance, “can your child still live with you if they’re using drugs? If not, when must they leave and will you help them with treatment or other living arrangements?”

Knowing your child is possibly using drugs is stressful, scary and painful. And it can be incredibly hard to have a calm conversation. If you feel yourself losing control, take a break, and return when you’ve cooled off. Whether your child admits to using drugs or not, having them see a qualified therapist is critical.
Further Reading

Here’s more on symptoms of teen substance abuse, what parents can do, and reasons your child might use drugs and how to help them.

Pop Stars Continue To Glorify Molly Despite Deadly Consequences

. Posted in Celebrities, Ecstasy, Breaking News

Music is often about rebellion, and many times pop stars purposely court controversy to get media attention. Madonna, Prince, and even Michael Jackson have released music or put on performances that sent the entire world buzzing. Major music icons like Elvis Presley played rock n. roll that was deemed dangerous and overly provocative. So it’s not surprising that the tradition of creating controversial music has continued with the new generation of pop stars. But the subject matter nowadays goes beyond just controversial to dangerous, by the musicians openly endorsing a drug called Molly that has proven to be fatal in many instances.
The Dangers Of Molly
Molly is the street name for MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. Recently, Molly has grown drastically in popularity, because of its use at music concerts and nightclubs. Marketed as a pure form of Ecstasy, it’s known for creating feelings of euphoria that greatly enhance the experience of being at a club. Ecstasy first became really popular during the Rave electronic music scene of the nineties, and seems to have recently experienced another resurgence. Molly has been in the news because of many people overdosing on it, such as:

• Electronic music festival Electric Zoo having four Molly-related deaths
• A 19-year old girl dying from a Molly overdose in Washington D.C.
• Another female student overdosing in New Hampshire
• Four people dying in one week in the Northeast due to overdose

The most dangerous part of Molly is that no one knows what they’re really putting in their body when taking Molly. Law enforcement officials claim that there really is no good batch of Molly and what is sold as Molly is often something completely different. The popularity of Molly is made worse by pop stars openly promoting the drug in their songs. Teenagers and even young adults are greatly influenced by pop-culture and the need to be thought of as cool. Pop stars are acting irresponsibly by continuing to promote the drug even after the increase of Molly-related deaths. Below is a list of some of the high-profile music stars who have chosen to glorify Molly.
Miley Cyrus
Currently the most high-profile of the Molly glorifiers is pop-star Miley Cyrus. In her song We Can’t Stop she sings that she’s dancing with Molly. Cyrus has gone on to say that she sings about Molly because she’s being authentic about what she does in her real life.
Kanye West
As if he wasn’t controversial enough Kanye West also raps about Molly in his song Mercy, where his lyrics include “Something about Mary, she gone off on that Molly.”
Rick Ross
Miami-based rapper Rick Ross finally had to deal with real repercussions over rapping about Molly. His lyrics are perhaps the worst out of any of these songs. He raps in U.E.O.N.O. “Put molly all in her champagne/ She ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain't even know it.” Due to the disgusting nature of these lyrics he lost a million dollar deal with Reebok. However, at least he apologized for the lyrics later.
Madonna
Although Madonna is a living music legend, she also shows that it’s never too late to be irresponsible, when she namedropped Molly at a concert. Although she later denied the allegations and claims that she was simply talking about a person, she obviously was attempting to connect with the younger crowd by namedropping a popular club drug.
Molly continues to make an alarming amount of appearances in pop songs. Although pop stars may think they’re being cool and rebellious by singing about Molly, they are promoting a drug that is notorious for being impure. The rise of deaths and overdoses on Molly is proof that it isn’t cool anymore to glorify a potentially fatal drug.


Cindy Nichols is the founder of 411 Intervention, a full-service intervention resource that helps individuals with addiction issues find treatment solutions. You can see an interview with Cindy here on Recovery Now TV.

Duck Dynasty Star Si Robertson Opens Up About Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health Issues

Courtesy of recovery Now TV



One of the public’s favorite stars of the reality show Duck Dynasty, Si Robertson, recently released his book chronicling the dark past of his family entitled “Si-cology: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle”. The book reveals some of the troubled times that he and his brother Phil experienced before the fame they gained on television as the Louisiana bayou duck hunters. Personal issues such as addiction, mental illness and even suicide attempts affected the family in the past.

When they were young children, Si and his brother had a mother who suffered a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed as manic-depressive. Robertson says that she spent a lot of time in hospitals and in the state mental institution. The book also discusses both Si and his brother, Phil’s struggles with alcohol addiction.

Si drank heavily throughout his young adulthood, especially in the period of time he served in Vietnam. His experience of spending a year in Vietnam was difficult on him mentally and led him to escape the situation through alcohol. He became aware of how much his alcohol consumption was spiraling out of control when he came close to killing an innocent Vietnamese boy and woman. At that point he realized that he had to quit drinking for good when he came back from the war. Si found his spirituality and belief in God helped him to recover from his alcoholism problem.

Phil had his own problems with alcohol and drugs which almost ruined his marriage to his wife Kay. During his 20s Phil worked at a honky-tonk bar and drank heavily, leaving his wife to raise their three children while he was out drinking with friends every night. He was even arrested for seriously injuring a couple during a bar fight. At age 28 Phil, like Si, also came to the realization that he had to quit his alcohol and drug abuse as both brothers became religious and decided to remain sober for good. According to Si, Phil was not a very good person before he found God and religion and finally gave his issues of addiction.

When Si’s son Scott was born, a liver problem caused damage to the child’s brain leading to even more family problems. He had erratic behavior as a child and according to Si, became damaging and out of control. At only age 11, Scott tried to jump out of a second story window. After being taken to a military hospital, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Understanding his disorder made it possible for Scott to lead a healthier and happier life. His son embraces the religious beliefs of his father who he now looks up to and respects as the rock of their family.

In spite of the struggles of the Robertson family, they were able to find fame and fortune through their thriving business known as Duck Commander, producing top of the line duck calls and decoys for hunting. The show Duck Dynasty follows the family’s daily life as they operate their booming business which employs half of their neighborhood. The show’s premiere of the fourth season broke ratings records as their popularity only continues to increase. The story of the Robertson brother’s past proves how much they were able to overcome by recovering from their alcoholism and finding positive motivation through their spirituality. Now running a successful business in the Louisiana bayou and starring in one of the most popular shows on television, the Robertson family has left behind their dark past and moved forward to a more positive future.



Cindy Nichols is the founder of 411 Intervention, a full-service intervention resource that helps individuals with addiction issues find treatment solutions. You can see an interview with Cindy here on Recovery Now TV.

False Positive—The Reality of Workplace Drugs in America

It isn’t what you recently heard. A special investigation by The Fix into the report that American employee drug use has declined 74% since 1988.



not so positive Photo: Shutterstock

By Ellen Batzel

12/05/13
This past November 18th marked the 25th anniversary of President Reagan’s signing into law the Drug-Free Workplace Act. The bill required any institution receiving federal funds to establish and maintain an alcohol and drug-free workplaceThe anniversary might have passed without much comment except that one company was quite aware of the date. Quest Diagnostics, the most prominent corporation in the drug testing industry, saw it as an opportunity to grab headlines.Quest that day issued a self-congratulatory report stating—unequivocally—that its own survey of 125 million drug tests from 1988 to 2012 proved that there was a 74% decline in drug use among American workers since the Drug-Free Workplace Act was signed. This figure was then heralded by a number of media outlets. The Wall Street Journal, for example, used exactly the same headline as the Quest press release, stating simply:“Drug Use Among American Workers Declined 74% Over Past 25 YearsThe Journal then cited the Quest press release almost verbatim without undertaking its own closer analysis of the data.

 
“Overall,” the Journal reported straight from the press release, “3.5% of samples came back positivlast year compared with 13.6% in 1988. The vast majority of tests, around 75% in recent years, were conducted for pre-employment screening. The rest were administered following accidents, after employers suspected drug use or as part of regular testing regimens.”

The Quest press release left no doubts that the company was making its bold claim for the entire U.S workforce and not just for Quest's sample of it. It also offered fairly minimal qualifications to its findings, not mentioning major factors that might skew even its own report on those workplaces for which it had some evidence. Instead, its most significant qualification to the news was: “. . .although the rate of positive test results for certain drugs, including amphetamine and opiates, continues to climb."

It then added: ". . .according to a landmark analysis of workplace drug test results released today by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services.” (Quest conducts more than six million workplace drug tests annually, reported $7.4 billion in revenue last year and claims to service 30% of the adult American public with a wide variety of laboratory services, including drug testing.)
It would be a remarkable feat in workplace performance if 74% was an accurate figure. Unfortunately, on closer scrutiny, 74% turns out to be a “false positive.”
A careful inquiry into the details of the Quest study by The Fix reveals the following:

Few workplaces even test for the widely-used new drugs defined by the DEA as currently threatening America’s health and safety, and so they are excluded from the Quest survey.

Many employers do not even have a drug-testing program.

The drugs actually being tested are not tested at uniform sensitivity levels.

There is no complete uniformity in what drugs and how many different drug types are actually tested for by the employers who do test for drugs, and the Quest survey only includes the tests employers request. Most employers do not test for all drug types.

Quest put itself forward as one company speaking for the entire American workplace based only upon its own large but hardly definitive sample.

AN EVEN CLOSER LOOK AT THE QUEST SURVEY REVEALS….
There are numerous and subtle factors that make up the world of drug testings in America. Many people applying for a job think you pee in a cup and cross your fingers that your last imbibe of marijuana moved out of your system; or they pray that the meds they are taking - over-the-counter and otherwise - don't create a false positive.

he varieties of contingencies in the world of drugs and drug tests are in fact extensive and complex - as is inevitably any attempt to measure a large chunk of the population's use of the scores of "Illicit" drugs out there along with the "licit" drugs that have gone black market.
Among the host of data influencing factors are where samples are collected, where they are "read" - it can be instantly like a pregnancy test or at the lab - and what drugs are being tested for and at what levels. Then there are the issues of the chain of custody of the samples, the ability of people to cheat on their tests, the facts that employers treat different drugs with different levels of leniency and may even throw away positive tests of the "lenient drugs."
Beyond this there's the reality that different employers might use tests for say, heroin, that are set at a different sensitivity level of detection than the company across the street uses. Some firms care to test for black market prescription drugs, the vast majority don't. Some want to screen for many drugs; most want to go with the basics, often for cost reasons. Some people fail tests, clean up, and then pass a test with a different employer. No data can track that. It goes on and onAll this a company like Quest needs to take into account in any data survey it releases to the country if it wants it to be credible. Presumably aware of all these factors, Quest notably handles one troubling issue by omission. That is, it doesn’t count in its survey data an untold number of “instant results” urine specimens that employers then send Quest for legally required follow-up testing with more sophisticated lab technology. Quest omits these numbers from its survey of American drug use on the very reasonable grounds that it has no way of knowing by comparison how many workplace instant results tests per year came up negative or how the employer handled the "chain of custody" of the instant tests.
On the same grounds, Quest also excludes all test results submitted by employers who use a mix of instant results tests and standard urine collection devices.
Scientifically and statistically, this makes sense. Yet it leaves hanging the question: how much of the population's test results - positive and negative - are thereby not factored into the broad statement of 74% improvement?Asked whether the complete instant results test information would skew the survey if known, one executive told The Fix that there were a negligible number of such uncounted tests sold by Quest each year. Further questioning of Quest’s chief testing scientist, Dr. Barry Sample, revealed that, in fact, there are “substantially less than one million” such uncounted instant results units sold by Quest (the exact number is “proprietary”). Those test cups that are returned are omitted from the database, Dr. Small said, and no count is kept of how many.Obviously, a large number might alter the glowing survey results if not offset by a known number of negative tests. No number at all leaves the survey to be judged on how Quest treated most of the other complicating factors in the drug testing universe. And that's where the problems with the Quest pronouncement begins.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T REQUIRE

One of those factors is who must obey government rules and who can do what they want re drug testing. Hugely relevant to the 74% claim is the fact that the federal government issues guidelines naming exactly the drugs to be tested for use by federal workers who are in “safety-sensitive” positions. The government does not otherwise require private sector employers who are not receiving federal funds to test for drugs. The number of employees not being tested therefore is a guesswork moving target. Even so, one unverified survey claimed that while 84% of workplaces conduct pre-hire screening, only 39% did random follow-up screening of hired employers. Even assuming this survey was accurate, that would leave 16% of job seekers not tested, and huge numbers of people never tested once hired.These tens of millions of regularly untested workers, if counted by Quest, would clearly skew any survey one way or the other. Quest doesn't account for them in its data base because it can't - but it gives the impression in its public relations announcements that it has.Equally Alice in Wonderland upside down is the fact that a majority of private employers in the U.S, according to Quest itself, simply ignore the latest federal instructions as to the sensitivity levels they are to use in the first round of drug tests of would-be employees or of already hired employees. Instead, this majority relies on older, pre-2010 test standards with a much higher detection threshold. This would be the equivalent of a police breath test for alcohol set at, say, 1.5 rather than the .08 common in many states, including California.How many additional people would be found to be using drugs if the stricter standards were applied across the board? One clue comes from Quest’s report that amphetamine usage has tripled since 1988, with the largest jumps appearing after the federal government changed its guidelines in 2010 to require a sensitivity level for the first round of testing at 500 ng/ml vs. the earlier standard for amphetamines of 1000 ng/ml.Morphine also showed an increase of 34% between 2005-2012 in the first round of testing. Accordingly, Quest's statement that there was a 74% decline in drug usage really means that there was a 74% decline only in the tests that were included in the database. These tests, of course, only recorded "positives" at whatever level an employer customer of Quest's chose to use from the available range.
(Note here that the federal government sensitivity levels on the first round of tests are not zero but range from a low of 10 ng/ml for the heroin metabolite to 2000 ng/ml for codeine and morphine. The federal standard used to be 300 ng/ml on the initial test for codeine and morphine. These were dramatically changed when both employers and employees complained that standards were too stringent.)Quest’s admission to The Fix that it includes in its database the less stringent sensitivity levels that many employers still use, adds to the mish-mash of conflicting and incomplete data that goes into its Drug Testing Index (DTI) on which the company bases its claim that workplace drug use has dramatically fallen.