Sunday, October 12, 2014


How to stop taking ecstasy
Addiction BlogPublished: September 24, 2014





Have you been taking ecstasy for a while now? Do you feel as if you can normally function only if you’ve taken the pill?

If that is the case, you may want to find out if you have developed physical dependence or addiction to ecstasy. Beacuse if you have developed physical dependence on ecstasy, you can experience withdrawal symptoms as you reduce or eliminate ecstasy intake.

But can you just stop taking ecstasy? What happens once you do so and what side effects can you experience? And what is the safest way to stop taking it? We review these questions here and invite you to ask your questions about detoxing from ecstasy at the end. We try to respond to all legitimate queries with a personal and prompt reply.
Can I Just Stop Taking Ecstasy?

Most likely, yes, you can just stop taking ecstasy.

This is because the majority of ecstasy users do not develop physical dependency on MDMA, the main psychoactive ingredient in the drug. However, people who have become physically dependent on ecstasy will want to consult with a medical professional to discuss strategies for quitting.

While is possible to stop taking ecstasy at any time, it is not the recommended way if you have been taking it in high doses for a while. Regular ecstasy users are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when the toxins leave the body, the severity of which will vary by person. The most commonpsychological symptoms of ecstasy withdrawal after regular use of MDMA include:
anxiety
cravings
depression
irritability
paranoia

So, how should you withdraw from ecstasy? In regular, chronic, or high doses users, it can be helpful to stop taking ecstasy by gradually reducing or tapering the dose until you completely stop. Tapering can help you avoid the experience of intense or severe discomfort. On the other hand, most users can get away with minor withdrawal symptoms, so a cold turkey ecstasy withdrawal is possible.
What Happens When You Stop Taking Ecstasy?

Once a person stops taking ecstasy, s/he can experience lack of motivation and drive due to the depleted level of serotonin levels. Since many people use ecstasy when partying, it is very likely that you experience musculoskeletal pain as a result of the heavy dancing while high. Another common occurrence is dehydration due to excessive sweating while dancing or other activities while on the drug, making it important to keep hydrated and relax when you stop taking ecstasy.
Side Effects Of Stopping Ecstasy

If you have developed physical dependence on ecstasy, you can experience withdrawal symptoms as you reduce or eliminate ecstasy intake. The withdrawal effects may be more intense if you have been taking ecstasy longer or of you have been mixing it with other substances. The common side effects that occur when you stop drug intake can include any of the following:
aches and pains
confusion
digestive disturbances
fatigue
insomnia
loss of appetite
suicidal ideation
weakness
Stop Taking Ecstasy Suddenly

The risk of suddenly stopping the ecstasy intake will depend on the user’s frequency level. The more regular the user, the higher the risk of relapse and severe withdrawal symptoms. In these cases, some experts prefer gradual decrease or tapering to suddenly stopping. Additionally, medical assistance or supervision could decrease the risk potential if there is any. If you consider stopping, you are on the right path! Still, be sure to talk to a medical professional before jumping to a final decision regarding the way you want to stop taking ecstasy.
Stop Taking Ecstasy Cold Turkey

If you have not been taking ecstasy for a long period and have only recently started or done so a couple of times, it is possible to quit cold turkey. However, long term users are not advised to abruptly stop taking ecstasy. It is very likely that people who use ecstasy for a longer time have developed physical dependence or addiction which may bring about potentially risky situations. A medical professional can help assess levels of dependency and can help determine the relative risk of going cold turkey off the drug on a case-by-case basis.
How Do I Stop Taking Ecstasy?

The best way to stop taking ecstasy if you have been taking it for a while now is to gradually taper off the drug. By tapering, your body can better adjust to the drug absence and better regulate the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms. However, you may want to consult a physician before undergoing this method so as to determine the best timeline based on your body needs, level of addiction, medical history and psychological dependence.

If you consider yourself an occasional user and if you are strongly determined to quit, you may just stop taking it. Still, consult a medical professional if you notice the slightest psychological dependence, as this can indicate deeper psycho-emotional issues.
How To Stop Taking Ecstasy Safely

If you try to quit using ecstasy at home, you can ease the withdrawal symptoms with over-the-counter medications. However, for safety reasons, it is highly advisable that you first consult a medical profesional and follow the instructions you will be given. Alternatively, have yourself checked in at a detox center where you can be monitored for severe withdrawal symptoms and assisted in case you need help. Whether a heavy or occasional user, quitting ecstasy is by no means easy and having medical and moral support are very welcome when quitting ecstasy.

Do you still have questions about quitting ecstasy for good? Please leave your questions and concerns in the comment section below. We’ll try to respond to you personally and promptly.
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"Generation D" and the Neurological Basis for Digital Addiction
Increasing evidence shows that texting and internet addiction can negatively affect lives. It's time to treat digital dependence as a real diagnosable disorder.

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10/06/14





A recent LA Times article named texting the “addiction du jour” for teens, surpassing more traditional ones, like smoking and sex. The statistics are very sobering as they reinforce the dangers of texting while driving. An astonishing 40% of all American teenagers report having been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.

It’s not just teens, either. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2010, 18% of all fatal crashes as well as crashes resulting in an injury were caused by driver distraction. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, text messaging makes it 23 times more likely that drivers will get into a crash.


Digital media is empty calories. We have to create a digital diet.

It’s an obvious problem that we can’t put our smartphones down long enough to make sure we don’t kill ourselves or someone else while driving. But, why is it such a problem?

Dr. David Greenfield, a pioneer in the field of virtual addiction and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction in Connecticut, believes that texting is simply a subset of the larger Internet addiction disorder. Internet addiction disorder is not listed in the latest DSM manual (DSM-5, 2013)—however, Internet gaming disorder is listed in the appendix as a disorder requiring further study. According to Greenfield, Internet addiction disorder encompasses everything that uses the Internet—surfing, social media, texting, gaming, porn, and other activities. And while sexting and online sex addiction are still the most prevalent forms of Internet addiction, all types of excessive use can lead to addictive behavior.

“Everyone feels like they lose track of time and space when they use the Internet,” Greenfield says. “That means that it’s psychoactive—in other words, it’s a digital drug.” 

“We use it to numb out,” says Nancy Colier, a psychotherapist who writes a blog at the Huffington Post and recently published a book, Inviting a Monkey to Tea: Befriending Your Mind and Discovering Lasting Contentment. “It’s just that we’re addicted to getting out of the moment,” Colier says. “You’re distracting yourself from where you are.” Colier believes that information gathering falls into this realm. While information used to be something “we gathered to create change,” she says, now we use it to “shore up our own identity.” In the quest to constantly feed our desire for information, “we use it to keep people at bay, or to fill ourselves up with something. At the end of all of it, we feel more and more empty.”

“[Texting] helps us to switch off our thoughts about our problems and if we are not thinking about our problems, we are not feeling anything negative,” says Liz Karter, addiction therapist and author of a new book called Working with Women’s Groups for Problem Gambling. “This sense of escapism can become addictive.”

Symptoms

Behaviors that define Internet addiction, according to the Center for Internet Addiction, include compulsive use, a preoccupation with being online, lying or hiding the extent or nature of the Internet use, and an inability to control or curb it. “The symptoms of texting addiction are preoccupation with the digital device, craving to spend more and more time online [or] texting, secretive behavior, [and] mood swings,” Karter says.

Alongside Greenfield, Dr. Kimberly Young is another pioneer in the field. She founded the Center for Internet Addiction in 1995 and she has written multiple books on the disorder, including Caught in the Net, the first to identify Internet addiction. While other countries seem to be ahead of the game in treating and preventing Internet use disorder—Young recently returned from the first International Congress on Internet Addiction Disorders, where Korea, Japan, Germany, China, Italy, and France are leading the way in addressing what they consider to be a significant mental health issue—Young is working to change that here in the US. She has developed the “first empirically-based treatment plan for Internet addiction, showing that [Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Internet Addiction] is effective for curing various forms of Internet-related problems.”

Who is affected?

Studies suggest that one in eight Americans suffers from problematic Internet use. Those estimates are higher in China, Taiwan, and Korea, where 30% or more of the population may experience problematic use, according to Young’s Center for Internet Addiction.

Teens and young adults under 25 are most susceptible, mainly because the Internet and digital devices are embedded in their culture. Karter calls them “digital natives” while Greenfield refers to them as Generation D. “To them, it’s like a toaster is to me, that’s how they view digital technology,” says Greenfield, who has two sons that are of Generation D. “It’s become that generation’s defining point that separates them from previous ones.” 

“Drinking and drugs are the outcasts; this is the ‘in-cast,’” says Colier in reference to teens who buy the latest iPhone instead of beer or drugs. Teens are more affected by peer pressure—as well as having unhealthy role models in many parents who “have drunk the Kool-Aid,” she says.

There’s also the trend of not being able to live in the moment—without broadcasting every detail in text, tweet, or social media share. It speaks to a larger issue, in internet-speak FOMO, also known as the dreaded Fear Of Missing Out. “I can’t say it’s a pathology but it’s an interesting social phenomenon,” Greenfield says. The problem becomes, “you’re not really living [life], you’re transmitting it.”

There is also evidence of co-morbidity. According to the Center for Internet Addiction, national surveys showed that over 70% of Internet addicts also suffered from other addictions: drugs, alcohol, smoking, and sex. Trends show that the majority of Internet addicts suffer from emotional problems like depression, mood disorders, social disorders, and anxiety disorders. Almost 75% of Internet addicts also suffer from relationship problems, and they “use interactive online applications such as social media, virtual communities, video games or online gaming as a safe way of establishing new relationships and more confidently relating to others through the virtual world.”

Proof?

While there is loads of behavioral evidence for the disorder—Greenfield says that in any given week, he’ll see 30 clients, and half of them are being treated for some kind of excessive Internet use—there is also increasing neurological proof that indeed, this is an actual, diagnosable disorder along the lines of any other behavioral addiction, like gambling, for instance.

And once again, dopamine is at least partly culpable.

“The main kernel of what I believe is responsible for excessive Internet use—whether it be surfing, gaming, sex, texting, social media—operates on variable-ratio reinforcement,” Greenfield says. Essentially, you never know what you’re going to get, and that keeps you coming back for more. “So what happens is, you hear a sound [alerting you to an incoming text message], and your brain says, ‘There might be something good there, I’m going to check it.’” At that point, the mesolimbic dopamine circuits are activated, and a small surge of the neurotransmitter is released in the brain. “What you’re getting addicted to is the dopaminergic hit.”

“With texting addiction, there is an added element of waiting for a response,” Karter says. “It is the anticipation that hooks us.”

Research suggests that dopamine malfunction is involved, and it makes sense. In other drugs of abuse, taking a hit causes dopamine levels in the brain to surge, followed by an experience of withdrawal—negative affect, craving—once the excessive levels of dopamine decrease. In essence, baseline levels are no longer adequate because the addict’s neurocircuitry has been altered. 

In a recent literature review, 18 neuroimaging studies on Internet addiction disorder were compiled to support the claim that the disorder may share similar neurobiological abnormalities with other addictive disorders. Says the abstract: “These studies provide compelling evidence for the similarities between different types of addictions, notably substance-related addictions and Internet and gaming addiction, on a variety of levels. On the molecular level, Internet addiction is characterized by an overall reward deficiency that entails decreased dopaminergic activity. On the level of neural circuitry, Internet and gaming addiction led to neuroadaptation and structural changes that occur as a consequence of prolonged increased activity in brain areas associated with addiction. On a behavioral level, Internet and gaming addicts appear to be constricted with regards to their cognitive functioning in various domains.”

How to turn it off

Statistics show that only about 10% of people will actually become addicts, Greenfield says. Among this smaller group, Greenfield uses four defining criteria to determine addiction: tolerance, withdrawal, change of mood as a result of using—the psychoactive component—and most importantly, “it has to have some deleterious impact in their lives.”

He treats it the same way he would treat other addictions. He might start with a digital detox, and then develop strategies to monitor use, identify triggers, and prevent relapse. He sometimes uses medications, but behavioral approaches are more common. “It’s very important to develop real-time living skills.”

Less severe is probably what affects nearly all of us—the inability to turn it off, which can result in a mild form of the disorder. Greenfield says that among that group, learning how to manage use is key. “The idea is to educate people as to not carry their phones everywhere they go—in other words, creating a healthier relationship to [the] technology so they’re not controlled by it.”

Colier counsels people on ways to find validation, meaning, and ultimately, happiness, in the offline world. She says that parents should play a larger role in showing their children and teens how develop awareness around usage. “It’s so important that parents point their kids’ attention to, how do I feel after a day of texting?”

Karter encourages her clients to take a month off—remove the device and the ability to text, and begin to explore why the texting or other excessive Internet use got out of hand. Make sure friends and loved ones are in on the change. “Accountability is a key,” she says. “Text addiction thrives on secrecy.”

The Internet—and the ability to communicate instantaneously and continuously—is here to stay, so people can’t be expected to abstain from technology. Greenfield recommends experimenting with moderation—text-free hours, or days, where you “go on a text-vacation,” he says.

“Digital media is empty calories,” he says. “We have to create a digital diet.”

Jeanene Swanson is a regular contributor to The Fix. She last wrote about the science of nicotine addiction, erasing your traumas and alcoholism and genetics.
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Taking The Stigma Out Of Addiction
Addiction—a mental illness or a moral failing?

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10/09/14





As an editorial on the Talbot Spy site recently noted, modern society is of two minds on the subject of drug addiction. Decades of hard work by the recovery community have helped to push the notion of addiction as a mental disease to the forefront of opinion. But by the same token, addiction is also viewed as a moral failing, linked to both a weak character and criminal activity, which should be addressed with swift and final punishment by our legal system.

A recent poll by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health appeared to cement that two-pronged belief: of the more than 700 people surveyed for the poll, 64% believed that employers should be allowed to deny work to someone with a drug addiction, while only 57% believed that addicts should have the same access to health insurance as the general public. Should one dismiss this attitude as the product of an ever-increasing conservative American mindset, a 2010 poll by the United Kingdom Drug Policy Commission found that 58% of those surveyed believed that one of the root causes of drug addiction is a lack of self-discipline and willpower, while 43% of the respondents stated that they would not want to live near a person with a history of drug dependence.

These conclusions are not all the result of small-minded, mean-spirited individuals; as a 2009 UK Drug Policy Commission study found, approximately 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by a relative’s drug issues, while a 2012 survey from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services found that 23. 5 million adults consider themselves in recovery from either drugs or alcohol. Clearly, not all of these people are solitary figures with any familial or social attachments. But of that 2012 figure, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that only 2.5 million individuals sought or received treatment for their addiction. 

Lack of insurance accounted for a quarter of those who failed to find help for their problem, but it’s likely that many of those individuals failed to do so because of shame. A study in the August 2005 issue of Addictive Behaviors surveyed three groups of people with different levels of drug-related problems – two sets of college students and a group of prison inmates – and found that in all three groups, shame was significantly linked to substance abuse issues. So fear of judgment and societal reproach, which manifests itself as shame, is a problem faced by a wide demographic within the community of addicts.

Removing the stigma of shame and pain from addiction requires a tectonic shift in the way the disease is viewed by all individuals, and such efforts require persistence, faith and bravery on the part of those seeking to implement the change. And there have been both large-scale and small, more intimate attempts to dispel the stigmatic elements of addiction. In July of this year, the White House continued its commitment to a rational, balanced, and science-based approach to addiction and recovery, as outlined in Barack Obama’s National Drug Control Strategy of 2010, by requesting $25.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2015 for, among other initiatives, including substance abuse treatment in the health care program and ending the revolving door policy of drug use and criminalization. 

The Obama administration’s stance echoes a similar position made by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which issued a report in September calling for “an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies. But there have also been smaller-scale, more grass-roots efforts to spread the word about ending the shame factor in addiction. The recovery advocacy group manyfaces1voice has produced a documentary, The Anonymous People, which presents stories from individuals in long-term recovery in an attempt to “transform public attitudes and policies affecting people seeking or in recovery from alcohol and other drugs.” Ending the cycle of shame and societal rejection for drug addiction can become a movement for positive change. What it needs is the support and strength of all individuals, from all social and political strata, to give voice to those who have been made afraid to speak about their pain.

Paul Gaita is a Los Angeles-based writer. He has contributed to The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Amazon and The Los Angeles Beat, among other publications and sites. He last wrote about buying drugs online and the 'blame the victim' mentality of campus rape.


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Walking Drunk: The Perils of Sobriety In The Zombie Apocalpyse
In honor of the fifth season premiere of The Walking Dead this Sunday, here are some tips on how to survive the zombie apocalypse, one day at a time.

Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Bob Stookey AMC



10/10/14





The fifth season of the The Walking Dead begins again this Sunday, October 12th, on AMC. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the hugely popular dystopian horror series, it’s set in the state of Georgia or thereabouts during an outbreak of a disease that brings the dead back to life and turns them into Zombies (or ‘Walkers’ as The Walking Dead calls them). As you might expect this is not a good thing. Unfortunately getting to see Granny again isn’t going to be the heart-warming reunion you might have hoped for because, yes you guessed it! She will eat you!

This terrifying and addictive show is populated by hoards of flesh eating cannibals shuffling around the countryside looking for people to eat. The hero of the show is a .357 Magnum-toting, county sheriff named Rick, followed by his young son and a gradually dwindling band of ragtag survivors. Their aim—to try and stay alive long enough to make it into the next episode. Talk about one day at a time!

It’s scary stuff. Based on the graphic novel by Robert Kirkman andTony Moore, it’s got some spectacular squishy, head squashing special effects and the characters seem to exist on a level of stress that often leaves me speechless. But the detail that has helped the series endure are plot lines that deal with both interpersonal relations and the larger societal issues of grief and morality, euthanasia and family and, of course, the breakdown of law and order that might come with the end of the world.

For instance, when our heroes come across a well-defended farmhouse, they make an uneasy alliance with one of the most likable characters—veterinarian Hershel Greene. Hershel, probably the most level-headed of the cast, was a recovering alcoholic who was beheaded by ‘The Governor’ in season four. It’s a long story, so . . .the role of the town’s drunk then fell to Bob Stookey, played byLawrence Gillard Jr. At one point in season four, during a supply run to a hospital, Bob is attacked by walkers. Instead of running, he fights them off and it’s revealed that the contents of his bag are not the medical supplies he was sent to obtain, but a bottle of booze instead. Oops. Know that feeling. Even without a regular supply, it’s clear: Bob’s definitely one of us.

But it got me thinking—I wondered how, as a recovering alcoholic, I might fare in a world populated by the living dead. I know I would be at a distinct disadvantage. First of all I’m not very handy—It takes me 20 minutes to find my only screwdriver. I also live in New York City—alongside five million people and the strictest gun laws in the country. When the dead walk the Earth it’s going to be a really scary commute. But I’m sober right? That’s got to count for something.

As the premiere date of this magnificent show marches ever closer, and a degree of gleeful panic sets in, I fired up the Interwebber and went looking for survival tips for the inevitable zombie apocalypse that is upon us. How would a sober, graced guy like me fare? It turns out, according to the very knowledgeable Suzanne at Cheaper Than Dirt, the sober will be the first to die.



Cheaper Than Dirt.com (CTD) is your basic army surplus, guns and ammo website and comes with deals on lots of outdoorsy things like tents and bug spray, cold weather survival gear, and very dangerous looking machine guns—that sort of thing.

The Shooter’s Log is an extension of that site. As I started skimming I noticed amongst the guns and accessories reviews a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and some quite quirky writing form the chief contributor, ‘Suzanne.’ Often, Suzanne writes about survival with the acronym SHTF (shit hits the fan); it’s a common phrase in the online survival community—referring to the day the world goes to hell for one reason or another. Suzanne also talks often about The Apocalypse. Not in terms of nuclear annihilation (bit old hat that one) or The Rapture—that would mean talking about survivingafter the Chosen have left and if you believe in this particular interpretation of the bible, one assumes you’ve already booked a ride. No, Suzanne often talks in terms of the Zombie Apocalypse—a fear born of the current media infatuation with all things undead. It’s a straightforward horror movie plot: the dead rise again—because of a virus, global warming, bad luck, etc., and eat the living while those bitten then turn into Zombies themselves.

So, what are we going to do; those that are left behind? And what about the Zombies? What are we going to do about all the Zombies?! 

But I’m sober, right? That’s got to count for something. Actually no. According to Suzanne, we will be the first to die. 

Suzanne has collected 45 reasons why your best friend will be a bottle of Everclear and the low recoil 9mm SIG P250 handgun packing seventeen rounds of Federal HST 9mm. (Whatever that means.)

She says: “Liquor has its place in a post-apocalyptic world even if you are a teetotaler. Stock up on cheap, high-alcohol content liquors and add it to your long-term food and gear storage.”

Hmm.. Teetotaler? I haven’t heard anyone use that phrase since.. well the Big Book was written! But it looks like you’re going to need booze if you’re going to make it through the night of the living dead. A craving is a craving where I come from and some of her suggestions may mean counting [end of] days again. And good luck finding an AA meeting without running into a reanimated corpse; no judgments, but some of those old timers are well known for cross-talking and they’ll eat all the cookies before you can say “Rarely have we seen...” 

So, with apologies to all the people who actually are prepared and take this shit seriously—after all they’re the ones with all the guns—here’s the highlights of that list with notes from your favorite alcoholic, with the proviso that you should talk to your sponsor before reading it. 

1. Fire starter – Not any old whiskey, mind you. It needs to be 100% proof —like Everclear, the real southern comfort (it’s actually banned in several states north of the Mason-Dixon line). Pure grain alcohol. The Proof part comes from the distillers of the 18th century who would toss gunpowder in their brew and set it on fire. 

2. Barter and trade - I’ve left Suzanne to run you through this most ancient of economies with her remarkably well-informed piece for CTD. Suffice to say, when paper money is meaningless and you maxed out your Amex card make sure your bug-out bag is full of useful tidbits including cheap liquor.

3. Alleviate boredom - Okay, this one is tricky for someone in recovery. I know what she means and as tempting as it seems, running into Zombies blackout drunk is going to put a real buzz kill on your evening. If you’re really that bored and the library is on fire, I recommend using the booze bottles for juggling.

4. Calm anxiety - Yeah. That one’s not going to work either. A little meditation might help, the Serenity Prayer, perhaps, or just crying.

5. Sleep aid - Not unless you hit yourself over the head with it. Who the hells sleeps through an apocalypse anyway? Have you seen The Road? If you fall asleep, someone will eat you.

6. Molotov cocktail - Okay now you’re talking. The name "Molotov Cocktail" was created as an insult by Finnish troops in the Winter War of 1939 toward Soviet foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. The Finns called it a cocktail after Molotov’s Soviet radio broadcasts announced airborne bombing raids were actually food drops for the starving Finns. The ‘cocktail’ was the drink to go with the deliveries of Soviet ‘bread baskets.’ The Molotov Cocktail is a bottle of alcohol mixed with motor oil which uses a rag as a wick soaked in kerosene. First, you light the wick and and then throw it at Soviet tanks. Or zombies, of course.

7. Antiseptic for wounds -Yes, that makes sense. If you’re sober and don’t have alcohol you’ll die of Sepsis. You see? This isn’t going to be easy.

8. Relieve poison ivy - Really? I did not know that! Not one of my biggest worries as the sky is turning black and buildings are collapsing!

9. Kill odors - Or you could use deodorant I suppose. Loot a Rite Aid.

10. Refresh clothing - Hopefully the Wal-Mart will still be open, so let’s hold fire on that one.

11. Bug repellent - Bugs, right. Not scary.

12. Surface cleanser -Again. Scrubbing bubbles and a new Swiffer aren’t on my shopping list right now.

13. Lamp fuel -Yes! I want to see in the dark. Good one, hmm. Still for an alcoholic maybe a flashlight and a pocket full of Duracells might work.

14. Facial astringent and toner - For Zombies only.

15. Topical treatment - Coconut or pineapple? Oh I thought you sad tropical.

16. Fuel for vehicles - Mad Max anyone?

17. Stove fuel - Yes, I’ve got to eat! Here’s an excellent article about making a stove from a Coke can!

18. Gun cleaner - Ah. Now I wish I hadn’t let my NRA membership run out.

19. Mouthwash - Yes I tried that once. I woke up in Syracuse with a tattoo of a dolphin on my left buttock.

20. Rust prevention - Eh? 

21. Clean optic glass - Actually, that’s a really good one. I’d be really screwed without my glasses.

22. Weed killer - Wait! Let’s just fill up the mower!

23. Clean electronics - Electronics as in machines that need power? 

24. Cough suppressant (warmed whiskey mixed with honey and lemon works best) - I thought we were only taking Everclear? Hmm. Check your motives.

25. Muscle relaxer - Yes, I bet it does. 

26. Disinfect questionable water -That sounds like ‘Happy Hour’ to me.

27. Help repopulate - This is my favorite! I know exactly what she means!

The full list is available here.

Neville Elder is a regular contributor to The Fix. He's also a photographer and writer. Originally from the UK, he's lived in the unfashionable end of Brooklyn for 13 years. He last wrote about the farce of death penalty drugs, rock 'n roll recovery and early morning sober raves.
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PRO-ACT Family Addiction Education Program helps families address drug and alcohol addiction



Next free sessions start week of Nov. 4 at various locations in five counties



When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, the disease affects the entire family. Each month PRO-ACT (Pennsylvania Recovery Organization–Achieving Community Together) hosts a free Family Addiction Education Program to help individuals and families recognize and address an addiction problem in a spouse, parent, child or other loved one. Led by trained volunteers who have been in the same situation, these information and support programs begin the first week of each month and run one evening a week for three consecutive weeks. Each session lasts two hours.



Programs are offered at several locations throughout the five-county southeast Pennsylvania region:

· Tuesdays—From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Media and Northeast Philadelphia.

· Wednesdays—From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Pottstown; from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in North Philadelphia; and from 7p.m.to 9 p.m. in West Chester.

· Thursdays—From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Northern Liberties; 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Bristol and Colmar.



Sessions are free and confidential—first names only. Pre-registration is required. To register, call 800-221-6333, weekdays 9 a.m. through 5 p.m., or visit http://councilsepa.org/programs/pro-act/family-education-program/.
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October 10, 2015

FREE
COMMUNITY SEMINARS

Learn more about addiction and the recovery process from experts in the treatment field by attending free monthly seminars at:


Livengrin Counseling Center - Oxford Valley
195 Bristol-Oxford Valley Road
Langhorne, PA 19047 

UNDERSTANDING 12-STEP FELLOWSHIP
Monday - October 13, 2014
6:00PM - 8:00PM

Presenter: Edie Cohen, MS, CCDP


CELEBRATING A 
SOBER HOLIDAY SEASON
Monday - November 10, 2014
6:00PM - 8:00PM

Presenter: Yvonne Kaye, PhD, MSC 


MEDICAL ASPECTS OF ADDICTION
Monday - December 8, 2014
6:00PM - 8:00PM

Presenter: Mark C. Wallen, M.D., FASAM


For more information or registration:

Dana Cohen

Download the Brochure
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Friday, October 10, 2014

October 10 Chp 89 v 50 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

Consider , Lord , how your servants are disgraced ! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.


Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.


Insults are like arrows from an archers bow .Once the arrow is fired there is no stopping it . Depending on how deep the penetration determines the wound .Wounds can be fatal and , someones life can end immediately .Other wounds become infected when not taken care of immediately ,leading to infection and then a very painful slow tortuous death. Consider your words now picture them as arrows .Now think about how wreckless you have been . Really dig deep and ponder your relationships and think about the last time you were with someone. Did you leave them with an arrow sticking out of their chest .Did you leave them to die slowly .If they are still on planet earth ,you gotta a chance to mend their wounds . Step nine is the medicine are you willing and brave enough to apply , no one deserves to die a slow agonizing death so do the right thing ,the healing you give will also become a healing received !


Proverbs 18 v 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.


By Joseph Dickerson
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Daily Quote

"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today? It will get better." - Mary Marin Morrissey


Today's Online Meetings
AA Meeting - 11:00 am CST: "Friday Fun"






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