November 26 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 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Are you one of those folks who try to carry all the grocery bags at once ? I am ,and there can be 15 bags and I will attach each individual bag to my fingers regardless of the weight .In the back of my mind I am telling myself , I am saving myself two trips.Half way to the house I begin losing feeling in my fingers ,suddenly I realize I am not gonna make it ,but giving up is not an option so i make a run for it but the load is too heavy and the bags split groceries spill everywhere and not just in my general area but the groceries actually take the stairs and down the driveway and down the street goes my fruits and sodas. Same goes for life ,we will do and say stuff out of anger and people will respond out of defense and hurt .Most words we receive are designed too hurt and cause as much damage as possible. Working this step will help you discover that like the groceries carrying too much in your heart will lead to your heart bursting with sadness and then collapse. No cutting corners when it comes to this step ! My heart was so full of the pain of the past that finding or fitting happiness into my heart was impossible. Gods Big book teaches that the issues of life flow from the heart and if it is full of anger , sadness , misery , and fear ,what do you think is gonna come out.Slow steady and consistent is how step 4 should be worked . Once you get rid of the heavy load you have been carrying there will be no reason too self - medicate and for once in your life you will have room for peace and happiness.

James 5-16 - Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

By Joseph Dickerson

Survey Finds Many Positive Aspects to Recovery
/By Celia Vimont
November 19th, 2014/




There are many positive aspects to being in recovery, suggests a new survey of people who are experiencing recovery from alcohol or drug problems. The findings of the national survey of more than 9,000 people will help both people in recovery, and those who treat them, according to the researchers.

Currently there is no agreement about the definition of recovery, says lead researcher Lee Ann Kaskutas, DrPH, of the Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, California. Many people believe it requires total abstinence from drugs and alcohol, while others do not. “Most of what we know about the definition of recovery has come from scientists and expert panels, not from people in recovery,” she says.

The goal of the “What Is Recovery?” project was to develop a way of defining recovery based on how it is experienced by those who actually live it. The researchers did a tremendous amount of outreach to find people in recovery, including ads on Craigslist and announcements on radio programs. “People in recovery are a hidden population,” Dr. Kaskutas said. “There is a serious stigma attached to addiction. These elements that define recovery demonstrate to those going through it, as well as the general public and policymakers, that it is not something to be ashamed of.”

Survey respondents were most likely to say recovery is:
Being honest with myself.
Being able to enjoy life without drinking or using drugs like I used to.
Living a life that contributes to society, to my family or to my betterment.
Being the kind of person that people can count on.
About giving back.
Striving to be consistent with my beliefs and values in activities that take up the major part of my time and energy.

Dr. Kaskutas says people in recovery can use the findings to explain to family and friends what they are going through. “They can say, ‘When I say I’m in recovery, I mean that it’s an ongoing process, and I’m actually trying to live a life that’s contributing to society,’” she says. “Recovery doesn’t just (or always) mean abstinence—it can also mean you have a positive way of being that you didn’t have before.”

She said it is significant that almost all respondents said recovery is about giving back and helping other people. She noted that some people are reluctant to attend recovery programs because they think the programs will be religious or spiritual. “The survey shows that being spiritual can really just mean you’re giving back and helping others—and it’s not necessarily about religion either.”

Helping others and giving back can be as simple as reading to your child at night, doing the dishes for your wife when she comes home tired from work, or talking to someone else in recovery, Dr. Kaskutas notes. “When you help others, you are helping yourself,” she says. “It makes you feel better. Helping others may be the combustion engine of recovery.”

Professionals treating those in recovery can also use the findings, Dr. Kaskutas says. “The findings point to specific, tangible topics that people can use in service delivery,” she notes. “It helps define what they should be concerned about, and what they should be helping people to achieve.” For instance, providers might add or suggest sober fun activities and opportunities for volunteering, and emphasize contributing to society.

To conduct the study, the researchers started by interviewing dozens of people in recovery. Some were in 12-step groups or other support groups, while others were treatment program alumni, or doing it on their own. They ended up with 167 potential items that define recovery, which were whittled down to 47 based on a survey with more than 200 recovering individuals and more than 50 additional interviews. The researchers then asked 9,341 people in recovery nationwide whether these items belonged in a definition of recovery. The final definition of recovery included 39 of these items.

The findings are published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Dr. Kaskutas says she hopes to keep in touch with more than 1,000 survey respondents who said they were interested in staying involved in future studies on recovery, to track their progress over time.

New Research Finds 20 Percent of College Students Abuse Prescription Stimulants
/By Join Together Staff
November 19th, 2014/




Almost one-fifth of college students say they abuse prescription stimulants, a new survey finds. The most commonly abused stimulants are medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), such as Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse.

One in seven young adults ages 18 to 25 who aren’t in college also say they abuse stimulant medications, HealthDay reports. The survey, sponsored by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, included more than 1,600 young adults who answered questions online. The researchers found young adults say they use prescription stimulants to help them stay awake, study or improve their performance at work or school.

“The findings shed a new and surprising light on the young adult who is abusing prescription stimulants,” said Sean Clarkin, Director of Strategy and Program Management for the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. “While there is some ‘recreational’ abuse, the typical misuser is a male college student whose grade point average is only slightly lower than that of non-abusers, but who is juggling a very busy schedule that includes academics, work and an active social life.”

“Students need help in learning how to manage their busy lifestyles effectively,” Dr. Josh Hersh, Staff Psychiatrist at Miami University, said in a news release. “Learning time management strategies such as ‘block scheduling’ and ‘syllabus tracking’ can help prevent ‘cramming’ – the main reason people look to stimulants at whatever the price. In addition, teaching students with ADHD who are prescribed stimulants about how to properly care for their medication will help address misuse and prevent these drugs from getting into the hands of students who might abuse the meds.”

Hersh explained stimulant drug abuse can be dangerous for students. “The fact that students often use these drugs around deadlines, when their natural adrenaline is already high, elevates the risk even more,” he said. “Sporadic use can lead to severe sleep deprivation and cause stimulant-induced psychosis, when a student gets paranoid and may hallucinate.”

Opioid Abuse Among Pregnant Women On the Rise
/By Join Together Staff
November 19th, 2014/


The percentage of women dependent on opioids during pregnancy more than doubled from 1998 to 2011, a new study finds. The overall rate of opioid dependency in pregnant women remains low, at 0.39 percent.

The study looked at the use of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and methadone, as well as illegal opioids such as heroin, according to HealthDay.

Lead researcher Dr. Lisa Leffert of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston noted dependence on opioids during pregnancy can increase risks during delivery. “This increase in opioid abuse and dependence in the pregnant population is happening along with that in the general population,” she said. “These women were more likely to deliver by cesarean and have extended hospital stays” compared to other pregnant women.

Leffert and colleagues analyzed data on almost 57 million deliveries between 1998 and 2011. They found women who abused or were dependent on opioids were almost five times as likely to die during hospitalization, and were more likely to deliver by cesarean section and have extended hospital stays, compared with women who did not abuse or were not dependent on narcotics.

The babies of women who abused or were dependent on opioids were twice as likely to be stillborn, premature and have poor growth. A condition called placental abruption, in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus prematurely, was almost three times as likely in these women.

The findings are published in the journal Anesthesiology.

November 23 Chp 147 v 3 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

STEP 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God .

Its a no brainer right ! Well if so why do we spend so much time tying to fix things the way we want .Its funny even when it appears we have our lives straightened out we still feel lost and empty. We still spend countless years pretending to the world we got it all together when we know deep down inside our hearts their is pain exhaustion and sorrow we cant get rid of or heal ourselves from. The Psalm has the promise and the answer , the step is the key. God knows your deepest darkest secrets and only he can truly heal ,but he bandages our wounds .Remember being a kid and falling down all we wanted too do was get to mama and she would hold you rock you and then put some stuff on your boo boo and it would burn but she would blow on it too soothe it .Thats what God does , He embraces us soothes our hurts and dries our tears and heals our wounds . Our way is a quick fix just like our addiction . With God its a permanent fix ! 

Psalms 30:5 …Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

BY Joseph Dickerson

November Newsletter   From breaking research on Rx stimulant abuse to a brand new, interactive toolkit for teens, check out what's going on at the Partnership this fall.   Survey: College Students & the Abuse of Rx Stimulants This month, we released a new survey confirming that the abuse of prescription stimulants – medicines prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – is becoming normalized among college students and other young adults. The study found that young adults often misuse and abuse these drugs as a way to manage the stress of academics, work and social pressures they face in their daily lives. The survey was released on November 13th at New York University. See the survey findings > New Toolkit for Teens Responding to the growing need for teen-targeted educational resources, we developed a new Above the Influence (ATI) Toolkit. This resource includes teen-informed activities that can be used with youth 12-17 years old to boost confidence and prevent risk-taking behaviors, including alcohol and drug abuse. This toolkit is part of ATI, a program inspiring young people to make positive decisions and avoid negative influences. It offers individual and group activities that can help teens make healthier decisions with the support of adults who value them. Download the ATI Toolkit >   The Partnership, The GRAMMY Foundation® and MusiCares® Announce 2014 Teens Make Music Contest We collaborated with the GRAMMY Foundation® and MusiCares® for the fifth annual Teens Make Music Contest. The contest, part of our new Above the Influence campaign, asks young musicians, ages 14 – 18, to compose or create an original song and/or music video that celebrates life above the influence or brings attention to the consequences of substance abuse. Learn more >    Families need your support. Donate to the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids on December 2nd, #GivingTuesday.              We're here to help. Call our Parents Toll-Free Helpline 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)            DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages sent to this email address are not read. If you have a question or comment, please use our interactive online help system. Subscribe to our RSS feeds. To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Drugfree.org, add thepartnership@drugfree.org to your address book. Partnership for Drug-Free Kids | 352 Park Avenue South | Ninth Floor | New York, NY 10010 unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | view email in browser