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“That’s been one of my mantras--focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” –Steve Jobs
“Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. And I firmly believe that when I am positive it not only makes me better, but is also makes those around me better.” -Harvey Mackay
“Belief that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” -William James
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
-Maya Angelou
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Statement #5, “I am what I think.”
I am a capable, competent, caring, compassionate woman.
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+ Karen’s Perspective +
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Statement #5, the center of the WFS New Life Acceptance Program continues to assist so many women with one simple strategy, manage our thoughts. It is quite simple in concept but much more difficult to maintain. I recall the first time I became aware of my thinking; I felt extremely agitated and mad since I had no idea how to shut off the many thoughts that seemed to bombard my mind. I felt like I had walked into another world. In fact, I did. A beautiful New Life.
Sobriety and Statement #5 in action provide a pathway for growth and healing to take place. Being able to manage thoughts that relate to drinking or cravings, I am free to manage any thought or any repetitive sentence and alter my self-talk.
In the past, it was easy for me to dump on me. I did this while alone and with others. “Gosh, that was sooo stupid!!” or “I’ll never believe I can do this/that,” are now reworded with encouragement and some 4C affection. “I’ll learn from this moment” sounds and feels much better as well as “Of course I can, and if I cannot, I will try again!”
Unlike Steve Jobs, I don’t wish to move mountains. I don’t need to leave a dent in the Universe as he had mentioned. No Apple, no iPhone discoveries, nothing but simple simplicity. I do, however, wish to continue to lead a life of relationships, connections, growth and love.
It all starts with a thought. Hugzzz, Karen
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+ Dee’s Insights +
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Hi 4C Women, I remember in the beginning how difficult it was to think positive about my life or myself. Believe me, if you wanted to know what I thought about myself, I had plenty of negative adjectives to last a lifetime, or at least a day, if you had the time or energy to listen to it. As Dr. Phil says, “How much fun are you to be around?”
I must admit that it took a while to say “I am a competent woman” at the beginning of each meeting and really mean it. The more I practiced the statements and truly changed my thinking, the easier it became and one day I realized, I believed it! I also began to notice that how I thought about myself dictated how I behaved to the world. I don’t know why anyone would have wanted to stick around negative Dee because I didn’t even like me. The more I started putting positive adjectives into my definition of me, I felt good about myself. I finally believed I was a 4C woman and I could feel happiness building inside - authentic happiness. It takes a lot of concentrated effort to change thought patterns and sometimes that inner critic pays a visit and you have to knock him/her off your shoulder.
A while back, we did work on the inner critic in our group. Thanks to a workshop Nina and I did a few years ago at the WFS conference, I had a lot of material to work with. Several of us named our inner critic and so when old messages, old behavior and negative thoughts about ourselves that no longer was our truth started creeping in, we decided we would shout the name and tell them to be quiet (or perhaps a bit stronger message).
The past is gone forever and, as long as we are open and willing to change our thoughts, our definition of who we are NOW is what counts. That is positive self-talk. How would you define yourself today? This week, catch yourself when you start thinking negatively about yourself and especially if you say it to someone else. Is it your truth or someone else’s old definition of who you were or who you thought you were? Awareness is the key to change. –Dee
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Thank you, Karen and Dee, for your words of encouragement and inspiration to change those negative thoughts into positive self-talk! ~Becky Fenner, WFS Director
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| Email: newlife@nni.com * Tel: 215-536-8026 * Fax: 215-538-9026 | ||||
| http://www.womenforsobriety. | ||||
Monday, April 27, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
OxyContin Overdoses Dropped 19% After Introduction of Abuse-Deterrent Version
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April 21st, 2015/
The rate of OxyContin overdoses dropped 19 percent in the two years after the company that makes the drug introduced an abuse-deterrent formulation in 2010, a new study finds. Prescriptions of the drug decreased 19 percent after the new version was released.
During the same period, the rate of heroin overdoses increased 23 percent, HealthDayreports. The findings are published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
“This is the first time in the last two decades that narcotic prescribing had dropped, rather than continued to increase,” said lead researcher Dr. Marc Larochelle of Boston University School of Medicine. “Some were skeptical that simply decreasing supply would lead to a decrease in overdoses, but we did find that,” he added.
“Reducing supply may have led some people who are abusing these drugs to substitute an illicit narcotic like heroin, and it may partially explain why we have seen an explosion in heroin use across the country,” Larochelle said.
The drop in OxyContin prescriptions could be due to fewer people abusing the drug or selling it on the street, he noted.
The original version of OxyContin contained highly concentrated levels of the opioid oxycodone, which was designed so small amounts of the drug were released over a long period. A person who wanted to abuse the drug could crush and then snort it, or dissolve it in liquid and inject it.
The Food and Drug Administration approved an abuse-deterrent version of OxyContin, which is more difficult to crush. It turns into a gooey gel if it is crushed, making it almost impossible to snort or inject.
A study published last month found up to one-fourth of people entering drug rehabilitation programs say they have abused the abuse-deterrent version of OxyContin.
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Please join us “In The Rooms” on Thursday April 23 , 2015, at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time
Thursdays Guest Expert: Sara Sencer McArdle, criminal attorney
Topic: How to handle DYFS and drug charges.
After graduating from law school in 1979, Sara Sencer McArdle worked for the Essex County prosecutor’s office. She worked there for more than 20 years, 10 as head of the child abuse division. In 2002, Sara Sencer McArdle moved into private practice. On June 1, 2005, she established her own family law and criminal defense practice.
She has been continuously certified as a criminal trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court since 1983 and provides a full line of family and criminal law services in matters such as child support, child custody, modification of existing court orders, felony defense and representation in Superior Court.
Attorney Sara Sencer McArdle graduated from law school in 1979. Ms. McArdle worked as an Assistant Prosecutor for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for 22 years. While there, she spent a decade working as the head of the child abuse division. In 2002, after over twenty-two years of dedicated service, she moved into private practice and opened her own firm in 2005. Sara is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Criminal Trial Attorney. Sara McArdle has handled over one hundred jury trials and fifty bench trials in her career. That experience enables Sara to help her clients to feel at ease with the challenges of the courtroom, if you must go to trial.
Sara’s family law practice includes cases involving divorce, child custody, child support and domestic violence. Her criminal practice includes dwi/dui, traffic violations, municipal court issues, and juvenile crime issues. She also handles real estate transactions and wills.
Sara McArdle’s priority is with her clients. Sara works closely with each client to allow you to make a well informed decision and have realistic expectations of the potential outcomes of your legal issues.
At the Law Firm of Sara Sencer McArdle, we represent clients in municipal and criminal courts throughout the state of New Jersey.
In The Rooms Meeting Thursday 7pm ET. Meetings cannot be accessed via phone or tablet. Must use Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser. Please join us!
Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Articles, Videos & Breaking News | Powered by Writers In Treatment | A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
April 21, 2015 Treatment Industry & Recovery Community News Vol. 2., No. 35
Writers In Treatment REEL Recovery Film Festival Addiction/Recovery eBulletin Website Testimonials
13th Time's a Charm
Andy Dick Enters Rehab For 13th Time
Thirteen is generally said to be an unlucky number, but troubled comedian Andy Dick is hoping to change that, as RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that he is now in rehab for the thirteenth time! Dick, 49, entered SOBA Recovery Center in Malibu three months ago, an insider told Radar. "Andy is doing really good right now. He is a clown, but he is also a total sweetheart and is trying really, really hard at sobriety,"the insider revealed. On Monday, he wrote, "Nothing beats a sober Monday,"tagged with @sobarecovery.CONTINUED @ RadarOnline.com
Get well at New Method Wellness
Monkey See Monkey Do
Does alcohol in movies make teens more likely to drink?
Seeing actors drink alcohol in movies seems to increase the likelihood that teens will drink and have alcohol-related problems, a new study suggests. The findings fit with a growing consensus of evidence that teens are more likely to engage in various risky behaviors that occur in the films and TV shows they watch, said study author Andrea Waylen, a senior lecturer in social sciences at the University of Bristol in England.CONTINUED @ CBSNews.com
His House & New Creation Treatment
Like Demonic Possession
Reformed gambler explains why flutter can lead to an addiction worse than alcoholism
Saturday's Grand National saw people placing bets that won't bet again this year. For others, that first win can spark an addiction more hidden than alcoholism, one reformed gambler says Jonathan de Burca Butler. For them, the English Grand National is the only occasion they set foot inside a bookies shop. Horse selection is often made on a whim; its name evokes a memory or the jockey is wearing your favourite colour. Traditionally, punters stick a pin in the list of runners and riders and hope for the best. There are winners and losers and, for the majority of us, that will be that until next year.CONTINUED @ IrishExaminer.com
Click here for Biosound Therapy
Amplifying the Conversation
Hazelden Betty Ford Intensifies Its
Advocacy Presence
"We have been somewhat silent on mainstream topics even if they were related to the space we're in," says Hazelden Betty Ford's Nick Motu. "We've shied away from controversy. We now have an obligation as the largest nonprofit to take a stand on controversial issues such as marijuana legalization."... Motu adds that while Hazelden Betty Ford will continue to participate in advocacy activity spearheaded by other organizations around the country, its leaders did not feel it would suffice simply to attach its advocacy efforts to an existing national organization or other mechanism in the field. CONTINUED @ AddictionPro.com
High Functioning High Bottom
Soccer Mom's Secret Heroin Addiction
"I must admit that even as I type, I'm not entirely sure if I will, in fact, send this," her email begins. "I'm just a wee bit intimidated, and I'm truly afraid after I ask you my question that I will find myself on the receiving end of, well, basically a response fitting to that of a complete and utter f--king moron."CONTINUED @ TheDailybeast.com
Need An Expert Interventionist?
To Vape or Not to Vape
Author Will Self's Addiction To Vaping
For 40 years, smoking cigarettes has been as fundamental to Will Self's way of life as eating and sleeping (often much more so). Lately, though, he's a changed man, thanks to a new addiction: vaping. According to our orally fixated correspondent, the pleasures of the plastic fag are many. So start sucking now, smokers, before someone tries to ban them.CONTINUED @ Esquire.co.uk
Call Benchmark Transitions TODAY
AcademicAddiction.com
Rocky Road Indeed
Ben and Jerry's takes heat for ice cream beer
"It's a crass, corporate greedy move to put put a brand name like Ben and Jerry's on a beer," says Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director and CEO of Alcohol Justice, an alcohol industry watchdog consumer group. "It's bad for children - who will start looking at beer as the next step after ice cream."CONTINUED @ USAToday.com
NPR on the Roots of Addiction
Addiction In American History:
14 Vivid Graphs
"'Alcoholism' made its debut in the lexicon around 1900, associated almost exclusively with 'crime' and 'dreams' - coincidentally around the time that Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams was published," Recovery.org notes. "However, the association with crime was soon eclipsed by concern over 'chronic' alcoholism and 'death'/'deaths' related to alcoholism, which ballooned in the 1920s during the height of the prohibition movement." CONTINUED @ KPBS.org
A Newcomer Writes...
An Open Letter from an Addict
The purpose of the following open letter written by Olivia Kirks, is to provide insight about the disease of addiction. In it, she shares her own experience with opiate addiction. Having battled drug abuse since 2006, Olivia proudly attests to being clean and sober since July 17, 2014. To those who suffer with us and because of us: First of all, you need to know that my addiction is not your fault. It's nothing you did or did not do. Mom, it's not because you worked so much or didn't have dinner with me every night...CONTINUED @ Surfky.com
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In Memorial RAP VIDEO
Rapper's Video About Drug Plague, made 'for Joey VIDEO
The Tottenville resident, a former drug abuser himself, has written several songs highlighting Staten Island's prescription pill epidemic. I just wanted to write something for his family so Joey would never be forgotten," Stroh said. He says he has known too many friends who died from drug overdoses, and he hopes his music can inspire some addicts to seek help. The deeply personal track chronicles the damaging effects drug abuse has had on Porcello's family as well as on Stroh.CONTINUED @ SILive.com
Exciting
Is Oxytocin Too Good to Be True?
...That's why there's so much excitement in the recovery world lately about oxytocin. In human studies, a synthetic, inhalable version of the hormone seems to quell alcohol cravings. And it does this not by making people dependent on yet another drug (Ativan and Valium are the classic detox helpers) but by actually killing the urge ... Last month, researchers reported that drunk rats given oxytocin immediately started acting sober, an odd discovery that hints at still more avenues for manipulating the brain chemistry of alcoholics.CONTINUED @ TheFix.com
Over The Counter Death VIDEO
98 hospitalized in 1 month span due to 'Spice' overdose VIDEO
Ninety-eight people have been hospitalized in the span of a month due to drug overdoses suspected of being caused by Spice, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Spice is the street name of synthetic cannabinoids. It is also known as K2, Spice Gold, Sence, Genie, Zohai, Yucatan Fire, Smoke, Sexy Monkey, Black Mamba and Skunk. The substance consist of dried plant material sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids. It mimics the effects of marijuana because its chemicals stimulate the same areas of the brain.CONTINUED @ MyFoxal.com
Life Imitates Art?
'Breaking Bad' style mobile meth lab bust
Authorities said both King and Ebat exhibited physical signs of recent methamphetamine use. While searching the vehicle the deputies found a glass meth pipe and two plastic containers with meth residue inside the glove box. In the trunk of the car, the deputy found a variety of items used to manufacture methamphetamine, including lighter fluid and bottles of sulfuric acid based drain cleaner.CONTINUED @ AZFamily.com
But One Has Stockholders
Editorial: Trading one addiction for another doesn't solve problem
...while programs that use Methadone and Suboxone have been successful in helping those addicted to drugs maintain their employment and lead reasonably normal lives, those programs do not help people kick their drug habits. Instead, the drug addicts are given a different drug that avoids some of the woeful effects of heroin, OxyContin and other opiates. However, this also can increase the risk for drug overdose, as users may attempt to overpower the Naltrexone by taking more opiates.CONTINUED @ DailyIndependent.com
Trauma In The Spotlight
Trauma Boomerang: Too Much vs. Too Little by Dr. Tian Dayton MA, PhD
Dysregulation is a hallmark of trauma. If we are regularly exposed to frightening situations and we aren't able to process, understand or gain comfort for our fears, our bodies can become sensitized and wired for overreactions. We go from zero to ten and... Traumatized people can have trouble living in four, five, and six; that middle ground where thinking feeling and behavior operate as a fairly integrated whole. In Twelve Step rooms the phenomenon of dysregulation is intuitively referred to as "black and white thinking."CONTINUED @ CounselorMagazine.com
MEDIA: Book Review - Da Capo, $26.99
'Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll: The Science of Hedonism, the Hedonism of Science' Da Capo, 352 pp., $26.99
Did you know goats, hyenas and gibbons all engage in oral sex? Or that Vesalius (the "father of modern anatomy") was unable to locate the clitoris? Or that the human penis is rare among mammals in that it doesn't include skeletal support and consequently it is more closely linked to the brain? And this is just the start (cue the punch lines here).CONTINUED @ SeattleTimes.com
Hollywood Relapse VIDEO ONLY
Kim Richards Arrest: Her Struggle With Sobriety VIDEO
CONTINUED @ AccessHollywood.com
Another Good List
15 Shocking Alcohol Statistics for Alcohol Awareness Month
Often times, people get caught up in the glitz and glamour of alcohol. Cocktails for every occasion, drinks that smell good and look pretty, and the fact that alcohol is a drug is promptly forgotten. That's why once a year it's good to remind people about the dangers and health implications associated with alcohol. April is alcohol awareness month.CONTINUED @ HuffingtonPost.com
The 6th Annual WCASD Conference
UPCOMING EVENTS
LAUGH FOR RECOVERY
Saturday, May 16, 2015
The 2nd Annual Comedy Benefit, "Laugh for Recovery" which is YPR-NJ's major fundraiser is slated for6:30PM May 16, at the Old Bridge Knights of Columbus (61 Pine Street, Old Bridge, NJ). Last year's event was a great success, and this year's Comedy Benefit will be even better.
Old Bridge Knights of Columbus
61 Pine Street, Old Bridge, NJ
FOR MORE INFORMATION
REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL
DENVER EDITION
May 29-31, 2015
The 1st Denver Edition 2015
With CeDAR and Writers In Treatment
Denver Film Society
SIE Film Center
2510 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80206
Call for more information:
818-762-0461
FOR MORE INFORMATION
REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL
2nd ANNUAL BAY AREA EDITION
June 11-14, 2015
VIZ Theater, 1746 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Smith Rafael Film Center
1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901
Call for more information:
415-548-0492
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