April 21 CHP 118 v 8 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.

(GODS BIG BOOK)

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

Most of my life was built on others opinions and thoughts of how I could please everyone and make them happy .Doing for others became unhealthy because every-time I expected them to be there for me I got left hanging like a man from a cliff with no ropes. Anger and rejection pushed me deeper into my self medicating ways to cope with all the times people walked on me.This was not what they were doing and It took a lot of step work to help me discover that. Putting all my trust and happiness in others was only gonna get me more frustration and sorrows. The next time you go above and beyond to please someone and you feel walked on when your kindness is not returned , ask yourself did I do that for them or myself. Somewhere along the path of life my thinking became distorted and I was seeking acceptance through helping and doing for folks things that did not needed to be done in the first place .Something else I discovered was don't push people into what you think is best , because if you dig deep you will see you are being ruled by your own selfish motives .Trust is something that is once lost can be almost impossible to get back. You have to be very patient with the loved ones you have burned and they have every right to take as much time as they need to trust you again. If we can in every situation slow down and reflect on just what we are doing and why we are doing it we can stop trying to control life and surrender control to GOD who will not let you down , who is always available and has all the answers to your happiness and he will never betray your trust. 

Psalm 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go,for to you I entrust my life.

(GODS BIG BOOK) By Joseph Dickerson

The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.                                                   and           Pennsylvania Recovery Organization      Achieving Community Together (PRO-ACT)  Recovery in Our Communities April 20, 2015 Bucks County Families Offered Free Naloxone Training April 27   + Families in 5-county area offered Free Family Education Series   If someone you love has a drug or alcohol problem, The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., can help. In addition to our ongoing family education and support series  (outlined below), The Council has partnered with the Anna Straw Initiative to offer Naloxone Training to families in Bucks County, on Monday evening, April 27, at Deep Run Presbyterian Church in Perkasie. To prevent fatal overdoses, the free Naloxone Training program was created in memory of Dave Messina, another young person in Bucks County who lost his fight to addiction. In the past year, there were 250 drug-related deaths in Bucks County alone, and that number doesn't include those who overdosed and survived. Participants will learn how to recognize, prevent and respond to an overdose for heroine, oxycodone and other prescription drugs. Trainings also include a Naloxone prescription and kit, instructions on how to administer the overdose-reversal agent, and information on PA Act 139 and immunity from legal repercussions for getting help for a drug overdose. Funding for the program is provided by the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc.  And, for families throughout our five-county area, The Council's Family Education Program offers a free three-part series and a unique support system for friends and family of a loved one struggling with addiction. The next series kicks off in the first week of May, at 10 locations, including Deep Run on Mondays, May 4, 11 and 18, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The program is led by trained volunteers who have been through similar experiences. They offer confidential support, guidance, and resources to help find a road to recovery. And they offer hope, in a caring atmosphere with other people in the same situation who want to understand addiction and learn about the recovery process. The series is free, but contributions are welcome. The other nine locations offering the program in May are in Bucks County (Bristol), Chester County (West Chester), Delaware County/Main Line (Media/Rosemont), Montgomery County (Colmar, Pottstown) and Philadelphia (North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, Northern Liberties). The Family Education Program is part of a Council initiative called PROACT - Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Achieving Community Together - that provides advocacy and recovery support communities. The family program has helped more than 3,000 families since it launched in 2001. Pre-registration is required for all programs. For information on upcoming dates and locations, please call our 24/7 confidential information and referral line at 800-221-6333, email helpline@councilsepa.org or visit www.councilsepa.org   How to Talk to Your Kids about Underage Drinking: Early Education is focus of Alcohol Awareness Month      Underage drinking comes at a hefty price. It accounts for 11 percent of all alcohol purchased in the U.S., resulting in 4,300 deaths and 190,000 emergency room visits each year. It is the number one drug of choice for America's youth, usually consumed through binge drinking, and more likely to kill young people than all other illegal drugs combined.   Each April, during Alcohol Awareness Month, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., rallies The Council and its other affiliates to join in a concerted effort to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma, and encourage communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. This is the perfect time to start having open and honest conversations with the youth in your life, to educate them on the severe consequences of alcohol abuse. Peers, parents, internet or social media - after 35 years of research, it's still parents who have the greatest influence on a child's alcohol use. But the old "just say no" approach is just not effective. The average child is taking his or her first drink at age 12, so you need to talk to your kids about it long before adolescence. Tell them the risks. Tell them the consequences. Tell them how it creates extremely dangerous situations - for themselves and society - and point to the examples we see every day online and in the News. Tell them how it is directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure, alcohol overdose, unsafe sex and other problem behaviors, even for those who may never develop a dependence or addiction. One in four children are exposed to a substance use disorder in the family, so tell them if that's part of their reality. Let them know that addiction has a strong familial connection: it is an important message. Let them know the devastating problems it can cause for them and your whole family. Let them know that drinking before age 15 equates to a FIVE times greater risk of developing an alcohol use disorder at some point in their life. Reducing underage drinking is critical for the health of our youth and our society. It requires cooperation from parents, schools, community organizations, business leaders, government agencies - the entertainment industry and alcohol manufacturers and retailers - and young people themselves. Share this article with someone you know to help us create awareness and encourage individuals and families to get help for alcohol-related problems. Click here to visit our website and learn more about The Council's Intervention programs and resources for parents.  Volunteer for The Council/PRO-ACT !! Contact one of our Volunteer Coordinators: Central Bucks:  Email or call Rick at 215-345-6644 Southern Bucks:  Email or call Karen at 215-788-3738 x100 Philadelphia: Email or call She-Ria at 215-233-7700 or Email John or call 215-923-1661  Chester, Delaware and Montco: Email or call John at 215-923-1661 PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! Committees: Email  or call John at 215-923-1661 Volunteer Training Schedule Volunteer Orientation Training April 10, 2015 1 pm - 2:30 pm at Central Bucks Recovery Community Center Group Leadership/Facilitation Training April 8, 2015 1 pm - 3:30 pm at Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center April 9, 2015 10 am - 1pm and 5 pm - 8 pm Philadelphia Recovery Training Center April 24, 2015 1 pm - 3 pm at Central Bucks Recovery Community Center Please contact the volunteer coordinator for questions or to attend.   AT OUR CENTERS FASD: Implications for Children and Adolescents - April 9, 2015, 9:00 am - Noon at Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center, 1286 Veterans Highway, Bristol, PA 19007.  Get an in-depth look at Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and how tools such as alcohol screening can assist in reducing the number of children born with FASD. Approved for 3 PCB credit hours. To register email or call David at 215-230-8218 x3162.  Click here for details.   Expungement Clinic - April 27, 2015 3:00 - 4:30 pm at Central Bucks Recovery Community Center, 252 W Swamp Road, Unit 12, Doylestown. Get the information you need if you believe your criminal charges are keeping you from gaining meaningful employment.  To registeremail or call Rick at 215-345-6644 x3151.    Planning to Sustain Recovery - every Tuesday 7 - 8:30 pm and every Thursday 10 - 11:30 am at Central Bucks Recovery Community Center (CBRCC), 252 W Swamp Road, Unit 12, Doylestown.  Educational support group to help individuals in all stages of recovery plan goals and action steps to sustain recovery. To register email or call Jeanne at 215-345-6644 xt. 3120.   Gateway to Work every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 11:00 am at SBRCC, 1286, Veterans Highway, Unit D-6, Bristol; Mon. - Fri. the first week of the month at PRCC, 1701 W Lehigh Ave., #6, Philadelphia, PA 19132; 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 11:00 am at CBRCC, 252 W Swamp Road, Doylestown. Get help with resume building, barriers to employment and motivation. Contact Rick at 215-345-6644 xt. 3151 or email for more information. To find out what's happening at our centers, Click here for April calendars!    Save the date!  Gather your team, consider sponsorship!    PRO-ACT Recovery Walk Saturday, September 19, 2015 Register free; Form a team; Join the Honor Guard; Donate; Volunteer; or become a Sponsor by  clicking here www.recoverywalks.org    AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to The Council. Go to www.smile.amazon.com  Log in with Amazon account info or register if you are a new member Type in The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. and click SEARCH We will come up, hit SELECT Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to The Council. www.councilsepa.org Information and Recovery Support Line 24/7: 800-221-6333 Employment Opportunities: Click here   DONATE Donations help us to reduce the impact of addiction for more individuals and families. The Council is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Judge’s Decision Keeps Marijuana on List of Schedule I Drugs

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

April 16th, 2015/

A ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller keeps marijuana on the list of Schedule I drugs, alongside LSD and heroin. Schedule I drugs are substances classified as having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Judge Mueller had agreed to consider marijuana’s drug classification under the 1970 Controlled Substance Act. She held a five-day fact-finding hearing in late 2014. Her decision to hold the hearing was in response to a pretrial defense motion in a federal case against alleged marijuana growers.

The defendants are accused of conspiring to grow more than 1,000 marijuana plants in a national forest. Judge Mueller will continue to preside over the case, The New York Timesreports.

Lawyers for the defendants say the federal marijuana law violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. They argue the government enforces marijuana law unevenly by permitting marijuana to be distributed in states where it is legal, while cracking down in states where it is illegal.

In her ruling, Judge Mueller said any adjustments to the law should be made by Congress.

Florida Drug Monitoring Program Leads to 25% Drop in Oxycodone Overdoses: Study

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

April 16th, 2015/

Deaths due to oxycodone overdoses declined 25 percent after Florida implemented its prescription drug monitoring program in 2011, according to a new study. The researchers attribute the drop directly to the program.

Oxycodone-related deaths in Florida increased 118.3 percent from 2007 to 2010, Medical Xpress reports. The rate began to decline in 2010 due to a variety of factors, including the introduction of abuse-deterrent oxycodone formulations, law enforcement crackdowns on “pill mills,” and a Florida law that imposed new penalties for physicians who overprescribe medication.

The prescription drug monitoring program led to an additional 25 percent decrease in oxycodone-related deaths, the University of Florida researchers report in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The program monitors patients’ controlled substance prescriptions, and provides current data on prescribing trends in Florida.

“Forty-nine states have prescription drug monitoring programs of some kind, but this is the first study to demonstrate that one of these programs significantly reduced oxycodone-related deaths,” lead author Chris Delcher, PhD, said in a news release. “Our work fills an urgent need for rigorous evaluation of these programs, so we can see what is working and what could be done better to help save lives and improve patients’ health care.”

men for Sobriety, Inc. "Whatever I need I can find it, feel it, keep it or release it." ҉  “The best way of removing negativity is to laugh and be joyous.”  -David Icke “The world is full of a lot of fear and a lot of negativity, and a lot of judgement.  I just think people need to start shifting into joy and happiness.  As corny as it sounds, we need to make a shift.”  -Ellen DeGeneres “It’s your outlook on life that counts.  If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself so seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives.  And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”  -Betty White “Negativism is an overall feeling, an overall attitude.  It is an attitude that can dominate us to the exclusion of all other feelings.  It keeps us from being positive about any facet of our lives, and it rules us above any other feelings.”  -Jean Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., WFS Program Booklet *************************************************************************** Statement #2, “Negative thoughts destroy only myself.” My first conscious sober act must be to remove negativity from my life. *************************************************************************** +++++++++++++++++++ + Karen’s Perspective + +++++++++++++++++++      This last week has been intense for me, both physically and emotionally.  I began the week acknowledging the hard work that I have accomplished and having our kitchen remodeled.  The thrill early in the week gave way to an uncomfortable yet welcoming repeat 6 month mammogram and ultrasound.  I walked out of the hospital on cloud nine...feeling gloriously happy, relieved and content.  I am proud of the way I handled myself.  I felt my 4C shining brightly.      Many women have repeat testing done and this was my first adventure into this unknown avenue.  When I first received the news last fall that I would need a repeat, my mind immediately went into a familiar spiral of negativity.  What would happen next?  Was it cancer?  When will I know?  Why does six months take so long to get here but Christmas come so incredibly fast?  STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!!      In quiet moments with myself, I brought out Statement #2 and I needed it.  For years and years I had traveled the route of panic and pressure and I was not going to let this negativity flourish.  I armed myself with positivity and I did not allow myself to dwell on something I had no answer to. Whenever commercials for anything cancer-related appeared on TV, I turned my mind to OFF and affirmed myself.  I knew nothing, so I was not going to worry.  I would worry when I had a reason to worry.  Anytime a stressful thought jumped in, I turned to my strength and encouraged myself. Each time I felt worked up, I worked in healthy and healing thoughts.      As the time came closer to my six month follow-up, I felt agitated and uneasy.  I brought out Statement #12 and decided that no matter what was going to happen, I would be able to move through it.  After all, I am a 4C woman!      WFS provides a guide for any situation, experience or feeling.  Repeat mammogram? Statement #2.  Feeling doubtful?  Statement #12.  Whatever I need I can find it, feel it, keep or release it.  Hugzzz, Karen  How do you respond to negative thinking?  +++++++++++++++ +  Dee’s Insights  + +++++++++++++++      Hi 4C Women, I’ve had a lot of practice with conquering negative thinking since the beginning of the year.  I kept trying to turn around the negative thoughts every time I went to the doctor, filled another prescription, experienced physical pain or thought about my daughter and her severe health problems.  If it wasn’t for the years of practicing the WFS statements, I might have been stuck in my bed with the covers over my head for a very long time.  Trust me, there were and are days when I cry because I also believe in expressing my feelings rather than holding them in. What I know is that WFS has taught me that negative thoughts are temporary and are an honest response to a person or situation.  Being aware of this has been the best lesson.  I can have a negative thought but I don’t have to live in it until I am either triggered or beat down for days. That brings me to having negative thoughts about those who have harmed or hurt me - the person response.  That might be the most difficult to overcome.  I know forgiveness is the key and it is the one that requires a lot of introspection, continuous hard work and remembering that this kind of negativity certainly does harm me and not the person I’m pretty angry with, even if I feel it is justified.  I fluctuate between being assertive and forgiving.  I feel if I am assertive, then I protect myself from letting the hurtful words be a personal attack and am grateful that I am not that angry person.  Other times, I make a decision that I need to forgive that person so I can let it go. Perhaps it also has a lot to do with the relationship.  It might be easier to forgive an acquaintance than a loved one.  The most important thing for me is that if I would allow negative thoughts to linger too long, I know they would take me to a dark place where I would be living in the past with all its regrets and pain.  This is why I love Statement 2 and the knowledge that negative thoughts destroy only myself.  Now why would I want to do that?  –Dee _________________________ Thank you, Karen and Dee, for your words of courage and strength to overcome those negative thoughts!  ~Becky Fenner, WFS Director

Email:  newlife@nni.com   *   Tel: 215-536-8026   *   Fax:  215-538-9026

http://www.womenforsobriety.org   *   http://www.wfscatalog.org

Best of the Week: April 11–17

COMING UP IN THE FIX// Thai Vomit Therapy * The Science of Work and Reaching Goals * Interview with Hazelden's Dr. Marvin Seppala * 10 Failures of State Drug Testing * Do People Outgrow Sex Addiction? * Chronic Illness in Sobriety *Fear * New Blog: Getting to a Place of Not Caring * PLUS: Other incisive articles

	DRUG WAR// The Emerald Triangle Up In Smoke? Does legalization spell the end for Humboldt County's cannabis culture? By Linda Stansberry
	NALTREXONE// One Pill or Twelve Steps? Who needs AA when you've got naltrexone? Anyone with a screaming void in their core that they've filled with alcohol, of course. By Jodi Sh. Doff
	PRO VOICES// Battling Bias: Tales from an Addiction Psychologist Stigma and stereotypes inside the treatment arena. By Amy J. Colley
	Q&A// The Fix Q&A with Chris Bell, Director of Prescription Thugs The director of Bigger Stronger Faster on his new documentary Prescription Thugs. By Dawn Roberts
	SLIDESHOW// 10 More Addiction Films You Have Probably Never Heard Of From a young Heath Ledger and a younger Gary Oldman to Pure, Smashed and Spun: another dose of The Fix's underrated—but great—movies about addiction. You're welcome. By Regina Walker

 

BEST OF THE QUICK FIX Puerto Rico Sending Hundreds of Drug Addicts to the U.S. U.S. Swim Champ Michael Phelps A 'Changed' Man Since Rehab Ringo Starr Says He Wasted Years in Alcoholic Haze After Beatles Breakup

Smoking Weed While Drinking Makes Users Far More Likely To Drive Drunk Porn-Addicted Mother Provides Weed, Sets Up ‘Naked Twister Party’ For Teen Daughter Nurse Jackie, TV’s Most Honest Depiction of Addiction, Enters Its Final Season

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

Uneducated This week, Amy J. Colley discussed how addicts run into bias from addiction stigma from the very people who are supposed to get them better. Readers shared their struggles in seeking treatment as addicts:

Well, part of the problem is that the education and healthcare systems are set up to separate addiction treatment from mental health treatment--as if they were two entirely unrelated issues instead of problems that most frequently go hand in hand. Therefore many psychologists and psychiatrists have no training in addiction. In my own case, after several months of working with a clinical psychologist on anxiety and relationship issues, I revealed to her that I was addicted to alcohol. She immediately discharged me and told me to seek addiction treatment, but could not even give me a treatment referral as she had no experience or knowledge at all about addiction issues. -MonaLisa1998 MORE »