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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




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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




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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




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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

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