The Real Dope on Dealing with an Addict: How Addiction Saved My Life

Thank you Family's Anonymous for allowing us to be part of your conference.

Beware when looking at rehabs--and, it turns out, elderly care. How can people be so cruel. (Right here in Asheville, BTW).

https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/inside-a-rehab-empire/

Inside a rehab empire Reveal reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter have been uncovering the ways that some drug rehabs exploit their desperate clients.

Oliver takes on the rehab...worth the watch.

LastWeekTonight Breaking news on a weekly basis. Sundays at 11PM - only on HBO. Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight channel for the latest videos from John Oliver and the LWT...

The real dope on rehab...maybe we should write that one!

https://www.youtube.com/user/LastWeekTonight

LastWeekTonight Breaking news on a weekly basis. Sundays at 11PM - only on HBO. Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight channel for the latest videos from John Oliver and the LWT...

I know this is controversial. But until we have a better option, I'm for whatever works to stabilize a person's life. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/10/17256572/opioid-epidemic-virginia-medicaid-expansion-arts

We really do have a solution to the opioid epidemic — and one state is showing it works Virginia shows how Medicaid can help end the opioid crisis.

We all want to believe those we love. That's natural. But where drugs/alcohol are involved we need put faith in actions, not words. That doesn't mean we don't love them. It means we choose to deal in reality for their sake, as well as ours.

Inspiring & right on for both enablers & addicts:
"If you let it, life will absolutely explode for you in ways you could never imagine. Chances are you're already on a path to something brand new & that other door's opened." Ben Shirley

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/23/573003388/from-skid-row-to-the-san-francisco-conservatory-of-music

From Skid Row To The San Francisco Conservatory Of Music Ben Shirley's addictions landed him on the streets of Los Angeles. Now, at 53, he's turning his life around with the help of music.

As the holidays approach don't forget that you matter & you have a choice.

It's hard not to judge & get angry w/ someone suffering w/ addiction when they're hurting innocent others. Detach from the emotion, breathe, & make the best choices for everyone, and that includes YOU! (Now I need to go practice that.)

The second noble truth is the origin of suffering is attachment. Never more true than when it comes to the enabler. To relieve the suffering--for you, for your family, and for the person you love with addiction--you must detach. Detachment is not a rejection of the person you love; it is starving the addiction.

A re-post to help with your holiday planning:

https://www.dealingwithanaddict.com/single-post/2016/12/12/Holiday-Tips-for-Dealing-With-An-Addict

Take Charge of Your Holiday in 3 Steps | The Real Dope on Dealing With An Addict It may be the “hap, hap, happiest” time of the year for many. But for those of us with an addict/alcoholic family member, it can be the most dreaded time of yea...

These NYT death-by-overdose maps are jaw dropping. Multiply their numbers by 3 or 4, and you have the number of family members suffering the pain of these losses.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/us/drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=g-artboard%20g-artboard-v3&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

How the Epidemic of Drug Overdose Deaths Rippled Across America Drug deaths have surged in nearly every U.S. county.

Addiction affects everyone in the family. https://www.thefix.com/ptsd-parents-addicts-health-crisis-being-ignored

PTSD in the Parents of Addicts | The Fix Autumn didn't realize she had PTSD when she found her daughter near death on the floor. She realized it when she tried to kill her daughter's dealer.

The Journey
By
Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Holiday Tips for Dealing With An Addict | The Real Dope on Dealing With An Addict It may be the “hap, hap, happiest” time of the year for many. But for those of us with an addict/alcoholic family member, it can be the most dreaded time of yea...

Why? You Already Know | The Real Dope on Dealing With An Addict “Why?” we ask incessantly. Why do they continue to take alcohol and/or drugs when they know how much it hurts us? Why is getting high more important than their ...

Hey all, Thanks for all the likes & book buying & getting in touch lately. We so appreciate having such a terrific community that just keeps growing. Let's keep connecting!!!
--Beth

P.S. If the mood strikes, we'd love for all who have read The Real Dope On Dealing with an Addict to give it a review on Amazon. Just go to the page where you buy it, click "reviews," and then click "write a customer review." Thanks.

Updated the website. Check it out. www.dealingwithanaddict.com

by Meridith Powell & Beth Brand | The Real Dope on Dealing with an Addict: How Addiction Saved My Life "A practical, how-to, survival guide for anyone living with an active addict. This is the information we wish we’d had." - Beth & Meridith

The recovery industry needs regulation. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/22/490526943/a-small-town-struggles-with-a-boom-in-sober-living-homes

A Small Town Struggles With A Boom In Sober Living Homes

Way to go NC. Every compassionate step brings people closer to recovery. http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20160716/NEWS/160719866?Title=NC-legalizes-needle-exchange

NC legalizes needle exchange RALEIGH — North Carolina's Republican lawmakers have legalized needle and syringe exchange programs across the state to combat rising infection and incarceration rates from a he**in epidemic law enforcement officials say is reaching critical levels.Gov. Pat McCrory on Monday approved the law despite...

Some things I have admired about Nashville's portrayal of addiction are...
--having a relapse is not a moral failing, it should be expected and you can recover from it
--addiction happens to decent, lovable people
--addiction affects everyone
--and the love of a good woman doesn't cure addiciton!!! (Thank you for this, finally.)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/05/26/nashville_finale_this_wasn_t_just_a_mediocre_show_about_country_music_it.html

Nashville Wasn’t Just a Mediocre Show About Country Music. It Was a Great One About Addiction. Barring an unexpected encore, Wednesday night’s Season 4 finale was the last we’ll see of Nashville, and I’m not going to cry in my beer about it. Desp ...

Brain scans are cool. (The brain of the habitual drug user is frightening.) How this Dr. is using these scans to treat mental illnesses is even cooler.

The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans | Daniel Amen | TEDxOrangeCoast Never miss a talk! SUBSCRIBE to the TEDx channel: http://bit.ly/1FAg8hB In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized ev...

Regulation is not the answer here. What it comes down to is doctors knowing their patients. And that takes time and caring. Two things our healthcare system lacks. My guess is that we are going to go overboard again and make rules that deny people in physical pain the medicine they need--rules that won't slow the addict down one bit. TIME AND CARING, PEOPLE, not regulation. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/health/prince-opioid-addiction.html

In Prince’s Battle With Opioids, a Familiar Narrative That Begins With Pain Evidence is mounting that the singer was fighting pain and a reliance on opioids, a battle that is familiar to many Americans.

I know people recover, but I can't help feeling so defeated by this disease sometimes. We have to keep speaking out & speaking up. We have to be fearless about calling addiction out, not allowing it to hide, not even for a second.

He**in epidemic hits home for mountain family BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. -- Daniel Dragonetti was the all-American boy next door who fell victim to what's become an epidemic -- he**in addiction.It started out with whatever was in the cold tablets...smoking pot, Janice Dragonetti, Daniel's mother, said.Dan

The Tryon Daily Bulletin - Patrick Craig Kelly Patrick was born on December 18, 1990 in Rutherfordton, N.C. He attended Polk County High School and graduated in 2009. From there, he had been pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, N.C. Patrick proudly served his county for 3 years in the North…

Better late than never, I suppose. Geez.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-cdc-painkiller-guidelines-go-low-use-less-n538986

New CDC Painkiller Guidelines: Go Low, Use Less New guidelines from the CDC urge doctors to take it easy in prescribing the potentially killer drugs.

Great news! We are working on a revised edition of THE REAL DOPE ON DEALING WITH AN ADDICT (an audible version, too!). Hard to believe it has been four years since we published. Much has changed in the addiction world--for the better. So many voices added to the discussion.