Addictions – Page 2

Guess Who’s In Recovery?

Recovery: verb – The act of regaining or saving something; returning to an original state or a gradual healing.

Because September is National Recovery Month, I started to think about how recovery is a part of all of our lives. I don’t feel it applies strictly to people suffering from an addiction. Everyone I can think of is involved in a type of recovery.

Most residents in the Northeast are still trying to recover from the recent hurricane, Irene. I know personally I was without power for three days. Because I carry an iPhone on a mitten clip, I must admit, I was in the throes of cyber withdrawal. Sadly, many people lost their homes and everything they owned. I am truly grateful that my three properties were not severely damaged. There was a lot of flooding around them, but I was spared. When I drive around and see the uprooted trees, the signs of water penetration, personal furnishings on the street and people dragging more to the curb, I am filled with gratitude for my good fortune.

There are so many people caught suddenly in a financial downturn and trying to recover. Unexpectedly they lost their jobs and are trying to get new ones. Many are barely holding on. Can we extend a helping hand to aid in their recovery?

What about all the women who are trying to recover from failed marriages or relationships and are consumed with guilt and self-loathing? Maybe the housewife who yelled at her husband today is trying to recover from the harsh words that were spoken between them? Let’s not leave out the young couple who may have torn each other up in a fit of jealousy. It goes on and on.

Then we have the truest definition of people trying to heal from an addiction: the abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs is prevalent, especially in tough times. The age of the addict is becoming younger and younger.

So, you see, we are all touched by the act of recovery in some form. It is not exclusive to one individual group. During the month of September we should contemplate more about what it means to recover and then look around us to see who we can lend a hand to. There may be someone closer than you think.

Live Faithfully,
Mal Duane

Mal Duane is a certified Personal Life Coach with more than 23 years in recovery from alcoholism, who has overcome devastating life challenges using the steps in the Alpha Chick Process. Her personal mission is to help women excel in all areas of their lives from business to personal relationships and attract that which they most desire, as she has, through a connection to the divine power within. Her book Alpha Chick, Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power is coming in February 2012.

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Dr. Drew – The Real Deal Rehab

It is encouraging to see that there is really someone out there that gets the whole addiction thing. Over the past few years, I have become a fan of Dr. Drew Pinsky. Dr. Drew is one of the few people involved in the world of celebrity addictions who tells it like it is. He is not hood-winked by star status, nor is he influenced by those whining parents who ramble on with denials about their children’s addictions and despicable actions. Dr. Drew is for real and he earns the respect of the famously disturbed individuals he assists into recovery. He is blatantly honest and doesn’t sugarcoat his therapeutic recommendations. I feel Dr. Drew really understands the mind-boggling state of addiction.

Before I got into recovery, I did see a therapist for a few years. He was more interested in the famous people I knew and had dated than in my current state of being. Interestingly, in our many sessions the word “alcoholism” never came up; and we’re talking years of therapy.When I look back, I can’t imagine how he missed the warning signs that I was drinking too much. He ended up prescribing medication for my anxiety. So, not only was I drinking too much but taking a medication that should never have been mixed with alcohol.

In 1989, I got into the Alcoholics Anonymous program. After several months I realized it would take more than just AA meetings to keep me on the right path. I had to make a commitment to a new way of life. This meant changing my schedule and filling my time with very different things than I did before. It also required that I make new friends and let my “party friends” go. Most importantly, I needed to have a spiritual practice to anchor the dramatic change that was taking place in my life. Through meditation and prayer, I was able to connect regularly to a different voice that was guiding me on my path of transformation.

Recovery requires honesty, commitment and in many cases a stay in a rehabilitation center. And Dr. Drew is a strong proponent for rehab, as he encourages his celebrity clients to check into a center. He understands that the purpose of that stay is to teach the patient a new way of life – organizing their activities so that they support their recovery – not pull them away from it. Rehab helps the patient identify the significant changes required and then helps the patient create the structure.

The world could use a lot more Dr. Drew’s to help people find their path to recovery. Sugar-coating the issue doesn’t get you there nor does the sensationalism of the press.

Live Faithfully,

Mal Duane
Alpha Chick

Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular Alpha Chick updates and invitation to the Alpha Chick telesummit coming soon.

The Power of Choice – Reflections on Amy Winehouse

Choice is an opportunity; it is a gift we are all given when we are created. However, over time we lose sight of the fact that we have the ability to choose. I think the loss starts when we are very young. We want to be good, we want to be accepted, we want to fit in. And so instead of asserting to choose, we compromise and go along with people or with the situation. Over time this compounds so that we barely recognize any longer that we have choice as an option. In short, it becomes so much easier if we don’t say no.

As we lose the power to choose, we can easily replace it with damaging bad habits. It is so easy to turn to something that comforts us and weakens our power even further. I suspect that this was part of the problem for Amy Winehouse. She lost her power of choice. She became tied to alcohol and drugs. No matter what rehab center they sent her to, she returned to the comfort of anesthetizing herself and drowning the voice she did not want to hear. The courage to choose a different path had been stripped away by all the sensationalism written about her psychological decline and frequent binges. They painted a gory picture of this poor, suffering soul who lost her grip on reality. This young woman had very little left to hang on to. Sadly something happened last Friday night to Amy Winehouse. We do not know what the official cause of her death was. I suspect it was related to making the wrong choice, probably the only one she thought she had.

Through my own experience with alcohol, I can relate to feeling like this. The addiction clouds your process to make decisions. If you or someone you know is suffering from an addiction, simply try to stop even for just one day. The fog will start to clear and you will see that you do have the power of choice. It was there all the time. Choice brings you joy!

I would love to hear your own inspiring stories of how you moved from pain to power by over coming addictions. Please leave your comments below. I really look forward to reading them.

Live Faithfully,

Mal Duane
Alpha Chick

Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular Alpha Chick updates and invitation to the Alpha Chick telesummit coming soon.