Video Replay of Tiger Woods Statments – 2/19/10

Above is a video replay of Tiger Woods‘ public address on February 19th. Feel free to re-watch today’s statements.

Is it just us, or are the principles Tiger is talking about based in the code of conduct described by the 12 steps?  Integrity, Service, Amends, Atonement, Boundaries, Cravings, Actions speak louder than words…

AMEN BROTHER!

Looks like you may have picked up a tool or two while attending a sex addiction treatment center.

With rumors circulating about Tiger Woods coming to Wickenburg for treatment at the Meadows – A few staff at Gatehouse Academy would like to take a stance on the issue.

From Mike Baldassare, Director of Marketing:

If Tiger were to seek treatment for Sex Addiction, in our opinion, it would not be an excuse to pin blame on an addiction.  Instead, it would be viewed as an admission of wrong doing and a willingness to take responsibility for harms done.

As people who have committed similar transgressions, we may be a little more sympathetic than the general public.  Call us ‘glass-half-full’ optimists, but Tiger is human.  In our own pursuit of perfection, we found out we have flaws as part of our human make-up.

It is our strong belief that, no matter how bad it is, no matter how many times you do it – you always deserve another chance.  It us our hope that people may be open to giving tiger just that – a chance for taking responsibility and receiving forgiveness.

From Matt Brown, Admissions:

Many are asking about the differences between Tiger Wood’s supposed sex addiction and what most would consider “normal” drug addiction.  In my experience in working with addicts the line between the two is invisible.  The motivation for the addict is the same, whether their drug of choice is sex or cocaine.  The objective is to change how we feel in the moment.  The method of executing that change can vary from drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling or a myriad of other methods.  The result is the same, we get the instant gratification we are seeking to change how we feel.
So if I’m asked what the difference is between Tiger Woods and I guy like me, whose drugs of choice were cocaine and alcohol, I say there is none.  If in fact Tiger Woods is a sex addict, we are just two guys who took different roads to get to the same place, and we both left wreckage along the way.  We both hurt spouses and family members.  On the positive side, if a person with an addiction, whatever the addiction may be, can find a way to replace the need for instant gratification with something meaningful and lasting, real happiness can be had.  It requires hard work and a strong support system, but the work is always worth it.

From Todd Welch, Director of Admissions:

The recent events in the Life of golfing icon Tiger Woods reflect a level of unmanageability with regard to love, attachment, and sex that is indicative of addiction.  Addiction research has demonstrated the strong similarity between sex and love addictions and drug and alcohol addiction, insofar as these behaviors all stimulate the reward center of the brain.  Furthermore, the antisocial aspects of infidelity can also be alluring and addictive.  The reward center of the brain desires satisfaction through the simplest means and can sometimes, in the situation of a loss of control through addiction, override the executive and social-conscience based functions of the higher brain, or frontal lobe.  Perhaps Tiger tasted the high of an enlarged and seductive romantic life and fell into the powerlessness of repeated mistakes and uncharacteristic behavior associated with addiction.  Of course, he will be chastised from the Moral camp and those who undoubtedly biased by our society’s very Judeo-Christian inheritance of ideas about sex and right relations.  In any case, the man cannot be happy at this point.  He is not a victim, unless one can victimize oneself.  He must take responsibility for the awareness of a problem in his life and internalize the need for a responsible path to recovery, happy living, and hopefully more championships.

From Justin Dufour, Admissions:

I first must start by saying that I truly believe that drug addiction, alcoholism, compulsive gambling and of course sex addiction are diseases and are a matter of powerlessness, not bad decisions.  This is an important opinion to state before diving into the Tiger Woods situation and whether or not he should or will go to a treatment center.  If you don’t buy into the disease aspect of addiction then I can assure you that you have probably never seen a loved one on countless occasions make irrational decisions for their addiction.  How else do you explain a mother abandoning a child and their duties as a parent to get a fix of heroin?  Do you really believe they don’t love their child?  If you witness a loved one who you have spent years around and truly know that they are a good person and all of a sudden when afflicted by drug addiction or alcoholism turns on everything and everyone that they have ever loved, than you are probably convinced that these kinds of addictions are all about powerlessness.  Before this blog becomes about something it’s not, I will say that addicts and alcoholics need to be held responsible for anything and everything that they do while in their hopeless state of mind and body.  They aren’t off the hook at all for their actions and especially not the addict who is shown the path to recovery because they have options and are given a spiritual tool-set that can help them recover like the millions that attend 12 step meetings every day.  So now that you know where I stand on the nature of addiction I must say that I believe there is a very good possibility that Tiger Woods is a sex addict and maybe addicted to more things that the public may not yet know about but with that said if he does choose to go to treatment for his addictions at this point in his life it will be nothing more than a public relations maneuver, and a very good one at that.

See Tiger Woods has probably the best crisis management team in the world working around the clock by his side at this time.  What these professionals do is script out every move for a star or athlete to help them start to repair the damage they have created.  And what these professionals know is that there is a large population like myself who believe that addiction is a disease of powerlessness.  So why wouldn’t they encourage Tiger to go to treatment for sex addiction, it is the ultimate ploy to turn public opinion, almost make Tiger a sympathetic figure.  Instead of “what a scumbag for doing that to that nice, young woman,” you might here more of “it’s too bad he ruined his marriage,” and “I hope he can come back from this.”  It’s brilliant.  Now they may be able to achieve this without treatment.  He could go on Oprah and cry during an interview and go back to the golf course and start winning again.  Ultimately what will bring Tiger back is some kind of public interview and winning majors which is what he does best.  There are plenty of examples in sports of these come backs, Kobe and A-rod to name a few.  Both images were done being repaired when they won world championships.  In sports there is a saying, winning cures everything, this may be sad but it’s true.  Who knows what Tiger will eventually decide to do but if he does go to treatment it won’t be because he wants recovery.  This is probably the strongest willed athlete in the history of the world and I just don’t believe at this point in his life that he believes he is powerless over anything.  This may come for him in time but it will take more heart-ache and loss.  Honestly, it may never come for him because he has so much cushioning and enabling around him that may prevent him from ever hitting a bottom.  He needs someone other than his wife to be honest with him about his behavior and when you are the world’s number one athlete and a billionaire, you just aren’t surrounded by many people to keep you in check.  When Tiger asks for something he gets it, he probably doesn’t hear the word “no” too often, don’t believe me, ask some of his mistresses.

Many are asking about the differences between Tiger Wood’s supposed sex addiction and what most would consider “normal” drug addiction.  In my experience in working with addicts the line between the two is invisible.  The motivation for the addict is the same, whether their drug of choice is sex or cocaine.  The objective is to change how we feel in the moment.  The method of executing that change can vary from drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling or a myriad of other methods.  The result is the same, we get the instant gratification we are seeking to change how we feel.  So if I’m asked what the difference is between Tiger Woods and I guy like me, whose drugs of choice were cocaine and alcohol, I say there is none.  If in fact Tiger Woods is a sex addict, we are just two guys who took different roads to get to the same place, and we both left wreckage along the way.  We both hurt spouses and family members.  On the positive side, if a person with an addiction, whatever the addiction may be, can find a way to replace the need for instant gratification with something meaningful and lasting, real happiness can be had.  It requires hard work and a strong support system, but the work is always worth it.

In a recent Entertainment Weekly article, Arrested ‘Big Brother’ champ ordered into drug rehab, it has been made aware that Adam Jasinski, winner of 9th season of the Big Brother Series, was arrested for possession of over 2000 pills of the drug oxycodone.

The story brings up the idea of how we, as addicts and alcoholics, felt invincible when we out in the world ‘running and gunning.’

Our drinking and using brings most of us to a depth of insanity that many will never experience.  It is usually based in the realm of the delusion – the idea that things are not as bad as everyone says they are.

It is at the point that the lies we tell ourselves catch up to us, that we begin to realize how vulnerable and mortal we really are.

The scary part is that most young adults are quite resilient, and always return with a strong will to survive and not get caught next time.  This is why a long term addiction treatment option is so important.  When those feelings of invincibility return, which the inevitably do – the addict will still be in treatment, and less likely to go try it on his or her own again.

We hope, for Mr. Jasinski’s sake, he was court ordered to more than 28days.  If not, we are scared his insanity will drive him to do the same thing time and time again – every time expecting thing to be different.

Do you remember the invincible feeling? What happened to you that made you want to stop? Do you have a story to share about being court ordered to drug rehab? Did you ever feel like you we ‘famous’ because of your ability to obtain drugs?

Intrigued by the latest news from Yahoo! News story, Agassi admits using crystal meth in autobiography, I thought to myself – how do drugs and alcohol play into one’s drive to be successful in sports?

The article describes, world renowned tennis player, Andre Agassi’s introduction to Crystal Meth from a friend and the feelings associated with taking the drug.  Interestingly enough, the thoughts and experience accurately describe the obsession of the mind when an addict experiments with a drug for the first time.  The guilt and remorse are overcome by the intense feelings of pleasure and power.

From the sounds it, Agassi is lucky to have not developed a full on addiction to Methamphetamines, which would have more than likely required addiction treatment.  It appears that Agassi learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of using a drug like Meth, but made it out the otherside without losing everything.

Sports can be a great alternative to drinking and druging, but they can also lead young adults to use drugs to perform above and beyond their limits.  We find at Gatehouse Academy, some young people develop their addictions at a young age using performance enhancing drugs like steroids, methamphetamine and cocaine. Feeling pressure from peers and parents to preform well can put a young adult in a position to develop an addiction.

We also understand that Sports are a social activity that can introduce young people to others that use drugs and alcohol regularly. Many young people describe drinking as a way to fit in with older teammates, and feel a part of the team.

The danger of this behavior is that young people do not know if they have a predisposition to become an addict or an alcoholic.  If they are, then it will be a long and arduous battle for years to come, and they will most likely end up in one of three places: prison, mental institution or, God forbid, death.

According to an article from Canada.com, prescription drug abuse often starts in hospitals.  This type of drug use usually begins after a person undergoes some type of surgery or other trauma and then needs to take pain medication. Often times this will lead to drug abuse that cannot be overcome without drug addiction treatment.

The article states:

“The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioids (pain-relievers) and benzodiazepines, used to treat such things as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, insomnia and stress, because they affect the mind, behavior or mood.”

And the problem has gained more newsworthiness because celebrities are dying due to prescription drug abuse. This includes the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and most recently Michael Jackson.

It is the dangerous mixing of prescription drugs that can lead to an eventual overdose. Making the pain go away in a hospital bed can often lead to a problem that requires help.

The article also states another interesting statistic:

“Since 2005, the rate of new prescription-drug addicts has outpaced the number of people getting hooked on marijuana, the most commonly used illegal drug in North America.”

People usually think of drug abuse only involving illicit street drugs, but nearly every American is susceptible to this kind of drug abuse. All it takes is one little problem and it could turn big.

Jamie Lee Curtis, best known for her role in the Halloween franchise has always been a celebrity open to talk about her body and image. This week she wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about her addiction to prescription pain killers. Pain killer addiction and prescription drug abuse in general have come to the forefront of the news media due to the death of Michael Jackson.

Her blog entry for the Huffington Post is a direct response to the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. It talks about how he sought out prescription pain killers from a number of doctors, whether licensed or not. She also notes in her blog post that Jackson’s pain may have begun after his hair caught on fire after filming a commercial for Pepsi. She however, does not believe that this was the starting point to his problems; she believes it was rooted deep from the time of his childhood.

She cites her own drug addiction in the following quote:

“Listen, I can relate. I too found painkillers after a routine cosmetic surgical procedure and I too became addicted, the morphine becomes the warm bath from which to escape painful reality. I was a lucky one. I was able to see that the pain had started long ago and far away and that the finding the narcotic was merely a matter of time. The pain needed numbing. My recovery from drug addiction is the single greatest accomplishment of my life… but it takes work — hard, painful work — but the help is there, in every town and career, drug/drink freed members of society, from every single walk and talk of life to help and guide.”

Curtis was able to find addiction treatment and move on with her life.  What do you think of the blog post by Curtis? Agree or disagree with her opinion?

It is about time there was a little positive news about teenage drug and substance abuse.  According to an article on EmaxHealth and the 2008 Iowa Youth Survey, fewer teenagers are reporting alcohol and marijuana use.

The survey was taken in October 2008 and 81 percent of those surveyed said they had not consumed any alcohol in the past 30 days. And 87 percent reported no binge drinking in the past 30 days. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a short time span.

Also, 94 percent reported not using marijuana in the past 30 days when the survey was taken.

The real question is what does this really say about teens in Iowa and across the United States? Is alcohol and marijuana use really down? Surveys like these have to be taken with a grain of salt. Because the survey considers such a small amount of time, 30 days, in the life of a teenager when it comes to alcohol and marijuana use.

So what if they didn’t consume it within the last 30 days, what about the rest of the year? Perhaps the survey should be changed to include how many times a year a teenager drinks or uses marijuana.

Despite the decline in the substance abuse, there is another thing that the survey revealed. More teenagers are experiencing being threatened via the internet or over text message.

These surveys are a great way to talk about substance abuse with your family and the children in their family.  Surveys help get a little bit of a dissection of what is going on in a certain area. It is always beneficial to consider the type of children that were surveyed, their socio-economic standing and many other factors.

Talking about these statistics and taking them into consideration is wise. The more information the better!

When it comes to success stories of people who were able to recover from alcoholism or drug addiction, we often hear about men and women who have made a successful transformation and reached success as adults. Recovery doesn’t have to wait until a person has “matured”. Teens and young adults can take advantage of a second-chance and take their lives into a new direction.

A young celebrity rehab success story is Drew Barrymore. Her troubles with alcohol began as a child and Barrymore was a teen in rehab by age 13. She talks about her bout with substance abuse in her book, Little Girl Lost. Although the book was written nearly 20 years ago, her story is sadly still relevant to teens today. Despite going through rehab as a young adult, Barrymore pushed past the substances in her life by continuing her acting career with great success and has also gone on to produce and direct her own films.

It can also be reassuring to know that you don’t have to be a larger than life superstar to get through rehab when you’re young. There are more success stories from other young adults who have struggled with the disease of addiction than you might think.

Robert K. shared his story with the Partnership for a Drug Free America. His addiction to drugs and alcohol lead him to assault his own sister with a knife at the age of 17. After rehab and becoming clean, at the age of 24 he started helping his local community by spreading meth awareness throughout Wisconsin.

Another young adult success story can be found in Christine, who started using drugs to cope with ADHD and her somewhat dysfunctional family life. Even though she started drinking at age 11, she didn’t get help until she was arrested at 16. She would relapse and go back into treatment before fully living in recovery. She was able to find happiness in her new life and married her childhood sweetheart, who never used.

Sometimes when a person is at the lowest point of addiction, it seems impossible for a change to occur. The ability to live a “normal” life seems too good to be true – like something in a dream or a fairy tale. What is truly amazing is that not only is every addiction unique to the individual, but the path to recovery is also a uniquely special journey. Each person has to discover what will work for them. When that spark happens, and they finally have the desire to clean themselves up, they have to hold on to those feelings and endure the rocky road of recovery, if they want to truly transform their life. Not everyone gets a second chance, but when given the opportunity, young people really can be successful after rehab.

This month has revealed just how deeply-rooted drug abuse is within sporting communities. Parents have had a lot to talk about with their kids thanks to the Michael Phelps weed video, and with Alex Rodriguez admitting he used steroids while playing with the Texas Rangers. When kids ask, "Why is using drugs a bad thing? A-Rod did it." – it can be hard to give a clear cut answer.  Out of all the recent buzz on drugs, President Obama was asked for his reflections on the matter. He gave a clear outline of the reasons why athlete drug abuse is depressing and just wrong.

It’s true – there are no shortcuts, not in sports or in life. If you want to achieve a lifelong goal or dream, it takes time and effort. When people choose shortcuts, they end up cutting themselves short. Real strength takes effort and hard work to build, and even though it is a slow process, there is visible improvement over time. When given guidance and long-term support, it takes away the pressure and stress that sometimes inhibits young adults from achieving their goals. Reassure the young person in your life and let him or her know that they have your support. Sometimes that’s all it takes to encourage someone to take the high road instead of a shortcut.   

This month has revealed just how deeply-rooted drug abuse is within sporting communities. Parents have had a lot to talk about with their kids thanks to the Michael Phelps weed video, and with Alex Rodriguez admitting he used steroids while playing with the Texas Rangers. When kids ask, "Why is using drugs a bad thing? A-Rod did it." – it can be hard to give a clear cut answer.  Out of all the recent buzz on drugs, President Obama was asked for his reflections on the matter. He gave a clear outline of the reasons why athlete drug abuse is depressing and just wrong.

It’s true – there are no shortcuts, not in sports or in life. If you want to achieve a lifelong goal or dream, it takes time and effort. When people choose shortcuts, they end up cutting themselves short. Real strength takes effort and hard work to build, and even though it is a slow process, there is visible improvement over time. When given guidance and long-term support, it takes away the pressure and stress that sometimes inhibits young adults from achieving their goals. Reassure the young person in your life and let him or her know that they have your support. Sometimes that’s all it takes to encourage someone to take the high road instead of a shortcut.