Written by Asia F

During my addiction, my life revolved around using drugs.

Now, while in sobriety at Gatehouse Academy, I am constantly busy. There are a multitude of activities. The physical activities at Gatehouse Academy include: yoga, karate and full body workout. Other activities include: group therapy, art, auto, life skills, school and Literature study.

The community is divided into groups, in which you would have group therapy with twice a week. Each group has school once a day, Monday through Friday.  Literature study is a one hour activity where portions of the Big Book are read and questions are answered. Life skills classes are run by a staff member, and the block covers a large amount of subjects that relate to aspects of healthy and responsible living. There are three, one hour blocks everyday.

The weekend activities include: yoga, peer on peer and literature study. Peer on peer is a block where residents bring up struggles and residents find solutions in the Big Book. The activities help residents grow and learn in recovery.

Needless to say I rarely get bored.

Asia is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s addiction treatment program.  She offers her review and testimonial by telling us about activities she has experienced in our 12-Step curriculum.

Written by Angela A.

In everyday life, I struggle with letting myself let go of how others live their lives, and letting go of control in mine.  It is definitely easier for me to realize that I am powerless over what people do, how they do it, why they do it, and where they do it.  By reviewing my 1^st step, I realize that my powerlessness over others needs to be given away to my Higher Power in my 3^rd step.

There are many times when I want to shake those I love and tell them that what they want is not what they need.  I have to realize that I cannot change anyone.  An individual can only change him or herself.  I have also been in situations where I do not want to live in the moment; however, I have to realize that my Higher Power puts me in specific moments to learn a particular life lesson that He has set before me.

When I live my life according to God’s will, which is doing the next right thing, I am much more content.  When I let others live their own life, I am more focused and less frustrated.  Thank God I don’t have to play God anymore.

Angela is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s addiction treatment program.  She offers her review and testimonial by telling us about a lesson she has learned from our 12-Step curriculum.

This week, let’s tackle a very controversial subject in the field of addiction treatment – does recovery from addiction or alcoholism involve finding a cure?

Some medical professionals, as well as treatment models, believe a cure lies in the form of a pill.  Antabuse and Methadone are probably the most familiar replacement drugs used to treat alcohol or opiate addiction. The idea of replacement therapy is that by creating a medication that safely fulfill the needs of the addiction, the addicted person will be able to live a productive life.

Looking at this solution from a rational perspective, it would appear that the medication acts as a crutch for the addict to rely on.  In other words, it simply creates a new addiction to the medication meant to cure the ailment.  An example can be seen at local methadone clinics, where hundreds line up to get their daily allotment of the medication.  It is apparent that this is the lesser of two evils, but the reality is that it doesn’t support the theory of the cure to addiction coming in the form of a pill.

The polar opposite school of thought comes from the 12 Step perspective.  The core thought being, “We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” This idea can be compared to a person suffering from cancer.

Once someone is diagnosed with cancer and receives successful treatment – it is never considered ‘cured.’  It may go into remission, but the chance always remains that it can return without reason or notice.  According to the 12 Steps, addiction works just the same way – the disease is never cured, rather it is arrested for a period of time and can return if the work is not done to keep it at bay.

In the final analysis, it is up to each individual to decide for themselves how they view addiction. What do you think?

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.

Written by Kelli S.

“Perhaps the best thing of all for me to remember is that my serenity is inversely proportional to all my expectations.”

-Alcoholics Anonymous, pg 420

I have to remind myself this every single day. One of my biggest character defects is holding too high of expectations for myself and others. For me it’s simple, when I hold high expectations for myself and others and I or they don’t meet them I get resentful and fall into self-pity mode. Yes it is simple but not easy. I think the hardest part for me is that I tend to be a perfectionist. I want to be the best at everything I do and I have a hard time dealing with mistakes that I make. Over the past ten months I have learned that I’m not and never will be “perfect”.

After coming to this realization I’ve become so much more serene and content. I have learned to set goals rather than expectations. A goal is something that I can always work towards without set standards and time frames. My sponsor always tells me that expectations are pre-conceived resentments and for us alcoholics, resentments are our number one offender. If we hold onto them we will surely drink again. If I drink I’ll die and today I want to live!

Kelly is a current resident in Gatehouse Academy’s drug rehab program, and offers her review of the experience she has had in addiction treatment thus far.

Due to the cycle of hormone levels, women’s bodies actually intervene in how alcohol affects them, making them mush less affected to any affects.

From studies on both human and animal test subjects, When they drink less alcohol and even for much less time periods, the female test subjects still showed the same intoxication levels as males with more alcohol and longer drinking times.   The study showed conclusively that there is something specific about what makes up the female body and its chemistry to affect women in such a way.

This study is especially alarming in view of the fact that drinking in the United Kingdom has increased within young women.  The drinking industry is responding in turn to make drinking opportunities even more accessible through its marketing campaigns, much to the chagrin of those centers in charge of alcohol treatment and residential drug treatment.

A recent study found about drinking and women in Britain discovered that those women in the age bracket of eighteen to twenty four years of age are the biggest group of people to consume alcohol in Europe.  Per capita, they drank in comparison to the 59 liters Italian women drank 203 liters.   It will probably rise and not decrease as another year rolls around, which means a rise should be expected in alcohol abuse intervention as drinking becomes more and more a part of the female social world.

Women not only have to worry about being pressured to drink more through intense marketing campaigns from alcohol trades and businesses but also about the possible affects that they could occur from becoming dependent upon alcohol.  Addiction treatment studies show that many of the same symptoms those women with alcoholism suffer from are similar to those affecting victims of PTSD.

The kind of treatment  involved in helping these women include two kinds of cognitive behavioral treatments called Relapse Prevention Treatment and Seeking Safety.  So far these two treatments have been very successful.  They are used in a three month time frame with a group of 32 women participating the study.  Many women were victims of both PTSD and alcoholism.

The Relapse Prevention Treatment has started to gain in popularity, known for its excellent care and checkups that help women to continue in their sobriety and road to recovery.  Like many other centers, it focuses on figuring out what triggers relapses and cravings in order to help women to take control of them.

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.

According to an article from the Associated Press, Texas A&M University is starting a five year study where cocaine is given to rats to help them understand the effects of drug addiction. The study hopes to better understand the effect the drug has on the brain.

The University got the cocaine from the federal government. The government bought the cocaine from a company that does drug research. The study received a $1.4 million dollar federal grant for the findings.

Barry Setlow, a professor at the University in the psychology department has this to say about what he hopes to learn from the study.

“A lot of addiction treatment is getting people to stop using drugs. That has to be the first step,” Setlow said. “People may choose the immediate reward of a cocaine binge instead of the greater reward of spending time with your family or paying your mortgage.”

What the University also hopes to get out of the study is a better understanding of why people relapse on drugs such as cocaine. They also hope to be able to make better progress in how to treat this type of drug addiction. Addiction treatment is something that hopefully will be improved after this study is completed.

According to an article from the Associated Press, Texas A&M University is starting a five year study where cocaine is given to rats to help them understand the effects of drug addiction. The study hopes to better understand the effect the drug has on the brain.

The University got the cocaine from the federal government. The government bought the cocaine from a company that does drug research. The study received a $1.4 million dollar federal grant for the findings.

Barry Setlow, a professor at the University in the psychology department has this to say about what he hopes to learn from the study.

“A lot of addiction treatment is getting people to stop using drugs. That has to be the first step,” Setlow said. “People may choose the immediate reward of a cocaine binge instead of the greater reward of spending time with your family or paying your mortgage.”

What the University also hopes to get out of the study is a better understanding of why people relapse on drugs such as cocaine. They also hope to be able to make better progress in how to treat this type of drug addiction. Addiction treatment is something that hopefully will be improved after this study is completed.

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?