The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 24

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Bob W.

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 24 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

In classical and renaissance academia, there was an idea of an Astral Plane, a spirit world above the physical that may or may not have been equated with Heaven, Hell or Purgatory. It was seen as a place of spirits, maybe the soul, where otherworldly beings existed to whom we might appeal or supplicate ourselves. It also showed up in the world of psychics and mediums in recent centuries.

In more recent times this idea has been used in various sci-fi or action hero genres, in movies like the 2016 Dr Strange, based on an action hero first created by Stan Lee of Marvel Comics in 1963.  The hero, Steven Strange, is a renowned, but massively egotistical, neurosurgeon whose hands are irreparably crippled in an automobile accident. He explores all sorts of traditional and experimental systems in an attempt to heal himself. He journeys to the far side of the world in such pursuits and is eventually transformed into a powerful mystic who is able to access and employ unusual energies and systems. His transformation process takes him to a higher plane and is much like ours in the development of our sober living ethos. The paranormal abilities he gains in his transformation now make him much less interested in his former skills as a surgeon; he is now compelled to pursue his new gifts and energies in attempts to save mankind from various cosmic dangers.

This seems to be an uncanny, if a bit weird, analogy for those of us who see our journey in sobriety leading us to much higher levels of service than we could ever have imagined in our days in the disease.  In the constant exploration of whom and what we were in our disease and who and what we are in recovery, we begin to discover the core, the soul of our most authentic inner selves. We are naturally drawn to explore ways to be of service to everyone and everything, in everyday simple and massively expansive ways.

We see that, in carrying the message, in working to help others, in gaining a sense of the profound meaning of service to the cosmos, we are able to move to a plane of existence that is truly glorious. We now live a good part of our lives on a very real and present Astral Plane.

A Fundraiser’s Perspective on the Value of Donor Trust

Donor Handshake

Guest Blog by Judy Johnson, Director of Development, The Council on Recovery

At a charitable event recently, I was visiting with other guests when the topic of careers came up. I shared that I was in fundraising, and her reaction was immediate, “How can donors know who to trust anymore?”

Judy Johnson Headshot
Judy Johnson

As both a fundraiser and a donor, this question is of particular importance to me, and – admittedly – I’ll take any opportunity to share my passion and perspective on philanthropy. In my view, philanthropy is about connection. The decision to give is deeply personal, and whether we give twenty dollars or twenty thousand dollars, our gifts symbolize our support of and belief in an organization’s mission. We want to know our gift makes a difference and that our hard-earned dollars, once given, are wisely used to advance a shared goal. Continue reading “A Fundraiser’s Perspective on the Value of Donor Trust” →

If Your Loved One is Struggling With Addiction, Can Intervention Be the Answer?

Intervention Graphic

Guest Blog by Mary Beck, Chief Strategy Officer and ARISE® Interventionist, at The Council on Recovery

If someone you love is struggling with addiction, you have probably grappled with the following questions: What do I do? How do I talk to him? What should I say to her? Why doesn’t he see what he is doing or the pain and grief his addition is causing? Even if you have spoken with them about getting help or explored treatment programs for them, you may have ended up feeling confused, frustrated, sad, angry, and hopeless.

Mary Beck
Mary Beck

Conversations about getting help for addiction are usually made with the best of intentions and with love. Yet, they often culminate in arguments about the past and who knows best. We may not realize that we bring our own trauma and grief into these exchanges. Furthermore, we may believe that if we just explain to them what they are doing, they will want to change! Research and experience have shown this simply does not work.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” To help a loved one struggling with addiction, one of the most effective approaches is to simply walk with them as they take their first step, but not to define their journey. The goal is not to get them where they need to go, but to empower them to see hope for the future and take action. This approach is central to the process known as intervention.

The Council on Recovery is a leading provider of intervention services in Houston. Our program is based on the ARISE® Intervention method, an invitational, non-confrontational, and transparent approach designed to respond to the love, fear, worry, and guilt of those living with an addicted loved one. Developed for use by highly-trained recovery specialists, the ARISE® intervention mobilizes and empowers the family and/or concerned members of the support system to motivate the addicted individual to enter and engage in treatment. As an intervention method, ARISE® gets over 83% of individuals into treatment within three weeks, 96% into treatment within six months and 61% in recovery by the end of the year.

The Council on Recovery employs two full-time ARISE® interventionists. Here’s how an intervention works: During the “First Call”, The Council’s interventionist will coach and empower you to (a) identify a recovery support “network” to participate in the process, and (b) teach you and another network member techniques on how to successfully invite the addicted individual to the first network meeting. The invitation is hopeful for the person’s future and based in love and empathy. It references previous loss and despair, but does not focus on stories of trauma and pain. It also does not focus on the action steps a person is being asked to take. It simply asks the addicted person to join the recovery support network with the other members and invites the person to the first meeting, which is led by The Council’s ARISE® interventionist.

An invitation may sound like this: “Let us help you get your life back. We love you. We know you love your children and want to be back in their lives. We have survived so much in this family already. Your father died young from alcoholism, let’s not allow this disease to do the same thing to your children. Let’s pull our family strength and courage together and stop this right here, right now!”

Though you may be skeptical about this approach, it does work! Many do not enter treatment the day of the first meeting. The intervention is a process, not an event. It may result in the addicted person agreeing to get an assessment or to one counseling session. Remember, they just have to take the first step, not see the whole staircase.

Though the intervention process can be highly effective, it’s best to keep expectations low at the beginning. After all, if someone came to you and said you had to completely change your life immediately and, by the way, you can’t live in the comfort of your own home for 30-90 days, you might not respond well either! But, with life in the balance, it is an effort well worth taking.

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Transtheoretical Model

At The Council, we employ the Transtheoretical Model (or Stages of Change) to determine how ready a person is to make a change in a behavior. The stages are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. We often hear stories of a spouse or a parent desperately trying to move their loved one from pre-contemplation to action in an hour……and then wonder why the person won’t listen. Human cognition and behavior are highly complex and need to be nurtured and engaged, not mandated or cajoled. But, for those who have tried everything else, it is a step in the right direction.

To find out if an intervention is appropriate to help you with a loved one who is struggling with addiction, and help them make the first step towards recovery, start at The Council on Recovery. We are ready to help with your “First Call”. Call us now 713.914.0556 or email us at help@councilonrecovery.org.

Vaping: What You Should Know….Before It’s Too Late

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From the DEA’s Just Think Twice website…

Do you know what vaping is? Have you or your friends ever tried it?

According to a new study, vaping (the use of electronic cigarettes) is pretty popular among teens. But it’s probably more dangerous than you think.

Here are a few quick questions and answers about vaping:

What Exactly is Vaping?
The use of electronic cigarettes to inhale vapors from nicotine, marijuana (THC oil) or general flavorings is referred to as vaping.

There are hundreds of different brands and a few different styles of e-cigs. But in general, they are all battery-operated devices that have a cartridge that holds a liquid solution.

When a person puffs, the e-cig vaporizes the liquid and the user inhales the vapor.

Is Vaping Marijuana Oil More Dangerous Than Smoking It?
Yes, more than likely. This is because users tend to vape a higher concentration of THC (the chemical behind marijuana’s high) than they would smoke. This could also make it more likely for someone to get addicted.

What Are The Health Risks of Marijuana Oil?
Studies have found that regular marijuana use during the teen years disrupts brain development and can also lead to problems with attention span, behavior and impulse control in adulthood.

The Council on Recovery’s Adolescent Services department provides prevention, education, and counseling for teens exposed to and engaged in high-risk behaviors, such as vaping. Our Mindful Choices program includes a 12-week course to help adolescents deal with high-risk behaviors. We also offer concurrent parent education classes, parent coaching program, and individual and family therapy. For more information, call The Council at 713-914-0556.

Social Media’s Impact on Underage Drinking: Youth Culture’s New “Alcohol Identity”

Underage drinkingGuest Blog by Dr. Crystal Collier, Director of the Choices Prevention Program & Prevention Research for The Council on Recovery

Social media is social life for today’s youth. The majority of all social networking platform users are between the ages of 18-29 years old, with 92% of teens aged 13-17 going online every day. Today, being online means exposure to non-regulated alcohol advertising, pro-alcohol messages, and images of drinking behavior that reach underage online social media users. Adolescents who use social media (~70% nationwide) are more likely to engage in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use when compared to their offline peers. Continue reading “Social Media’s Impact on Underage Drinking: Youth Culture’s New “Alcohol Identity”” →

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 21

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 21 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

In this ongoing series of notes, we have seen how deeply imbedded human stories of struggle and recovery seem to be all around us and poignantly reminiscent of our own journeys to Recovery.  The concept of the hero’s journey is ever present in all time and all cultures, so much so that Joseph Campbell and others called it the “mono-myth.” We see it in ancient societal stories as well as in modern literature and the arts all over the world.  As disparate examples, the Popol Vuh cultural narrative of the ancient Mayan systems in Guatemala tell of the exploits of hero twins defeating enemies in the early process of the creation of the world; and the Dogon systems in West Africa have very similar stories of hero twins as do the many stories of the Native American Indians of the Southwestern U.S.  Indeed, the evolution of the human species over hundreds of millennia could be seen as one big journey of the collective human hero to higher levels of understanding and consciousness, to a felt-sense integration with a higher power, not unlike Dante’s tireless, excruciating search for God through Hell, Purgatory, and into Heaven.

This seems to be the core element of the idea of a hero’s journey for us….the call, the struggle through difficult conflicts, and the ultimate success in finding an answer to the idea of a better life and a contact with something higher.  We find it in so many places…even in our most simple, yet sublime of experiences…like baseball.

In 2013, a Brooklyn Preparatory School classmate of mine and past President of NYU, John Sexton, wrote a book called Baseball as a Road to God. John and I were classmates in the 1950’s in an area of Brooklyn that was close to Ebbets Field, the home of the venerable, if a bit pathetic up to that time, Brooklyn Dodgers. John was a baseball fanatic, par excellence, and he remained so for much of his life.  The book was the outgrowth of a class he taught at NYU for many years with the same name.

John used the intricacies of the game, the before, during and after elements of the actual events, and the deep and rich history of its larger than life experiences and personages, to provide a fascinating view of the nature of a higher power in our lives.  The progress of individual baseball lives, the unfolding of the struggles and successes of each season, and the building of drama in and through each inning of a game are richly portrayed in a mystical and at times metaphysical framework. For me, a baseball fan of a bit less fervor than John, his portrayal provokes a wonderful view of our lives in committed Sobriety.

When I sit in a meeting, surrounded by women and men whose individual lives of tragedy, disaster and recovery provide vivid glimpses deep into the soul of humanity, I am struck by the beauty and good fortune of my presence in this Fellowship.  Every story is different, every one is full of cataclysms and misadventure interspersed and then followed by glorious ascensions into the Sunshine of the Spirit.  The differences are striking, but they are dwarfed by the symmetry and the harmony of their connectedness and by the perceptibility of Recovery that we all share.  It is a community of love and vision that has no equal.

It all reminds me of the spectacle of the field of men and dreams that constitutes the active baseball arena.  Surrounded by a intensely focused and roaring crowd, baseball presents an altar of vivid green and brown on which muscular danseurs in white execute stunning feats of athletic wonder…smooth  and rapid and even, interspersed by lengthy dramatic pauses that give us the ability to absorb and allow for the highly orchestrated play to run for the required nine acts.

For me, in Recovery, every share in a meeting and the aggregation of all shares in each and every meeting is precisely the equal of this spectacle.