Comparison Shopping A caller recently wanted help figuring out how to compare different programs. We agree it’s confusing, especially if you’re in the middle of a crisis, so we’ve come up with the following suggestions to help. Traditional (AA/12 Step Model) Programs. These programs are all based on the myth that all alcohol abuse and [...]
Why Your Doctor May Not Help You Overcome Alcohol Abuse We got yet another call from a long time reader who’d gone to her doctor hoping to be prescribed Naltrexone. Her physician refused, saying that “Naltrexone can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist with a specialization in addictions.” This is absolutely false! Worse yet, the [...]
Why 12 Step Programs Can’t Help You Ed and Mary Ellen here from Non 12 Stepwith more information on overcoming alcohol dependency. Yes, we’re talking about getting your life back. In our last letter, we talked about the most common characteristic alcohol abusers share. You may have some of the same issues. Right now, your [...]
Alcohol Treatment – Will Your Program Work? People are always calling us and saying, “I’ve been to rehab and it didn’t work. Will your program work?” You can actually answer that question yourself by answering a fundamental question: What type of person are you? Basically we hear from three types of potential clients, each of [...]
Almost any of us can stop drinking for two weeks, or thirty days, or even ninety days. Sometimes even for a year. But then we find ourselves right back where we started before this “vacation from alcohol”. No, you didn’t fail, you just learned something about yourself and changing behaviors. Guess what? Contrary to what [...]
Why Can’t It Be 6 Months From Now? That’s the refrain we hear all the time, though sometimes it’s “two weeks” or “a month”, but the plea is always the same. I want to have my alcohol problems behind me, but I don’t want to go through the process. Kind of like Woody Allen’s admission [...]
We got a call….. Last week we got a call from a reader who said, “I’ve been reading your Newsletter for a year now, but last Friday I got a DUI.” What’s wrong with this picture? First, merely reading the Newsletter isn’t going to fix anything. Reading is part of the “contemplation” stage of change, [...]
No, You Don’t Have to Wait On Your Spouse We got a call the other day from a long time reader who said, “I just realized I was waiting for —– to do something about the drinking and it wasn’t going to happen unless I did something about my end of the equation.” How did [...]
What If Almost Everything You’ve Ever Been Told About Alcohol Treatment Is Wrong? The sad fact is that almost everything you’ve ever heard about putting “alcoholism” or alcohol abuse behind you is wrong! This starts with the very word alcoholism itself – which implies that the mis-use of alcohol is a disease. But for 85% [...]
Counselors “In Recovery”? We took part in a survey of counselors in treatment programs awhile back and recently read through the preliminary results. One question had to do with how many counselors who considered themselves to be “in recovery” had “relapsed”. Not surprisingly to anyone who’s ever been around a treatment program, one third of [...]