AA Works for Steven Adler

Back from the brink and ready to rock

After a two-decade battle with addiction, Guns and Roses member Adler has managed to put together six months of clean time, he told The Daily Times this week — and that makes the past six months a rebirth of sorts.

"Making it one day is a long time, and I’ve made it, like, six months," he said, voice filled with jubilation and the enthusiasm of newfound sobriety. "The last time I did anything goofy like that was on the show ("Sober House," a VH-1 reality show spin-off of "Celebrity Rehab," both of which featured Adler), when I got arrested (last summer). I’ve been so lucky, and I’ve got a great team of people around me; I’ve got my best friend Slash back in my life; and I’m happier than ever.

"It’s like I’m seeing things for the first time. To have survived everything I went through — a stroke, the band — and get a second chance at life, it’s crazy. And I’m so grateful I did those two shows. As much as I despised rehab and the whole AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) crap, it works!"

"I just wanted to give myself a chance to get better than I was yesterday. That first few weeks were the toughest, because once the drugs wear off, all of the emotions come out. The hardest part to get through was that first month."

Full story at The Daily Times

See also;

• 12-Step Treatment More Effective than Alternative
• AA Offers Recovery Not Religion
• Address the drinking problem directly
• If you have healthcare training this manual may help.
• Twelve Step Facilitation is designed to support people returning to their community

The twelve-step recovery model of Alcoholics Anonymous

The twelve-step recovery model of AA: a voluntary mutual help association

Alcoholism treatment has evolved to mean professionalized, scientifically based rehabilitation.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is not a treatment method; it is far better understood as a Twelve-Step Recovery Program within a voluntary self-help/mutual aid organization of self-defined alcoholics.

The Twelve-Step Recovery Model is elaborated in three sections, patterned on the AA logo (a triangle within a circle): The triangle’s legs represent recovery, service, and unity;

• The circle represents the reinforcing effect of the three legs upon each other as well as the "technology" of the sharing circle and the fellowship.
• The first leg of the triangle, recovery, refers to the journey of individuals to abstinence and a new "way of living."
• The second leg, service, refers to helping other alcoholics which also connects the participants into a fellowship.
• The third leg, unity, refers to the fellowship of recovering alcoholics, their groups, and organizations.

The distinctive AA organizational structure of an inverted pyramid is one in which the members in autonomous local groups direct input to the national service bodies creating a democratic, egalitarian organization maximizing recovery.

Analysts describe the AA recovery program as complex, implicitly grounded in sound psychological principles, and more sophisticated than is typically understood.

AA provides a nonmedicalized and anonymous "way of living" in the community and should probably be referred to as the Twelve-Step/Twelve Tradition Recovery Model in order to clearly differentiate it from professionally based twelve-step treatments.

From; Borkman T. The twelve-step recovery model of AA: a voluntary mutual help association. Recent Dev Alcohol. 2008;18:9-35.

See also;

• Twelve Step Facilitation
• Brief-TSF Description
• Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism/Third Edition

Recovering Addicts Add Value to Workplace

 

Recovering Addicts Often a Workplace Plus and Add Value to Business.

Treatment helps employees come back stronger, insiders say

Employees on the road to recovery deserve a second chance.

That’s the mantra of Mark Elliot (pictured), a Toronto radio talk show host who is also a recovering addict.

Elliot is open about his past addictions and his downfall in the radio realm, but his recovery story shows he has also climbed back up the ladder and now dedicates his time to helping others who have taken the wrong detour.

He will be the first to admit that drugs, alcohol and the workplace don’t mix. But he’s also a staunch defender of recovering addicts who want to return to the workforce.

“I think most employers seem to get it today, they seem to understand that employees who go into treatment come back as better employees for the most part,” says Elliot. “Employers like it because they get back an employee they don’t have to retrain. They (recovering addicts) don’t take as many sick days. They are dependable, reliable and sober.”

Full story at; Business Edge

Woman’s story inspires alcoholics

Woman’s story inspires alcoholics

Nagpur, India: More than 80 families in Nagpur got a ray of hope recently as they heard how an ordinary housewife had succeeded in de-addicting her husband, who had been an alcoholic for 15 long years.

The woman, who gave a stunning speech at the recent gathering of Al-anon – a worldwide support group for families of alcoholics-said that she had convinced her husband to accept his problem and show willingness to break the vicious cycle. "The entire family was behind him and we got great support and help from Al-anon and the techniques taught by them," she stated.

More at; Times of India

Public Humiliation

I was a member of a youth group as an adult leader. One of my duties was to set up a public awareness display at the local exhibition day. All the equipment was delivered on time and was sitting in a heap at the site.

I had taken a day off work to organize everything on the day before the show. However, I decided to have a few beers as well and that ended everything.

That evening I passed out in the Darwin casino and was awakened by a security man kicking me in the thigh. I got up and went back to the bar. Eventually I somehow got home and woke up late in the morning.

Going to the exhibition site I noticed that my skin had no memory. I could pinch a piece of skin and it would stay puckered, not returning to its normal shape. I had drunk so much I was dehydrated with little moisture in my skin. I was as dry as a bone – so to speak.

When I got to the site I began to put things in place. I was alone until another leader turned up. He took one look at me and said I was in no condition to represent the youth group. He left. I then began to vomit violently while being watched by people attending the show. I put away all the gear and left.

On the same day I had to see my lawyer about my divorce. He took one look at me and asked if I was an alcoholic. My eyes were red and watery, my skin was clammy and smelly and I was finding it hard to focus. “Of course not,” I replied, “I thought I was once, but I can control it now.” He shook his head and finished the interview.

I left and went to have a hair-of-the-dog at the nearest bar.

I never went back to the youth group and my divorce was finalised quickly.

The next week I went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I was ‘nearly’ ready to stop drinking.

Alcoholism takes away all the things that are nearest and dearest to the alcoholic. I loved my wife and kids, I had a great affection and respect for the work of the youth group. But, I still had more to lose.

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