Most wonderful time of the year?

Ordinarily I might have been happy that Thanksgiving came early this year and we have an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s because I always thought Christmas was a magical time and enjoyed everything about it—decorating, baking, shopping and wrapping, sending and receiving Christmas cards. And the music—especially the music.

Life was simpler then, even those years as a single mother. This weekend, I can’t stand to listen to those songs that bring back memories of simpler, happier times. I’m heading right down the road to Grinchville where, most days, I feel I could become the queen Grinch!

It’s been a tough year for me in many ways, for many reasons. But my own problems pale beside those of an alcoholic struggling not to take that drink, the addict fighting not to relapse, or someone with a serious mental illness trying to stay on their medicine and be their best.

It’s the season when depression is prevalent, alcohol and drug binges are up, domestic abuse increases. Not so joyful.

But I’ve done a reality check and I know I have a choice. I can choose to be grateful, pray for my loved ones who are struggling, do something for someone less fortunate. Remind myself I cannot control anyone else but I can control my own thoughts and actions.

When it’s all said and done, maybe it won’t be such a bad holiday season after all.

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http://www.austindailyherald.com/articles/2007/11/22/news/news3.txt

The Disease of Addiction

Five young people died of drug abuse during the last year in a small community outside Austin, Texas. The mother of 25-year-old Travis Morford, who died of an overdose of Xanax and alcohol, knew she had to do something.

So she and four other mothers founded Disease of Addiction, or DOA, to help people in their community think about underage drinking and drug use, and the risk of addiction. Kudos to them!

Their first public event, a town hall meeting at a local high school, was titled “I’m Your Disease” and drew 400 people. A great start . . . but can they really change the culture? Can they make a dent in the thinking that brought about the deaths of five young people in just one year? What do you think?

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/23/1123addiction.html

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'Life is kinda cool'

It’s been a few weeks since I saw an article in a California newspaper that I found inspiring.

A young woman is working hard to overcome her meth and heroin addiction and be a good mother to her two young daughters. Now a role model for other recovering women, she’s been clean for 16 months and is enjoying the little things in life—goofing off with her kids and clean, sober friends, drinking a soda at the movies.

What a great reminder when I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself. Despite all she’s had to overcome, she expressed it so well and so simply: “You take away the drugs, and life is kinda cool.”

Thanks for the inspiration, Mariah.

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http://www.theunion.com/article/20070901/NEWS/109010151

Crystal Darkness airs in Oregon

If you live in Oregon, be sure to tune in to a rare statewide broadcast. Learn more about the methamphetamine crisis when you watch "Crystal Darkness: Meth's Deadly Assault on Our Children.”

Television stations (including all in Portland) throughout the state will air the program from 7:30 to 8 p.m. tomorrow, October 9. The documentary “features powerful and honest testimonies of young people who have gone through addiction.”

Its message targets youth and their parents but is a valuable one for the entire community.

Don’t miss it.

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http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7180508

They are our daughters

NOT ripped from the tabloids . . .

Everyone is tired of hearing about the Lindsay Lohan-Britney Spears-Whitney Houston-Amy Winehouse revolving rehab doors. And we’re tired of the way the media has glamorized their addiction problems. I’ll spare the gory details here.

Instead, why isn’t the media portraying the stories of REAL addicted women?

Because it’s a sobering (no pun intended), sad look at lives impoverished, destitute, nearly destroyed. This week author Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich provided an eye-opening commentary for AOL’s Women’s eNews.

I point it out to you as important reading for Recovery Month 2007. These are our daughters, our sisters, our nieces. Yes, they are responsible for the choices they’ve made that took them to these depths. But as family members of those who are addicted to alcohol and drugs, what is our responsibility?

And I ask again, what can we do to prevent our granddaughters from making those same life-altering choices? Who has the answers?

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=3311

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/

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Wise words from a rocker

Rocker-star-idol, that is—not the kind you sit in on the front porch down south.

It’s National Drug & Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month. And I never thought I’d take seriously anything the founder of the rock band Motley Crue might say. But former heroin addict Nikki Sixx spoke recently on Capitol about addiction and recovery, and I was impressed.

Check it out for yourself. Do you agree with his comments about the family in recovery?

I liked his final words: “Close the door on destruction and celebrate recovery.” That's where my family is today and it's a good place to be.


http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/?s=nikki+sixx

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/

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It's about time . . .

Finally, the societal crisis that is being created by the manufacture, distribution, sales and use of methamphetamine is being addressed by prevention and law enforcement authorities.

Several years ago when I took a social marketing position with a federal government contractor at SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, just one small piece of prevention information about methamphetamine was available in our vast warehouse.

I was shocked. Having lived in Southern California for more than 20 years, I knew through the media and personal family experience how this substance ravages lives, families, homes and communities.

This isn’t just a western problem or an urban issue. Some states are already in crisis and others are close behind.

And in the Midwest, where down-home values have been the hallmark of daily life, meth is changing life as residents know it.

Learn more about the meth crisis in several small Missouri towns when the A and E Network airs “Meth: A County in Crisis®” this Friday, September 7. You’ll see the personal stories of everyone affected—addicts and their families, law enforcement officials, hospitals, pharmacies.

Above all, don't think meth is a problem that doesn't concern you and your community.

http://www.aetv.com/listings/episode_details.do?episodeid=184649

http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/

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