__._,_.___

The need for drug rehab is derived from conditions such as; alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction, which are all treated effectively by ARC. Our comfortable, dignified onsite medical detoxification services ensure that when issues of abuse have resulted in chemical dependency each client will undergo detox with the most advanced medical protocols available.

All medical services are provided by affiliate physicians, nurses and other onsite licensed professionals with the utmost focus made on client safety and comfort during the withdrawal process. Enrollment in drug rehab allows the progression of the addictive process to be interrupted so that individuals can go on to lead independent, recovering lifestyles. If you or someone you know is in need of drug rehab call 877 415 HOPE today. Our credentialed staff will answer any questions you might have.

Understanding the Purpose for Drug Rehab with ARC

The need for drug rehab arises when a line is crossed and experimentation with drugs becomes a full-blown addictive process. Individuals, families and their greater communities are all affected by drug addiction. The primary purpose of drug rehab at ARC is to restore clients and their families to a healthy, more positive state of being. In achieving recovery each client brings a renewed sense of purpose and meaning to their broader community.

ARC Offers a Supportive Setting Where Healing Can Begin

Drug rehabs have only recently become an accepted method for treating drug addiction. In the course of drug rehabilitation centers growing as a recognized means to address the personal and social ramifications of active addiction, many new methodologies have been employed for supporting individuals and their families on the road to recovery. There is still, however a sense of shame often attached to the personal need for drug rehab. Uniquely, ARC addresses these issues by normalizing the experience as the majority of our staff has struggled with drug addiction in one form or another. As each client seeking drug rehab becomes immersed in a clinical program designed to meet the needs of clients in early recovery, our treatment team in their common experience in dealing with personal addiction begins to alleviate this sense of shame. The accommodations of ARC include program amenities that as quickly as the shame is lifted, meet each client with orchestrated comfort, allowing dignity in a difficult time to be maintained.

The drug rehab program at ARC is a combination of coordinated clinical services, addiction education and individual and group therapies. Clinical services help to promote insight and awareness of each client’s pathway into addiction and serve as a platform for understanding the psychological circumstances that contributed to the eventual need for enrollment in drug rehab.

Individual therapy is designed as a tool for addressing the intimate underlying issues contributing to negative forms of self-expression and the addictive process itself.

Group therapy allows each client the opportunity to develop new relationships and to learn from each others experiences. Additionally, as the need for drug rehab can be associated with demoralizing feelings, group interactions help to neutralize this perspective and allow a common plight to become the supportive bond that nourishes our human need to socialize and feel a part of a broader community.

The ARC Drug Rehab Effectively Treats a Wide Variety of Addiction and Abuse Issues

The ARC drug rehab provides onsite medical detoxification services and clinical care for individuals suffering from both drug abuse and drug addiction. ARC provides detox in a comfortable, dignified environment under the care of physicians, nurses and licensed professionals. ARC is a comprehensive drug rehab and attends to addiction issues such as:

Alcoholism
Meth Addiction
Soma Addiction
Crack Addiction
Xanax Addiction
Opiate Addiction
Heroin Addiction
Valium Addiction
Cocaine Addiction
Vicodin Addiction
Percocet Addiction
Oxycontin Addiction
Oxycodone Addiction

Considering drug rehab can be a difficult process. Additional examples of people who might need drug rehab are people needing services for: meth abuse, meth addiction, crank abuse, crank addiction, crystal abuse, crystal addiction, ice abuse, ice addiction, cocaine abuse, cocaine addiction, crack abuse, crack addiction, opiate abuse, opiate addiction, heroin abuse, heroin addiction, soma abuse, soma addiction, klonopin abuse, klonopin addiction, xanax abuse, xanax addiction, valium abuse, valium addiction, soma abuse, soma addiction, percocet abuse, percocet addiction, vicodin abuse, vicodin addiction, benzodiazepine abuse, benzodiazepine addiction, barbiturate abuse, barbiturate addiction, methadone abuse and methadone addiction.

If you or someone you know is in need of drug rehab for any of these issues call 877 415 HOPE today. Our credentialed staff will answer any questions you have about obtaining addiction recovery.

In honor of Michael Jackson's 50th birthday, my sister is celebrating in a way that is becoming a tradition for her. She is packing up all her stuff before she spends the Labor Day weekend moving. I'm sure everyone can agree that one of the least enjoyable things in life is packing all of your belongings before a move, it can seem so daunting that many people, especially me and my sister tonight, wait until the last minute to do it. So, we need some sort of inspiration and MJ is perfect!

Let me take you back in time to the origination of this tradition started by my sister, Annette. A few years ago I had moved with a boyfriend at the time to Chicago. I had just graduated from college, and both of us were pretty directionless, but I knew I wanted to be with this guy. I won't get into too many details, but a year later he dumped me and two years later I needed help getting out of a city I had no reason for being in. For a year I had been in a terrible depression. I didn't care about anything and had been feeding this depression with all sorts (legal) addictions.

So on a nice sunny day in July, my parents and sister arrived at my studio apartment and were horrified at what they saw. The place reeked of cigarette smoke, dirty clothes were strewn over the floor, and there were a number of dirty plates, bowls and beer bottles in some of the strangest places. But I think the worst things were my ashtray cups. I had such a heavy smoking habit and would fill my ashtrays so quickly that I instead used the disposable cup from my morning Starbucks or if I was too depressed to leave my apartment I would use one of my ceramic coffee mugs. I would fill it with water and put my butts out there and it reeked. This is probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever done, and I was so embarrassed by it I used to hide the cup under my sink if I thought anyone would be coming to my apartment, including the super.

I think my parents just wanted to ignore this scary side of me so they checked into their hotel and Annette became my mover's assistant. Even when I am 90 years old, I will still remember what a loving sister Annette is to have helped me with this. She didn't know things had gotten as bad as they did. And was shocked when she walked into the bathroom and saw the drain was clogged with hair and old stagnant water had formed a brown mold around the tub. I think she almost threw up, but I could also see that she was empathetic towards the pain I was in.

She said, "Let's get some food, coffee and upbeat music to pump us up as we pack." This was after she looked through my music only to find a collection of the world's most heart wrenching love lost songs. So we walked to the Tower Music down the street (this was before ipods were as prolific as they are today) and on one of the display racks was MJ's most recent "best of" album.

When we got back to my place and put the album on Annette started to dance, she has always been such a great dancer, and laugh as she helped me pack and even clean the worst parts of my place. About an hour into it I was actually laughing (for the first time in months) and singing along too. We just put the cd on repeat and probably listened to it over 100 times that night. And at somewhere between 2 and 3am as I was packing up some stuff I looked over at my sister and she was asleep on my bed, MJ still playing softly. She had worked so hard that day.

So tonight, Annette will be doing the same thing we were a few years ago, probably playing that same album, and I swear I would be there to help if I could and we would probably have a damn  good time.

What kind of treatment do you get at a rehabilitation clinic for sexual addiction? With so many possible forms of addiction (magazines, webcams, physical intercourse, prostitution,etc), I wonder if medication is an option. As mysterious as the treatment might be, this past week X-Files star David Duchovny voluntarily checked himself in to a rehab center for 'sexual addiction.'

Now I can't get Amy Winehouse's jingle out of my head! "they tried to make me go to rehab.. i said no no no."

Did his role as the sex-obsessed character in the show Californication fuel this sexual addiction? His immersion into the character's psyche might have pushed him over the edge. How bad does the addiction have to be for you to 'volunteer' to go to rehab? Or more likely, how pissed off does your wife have to be to force you to enroll in a rehab program? For starters, I would say chafing is a good sign that there is a growing problem at hand...

After wondering about the ins and outs of sexual recovery centers, we stumbled unto this amazing 12 Step Program to cure you of your sex fiend ways!

Step Number ONE on the list, obviously, is:

1. We admitted we were powerless over sexaholism - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Of course you are powerless! Take no responsibility whatsoever, give yourself completely to your sexaholism.

Next, pay attention here, Step Number TWO:

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Ah yes, we are helpless, we bare no responsibility for using our spouse's credit card to pay for strippers. It reminds me of the amazing parody done by South Park on Alcoholic's Anonymous' recovery strategy.

We are powerless, we have to give into sexahoism and allow a greater power to cure us!

In the 1995 film “The Basketball Diaries”, Leonardo DiCaprio brilliantly portrays Jim Caroll’s descent into heroin addiction. When I attempt to explain to people who do not suffer from obesity what complete, sudden withdrawal from refined carbohydrates is like, based on my own experience, I get a mental picture of what DiCaprio’s Jim Carroll goes through as he suffers the torture of withdrawal from heroin. Although this is an extreme example, withdrawal resulting from completely eliminating refined carbohydrates or other binge foods from one’s diet is more than a matter of putting up with a migraine, insomnia, or general feelings of malaise, although all of these symptoms may result. Kay Sheppard, the author of “Food Addiction – The Body Knows”, explains that the food addict is compelled, as if by knife point, to acquire and devour binge food, and that only complete abstinence from refined flour, sugar and wheat can arrest the addiction. It is Kay Sheppard’s food plan that helped me, twice, to lose 60 lbs. and keep most of it off for 5 years. I was able to do this only with the help of Overeaters Anonymous and the most wonderful sponsor I could ever have hoped for. Unfortunately, she became too ill to continue as my sponsor. I have since fallen off the wagon again, and have regained those 60 lbs. for a third time.

Long considered a joke in contemporary western society, the idea of biologically based addiction to refined carbohydrates and other “addictive” foods is finally gaining a foothold in high quality scientific data. Bartley Hoebel’s group at the Princeton University Department of Psychology has published a series of papers detailing their experiments on sugar addiction using an animal model originally established for studying opiate addiction. Nicole M. Avena is the lead author on several studies that provide some of the most compelling evidence yet of the biological mechanisms of addiction to sweets, and their similarity to the biological basis of opiate addiction.

In a recent review article, Nicole Avena, Pedro Rada, and Bartley Hoebel (Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(1):20-39. Epub 2007 May 18.) explain why addiction to sugar shares the same basic neurochemical mechanisms that underlie opiate addiction. The first aspect of the theory is based on evolutionary mechanisms that motivated survival in an environment where food was scarce. Feelings of comfort in response to feeding were necessary to insure survival. The same brain mechanisms that are responsible for this feeling of comfort have been shown by many laboratories to underlie opiate addiction. They also cite circumstantial evidence from the testimony of many people that they are compelled to eat sugary foods in a way that is comparable to alcoholics who have overwhelming urges to drink. Also, with approximately 25-30% of United States citizens characterized as overweight or obese, along with the multi-million dollar diet and fitness industry, it is clear that many people put considerable effort into weight loss and yet fail to maintain the loss. Therefore, clearly, it is worth investigating the neurochemical mechanisms that are the basis of this seemingly addictive behavior.

Throughout this review article, terms that define addiction, including bingeing, withdrawal, craving and sensitization, are interwoven with scientific data from experiments with rats which have intermittent access to sugar solutions. When ingested, addictive drugs cause an increase in dopamine levels in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. Hoebel’s group has found that same phenomenon in rats. Other changes in the nucleus accumbens, including decreased enkephalin gene expression are also seen both with opioids and sugar. And, as with other opiates and psychostimulants, withdrawal symptoms are observed when the rats are deprived of sugar. Another important series of observations show that as with addictive drugs, after becoming accustomed to having regular intermittent access to sugar each day and then being deprived of the sugar solution, the rats exhibit classic signs of withdrawal, including anxiety, depression, craving, and even “cross-sensitization” to other substances of abuse (substituting another addictive substance in the absence of the drug of choice).

After presenting and analyzing all the available data, Dr. Hoebel’s group concludes that in a rat model which has proven relevance to human addiction, intermittent access to a sugar solution followed by periodic deprivation results in most of the same molecular and behavioral changes associated with rats that become addicted to other drugs of abuse. What this group is proving on a neurochemical and behavioral level would not surprise many of us who have instinctively known “food addiction” for years.

- 55% of all men and over 30% of the women surf for porn on the internet. According to Aftonbladet, Swedish national daily that did a research among 60.000 of its readers.

- People’s addiction leads to the break down of their lives(see article in the Christian Daily Dagen).

A major reason young people go on line (besides the search for facts and information for studies) is to find intimacy and relationships. However, soon after one starts surfing the web, unwanted site and pop-ups might appear luring you to places and addresses you never intended to visit in the first place!

For quite some years I have been dealing with the consequences of the lure of the Internet. I have met dozens of men and women who have become entangled by the poisonous tentacles of the ever-widening and aggressive porn industry sucking out all life from them. Teenagers, young single men and women, but also (many) married ones who have become totally addicted to visiting pornographic sites and the temporary release it seems to give them when needed.

I meet with people who have destroyed their relationships and families and they became more and more compulsive in their behavior as a direct result of their dependency on pornography.

Personally I believe that we are standing on the verge of an epidemic outbreak that will demand our full attention since it affects people’s life and relationships so deeply that it may handicap them for life!

Like I said before I believe one of the major reasons people go to the internet (and here I want to include the different chat rooms) is the search for intimacy. Our society has estranged people from each other and a sense of “aloneness” has made us feel alienated from our surrounding. Next to that we are dealing with the consequences of the break-down of relationships and marriages that leave deeply ingrained wounds in all persons involved (including the children!).

With that in mind and the reality of a strongly individualized society that we live in, it is not strange that we are encountering a “vacuum of intimacy” in our life.

The chat rooms.

A logical step to try to fill that vacuum would be to go on the internet and look for the “lost intimacy” in a non-threatening environment where we are interacting with other people in such ways that we could never do in “real life”. In the chat rooms where people communicate without the relationship having to be based on looks, people go much deeper. Yes, faceless communication on the Internet allows us to bypass a lot of shyness and awkwardness. The most socially handicapped person can become the star of the chat room! The chat rooms allow us to hide our weaknesses and exaggerating our strengths. It is easy for people to feel close to someone who is always able “to put their best foot forward”. After all, we all want to be able to grow close to someone without having to expose our worst sides. The Internet allows that. It is not uncommon for people to fall in love with faceless strangers only to discover that their princes / princesses were wolves in sheep clothes!

Pornography on the Internet.

Another way to search for intimacy is to create a fantasy world with pornography. It creates an unreal world that brings a person deeper and deeper into a dependency (NOT unlike drug and alcohol addiction!!!) that influences us throughout our development stages and that sets the tone for our further life. The problem is that an addiction is developed that forces us to find sexual relieve through masturbation and can (and often will) develop into compulsive sexual behavior / masturbation. Emotional and sexual needs are geared towards the encounter with “airbrushed models and porn stars and “nameless strangers” estranging us from our reality and our relationships. Torbjörn Fjellström who runs Sweden's only state acknowledged clinic for”relationship abusers” (relationsmissbrukare) categorizes compulsive masturbation and Porn dependency as addiction!

All of us develop habits that are either good or bad. It takes a lot of energy, power and support to actually change habits that have been developed over time. For some it seems at time impossible to do so.

However, as many former drug-, alcohol- and sex addicts can testify: God, through Jesus Christ, can set us free from every destructive habit and sin! He is not only able to do that; He can also fill the void; the empty space and vacuum that led us in the first place to seek for that intimacy! He is able to renew us, change and transform us from the inside out. He is also able to help us deal with past issues and to build a platform for new meaningful relationships. Are you entangled in the web of dependency? Take the time NOW to take a stand and ask for help before you sink deeper into this quicksand.

It’s not an easy road to go, there are many obstacles, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel; dare to recognize that!

That’s the Way I see it!

John

Now I know you are probably thinking, “Here she is saying that coffee drinking is a judgment free addiction, yet just a few sentences ago, she said that is was ‘used as a badge of honor by too cool wanna-be hipsters’.  What a judgmental hypocrite!”

However, you would be incorrect, because I do not say those words out of judgment, but pure spiteful jealousy.  You see, I am harboring an addiction of my own, a shameful, sad addiction that does not have the hipster associations of the cool coffee drinker I desire to be.  I am, in fact, a diet coke addict.

Yes, Diet Coke.  The calorie free, fat free, and completely natural ingredient free soda from our friends at the Coca Cola company.  My beverage of choice is not grown in a field in some exotic country (although Coke does have factories all over the globe).  It is not freshly ground and brewed by a coffee artisan (with all of the preservatives it probably has a shelf life close to that of a twinkie).  And it certainly does not come in appealing packaging.  Unlike coffee, which can be poured into a charming mug, a chicly designed cardboard cup with a Starbucks logo emblazoned on the front, or even a travel mug with the purchasers design or choice, diet coke has a thoroughly disappointing appearance.  When purchased in a restaurant, it actually isn’t that bad.  You actually get a glass and look somewhat respectable.  That is, unless you order it at 8AM with your French toast like I do.  However, when purchased in a store or fast food venue, the packaging is downright crass.  First option is the plastic bottle with the gray and red label.  Classy.  The worst, however, is the fountain soda.  Ahh, tasty fountain soda, how I love thee.  With the perfectly calculated ratio of ice (2/3 of a cup) and soda (fill to the top), fountain diet coke is a delightful experience for the taste buds.  Carbonated bubbles bouncing on the tongue, mixed with the taste of preservatives and artificial sweetener, with the icy finish-delicious.  But I digress…As delightful as the fountain soda is to the tastebuds, its container is just downright ugly.  And uncool.  Especially when one is trying to look professional.  Imagine, if you will, a young woman on her way to work.  Her hair and makeup is carefully done, she has accessorized with some classic silver jewelry from Tiffany’s, and is wearing a suit.  Put a coffee cup in her hand, and it goes with the outfit.  There is a girl who is going places.  She has a long day ahead and looks to her daily cup of joe to get her through.  However, take the same girl and put a fountain soda in her hand.  Same reaction?  Not so much.  Whereas coffee girl looks like she is on her way to an important work meeting, soda girl looks as if she is on her way to her court date.  It totally declasses the outfit.

I want to be that coffee girl.  I want to be the polished girl whose caffeine buzz from her coffee drinking adds to her snappy, witty repartee and her cute eccentricity.   Unfortunately, coffee makes my stomach hurt.  Therefore, I will always be the unpolished girl, drinking diet coke in the wee hours of the day, way before diet coke should ever be consumed, receiving strange looks from those around me.  I will always be the girl leaving those uncouth condensation rings on my desk after the ice from the soda has melted.  Someday I hope I can hold my head high and be proud of my addiction.  Perhaps I will go on Oprah and reach out to fellow diet coke lovers and tell them it is okay to be uncool.  However, I am not yet at that point.  Until then I will continue to sip my tasty beverage (at 8AM) while I hang my head in shame, and try to figure out if it will still stay cold if I hide it in a cute coffee mug (no one would ever know).  I just take comfort in the fact that I am not a crack addict, or even worse, addicted to chocolate.

Having said all that I just don’t understand ANYTHING being more important than ones children. **********

• To Jenny, her drinking is more important than her kids.

• To Glenn, his being high on prescription meds is more important than his kids.

• To John, money and his hatred of his ex-wife is more important than his kids.

• To my Mother, her bitterness at the cards life dealt her was more important than her kids.

• To my Sister, her next score of illegal drugs was more important than her kids.

Why do people have children if those children and their importance are disposable? I don’t understand how anyone can consider anything as being more important than their kids.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those people who think that my children are little princes who are perfect because of the mere fact that they are mine. Nope. So it’s not an ego thing with me where they are so perfect that I, and everyone, must genuflect at my children’s feet. Nowhere near that. Just like in life, I am nothing if not realistic about my sons and nephew.

It’s just that I cant think of anything, that if I knew it was in any way negatively impacting my children, that I wouldn’t give it up in a heartbeat. 

Is it that the addicted choose not to see the impact on the children? Is it that they convince themselves that it isn’t having an impact? Or does it truly not matter to them as long as the continued addiction is not impeded in any way? I guess I am just musing. Because I don’t have an addictive personality it is a little difficult for me to understand the NEED for anything if it puts ones children in danger or alienates them.

Be sure to visit my own blog site!!!!

http://catharsis.scriptmania.com/

I am now officially addicted to Mobsters.

At least that's what it's said on my "status" indicator now for weeks on my "myspace" page. "Elizabeth is... "officially addicted to Mobsters." Mood: "intense."

This is NOT my fault. It is totally and completely the fault of Peter's son, who sent me an invite to join the game. Ordinarily I avoid computer and video games like the plague, having once thrown my back out and been couch-ridden for two months. I became so obsessed with SuperMario Brothers that upon my recovery, I nearly had to join a 12-Step Program.

I tossed the Nintendo® and never looked back. I won't even let my daughters have a PlayStation, or a Wii, or anything that connects to the television.

(They watch too much as it is; TV's another problem of mine to avoid. I don't watch TV - not out of snobbery, mind you: more like the 12-Step thing.

ANYTHING - no matter how stupid, like "America's Top Model" - will suck me in and mesmerize me, so better that I never turn the darn thing on in the first place.)

My kids are lucky to own Nintendo® DS thingies, upon which they play games where they train pretend robot puppies, or inhabit virtual cities with avatars of themselves with blue or pink hair.

One game they play cracks me up - they HAVE to own a house, and they HAVE to pay a mortgage on it, so they HAVE to have a job. THERE'S a game worth playing, I think.

But Mobsters? I dunno.

My accomplishments on Mobsters are dubious. I received one badge for achieving Level 3 in one day. I shuddered; how much time was I spending on this addictive game, anyway?

Another badge I received was for growing my mob size to at least five members (we're now 18 and growing.) Wasting my powers of charm and persuasion on a myspace game? When I'm collecting quarters for a loaf of bread for sandwiches?

Is this stupid?

Definitely.

Am I still playing it everyday?

Definitely.

In real life, I am mostly broke, being an artist who is a lot more concerned about the art than the business.

On Mobsters, I am rich. I own several vehicles, including three armored cars and some Bentleys. In real life, I have a minivan.

In my Mobster arena, I own all the weapons - in multiples - that it is possible to own.

In real life, I abhor the very thought of guns (although Dad, before he died, DID teach me how to shoot straight, and I

just learned that both my wacky sisters - and my far wackier Mom - are getting hardcore into weaponry; one sister is now collecting shotguns. Shudder.)

In general, I am a peaceful person. Wait, I take that back, in case Peter should read this. Okay, well maybe not totally peaceful - but when I DO get angry, I get over it very quickly, and in general, I always look for the gentle solution to any problem. Not only that, but I have very little tolerance for injustice, and both Peter and I tend to uphold the

rights of the underdog.

On Mobsters, I not only LOOK for fights, but I absolutely pick on those littler than I am. I seek them OUT.

Even my very Mobsters name is unlike me. I prefer to be called "Elizabeth" - when folks attempt to shorten it to "Liz," (which makes my face want to scrunch up as if I've eaten vinegar-soaked lemons), I politely let them know my wishes: "It's a few more syllables, but I'm worth it."

In Mobster-land, I'm "lizrox."

It all sort of reminds me of this one leather jacket I have. It's my favorite, actually. For some reason, whenever I wear it, I feel just like Kate Beckinsale in the movie "Underworld" - you know, the one where she's this really sexy, really tough superhero vampire?

I'm not a vampire. Or a superhero. But the jacket - especially when I zip it all the way up to the neck - makes me feel really sexy, and really tough - and although I'd never try to leap off a tall building or anything, or jump into a moving convertible, it kind of makes me feel as though I could.

Mostly, I just like to wear it on cool evenings when I'm out walking my big black dog, Tucker. Cool black leather jacket, cool black dog, cool chick.

Cool Mobster.

Guess you're never too old for a little play pretend. And it's not TOO much of a waste of time. After all, you run out of "stamina" and "energy" and "health" - and I, personally, tend to run out of money after just a few minutes of play at a time, and have to quit.

So since I'm not ACTUALLY whacking anyone really...

If you want to join my mob, add me as a friend.

http://myspace.com/lizwb 

I'm around six and Dad is taking me to the Baltimore Aquarium.  There's a giant spiral staircase that spirals around a large tank of fish/sharks/dolphins whatever. Dad says he wants to go to the top and I should go with him. I don't really want to go to the top because the top is where the aquarium doesn't have a lid. Just you and the sharks below.

So we go up and of course... something happens. I turn around for one second, I'm not paying attention, It's confusing. Then I am plunging through the water in the aquarium and I can't swim up. I keep floating further and further down. People can see me as I'm falling deeper into the water, but I can't hear them and they can't do anything from the other side of the glass. It's sheer silence. I can feel the movement of the other fish from behind me. I know I can't swim up to the top and I would rather drown than be eaten by a shark.

So I press against the glass, hoping something will happen. I know no one is going to break open the aquarium though because then the sharks would be out in the public. so I just wait. with this deep quiet.

I hate that dream. I hate aquariums.  It's an entrapped quiet place of doom. Fish know they're going to get eaten and there's no place for them to swim out to. Except around and around in circles.  The other day I slipped. Took one pill of oxycodone. I felt so guilty about it I told mom the next day (and my aunt.) it was not a happy event. I'm on thin ice. and skating.

I desire to work. I desire to work hard. I am not lazy. I have never been lazy. Working has been a place of comfort for me. Much like alcohol is to the alcoholic. I soothed myself through the labor of my hands. It felt good to see the work I could do and I prided myself on my accomplishments. My body and my mind were my allies.

Not anymore. What I desire to accomplish is not what I'm capable of doing. But...

...I am not dismayed.

...I am not down and out.  Well, I may be down...but I'm NOT out!!!

Today my fingers and my mind still work. Until they quit, I'm in people!!!

I'm in!!

I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ~Job 42:2

His purpose will be done.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ~Philippians 4:13

He strengthens me to do all He has asked.

And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. ~Philemon 1:6

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ~2 Corinthians 12:9

Only the works He has asked us to do will last. If He calls you, He will also equip you. In weakness you are strong.

Do you know this? I'm learning it daily.

The things you do in your flesh will not last, only the works He calls you to do through His Spirit will remain.

Have you come to this understanding?

Only His purpose will last.

His will be done.

Everybody gets high on weekends. Everybody does, everyone is, but me…

“THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH”
August 23, 2008
9:00PM

I usually watch movies alone but this time, I invited Tita Jasmine and Nerissa to watch Wall-E with me.

When I hear the maker “PIXAR”, the first thing that comes to my mind is something enjoyable. But this movie is different. Well of course, in every rule, there’s always an exemption.

The movie was somewhat disturbing. I know I was supposed to enjoy it but I did not. It was a slap to my face. I guess too much technology eats your flesh.

Among other things, these I find alarming:

* What if you have to leave your galaxy to live in another because life is becoming extinct?
* What if you get obese because you don’t get to do anything – you say it, you have it?
* What if you live your life without complications? Everything is programmed. Everyday is a routine.
* What if you go on with your life without any challenge at all to test your vulnerability?
* What if you are an outcast, condemned by many because YOU JUST DON’T BELONG?
* What if you ONLY get to see plants and trees on pictures because there are no longer any.
* What if you don’t get to experience the bliss of dancing because you don’t get the chance to listen to music.
* Imagine earth as a dumping ground.
* What if all it takes is a single strike to make you face reality that could eventually save you?

Too bad, I can’t imagine all these because I choose not too. It’s way beyond my comprehension.

As what the captain said, “But I don’t want to survive, I want to live!”

CURIOSITY KILLS
August 23, 2008
11:15PM

I’m so into tv series nowadays where hospitals are the main setting (e.g. House, Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs…). It drives me nuts. Maybe it’s the subconscious mind that’s driving me into it (to fit in?). Yes,I’m the only non-med in our family.

Hospitals are creepy. You smell death every time, everywhere. Not to mention, It also ignites curiosity.

I have this fantasy of loitering around ER during unholy hours. And there I was! I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity on how it feels like when adrenaline rushes in – a threshold test on how far I can go.

I stood beside Tita Jasmine while she was having her consult. I was busy observing the staff on how good they carry out SOP. Moments later, a couple came in. The woman was obviously pale. She came right to the table where we’re at and she just said, “ABORTION”. How horrified I was! Terrified! Petrified! She must have meant miscarriage - no I heard it loud and clear. She said “abortion”. It came to my senses on what was really going on. The clock was ticking faster than it should be. Four pediabeds were occupied, all the kids had seizures! Sa pedia ran a. Naa pay Critical Care, Adult Care, Surgery. The cries were deafening. The scene was blinding. People started coming in and out – oxygen here, needles there… The word “abortion” triggered it all.

Well, so much of my fantasy.

THE YOUTH’S DEATH
August 23, 2008
1:25AM

I was thinking of buying some pirated DVDs along Fuente (yeah, I know). I figured that a little walk wouldn’t hurt. I love nightlights. You see lovers here and there, families sleeping all over the place, and did I not mention that traffic at that very hour was out-of-the-question? Damn! Mango is definitely a place of evil!

My soul was squeezed when we passed by a group of kids sniffing the obvious. There were at least 10 of them, I’d say 9 the eldest. I am aware that addiction is rampant but I haven’t seen anything worse than that. GOD! Those homeless kids are dying!

Sad thing was, no one bothered to reprimand their actions. The police station is just a hundred meters away. The officer was too busy issuing traffic tickets. I suppose “Business As Usual”? Or the neon lights were too bright they blind? i know I could have done something to help them but I didn’t. I am ashamed of myself for not doing so. Here I am - whining about people not learning, people not helping. I know I could have… but I just didn’t.

I want to be in this battle. But how can I start? I can’t even go to sleep just thinking about it. Get away Alprazolam!!!

]]> http://recoverycoach.wordpress.com/?p=6 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:25:44 +0000 recoverycoach http://recoverycoach.wordpress.com/?p=6 Interesting how life works...at least that is what has been on my mind recently.

Last year I had procured my office space and moved in so excitedly and anxiously, only to find that the roof leaked, and leaked a lot! My new carpeting soon looked nasty, I found I could not feel comfortable setting appointments, since it would really depend on what the weather might do as to weather or not we could actually carry through with those appointments. Finally the roof had been fixed, that was almost 7 months after my moving in.

Then begin other interesting happenings from life. I was needed to care for my grand daughter for the following 6 months. Never knowing from one day to the next how long it would be, so I never really began to set up something permanent for day care, I decided instead to be present with her and to let go of my own expectations of working.

Well, the call came for her to return to her mothers house, and it wasn't 2 weeks later I was called to care for an old friend, it was agreed to be about a week, which resulted in about months. There were many things I was not aware of prior to his arrival, and I know now to ask more questions next time. even still, no matter how much I would of known, I certainly would not of turned him away.

Well, things changed and he moved on and a month later, I had a phone call from my mother, whom was standing in her kitchen, with water surrounding her and running in from all over. Her home had flooded and I was once again called to action of caring for another human being. She has spent a little over 2 months with me, and now she is settled in her own space again, and I thought I was about to be free to pick up and begin the business of marketing my life coaching business, when slowly financial problems have come to light for my family. Financial situations that create a seemingly empty pot of available funding to do any marketing what so ever.

So here I am, with the time, the energy and freedom to do what I have been dreaming of doing for the past year, and theres no money to put into the marketing ideas I have been thinking up for the past year. Life seems to have a sense of humor, and I seem to be in the place of looking at acceptance of what is. Not what I want it to be, not what I wish it was, not anything except for how it really is right now in the present moment! The question for me is can I be free and have a true internal sense of love, compassion and joy no matter what is happening around me? Can I trust that no matter what it looks like, that the universe actually has my back, and is there for me, moving in ways that I am unaware of, but just the same working with me and for my best interest? That is what acceptance is for me, to be joyful and trusting that there is a higher power that loves and cares for me, and all I need to do is to let go of expectations, and enjoy the present moment and what life is offering me in this present moment!

If you are struggling, and wish to be supported with your journey as it is, I encourage and invite you to contact me at:  coach@cherylfrei.com

]]> http://seenoevilonline.wordpress.com/?p=154 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:36:34 +0000 seenoevilonline http://seenoevilonline.wordpress.com/?p=154 Tips on How to Fight Pornography Temptation

• Workout - If you are tempted, resort to something else, actually physically working out is a good thing because it directs your mind and your energy elsewhere
• Call a friend - Having a trusted friend or accountability partner you can talk to in times of temptation is invaluable.  If you don't have a friend or accountability partner, you might want to see if you can find one, contact your local church or men's group.
• Invest in anti-pornography software.  It will help to keep your computer clean.
• Avoid the people and places that seem to lead to watching pornography. 
• Pray - Nothing beats the power of prayer!  Some men have won the battle by reading scripture, or even just putting on some Christian music. 

]]> http://drugaddiction9.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/drugs-and-addiction-what-you-should-know/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:13:00 +0000 sobrietybill11 http://drugaddiction9.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/drugs-and-addiction-what-you-should-know/ There is no clear proof as to when exactly the link between drugs and addiction was established. However, one thing is for sure: the use of drugs can lead to addiction if it is not controlled or monitored. While drug use is common among different cultures, it is only when addiction develops that problems occur.

Drug addiction is nothing new. It is a widely recorded phenomenon throughout human history (remember the proliferation of opium addicts in China?) and continues to this day. Unfortunately, due to drug access that grows increasingly easier by the day, improvements in biochemistry and drug manufacturing processes along with the growing trend of doctor-recommended use of drugs as treatment, the link between drugs and addiction has become stronger.

Drugs and addiction
Not all drugs are addictive by nature but there are certain drugs that can induce addiction in certain individuals. Cocaine and heroin, for example, are highly addictive drugs, capable of building chemical or physiological dependency. Certain drugs, such as codeine, may also require continuous use in order for individuals to develop an addiction to them.

It's interesting to note that there are also certain drugs that are not actually addictive, but are often deliberately introduced into the body in order to experience their side effects. LSDs and psilocybins, for example, do not lead to physical or psychological dependency and as such, are not considered addictive drugs. In fact, most users of these drugs say that they develop less and less craving for these types of drugs after each use.

Another factor that can contribute to drug addiction is an individual's tendency towards drug dependence. Studies have shown that there are certain individuals who are more genetically or psychologically inclined to get addicted, which may probably explain why certain people can use drugs and never become addicted while others develop a strong dependency.

The components of drug addiction

Drug addiction can either be physical or psychological. When a drug is being used habitually, causing the body to develop a dependency on it, physical addiction might occur. This is when the use of the drug/s is necessary in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms and maintain a sort of 'normalcy'.

When a person develops an emotional dependency on the effects of the drug, either to relieve pain or experience pleasure or just plain believe that the drug is necessary in order to function normally, psychological dependency occurs. Whether it's a physical or psychological dependency, addiction to drugs can produce intense feelings of need and yearning for use, often triggered by emotional problems such as stress or depression.

Drug abuser or drug addicted?

There is a fine line that divides a drug abuser from a drug addict. A person can abuse drugs and still come out unscathed, without suffering from addiction but no drug addiction can be diagnosed on someone who doesn’t abuse drugs. So how do you determine whether one person is addicted or just plain abusing drugs or 'chipping'?

A drug user is a loosely-used term to encompass anyone from someone who regularly tries drugs to someone who uses them recreationally to someone who is totally dependent on them. However, a drug user or a drug dependent doesn’t necessarily qualify as a drug addict. These are the signs and symptoms that may point to drug addiction:

- Increase in the amount and frequency of drug use
- A feeling of powerlessness or hopelessness to stop craving or using the drugs
- Drugs are used as a means to help cope with emotional problems
- Withdrawal symptoms occur when the use of drugs is stopped or avoided
- Use of the drug causes more harm to health than good
- Use of the drug causes problems at home, at work or in social settings
- Use of the drug is the dominant concern of day to day life
- Use of the drug is becoming a health risk

Drug addiction tends to be more chronic and periodic compared to drug use or abuse. It is often marked with a compulsion to obtain and use the drug of choice. That drugs are important in promoting health and curing diseases should not be discounted. However, it is the danger that drugs pose when abused and the risk of addiction during exposure that makes it necessary for the use of drugs to be monitored and if necessary, controlled.

I would like to invite you to claim our, free mini-course titled " 5 Common Mistakes People Make In Recovery, And How To Avoid Them". To gain instant access, visit us at: http://therecoveryclub.com

]]> http://ajmarra.wordpress.com/?p=81 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:21:22 +0000 Alex Marra http://ajmarra.wordpress.com/?p=81 I'm installing World of Warcraft now.

Wish me luck.

]]> http://ahgonghippo.wordpress.com/?p=507 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:09:38 +0000 ahgonghippo http://ahgonghippo.wordpress.com/?p=507 US woman attempts to kidnap online 'boyfriend'

28 August 2008

PLAYING the Internet game - Second Life - may have led her to face another kind of life - in prison.

Kimberly Jernigan, 33, started a virtual relationship with a man on Second Life. There, she played as a female avatar and he a lion.

And when the relationship failed, she allegedly tried to kidnap him twice, reported ABC news. Jernigan, 33, who is separated from her husband, met the man a few months ago.

A US news station reported she was distressed when her Second Life relationship with the 52-year-old man from Delaware ended when the pair met face-to-face.

'She started this virtual relationship and she wasn't ready to break it off,' said police spokesman Mr Trinidad Navarro.

'She had difficulty distinguishing between the virtual relationship and a real-life relationship,' he said.

Her first attempt was several weeks ago, said police.

According to police, Jernigan's virtual ex claims that she tried to kidnap him s outside his office in Pennsylvania.

'She encountered him in the parking lot and pointed a gun at him and told him to get in the car,' said Mr Navarro. 'He went off running.'

It was unclear if Jernigan was ever charged in connection with that incident. In her second attempt, she returned to Delaware disguised as a postal worker to try and find his home address - which, after four days of searching, she did.

She made her second attempt last week.

The ex-boyfriend called the police and said he escaped from his apartment because a person who he believed was Jernigan was inside with what appeared to be a Taser.

Police said they found Jernigan's dog - bound with duct tape - locked inside the apartment bathroom. They found a pair of handcuffs outside his bedroom window.

Online addiction

Jernigan faces charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary and aggravated menacing and is being held on a US$65,000 ($92,000) bond.

Her husband, Mr Michael Jernigan, said both he and his wife had become involved in online relationships through Second Life.

'We had an agreement to have a somewhat open relationship and actually being involved in a game online was a very safe way to do that,' said Mr Jernigan.

But, he said, Jernigan soon spent all her free time playing the game. 'I always knew that she could be obsessive, and that type of thing, but I never thought it would go as far as this,' he said.

Mental health experts say Internet use can progress into a form of addiction, at times leading to destructive consequences.

Dr Bankole Johnson, chair of the department of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia, said people who become so wrapped up in online worlds that they have difficulty distinguishing fantasy and reality, often have pre-existing mental illnesses. 'What people develop is a delusional idea that the (virtual) person is real,' he said.

]]> http://crumbsinmycleavage.wordpress.com/?p=142 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:24:38 +0000 crumbsinmycleavage http://crumbsinmycleavage.wordpress.com/?p=142 I've brushed over the gambling addiction that my husband struggles with and things have just been a bit too calm lately.  I have the sneaking suspicion that something is amiss.  There's time that can't be accounted for and other small hints of deceipt. 

It's so hard to live in Las Vegas and deal with this.  It's everywhere and with football and basketball seasons just around the corner, I have my radar on. 

Now, what to do?  Confront or wait for evidence?  Oh, and try not to eat everything junky.  This is certainly a test of strength.

]]> http://completist.wordpress.com/?p=1907 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:07:30 +0000 Mario A. http://completist.wordpress.com/?p=1907 ...but he's chosen to enter rehab for sex addiction instead.

Like most actors these days, David has a certified autograph trading card that can be found all over eBay. The weird thing is, despite there being dozens of them in auctions right now, every one with a Buy It Now is at $200 or more.

The card was made by Inkworks and is for the X-Files 'I Want To Believe' movie (which tanked, by the way). There are also cards from the same set with pieces of David's jacket and sweater embedded into the card.

As for me, I shall pass. My only experience with Duchovny's work is when he appeared on The Simpsons and when he was trying to seduce 'Mango' AKA Chris Kattan's effeminate character from Saturday Night Live, the "good" years.

]]> http://alichatsramble.wordpress.com/?p=108 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:22:27 +0000 Alichat http://alichatsramble.wordpress.com/?p=108 ....for sex addiction?!?!?   WHAAAT??? *said in her best Lois Griffin voice*   I don't know about you, but David Duchovny never struck me as a sex obsessed man.

Colin Farrell......yes.  Duchovny....uh...no.  But I guess we all have our vices.  Sadly this stint might have been predicated by some inappropriate behavior or an affair.  (a la Eric Benet)  Not saying I've heard anything.....just throwing that out.  But, can't fault them for getting help.   Good luck to you David.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2835847820080829

]]> http://mothertoanaddict.wordpress.com/?p=31 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:52:34 +0000 mothertoanaddict http://mothertoanaddict.wordpress.com/?p=31 Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women
in a Bible study and they
wondered what this statement
meant about the character and
nature of God.

One of the women offered to
find out the process of refining
silver and get back to the group
at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an
appointment to watch him at
work. She didn't mention
anything about the reason for
her interest beyond her curiosity
about the process of refining
Silver.

As she watched the silversmith,
he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He
explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in
the middle of the fire where
the flames were hottest as to
burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;
then she thought again about
the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it
was true that he had to s it there
in front of the fire the whole
time.

The man answered that yes, he
not only had to sit there holding
the silver, but he had to keep
his eyes on the silver the entire
time it was in the fire. If the silver
was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a
moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know
when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered,
'Oh, that's easy -- when I see
my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat
of the fire , remember that God
has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His
image in you.

Pass this on right
now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is
watching over them.

And, whatever they're going
through, they'll be a better
person in the end.

'Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can
only spend it once.'

]]> http://levite.wordpress.com/?p=833 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:38:37 +0000 Jon Swanson http://levite.wordpress.com/?p=833 I had a meeting this morning. I was running early (not the scary part), so rather than meeting at the mall, I suggested that we meet across the street. At the mall I would have had to wait for an hour for the coffee chain to open (not the scary part). Across the street, I was able to order immediately.

I wrote for awhile, in a very scattered way, unable to make one coherent list (not the scary part). My friend showed up. We talked.

I headed for the hospital (not the scary part).

I called our office to find out the name of the wife of the man I was supposed to be visiting. We talked about lunch for the whole staff. We often eat together on Thursdays (not the scary part). I agreed to pick it up.

At the registration desk, I discovered that the man I was going to visit had been released yesterday. So I headed across town to another hospital, another person or two to visit. I arrived and discovered that someone that was supposed to be released yesterday was still in (not the scary part). I also discovered that my cell phone battery was dead (not the scary part).

I spent some time with one man, and didn't interrupt the therapy session of the other man. I called back to the office to find out where to pick up the food. They sent me to Chick-fil-a at the mall (not the scary part).

While I was driving away from the hospital, I noticed an odd feeling in my chest (the scary part).

It's not what you think. It's not anything wrong with my heart, at least not my physical heart. What I noticed, however, is that I began to feel some stress, which, upon reflection, was due completely to being away from a phone and a computer for a whole morning.

And that is terrifying, that feeling is the scary part.

• I was afraid that I would miss a call from my family. There is no crisis, but we stay in touch and there is a little stress at work for Nancy right now.
• I was afraid that I would miss arrangements about lunch, that someone would need to change something.
• I was afraid that I would miss email or comments or some contact from friends.

What scares me is that these aren't things to be afraid of. These responses are symptoms of a break in the  constant connectedness I and many people I know and love have. This isn't about just being online. Notice that some of the connectedness is to the people I kissed goodbye this morning and would hug at the end of the day. Some of the connectedness is to the people I would see in 60 minutes and the fear is about lunch.

What scares me is that I talk about wanting time to think, time to be quiet...and when I was given it, it made me twitchy rather than together.

I know. I was working in a very unstructured way, talking to people in the middle of serious issues. There ought to be stress from that, you say. But I do that all the time. It was the disconnect that is disconcerting.

The simple answer is, of course, to make the most of family time this holiday weekend. And I will as we drive 12 hours into northern Wisconsin and back again. The simple answer is to take tech sabbath. The simple answer is to examine my need to please which is amplified by the ability to connect.

But I'm not sure this is a simple answer thing. And I'm not sure that's it's just me.

So what do you think? (Not about me, that's too scary). But what about you? How twitchy do you get when the phone goes dead, when the wifi isn't available?

How hooked are you on the connect?

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