If you’ve ever wondered why Addiction Treatment Centers typically offer 28 or 30 day programs, then I might have the answer for you. Here’s what an article on addiction treatment in the Connecticut Post had to say:

Treatment programs of 28 or 30 days are still common. But this template was never based on medical evidence, says Dr. David Lewis, Vision’s medical director. Lewis, who in the 1970s helped establish the first addiction treatment program in the U.S. Air Force, says 30-day stays were scheduled for bureaucratic reasons — men and women didn’t need to be reassigned if they were away from duty for no more than 30 days. Other treatment centers followed suit, and insurers adopted the standard of 28 or 30 days of inpatient care.

This is a great article discussing the effectiveness of long term treatment for addiction. As much as I’d like to talk about everything the struck me as interesting in the article, it would require a very long post. So, I’ll break it up in to pieces.

November 19th, 2008 Eric Posted in Addiction Articles, Drug Addiction Recovery | No Comments »

November 18th, 2008 Eric Posted in Addiction Video, Heroin Addiction | No Comments »

Just thought I’d pass along a great service from the Al-Anon Family Groups - a serious of podcasts that called First Steps to Al-Anon Recovery. This is a great site - well designed, rss feeds, and additional links. I was very impressed. If you are affected by a family member or friend’s alcoholism and want to know if there’s help, then visit this site. It’ll provide you with a ton of good information. There is also information on Alateen - which is essentially Al-Anon for adolescents.

Some of the Al-Anon and Alateen books we carry:
The Delimma of the Alcoholic Marriage
The Al-Anon Family Groups
Living Today in Alateen
Living With Sobriety - Another Beginning

November 6th, 2008 Eric Posted in Al-Anon | No Comments »

A friendly reminder from Recovery Superstore to exercise your Freedom. Go Vote Today!

November 4th, 2008 Eric Posted in General, Recovery Superstore | No Comments »

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about a Canadian drug study called NAOMI where heroin addicts were given doses of heroin on a daily basis. The study contended that this was helping them. I disagreed. Apparently, I’m not alone. In a new article from from GlobeandMail.com they blast the study, pointing out a lot of holes in their argument.

I believe that giving heroin addicts daily doses and telling them that they are getting better only creates a feeling that they can use successfully. In GlobeandMail.com’s new article, one of the addicts agreed himself:

But Mr. Liang, 41, who began using drugs at 18, says the free heroin made him complacent about his addiction. Other addicts, he says, took advantage of the free heroin, even competing for how much they could consume each day. For some, their habits grew worse. “They were heroin pigs,” he said, shaking his head.

Giving reliable, structured doses of heroin to a heroin addict does nothing to treat the addiction. That’s like giving reliable, structured doses of peanuts to someone with a peanut allergy.

November 4th, 2008 Eric Posted in Addiction Articles, Addiction Professionals | 1 Comment »

From Daily Reflections

November 3rd

There is a direct linkage among self - examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 98

If I do my self - examination first, then surely, I’ll have enough humility to pray and meditate - because I’ll see and feel my need for them. Some wish to begin and end with prayer, leaving the self - examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or unacknowledged defects. Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects, ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These three - self - examination, meditation and prayer - form a circle, without a beginning or an end. No matter where, or how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.

November 3rd, 2008 Eric Posted in Alcohol, Alcoholics Anonymous, Daily Meditations | No Comments »

It’s one day until my favorite holiday - Halloween! I thought I’d offer up some Halloween trivia for all you scary recovering people out there. This was one of the only Halloween quizzes I could find that did not require you to enter a bunch of information in order to see your results.

I scored 75%. Can you beat that? Good luck ghosties and goblins. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

If you are feeling adventurous you can learn more about the history of Halloween, observed by many Pagans as Samhain.

October 30th, 2008 Eric Posted in General | 1 Comment »