12 Step Family

A report recently released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was based on a nationwide survey taken last year, found that “most” women are responsibly following warnings and abstaining from drinking during their pregnancies.

However, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recently released a report based on its findings of a 15 year-study, which found that nearly 12.5% of women drank alcohol throughout their pregnancies. According to the CDC, the figure shows no significant reduction of alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

Despite the warning from the surgeon general, labels on alcohol products and national campaigns to raise awareness for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), it is not exactly clear whether “most” pregnant women are abstaining from drinking during their pregnancies.

For those unfamiliar with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), it is a birth condition that is the direct result of alcohol consumption by women during their pregnancies. FAS symptoms are marked by growth deficiency and slight disfiguration in children. According to expert researchers in the field, like Ernest L. Abel, FAS accounts for approximately 1 to 2 births per every 1,000 in the United States each year.

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Greetings everyone – 12StepFamily Editor here. I wanted to share an anonymous alanon testimonial recently sent via the website’s email. I thought it was incredibly insightful and emotionally engaging in terms of a real account of how living with addiction affects everyone. It is written by the daughter of an alcoholic. Anyway, please find the original message below. Also, please leave any comments with your thoughts for the anonymous author or of your general experiences with the Alanon 12 step programs. Thanks. 12StepFamily Editor.

Hello,

I am the daughter of an alcoholic and drug-addicted father, who is very thankful of the alanon 12 step programs. I enjoy coming to this website, and wanted to contribute to it by submitting some of my thoughts on what it has meant, for me, to be part of a family with alcoholic and drug addict member, as well as part of a family that has found invaluable help in AA, NA, Alanon, and Nar-anon. Here it goes…

Even though by most standards I am well-adapted individual, it would be foolish and arrogant for me to assume that I was able to walk out of a household with an addicted father and codependent mother unharmed and untainted; I am one of the opinion that addiction affects everyone. And although my entire self is not defined by these experiences, there are very few other things that have impacted me as deeply.

Alanon and Nar-anon have helped me recognize many wounds I had been ignoring, as well as recognizing that only I have the power to heal them. Blaming my parents for my current state would not only be selfish and an utter waste of time, but it would also be a ball-and-chain that keeps imprisoned to resentment, impeding and stagnating my growth. For this reason, I felt that forgiveness was what crucial for me to begin moving on and for me to begin my path towards wellness; forgiving all the adults that were my life (as I blamed all of those who could have “saved” me from my situation), understanding no one’s actions were carried with the intent of personally hurting me, and gaining enough perspective to know that my parents did the best they could under the circumstances and state in which they were in. Today, my dad, a recovering addict (and active member of AA and NA), with true repentance asks for forgiveness, and I can tell him that even if he didn’t ask for it, I would have granted it.

With letting go of the anger, the resentment, and the blaming, comes this amazing freedom. Freedom to think of yourself, your actions, and circumstances as independent of others; the knowing that no one is responsible for you, and that you are not responsible for anyone else, also comes.

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For those who are unfamiliar with Alateen programs, they are part of the Alanon Fellowship umbrella but geared more for youths. Like Alanon, Alateen 12 Steps also focus mainly on the family members and friends of those addicted to alcohol.

For this installment of informative articles that have to do with alanon, naranon, alateen, we have decided to focus specifically on Texas Alateen Events. Below, please see a listing of some events Texas Alateen Events for May and June of 2009. For more information and a complete listing, visit: http://www.texas-al-anon.org/events.htm

MAY Alateen Events Texas

West Texas Area
2009 Spring Assembly
May 15-17, 2009

Miracles Happen With Seeds of Love
East Texas Area Al‐Anon/Alateen Spring Assembly
May 29-31, 2009

JUNE Alateen Events Texas

ALATEEN SPONSOR WORKSHOP
Rolling Oaks Christian Church
JUNE 13, 2009
9 am to 4 pm
7150 Stahl Rd.
San Antonio, Texas 78247

ALATEEN SPONSOR WORKSHOP
Bay Area Club
JUNE 27, 2009
9 Am TO 4 Pm
League City

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I’m sure many people have seen the anti-drug commercial, where the teenage kid on lunch break describes all the different pills he’s accumulated from his parent’s medicine cabinet, well this message is now hitting closer to home. In Florida, youth prescription drug addiction is running rampantly and causing serious problems. The Jacksonville Police Department reported 200 arrests of youths in 2008 for prescription drug related crimes, while that figure has already reached at 157, so far, in 2009.

Many experts agree that the problem of youth prescription drug addiction stems from the ease of accessibility that many a youth has to prescription drugs. However, more must be done if Florida has real hopes of defeating the problem. Nonetheless, experts in affected localities, like Keba Baldwin who coordinates Drop Out Prevention and Safe Schools programs, agree the key is a joint community effort. In an interview recently published in Jbnews.com, Baldwin told reporters: “It’s just a community effort for us to protect our children, we’re all responsible and as long as we work together we have a common goal.”

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The other day, a fellow member of the recovery community recommended that I read a book by AA founder, Bill Wilson, titled “As Bill Sees It.”  They kept telling me that the book was absolutely amazing and that it would change the life of any recovering addict that read it.  I admit that I have skimmed through most of the NA Basic Text but never really sat down to read it cover to cover.  However, after fishing for “As Bill Sees It” by Bill Wilson, in the end, I stumbled upon it in the most convenient and inexpensive place—ONLINE.  That’s right – anyone – can read As Bill Sees It online text right now.  I was able to find it in its entirety, for viewing as a PDF, at: http://www.brconline.org/AA/AsBillSeesIt.pdf

Basically, As Bill Sees It is a collection of short meditations, prayers, thoughts and stories that Bill Wilson collected from various sources while in recovery.  From what other people have told me, the online text is exactly the same.  Here’s just one example:

4: Can We Choose?

“We must never be blinded by the futile philosophy that we are just
the hapless victims of our inheritance, of our life experience, and
of our surroundings — that these are the sole forces that make our
decisions for us. This is not the road to freedom. We have to believe
that we can really choose.”

I hope the online text of As Bill Sees It helps serve others as well as it has served me…

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To celebrate this year’s National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (September 2009), New York City will be hosting a rally for recovery walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. As it stands, the organizing bodies are looking for one delegate from each of the fifty US states to be in attendance officially as the state’s representative.

For those who may be interested in representing their home state as a delegate, the deadline to apply has not yet passed but is drawing very near; this Friday, May 15, 2009 is the official deadline (so hurry). The only requirements are that the Delegate have at least 10 years of recovery and be active in promoting awareness about recovery in their community.

Chosen Delegates will have their transportation to the New York City Recovery Rally Walk and their hotel accommodations for September 11-13 totally taken care of (free of charge).
To apply, click the following link: http://www.therecoveryproject.com/delegates.

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As reported in walesonline, steroids use is up a whopping 20% among teenage boys in Wales.  The recent spike has been attributed to online sales of steroids, which has made it more accessible and easier to obtain for young men in Wales.  However, the news source also reported that a lot of unknown substances are being consumed by Wales’ youths as 40% of what is being sold online as steroids, in fact, is not.  A survey conducted by Professor Bruce Davies, of the University of Glamorgan, showed that steroids use among muscle gyms in the “Valleys” has soared from 53% in 2001 to 70% in 2006.

In the article, the reporter interviews a 24-year-old bouncer from Bridgend who uses anabolic steroids because he says he is addicted to being big.  In reference to the current epidemic of steroids use among young men in Wales, the bouncer commented: “I’ve noticed over the last two to three years that more and more boys are taking anabolic steroids and they are getting younger, sometimes just 16.”  The reality is that Steroids are an addictive and dangerous illegal drug that is detrimental to the user’s health.

It also goes without saying that Wales faces a serious problem controlling the obtainment of steroids over the internet.  Perhaps prevention education at the primary school level may be the answer as most cases of youth steroids abuse stem from psychological problems such as social disorders and identity/self-image issues.

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Recently, many stories have been popping up around the country of Motel Meth labs being busted in hotel and motel rooms. At first glimpse, it seems like everyday occurrences that would be common to local police departments of any urban municipality. However, in fact, these lab busts are not common place occurrences.

The reality of the situation is that Motel Meth labs are extremely dangerous, as the hazardous chemicals involved in the drug’s production are extremely volatile and explosive. Further, this new trend is disturbing because it means that the innocent individuals in neighboring motel rooms could be potentially in harms way without even a clue. Below are two of the latest reports of such labs to come out in just the last week.

In Lafayette, LA, a motel was evacuated after hazmat was called out to investigate a suspected Motel Meth lab in one of the rooms. Local police were tipped of by a fellow occupant that complained, “about a strong smell coming from room at the Travel Host Inn on the Northeast Evangeline Thruway,” according to KATC.com. It took several hours to confirm and clean out the Motel Meth lab. No one was in the room at the time, so no arrests were made.

A local Fox News station broke another Motel Meth lab story in Berrien County Michigan. In this incident, police found a full Motel Meth lab at the Rodeway Inn that was in the dangerous process of “cooking” the drugs. Three adults were arrested, and police placed a 15 year-old that was also at the scene in the custody of Children’s Protective Services.

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Here, 12 Step Family has provided some of the bigger Alanon events that will be taking place in northern New Jersey later this month. Alanon is a recovery fellowship that follows the same 12 Step Traditions as those of AA and NA, except they use a variation that focuses specifically on recovery for family members and friends of addicts. To date, Al-Anon Family Groups host more than 24,000 meetings in 100+ countries across the globe.

Please find below the listing of May Alanon events for District 37 and Area 44 (North New Jersey). For those interested in a full listing of Alanon Events in New Jersey, please visit the official website at: http://www.nnjaa.org/north_jersey_events.htm

MAY: Alanon New Jersey Events

70th anniversary of A.A. in New Jersey
Thursday May 14, 2009 (8:00pm)
Central Presbyterian Church
46 Park Street – Montclair, New Jersey
Overview: Open speaker meeting recalling The Early History of Alcoholics Anonymous in Northern New Jersey.

2009 Corrections Committee Conference
Saturday May 30, 2009 (9:00am to 12:30pm)
Location: Area 44 Office
2325 Plainfield Ave., Suite 2J,
South Plainfield, New Jersey

Overview: Guest Speaker Lollypop Joe
Panel 1 – Hope & Purpose from Defeat & Despair
(Ex-inmates in recovery)
Panel 2 – Commitment to the Message: Bringing AA Inside
(Correction professionals)

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If Florida Governor Charlie Crist approves the Rachel’s Law bill, Florida will become the first state to approve legislature of its kind. Rachel’s Law deals specifically with reforming the way law enforcement uses confidential informants. The bill gets it name from Rachel Hoffman, who was used as an informant in a sting operation that was bungled by Tallahassee police and resulted in her murder (May 2008). Her parents, Irv Hoffman and Margie Weiss, helped champion Rachel’s Law and push for its enactment.

Rachel’s death made headlines after the incident exposed the risk that many young and under trained people are exposed to as informants. As a matter of fact, after the incident that led to Rachel’s death, the Tallahassee chief of police acknowledged that she should have never been implicated in the operation in the first place.

Currently, legislators are trying to work out the bill’s kinks. Mainly, the way that addicts often consent to be informants to avoid jail time but are often implicated in stings that are dangerous. Still, something is better than nothing, so the bill can’t be knocked in its present state, but more needs to be done to make sure that addicts have access to treatment, instead of having to turn to being informants to avoid jail time.

Lance Block, the lawyer of Rachel Hoffman’s parents, made the best point I’ve heard yet, when he said in a recent article in Tallahassee.com: “I hope that, in the next session, substance-abuse recovery advocates will join Rachel Hoffman‘s parents in educating legislators and law enforcement about the importance of the sanctity of substance abuse treatment. That way, maybe someone like Rachel Hoffman will successfully recover from drug abuse and avoid the need to be a confidential informant in the first place.”

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