"Addiction Recovery Radio"

Updated 03/09/2016 California DUI Laws This was our third show, actually recorded the second night we started this whole podcast. We decided to do a show on California DUI Laws. We originally wanted something we could record and reference later on to track Michelle's progress through her recovery. The first 15 shows were interesting and had very little direction but were raw and filled with emotion and anxiety. So to listen to these brought back a lot of memories, especially to see where we are now 4 years later in recovery. She had been attending roughly 2-3 meetings per day, we had a lot of resentment towards one another and Michelle was talking like a programmed robot from her AA meetings. Now, before anyone gets offended by this comment, its important to note what i mean.   There comes a time in one's sobriety where they wake up and "get it" obvious she was simply regurgitating what is said to her, or better yet, drilled into her head. The one thing i do not like about the AA program is the negativity towards newcomers. Perhaps, this is just a California thing, but one thing is for sure, when you have people attending meetings after 20 years, there tends to be a lot of negativity towards the newbies because of how many fail out the gate. What the veterans of AA fail to consider is, California mandates DUI first offenders to attend AA. Every meeting she was told she would fail, couldn't make it through the program, etc. She would come home in tears and this just was not helping. She ended up having 2 sponsors within her first year. Both of them, were not as determined or strong as her. It is one thing if she was simply assigned AA mandated from court, but that was not the case. She was there on her own free will to become sober. It was just a god awful program for her and we set out to make something home based that worked better for her. Now i can understand the revolving door cliche' at the AA meetings, but my god, they really manage to drive away honest people seeking to get help when you have the crusty old timers there with zero positive influence. When you force people to do something against their will because of legal ramifications, you are failing the system out the gate. There are MANY cases of DUI offenders who do not have a drinking problem. They were simply attending a function and had a few too many and used poor judgement to get behind the wheel. In no way am i condoning drinking & driving, but for California to overstep their reach and force first offenders to attend AA is just stupid. California DUI Laws definitely need to be re-evaluated. I have a better solution to this problem, so please hear me out. Here in CA, we have a HUGE illegal immigration program. The amount of benefits given to these people just blow me away that us tax payers have to foot the bill for. If these resources were actually shifted towards actual U.S citizens in need of aid in this state, we would have a lot less problems. For example, first offenders could be handled in the following way if they didn't hurt/kill anyone or damage any property by crashing: Asked by the judge if they have a addiction problem. Yes or No answer will be required. If answered yes by the offender, ask if they would like to attended a state funded treatment program and if they successfully complete the program and maintain sobriety for 365 days+, they can petition to have the offense permanently expunged (CA automatically expunges after 7 years) State of California would save themselves a lot of money sponsoring addiction treatment and over a period of 10 years, reduce reoccurring DUI offenses and addiction related emergencies. For those who answer no, fine them and slap them very hard on a second offense if it ever occurs, such as mandated jail time.               Now, this was just a rough draft thought in my head during the writi...

Today we talk about opiate abuse in today's America. Opiate Addiction is on the rise due to doctors who believe in pain management through pills. Once cut off from their pill source due to losing their job to addiction or some other reason, now resort to using heroin.  Many Americans today are going to the cheaper heroin due to prescription medication abuse of opiates such as Oxycontin and Oxycodone. Once their sources dry up, they need to feed that addiction, which is where the lower cost heroin comes into play. This is a HUGE problem in America today and it becomes worse as pain management is handled by doctors through prescription medication rather than alternatives. Many stars such as Seymour Hoffman are a victim of opiate abuse as well, resulting in death. Let's not forget the amount of heroin being smuggled in through the border states of California/Texas sourcing through Mexico. We also describe our own addiction program we created to help ourselves through our unique situation and restrictions. Not everyone has the money to enter a rehab. Not everyone has the ability to deal with childcare when one is in a treatment facility. Then what do you do when you get out? Who is going to assist with coaching and mentoring through the sober living stage? How do you make that adjustment? These are real issues and there is no written solution for them. How do i know this? WE had to deal with this on our own, with a newborn in the house and 2 toddlers. It is just not feasible for many unless you're wealthy. So we discuss how we developed our own version of treatment. It was not a proven solution because no solution can ever be guaranteed in the addiction world. There is no solution book you can buy or read online. There is only theory and opinion. You have self proclaimed experts in the field who have never been an addict. I feel, the best subject matter experts in this field are the addicted themselves. With love, trust and support after coming clean, can excel in the sober lifestyle, then ultimately, help someone else. If this pattern can be sustained, there will be hope for just about everyone who is suffering from an addiction. To become sober, you must want it. It cannot be forced on you. However, through tough love, you can make that thinking process for your loved one, become a reality. You can give them a set of choices that they HAVE to make. Then and only then, will they take the step to becoming sober for good. If there is nothing for them to lose, guess what? The goal to becoming sober, vanishes. They need to hit rock bottom and if that includes a little assistance from the people in their life to ensure that happens, so be it. This is our system and it had worked well for us. We are actually in the process of documenting the system in which we created for ourselves. Although it has worked for our situation, there is no guarantee it will work for everyone. Again, we have just taken what's worked best for us and tweaked it over the last 4 years. We no have real time data and not one bump in the road. No falling off the wagon, no missteps and most importantly, no loss of trust between us as a family. The post Opiate Addiction In America – ARR44 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

In Today's episode, we talk a little about Robin Williams Death, Mental Health And Labor Day Sobriety. With Labor Day celebrations around the corner, it's important to surround ourselves around people who understand your sobriety battle and offer to help you in anyway possible. We usually don't recommend attending celebrations where there is a lot of alcohol being served or drugs being consumed. However, if you are surrounded by like minded people who are in recovery themselves, then its more than likely you will not be bitten by the temptation bug. It's important to stay strong and have the support network at your side. Enjoy the holiday sober and look forward to many years of sobriety holidays in your future. Sadly, we lost a great comedic icon, Robin Williams. It had been reported, he had Parkinson's, but later revealed he was also suffering from Lewy Body Dementia. Interesting enough, this diagnosis has similar symptoms of  Parkinson's Disease and sometimes is misdiagnosed. What is Lewy Body Dementia? Well, it has symptoms such as being confused and disoriented and exhibits unusual behavior. Robin did display some unusual behavior before his death. There are reports he kept a few watches in socks. He wanted to protect these watches from harm. The dementia portion of Lewy leads to cognitive impairment which makes everyday life, difficult. Simple things like paying bills, eating, keeping good hygiene and trouble sleeping are just some of the difficult tasks for someone suffering from LBD. There is also more severe symptoms such as hallucinations, which may be the result of Robin's suicide. Based on lab results from samples taking from his brain during an autopsy showed, Robin had the tiny LBD protein deposits on the nerve cells of the brain. They also discovered, he had traces of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s through the same discovery. This leads us into our next discussion... Mental heath. Mental health is a hush hush subject in our society. Sadly, it's something that has needed to be addressed since our first veterans fought in a world war and came back with forms of PTSD. In the past, it was like a black mark on the family, giving notions of embarrassment having a mentally ill family member. I think the time has come, that we have a serious conversation about mental illness and begin to address it immediately. It's time to act and stop sitting around discussing the politics of it. We have had school shootings because of mental illness, various other murders due to mental illness. I have personally dealt with many levels of mental illness through my previous career. I will tell you, in many cases, these people have a way of surprising you just when everyone starts to give up on them. They portray moments of brilliance... passion, extreme intelligence and have a great imagination. Some of the other things i can recall is their wonderful art abilities, or use of technology such as computers and tablets. Its simply amazing to watch unfold when you begin to first interact with them. I really hope, mental illness gains the same momentum that AIDS & Cancer research began to see. With the government stepping in on our private healthcare system, i think this responsibility needs to be placed in their lap. One thing i will say when it comes to government interaction within the healthcare system, is addiction. Addiction is finally being addressed by the new appointed drug czar, Michael Botticelli. I caught a really interesting piece on 60 minutes about the new drug czar. Unfortunately, you need to subscribe to 60 minutes in order to view it online. However, you can catch a rerun of it or find it on demand. I highly recommend watching it. Mr. Botticelli has a long track record with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he was in charge of overseeing substance abuse programs. He has demonstrated his commitment to advancing more science-based and compassionate drug policie...

Celebrity Relapse We discuss a serious issue within the world of addicted celebrities who are relapsing after treatment and the new generation of recovery. Most of these famous people who are dealing with addictions have many demons in their lives prior to becoming famous. Some are even addicted long before they become a star or have underlining issues from the home that have put them in a state of depression. Although being famous and having a lot of money sounds great to most of us, they definitely have a battle of privacy for their remaining career. When these stars go into relapse, they are playing Russian roulette with their lives. Many go back to using the same amount prior to stopping. The longer they have remained sober, the more dangerous a relapse will be for them as their body won't be able to handle the amount of drugs taken as before. Death is right around the corner when you enter sobriety and relapse, however... its not enough to scare people. Today, relapse is something we discuss because anyone of us is susceptible to this if you ignore the steps to prevent it.   We also take a look at the new shape of recovery. With the world at a fast pace with digital technology, how will this reshape recovery? We dive into a new world of dealing with addiction and how programs like the one here at ARR are effective in a busy and hectic digital world. Our program takes a few of the 12 steps and modifies it to work for people who have a family that can't attend a impatient program or do not have the money to pay for treatment. Let's not forget, you HAVE to have a desire to get sober for this to work. Otherwise, this will be a revolving door for you dealing with your addiction demons. The post Celebrity Relapse During Addiction Treatment – ARR42 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Alternative Addiction Treatment Today we focus on alternative addiction treatment methods. Some of these programs combine a psychological approach with motivation, some use other shrill techniques. Bottom line is, if you are seeking treatment options, it's worth looking into every avenue that is provided. What works for some, may not work for you. We explain why and things to help you along. One of the most interesting of alternative addiction treatments actually involved AA. The founder of AA, Bill Wilson, promoted the use of large doses of vitamin B and claimed it was the most effective help he had ever received. The AA board members thought otherwise and shot the idea of promoting it down. Today, you can get vitamin B in heavy concentration by IV drip known as NAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). It's a coenzyme derivative of vitamin B3 - otherwise known as niacin. It's been thought that NAD can reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms in patients without using replacement therapies. According to reports, it has been used successfully to treat addictions to prescription drugs including opiates, benzodiazepines, and stimulants, alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, suboxone, and methadone. Results may include improved mental clarity, increase in cognitive function, returned focus and concentration, more energy, better mood, and more positive outlook. Meditation is an art of mindfulness, which makes Yoga very popular. You can really become relaxed and remove all stress by simply meditating. Even AA and staff at treatment facilities recommend meditation and generally provide Yoga classes for that very purpose. Biochemical Restoration is another alternative that repairs the biochemical imbalances that cause cravings, depression, anxiety, and the unstable moods that lead to and perpetuate addiction. Basically, its a chemical nutrient therapy that improves the imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain, nutrient deficiencies, amino acid imbalances, hypoglycemia, inflammatory and oxidative stress, and adrenal fatigue. In order to use this treatment, you would need to research a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and get an assessment so that you could have a personal nutrition plan created which consists of a micronutrient supplement including amino acids (sometimes with a futuristic approach of micronutrient injections), and prescribed physical activity and relaxation. Exercise is a great option for those who aren't into Yoga. Physical exercise has many cognitive benefits that can specifically help recovering addicts. For one, it leads to increased neurotransmitter levels, improved oxygen and nutrient delivery, and increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus. It can have a positive effect on learning and memory. These are just a few of the alternatives available to try or adapt into your everyday life. Not everything works for everyone, so trying new things will break up the monotony and allow for experimentation. Treatments such as acupuncture are said to help as well but low cost/free alternatives work just as well.           The post Alternative Addiction Treatment – ARR41 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

            Anxiety and Self Detox from Pain Killers Anxiety, Its the white elephant in the room while going through addiction treatment and recovery. For many, this is worse than the actual detox phase of treatment. Anxiety is an unexplained, uncomfortable feeling that something bad may happen. Almost to the point of knowing that you will not detox or complete treatment. Even worse, possibly relapse from anxiety. Well today we identify it, then we discuss how to deal with it.  Coping with anxiety will keep you focused on sobriety. It will also allow you to set goals and keep those goals. Although anxiety isn't 100% treatable, you can do a very good job keeping it under control without sabotaging your goals. Also, we dabble a little on something we came across called Self Detox from Pain Killers. We discuss how harmful this may be depending on your state/volume of addiction. We always recommend that people taking more than 2 pills per day should really detox from pain killers in a treatment facility that had doctors on staff 24 hrs a day. Your body will go through some massive withdrawals, some even harmful to the point that you could die in the process. Detox is no laughing matter and should be considered a medical intervention at an actual treatment facility or hospital. It's one thing to ween off pain killers in a smart manner by taking less and less as days and weeks go by. It's another to just think quitting cold turkey is OK and has zero affects on your body. This is a very dangerous mindset that could put you in serious risk. So please, be smart and consult a treatment facility if you need to detox. It's imperative that you detox under medical supervision. If you have further questions about this, please email us, thanks. The post Anxiety and Self Detox From Pain Killers – ARR40 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Well, New Year's is right around the corner! This can be a bad time for some (holidays), perhaps opening old wounds that may  cause you to lose focus on your sobriety. Don't fret, we have some pre planning tools that can assist in proper planning for a sober new years experience! We also touch base on relapsing. The post ARR39 – Sober New Years Planning appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

We know how tough the holidays can be! So, we put together a show addressing the main concerns of holiday relapse and how not to fall victim to urges or temptations. We also touch on liability to person who help under age drinkers, host parties. The post ARR38 – How To Stay Sober During The Holidays appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Hi! We are finally back and have some great shows lined up for the holiday season! This show is a re-introduction on who we are and what we have been up to. Michelle is 5 weeks away from be sober for 2 years now! We have come a long ways with this addiction struggle and share our experience. The post ARR37 – Reintroduction To ARR & AA 12 step Association appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Today we dive into what a blackout is, different types of blackouts and how they affect different persons. The post ARR36 – Blackouts appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Today we are looking into something rather important. We're going to talk about co-occurring disorders. What is a co-occurring disorder? Simple.... It's someone who has both an addiction and a mental illness. How can we detect this? How can we overcome it? How do we recover? Listen in and find out. The post ARR35 – Understanding dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

We dive into deep discussions about Mindy McCready Suicide. We also touch on Dr Drew's failure to properly help these celebrities who are dropping like flies from overdoses and suicides. Should Dr. Drew continue this so called recovery process for celebrities with such a sour track record? Listen in and hear our views on the subject. The post ARR34 – Mindy McCready and Dr. Drew (The New Doctor Death) appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

On this episode, we discuss opiates and the bodies dependency over long term use. How does one ween themselves off of an opiate? The post ARR33 – Breaking Your Dependency On Opiates appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

On this episode we further discuss more on prescription drug addiction. I cover several articles where big pharmacy tries to buy articles written by the media to support prescription drugs, claiming less than 5% of patients will form some kind of addiction. The post ARR32 – Prescription Drug Addiction Part 2 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

We discuss what is substance abuse treatments are The post ARR31 – What Is Substance Abuse Treatment appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Today we discuss the timeline of Lindsay Lohan's reckless battle with alcohol and drugs. We outline her random rehab flops and discuss how the legal system in California is a huge failure. We also dive into why regular citizens aren't afforded the many... The post ARR30 – Lindsay Lohan & Why AA Doesn’t Work For Everyone appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

We dive into binge drinking. What is it? Do i binge drink? What can i do? The post ARR29 – Binge Drinking appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

We discuss the most sweepting epidemic of the century The post ARR28 – Prescription Drug Addiction Part 1 appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Resentment is a mental process. With resentment, we repeatedly replay a feeling, and the events leading up to that feeling, that angers us. Resentment is a major component in failed relationships, but more importantly, RELAPSE. So, let's get into it and identify resentment. Once we identify it, we will discuss how to deal with it. Channeling negative energy into positive energy, has its benefits :) . The post ARR 27 – Resentment appeared first on Addiction Recovery Radio Podacast.

Self Esteem is a critical part of our lives. Many people have low self esteem... many have a high self esteem and many people can fluctuate between the two. We discuss how to identify low self esteem and ways to deal with things that give you low self esteem. We also give you a guideline on how to build your self esteem!  19 Ways To Build Self Esteem It’s normal to feel pretty low immediately after drug rehab, but if you’re still struggling to regain your self-esteem and it’s been longer than you thought it would be before you felt somewhat normal again, don’t fret. While it does take time to heal from all the damage that drug and alcohol abuse does to our bodies and minds, the good news is that we do heal.But we may need a little help to get there, nonetheless. Here are a number of tips that may help in your goal to help improve your self-esteem. Tip #1: Not everything has to happen immediately, so give yourself a break. What, exactly, do we mean by this? Simply put, we are probably harder on ourselves than others are, in that we expect too much, too soon. When we’ve just come out of drug rehab, we’re still pretty raw, still smarting, if you will, from all that we’ve gone through. After all, getting clean and sober is quite an accomplishment in and of itself, not to mention how we’re trying to approach this new life of sobriety post-treatment. Tip #2: Expect that you’ll feel low for some time to come.In line with tip #1, this tip encourages you to recognize and, more importantly, understand that you will most likely feel low self-esteem for some period of time yet. How long will vary from one individual to another, and there’s no set time-table that you should hold up to yourselves and think that you should be better by now. When you aren’t trying so hard to determine what your self-esteem is all the time, you’re better able to concentrate on doing the work of recovery. That alone will help you immensely as you continue to make progress and become stronger in sobriety. Tip #3: Self-esteem comes from within. It is not something you get from others. Naturally, you want to receive as much help as possible. Reaching out to others for advice and accumulating tips and techniques works well in most situations, but when it comes to boosting your self-esteem, this is not something that you can receive from others. It has to originate from inside you. Having said that, however, we all do benefit from hearing praise about our accomplishments, so over time, this will help us as we begin to build our reservoir of self-esteem. The key is timing. When we hear praise from others, but we don’t believe we are worth it, the praise just falls on deaf ears. It does nothing for us, really. But when we are ready, when we know that we are working hard to achieve our goals in sobriety and others give acknowledgement to our efforts, it does mean something. In fact, it means a lot. Tip #4: Take things in small measures. When you’re in early recovery, it’s vitally important to pace yourself, to take things in small steps. Be especially careful to avoid all-or-nothing thinking, as in if I don’t complete everything on my list today, I’m a failure. All-or-nothing thinking is a sure-fire way to defeat the progress you’ve made in boosting your self-esteem because it means that you’re consistently measuring yourself against somewhat impossible odds. No one can possibly do everything all the time. Instead of looking at what you didn’t get to or finish, look at what you did do well. And congratulate yourself for that accomplishment. Tip #5: How you feel does not make you a failure. We all have our ups and downs, our good and not-so-good days. Some days in recovery will find us feeling low, depressed, unfulfilled, stagnant, or uncertain, fearful and stressed. If you find yourself feeling blue or catch yourself thinking that you’re a failure, remember that feelings are not facts.