Posts Tagged ‘addiction’
The Reality of Addicted
Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 06:25 Written by Monica Monday, 15 March 2010 06:18
There are several reality shows out there but the truth is that some of them are manipulated for dramatic effect. A show that deals with addiction, however, does not need that because everyone who has been controlled by an addiction or had a loved one on drugs knows that Drama is Addiction’s middle name. Just as a person can go online and see stories shared by those who have experienced what they themselves are going through, people are going to be able to identify with the new TLC show Addiction, which premieres March 17.
Maybe you will watch it with friends and laugh along with them as they make fun of yet another round of reali
ty stars. Maybe you will watch it alone. Either way, maybe inside you will be realizing that yes, that does seem familiar because it happened to you or your best friend or your brother or your niece or you strongly suspect that your spouse or teenager is doing drugs because the person on Addicted is acting just like your loved one is.
Television shows yearn for ratings and they admit that. However, there are those that seek to help the public at the same time. Shows like Addicted fall into this arena. The truth is, drugs are out there as you know or you would not be on this site. The truth is, there is help out there, too. So if you watch the show and you need help for yourself or a loved one, come to this site or even any other site, because those who help addicts get clean want one thing: success for those who are addicted.
Addicted promises to be a show along the lines of Intervention. Any show that can educate teenagers and young people, any show that can say “yes, drugs are real and they are not sexy”, any show that lets you know that you are not alone, these shows are worth watching to this writer.
Addicted premieres Wednesday evening, March 17 at 10 eastern, 9 central time. Did you notice the date? March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, the luck of the Irish. Perhaps Addicted will be lucky for some viewer, maybe even you. If you stumbled upon this site because you it is now late Wednesday night and the premiere hit you where you live, then know it was meant to be. Help is out there. Help is available. Help is HERE. You are not here by chance, you are here because you deserve to be helped.
Some reality shows are not as real as they appear. Addiction is real and if watching Addicted helped you to get help, then isn’t that as real as life gets? You deserve help. For real. Thanks to treatment programs around the world, thanks to websites such as this one and thanks to shows that deal with the reality of addiction, you can get that help today.
Tags: Addicted, addiction, drugs, reality show, TLC | Posted under Texas Rehab | No Comments
Should Marijuana Be Legalized?
Last Updated on Thursday, 11 March 2010 07:31 Written by Monica Wednesday, 10 March 2010 10:25
USA Today’s cover story for March 9. 2010 was citing how views regarding marijuana are changing. Going through and reading the article, I saw where, once again, a thought out argument for legalizing marijuana was used. This time, it was about how legalizing marijuana will have the IDs of minors checked just like it is for alcohol and cigarettes. The article quoted a former prosecutor and judge in California stating that drug dealers do not ask about age and it’s true.
Does that mean we should legalize marijuana? Some people think so. Some states are leaning towards that venue. Texas is one of the states not looking at legalizing marijuana, at least not at this time. Texas has always been tougher on different issues, drugs being one of them. Still, sometimes Texas can be a little too tough on some things, as several cases come to the mind of this writer regarding other crimes and penalties entirely. Two high school sweethearts, one in jail because his birthday falls just after the school year plus he failed a grade. So he turns 19 in jail and his girlfriend is now 17 although they are one year apart in high school, a junior and a senior. This story is heard more and more in families and it is a sad case of Catch 22.
Rules are rules, though, right? Shouldn’t that hold true for drugs as well? If we are going to hold young people accountable for other crimes, then we need to hold drug dealers accountable for selling drugs. Should we legalize marijuana just to make it easier to prosecute minors? No. We should follow through with mandated sentences for dealing drugs, not make deals.
People who are addicted to drugs need rehab. Surprisingly to some, drug dealers are not always on drugs themselves. Drug addicts are not always minors. If marijuana is legalized, it will not solve this issue. Kids get older gets in college to buy their alcohol. They get friends who are eighteen to buy their cigarettes. They will get someone to buy the marijuana, too.
The drug dealers will still be selling drugs. Cocaine, heroin, anything illegal. It will still get sold. They will still sell marijuana to kids who are not old enough to buy it.
Yes, the case for legalizing marijuana makes sense. It is well thought out and organized. However, the case for not legalizing it makes sense, too. Who gets to decide if it becomes legal? The government? The people? Are our young people really the ones being thought about or is it another way to make money? Oh and a final question: if marijuana becomes legal, who is going to pay for rehab when our young people get hooked on a legal drug and spend their time high instead of in college or working? Because making it legal does not make it free of being an addiction.
Treat the Patient, Go After the Addiction
Last Updated on Thursday, 4 March 2010 06:17 Written by Monica Wednesday, 3 March 2010 06:11
Do you know what a Catch 22 is? It is like being between a rock and a hard place. It is being damned if you don’t and damned if you do. It is what many addicts feel like in those moments of clarity that seem further and further apart. Every day, alcoholics and drug addicts face depression, loneliness, self-loathing, numbness, nightmares and lost hope. How do we give it back to them?
We should recognize the affects of alcoholism and drug addiction. We should counter it with therapy and care. We should go after it like a soldier goes after an evil force.
Does anyone wake up one day and decide to become an alcoholic instead of a doctor? Does one decide instead of being a fireman, to become a drug addict? It is not the goal of a person to succumb to substance abuse. Why act like it is?
Many people argue the fact as to whether alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases. Why? Because they say people have a choice. Fine. But wait a minute. Isn’t AIDS a disease? Isn’t HIV a blood disorder? Aren’t sexually transmitted diseases well, diseases? These were brought on by choices, too.
It is time to band together and treat the patient. Treat the addict. Go after the disease. Go after the addiction. Here in Texas, let’s take that “Don’t Mess with Texas” motto we are so proud of and see it for what it is meant to be: strength in numbers. Just as I wrote in a post earlier this week, if our legal system is figuring out things like dual diagnosis, then shouldn’t our other departments do so as well? The VA, anger management, community service projects, jail time, all could help with successful rehabilitation in different situations by recognizing that the person is not the problem, the addiction is.
If a person injures another, we go after that person, right? That is what addiction and alcoholism does. Go after the root of the problem, that addiction. Battle the enemy. Yes, a person can be held accountable for his or her actions but tell them they are accountable because they are worth saving, that person deep inside who is now being controlled by substance abuse is still in there and worth saving.
By doing so, you could be helping someone who could very well go on to becoming a rehab counselor, or the parent of the future doctor who finds a cure for cancer. How awesome would it be to have had a hand in that by helping an addict or alcoholic? Exactly.
Tags: addiction, alcoholism, rehab, substance abuse | Posted under Texas Rehab | No Comments
Passing on an Addiction to Your Child is Like Playing Russian Roulette
Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 07:43 Written by Monica Tuesday, 9 February 2010 07:38
How many of you out there would hold a gun to your child’s head and play Russian Roulette? For those of you who do not know, Russian Roulette is where a person takes a gun with one bullet and takes a chance (a very stupid and dangerous one) on whether the bullet is in the chamber when he pulls the trigger. Did my question seem a little harsh? Well, that is basically what you are doing if you are taking drugs during your pregnancy.
More and more children are born every year addicted to alcohol or illicit drugs. The effects can vary and can even be life-threatening. Behavioral problems, learning problems, are just the tip of the iceberg for many of these children.
Little Johnny down the street seems a little rough around the edges. He does not play nice and the moms in the neighborhood really do not like their children around him. It really isn’t Johnny’s fault, though. His mom was more interested in drinking and partying and denied her pregnancy to herself for as long as she could. As a result, Johnny was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome along with all its long-term problems.
Little Maria stayed in the hospital for several weeks after she was born. Her mother passed on an addiction to heroin along with her bright blue eyes. As a result of that, Maria cries more than most little ones. Her mother found this out when she was finally released and out of frustration, left her with her grandmother and took off for parts unknown to continue her downward spiral with drugs.
In Texas, you have to really be a bad mother to have your children taken away from you. Starting their lives addicted to alcohol or drugs is a red flag in any CPS situation and if you show true remorse, you will be able to keep your child as long as you follow certain guidelines and prove that you are willing to do what is best for your child.
Children deserve a chance and when they are born with addictions that were passed to them in the womb by their mothers, that chance involves an uphill battle that is not fair. A little bit of honesty on the part of the mother during pregnancy will help a great deal. Everyone will work together to ensure that the child is born with as minimal a risk as possible.
If you are using drugs or drinking, stop immediately when you find out you are pregnant. Be honest with your physician. Be prepared to accept whatever happens. Strive to stay off of drugs and alcohol so your own little Johnny or Maria has a better chance of getting over your addiction. No one else deserves it more than your own little baby, don’t you agree? Stop playing Russian Roulette with your child’s life.
Tags: addiction, fetal alcohol syndrome, pregnancy and drugs, womb | Posted under Texas Rehab | No Comments
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