As St. Valentine's Day, an event that has been associated with love and reconciliation for centuries, approaches, it is appropriate to revisit that day in 1991. That was when John Baker took his wife Cheryl to dinner to begin making amends for the alcoholic behavior that nearly destroyed their marriage. Baker, an alcoholic who had been estranged from his wife, told her he had stopped drinking and wanted to help restore their marriage and be a part of her life if she would have him. She … [Read more...]
“Most Alcoholics Are Better at Denial Than Counselors are at Counseling” and 8 Other Reasons Recovery from Alcoholism is HARD
“People try to attack the protective barrier of ‘denial’ and get the alcoholic to admit he is an alcoholic,’ the late Joe McQuany once observed. “The jury is still out on how effective this can be,” he continued, “in most cases this is a waste of time as most alcoholics are better at denial than you are at counseling.” In 1972, Joe McQuany, who was literally world famous, and others at Serenity House in Little Rock, began to search for ways to apply the program set forth in the Big Book … [Read more...]
Recovery Central offers 20 meetings a week
By David Palmer Shortly before noon on a sunlit day in May, men and women began gathering at the “Recovery in the Daylight” Narcotics Anonymous (NA) 12-Step meeting at Recovery Central, a new Little Rock facility mainly for NA meetings. More about the “Recovery in the Daylight” meeting in a minute. First, some background on Narcotics Anonymous and on Recovery Central. NA meetings came along about 18 years after AA’s founding in 1935 and are similar to AA’s 12-Step meetings in almost every … [Read more...]
Vietnam war vet overcomes opiate addiction, Pioneers local Cocaine Anonymous meetings
By David Palmer Cocaine addicts are a special breed. That’s what Norith Ellison says. And he should know. Ellison, 60, is a recovering cocaine addict who has been clean and sober for 21 years and started the state’s first Cocaine Anonymous (CA) meeting in Little Rock in 1989. Widely known and respected in the community for his far ranging activities in the service of addiction recovery and an unsuccessful candidate for state representative in 2006 who will likely run again, Ellison is modest … [Read more...]
Managing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: 12-Step programs and Vet Centers will help
“On March 4, 2007, combat veteran Chris Dana, put a .22 against his head, muffled it with a comforter and ended his life as quietly as a book drops. He had PTSD and didn’t get the help he needed.” These deeply affecting words were written by Eric Newhouse, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, in his book, The Faces of Combat: PTSD and TBI. (PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and TBI stands for Traumatic Brain Injury). The symptoms of PTSD fall into three categories: … [Read more...]
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