LET'S TALK ABOUT RECOVERY ( and a tiny bit about Britney) 2/25/07

It looks like reporters are having a heyday with Britney Spear's dance in-again-out-again of the luxury rehab. So much so that it was difficult to pick from the over 1,200 articles for the title link. Quite frankly, I don't much care what the shaven head pop star's motivation is, if her chosen facility is luxurious or not, or any other thing. It is rather fortunate that any addict's progress in recovery is not based upon what other people think. If it were, I myself might be dead or still in the mix today.

There is a popularity involved with critiquing 12-step methodology. I can accept that. I can also give a nod to the idea that 12-step programs in general may have some characteristics of cultish behavior. And a vigorous nod to the idea that 12-step program membership is not for everyone seeking to recover from addiction to alcohol, other chemical substances, gambling, sex, love, co-dependency [read: messed up families or relationships], eating disorders, or any other -ism. What I will say is that many people have found a way into a new life via 12-step programs-- whether mandated by drug courts or other legal authorities or not. And other folks have found other ways into a new life.

I have been abstinent from my own addiction on a continuous basis for more than a quarter of a century. I treasure my recovery. I have worked hard to get what I have today and I continue to work hard to keep it.

Britney is no different from any of the rest of us on the inside. She is not the first addict to bounce in and out of rehabs seeking direction but too afraid to stay, nor will she be the last. I am delighted when any addict is able not to use for one day regardless of how they do it. And so I extend my most sincere wish to Britney that she find some real peace.

radical sapphoq

POOR SUFFERING INTERNET ADDICT 2/20/07

Respect is due to any man or woman who serves our country in times of war. Yet, the articles detailing a lawsuit brought on by a guy who had a 65K a year job over at I.B.M. left me shaking my head. He claims to be an internet addict who was self-medicating via a sex talk chat room during downtime. What is at stake is a smooth 5M.

I.B.M. says the guy was warned four months prior to the incident that got him canned, one year before he would have been eligible for full retirement. Guy says there is age discrim at play and of course he should have been offered a chance at treatment via a sex addictions/internet addiction rehab. [Tasteless joke censored about what group therapy at such places must be like.] Guy further states that he was using the sex chatroom that day to treat his P.T.S.D. which was brought on by the death of a buddy in Nam.

radical sapphoq says: The excuse is lame. Guy should get a different lawyer.