Drinking Spirits Increase Acute Pancreatitis Risk: Study | MedIndia

Drinking Spirits Increase Acute Pancreatitis Risk: Study | MedIndia.

 

Recovery-Should we Stay in the Closet?

David Colman wrote a fascinating article last week , in the New York Times, Challenging the Second A in A.A., discussing the opposing, strong opinions about AA’s insistence on maintaining member anonymity.  Below are some of the highlights.

The timing is interesting, at a time when defenders of abortion rights are wearing T-shirts in an effort to reduce the stigma of obtaining an abortion. Their concept is that as long as the popular perception of a social/health problem is hidden, it is easy to believe that it is only individuals very different from ourselves that have it.

It is much easier to rail against a benefit for “deviants”, if one thinks that it is only strange, immoral people with lack of will-power that have unwanted pregnancies or drink too much or even suffer from mental illness.  Catherine Zeta-Jones came out publicly last month, acknowledging her treatment for bipolar disorder in a similar move.

Susan Cheever, in an essay  “Is It Time to Take the Anonymous Out of A.A.?”, states that since a recent SAMHSA survey shows that a majority of Americans have a positive attitude about people in recovery “the argument that anonymity protects people from being stigmatized seems less and less germane.” She continued-“We are in the midst of a public health crisis when it comes to understanding and treating addiction. A.A.’s principle of anonymity may only be contributing to general confusion and prejudice.”

The editor of the new recovery Web magazine The Fix, Maer Roshan, says that “Having to deny your own participation in a program that is helping your life doesn’t make sense to me.” He also commented on the similarities between the gay/lesbian world and the AA model, in regards to anonymity. Remember the bumper stickers promoting the reality check-”SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS GAY”?

“The recovery world is now where the gay world was then. Back then, there was a still a stigma to saying you were gay. There was a community, but it was mired in self-doubt and self-hatred, and it’s changed considerably. Not just gay people, but the perception of gay people has changed. There’s a lot of secretiveness and shame in the recovery world, too, but that’s changing.”

Coleman states, “More and more, anonymity is seeming like an anachronistic vestige of the Great Depression, when A.A. got its start and when alcoholism was seen as not just a weakness but a disgrace.”

Novelist Molly Jong-Fast,  said “I don’t want to have to hide my sobriety; it’s the best thing about me.”

Another comment-

 I am 25 years in recovery, and have been out there fighting for the rights of people in recovery, and I’m sick and tired of people in A.A. meetings not lifting a finger to do anything about it. They hide behind anonymity — if you don’t tell anyone else that recovery works, that’s what you’re doing. That’s not how A.A. got to be where it was.

-Very provocative and challenging statements. Should we start wearing T-shirts, too?

Go to the NYTimes For the complete article.

 

My Last Hangover! Really, Truly This Time!

Do you find yourself assuring yourself that you will never allow yourself to feel so miserable again. You realize fully that last night, once again, you seem to have forgotten how lousy overdrinking makes you feel. You well know your limit, but somehow, when the number of drinks is getting close to it, you are feeling so good that it doesn’t seem to matter for the moment.

Some evidence , discussed in Willpower and Reward Myopia, shows that exercising  our short-term memories might help with our frequent short-sightedness.

The researchers call the problem “delay discounting,” that is, devaluing future rewards and punishments. The research was conducted with adults addicted to stimulants. The result was an improvement of 50% in reducing this problem, simply through neurocognitive training, that is, memory exercises.

 

The Merry-Go Round of Addiction

Take a look at a short video by Dr. Marc Kern that compares the life of substance abuse to a carousel. We may have the sensation of going somewhere, but it’s only up and down movement-getting high or a buzz and then going down again into depression and remorse, over and over and over again-finding ourselves right back where we started. It sure isn’t “merry.”

Watching it made me look at my header above. The title for my blog is “She’s on the Way Back,” and I had imagined my journey as linear. Now, as I look at the car, I’m noticing that the tunnel is circular.  Hmmm.

 

Curing Alcohol Addiction with a Joystick?

While a lot of recovery programs emphasize rational thinking, a new approach similar to a video game focuses on impulses. As with any addiction, like smoking or overeating, we can know all the reasons in the world why we should not be reaching for that cigarette or third serving or drink. It can even feel like it’s another person inside us with impulses beyond our (the conscious mind’s) control.

In a recent study at the University of Amsterdam patients engaged in “video-game-like ‘approach-avoidance tasks’; pushing or pulling a joystick in response to images on a screen.” After 4 short sessions the patients were assessed for their craving for alcohol. The participants “approach bias for alcohol had changed to an avoidance bias,” while the control group showed no changes. Three months of cognitive behavior therapy followed.

A year later 59% of the control group had relapsed, compared to 46% of the joystick players. It isn’t an amazing success rate, but the method shows promise.

Maybe someone creative will develop a version for avoidance strengthening at home.

 

The Movie Made Me Relapse!

Choose your movies carefully, a new study published in theThe Journal of Neuroscience shows  that

“in addition to activating brain areas linked to addiction, watching movies in which people smoke activates brain areas that drive the body movements a smoker makes hundreds of times a day while puffing on a cigarette. The physical habit of reaching for a cigarette and moving it up for a drag is learned so well that watching people smoke in the movies makes brain areas responsible for those movements more active, which could contribute to relapse.” (via Huffington Post)

They found that smokers leaving movies where actors were shown smoking were more likely to crave a cigarette. “Smokers trying to quit are frequently advised to avoid other smokers and remove smoking paraphernalia from their homes, but they might not think to avoid a movie with smoking content.”

The American Lung Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have tried to prohibit smoking in movies for years. What about drinking?

 

Addiction and Oxytocin

A recent post mentions a new study that shows the effectiveness of Baclofen in the treatment of alcohol addiction. Other studies show that one of the effects of the medication is on the level of the “love drug” oxytocin, that plays a role in bonding behaviors. Maybe that’s why so many drinkers experience the bottle as a lover.

A current pilot is testing the use of  ”intranasal oxytocin to help reduce addiction in alcoholics and heavy pot smokers.” The research is still in the very early stages, but it’s looking more hopeful all the time that a more successful cure than will-power is on the way.

 

Savoring Each Sip!

A recent study shows that when we aren’t paying attention to what we eat, we tend to eat more and even get hungry sooner.  When we are distracted, we can’t remember how much we’ve eaten and memory is tied to satiety.

Researchers found that distracted eaters, who were playing computer solitaire, “felt significantly less full just after lunch. . .  and at the taste-test session a half-hour later, they ate about twice as many cookies as those who had lunch without playing games.”

So, bringing this to our experience with drinking,  if your desire is to moderate your drinking, are you paying attention to each sip and truly savoring it? A wine appreciation site lists the characteristics to notice and enjoy. Here are just a few of them-

• Acidity-is it tart? or flat or flabby?
• Aroma or Bouquet
• Balance
• Body – The body of a wine is the size or heft of it in your mouth.
• Bouquet – The bouquet is another term for the aroma of a wine. It is usually used to describe the smell of a wine which is complex, offering many different types of aromas.
• Creamy or Chewy- How it feels in your mouth
• Complex – This describes a wine which has a myriad of aromas and flavors.
• Dry/Sweet/Earthy
• Spicy/Sweet/Silky/Velvety
• Finish – The finish is the aftertaste of a wine.
• Floral/Herbal/Complex/Jammy
• Musty/Oaky/Oxidized?

This is just the start of noticing the wines that are in our mouths. There are other unique characteristics to appreciate about beers and specialty drinks and liquors.

If we take the time to notice the loveliness of how each sip looks, tastes and feels to our tongues, we will feel deep enjoyment and drink much less.

No more drinking in front of the TV or computer and email!

Look at your drink! Smell your drink! Feel it in your mouth and your throat! Enjoy it!

. . . and, you may just find that you are drinking less while enjoying it more!

 

Can’t Lick that Darn Habit? It’s Wired into Your Brain

The desire to drink is truly “wired into our brains.” Bad habits are ingrained very deeply and intensely. Why are they stronger than good habits? -because we’re like toddlers who love and crave immediate reward.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and an authority on the brain’s pleasure pathway says that it is “the fudge vs. broccoli choice: Chocolate’s yum factor tends to beat out the knowledge that sticking with veggies brings an eventual reward of lost pounds.”

We alcoholics will still drink that last two or three drinks, totally forgetting for a few moments’ pleasure how we are going to feel in the morning.

“‘People tend to overestimate their ability to resist temptations around them, thus undermining attempts to shed bad habits,’ says experimental psychologist Loran Nordgren, who studies the constant struggle that addicts have between willpower and temptation.”

“People have this self-control hubris, this belief they can handle more than they can.”

Many of us are determined to keep testing ourselves.  I certainly have, experimenting on a weekly basis with various attempts at moderation.

Thank goodness, researchers are  coming up with some helpful suggestions to replace good habits with the ones we want to remove from our lives

Repeat, repeat, repeat the new behavior.

Exercise itself raises dopamine levels, so eventually your brain will get a feel-good hit even if your muscles protest.

Reward yourself with something you really desire.

Stress can reactivate the bad-habit circuitry. Learn ways to manage it.

And cut out the rituals linked to your bad habits.

“‘What you want to be thinking about is, `What is it in my environment that is triggering this behavior?’” says Nordgren. “You have to guard yourself against it.”‘

Go to Our Bad Habits Get Wired Into Our Brains for the full article with helpful tricks.

 

Study Shows Baclofen Effective Treatment for Alcohol Addiction

Good news! A small, but good study, using a “gold standard trial design and evaluation methodologies,” replicated the Italian study finding that Baclofen is effective in the treatment of alcohol addiction.  A previous post talks about French cardiologist Dr. Oliver Ameisen’s discovery while treating himself. He was desperate for help after trying every known remedy.

In one way it’s great that it is a familiar medication that has been used for years, so any side effects have had time to show up, and because it’s been around, it is now a cheap, generic medication, making it affordable.  The negative side to the situation is that because it’s already generic, “industry is not interested in funding research on (it). . , so support must come from the National Institutes of Health and from other foundations.”

Baclofen “is very safe to use in patients with liver disease because it is primarily metabolized through the kidneys, unlike alternative drugs for alcohol dependency that are metabolized in the liver and are contraindicated for patients with cirrhosis.”

For the complete article, go to Medscape Today.  You may have to register to read it, but registration is free.

 

No More Drunk Emailing

A while back I posted an article about the embarrassment of  calling or emailing an ex or boss after too many drinks.  I just found out about an optional feature on Gmail, called Mail Goggles , that makes you do some simple math problems before your email will go out.  Its default setting is during weekend evenings, but it can be extended.

Just curious if anyone has tried it or heard of anyone using it with success.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-in-labs-stop-sending-mail-you-later.html

 

Stages of Quitting the Addiction

In a recent online discussion of what type of treatment works best with alcoholics, addiction recovery coach Allistair Rhind stated that-

Alcoholics are immune to all forms of treatment when they are not ready to quit, and when they are ready to really quit, then a wide variety of approaches will benefit them.

At his website he lists 7 stages of getting ready to quit,  saying that while the journey from step 1 to step 7 is inevitable, the “questions are: will there be enough time to complete the journey? What damage and losses will occur before the individual finally gets to the last stop?”

Good questions. Scary questions. In looking at them, it seems like we may cycle through them many times, moving from denial to resistance to desperation and surrender, then back into denial.

1.  DENIAL: There is nothing wrong with me; I don’t have a problem; I don’t need to change. It is everyone else that is out of sync. If only they would get off my back and leave well alone then there would be no problem.

2.  AMBIVALENCE: I am in two minds about this. Sometimes I think that maybe I should do something about this. But mostly my mind is thinking positively about it.

3.  RESISTANCE: Why should I have to change? Why am I different? I will sort this thing out my way, so just get off my back.

4.  RELUCTANT COMPLIANCE: OK, OK, I will do what you want. I will go and see that Counselor or whatever he calls himself. I will see if he can fix me (and in the process maybe that will fix your nagging)

5.  SURRENDER: I am really beaten by this thing; I just can’t take any more. I really have to quit.

6.  ACCEPTANCE: I realize that this is no longer working for me and I really have had enough. I am looking forward to being free of this behavior and this overpowering need.

7.  ACTION: I am ready to quit now and to give this thing up for good. I will do what it takes. I am sick and tired of it all and I really hate my addictive behavior/substance. I am willing to change and move on. What help can I get?

Many of us may believe that we are at step #7, the day after New Year’s. What we do next to get the support we need will probably determine how successful we are and keep us from starting all over with #1-Denial, after the memory of the hangover is gone.

 

Making it Through the Holidays

The holiday season can be down right depressing for many people-having to deal with difficult relatives (or being lonely), financial worries, overwhelming to-do lists, exacerbated by the lack of sunlight and exercise. While his recommendations seem like common sense, Dr. Amen suggests  5 things that can help, that those of us who have depended on our favorite substances are not used to doing, starting with saying, “No.”

Learn to say no. You don’t have to say yes to every invitation that comes your way, and you don’t have to offer to host every event for your family and friends. When you receive an invitation, say “I’ll think about it.” Then decide if the event fits in your schedule.

Skip the alcohol this season. Alcohol is a depressant that impairs brain function. Overindulging can increase feelings of anxiety and depression.

Focus on what you’re grateful for. Dwelling on what’s wrong with your holiday season releases chemicals in the brain that make you feel bad. Make it a practice to start your day by writing down five things you’re grateful for.

Learn from the past but don’t relive it. Don’t let bad memories of past holiday events prevent you from enjoying the present. See what you can learn from those past events. If you suffered emotional trauma that resurfaces every year, consider a unique therapy known as EMDR to help you deal with it.

Reach out. If you don’t have a significant other, don’t live near your family, or can’t see your family for some reason, you may feel lonely. Reach out to friends you can spend time with or volunteer to help out at a local food bank or shelter.

 

 

Moderating Through Holidays Not Good Enough, Darn!

Bad news for alcohol moderators, researchers are now saying that “even a small increase in alcohol intake can up the risk of several different kinds of cancer”-including liver, breast and oral cancer. 

Those that conducted the study at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, recommend limiting drinking to one drink a day for women and two for men. Just enough for a tease!

 

 

The Marijuana Cure for Alcoholism?

Given the recent report that alcohol is the most dangerous drug, posted previously, and the reality that there are now more marijuana “wellness” clinics than Starbucks in many areas, should those of us addicted to alcohol start smoking? 

This summary of the info available in 1972, makes it look like it might be a good idea–

There is no doubt that some individuals and some small social groups give up alcohol altogether after discovering marijuana. . . The middle-aged marijuana smoker in the New York area. . . , is likely to “use marijuana precisely the way he previously used alcohol, and there are now middle-aged circles in which the drinking of liquor has almost disappeared.” A forty-year-old financier told Blum over a glass of nonalcoholic mineral water: “Well, I can hardly remember the last time I saw a drink at a dinner party. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a drink.

Another observation:

Perhaps the one major positive effect of the drug [marijuana] is to cut down on the use of alcohol. In the last few years it is rare for our student infirmary to encounter a student who has become aggressive, disoriented, or physically ill because of excessive use of alcohol. Alcoholism has almost ceased to [be] a problem on our campuses.

How sad that I took up with alcohol, instead of smoking weed. . . .

 

Better to Drink Daily then to Binge on the Weekend

Interesting comparisons of how drinking affects the heart–looking at Irish vs. French men and their drinking patterns. Some that are using the moderation management groups to abstain most of the week and only drink 2-3 days per week have been proud of their accomplishment. Now, it looks like spreading it out over the week is healthier.

Middle-aged men in Belfast had almost double the risk of developing heart disease compared with French drinkers who spread their consumption over a week-Bloomberg.net

 

Are Entities Sucking the Energy of Addicts?

Geez, some “spiritual” people are so judgmental of those of us with addictions.  Of course, New Age devotees very often are not free of the self-righteousness and addiction to perfection of the traditional Christian denominations that they were raised in and rejected, and thought they were freeing themselves from.  So, we need to feel compassion for them, instead of taking in their assessment of us, but. . .

After a lovely (paid) day in the “spiritual” center of Crestone, Colorado (America’s Shangri-La)  recently, where we used the biofeedback of HeartMath and Peruvian-style shamanic journeying to activate our heart centers, someone asked if shamanic techniques could be used to heal addicts.

The “answer” from our guru of the day was-“it’s easy to raise their vibrations, which then frees them from the entities that are sucking their energies, but they just return to the lower vibration that they are accustomed to and then are vulnerable again to the entities.” 

I much prefer Pascual-Leone’s metaphor in The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, MD, of all of us sledding down a hill of fresh snow. After several trips down, ruts will start to appear, making it more difficult to take a different path without major effort. (242) Our neural circuits can then become “self-sustaining,”  leading to mental rigidity rather than flexibility and plasticity.

Hey, after all these years, we have just made so many trips down the hill that it is hard to break a new path, free from substance abuse. It may be intensely challenging and we will need some strong support to break new ground (with our ruts in the snow), but to be shrugged off because entities are sucking our energies. . . Well, if that is really true, don’t shrug us off, bring in your angels and higher vibration entities to lift us out of our ruts!!

 

Not Drinking thru the Holidays

I well remember the pressure of making sure that “Santa” knew what each of my children really wanted most, and cooking all the favorite special holiday dishes that everyone counted on. This, while cleaning, decorating, sending greeting cards. . . To keep some gifts a secret, they had to be assembled after the kids were asleep on Christmas eve. To keep going into the night there were a few too many sips of holiday libations, so of course, I wasn’t as full of joy as my sons were when they woke up early to see what Santa had left under the tree.

Commit to Recovery has some great suggestions for planning ahead to ensure sobriety through the holidays. My favorites are “Keeping It Simple!,” with tips like-

“Do only what gives you pleasure and what time reasonably allows. This is a good opportunity to recognize your needs and practice setting boundaries.

For example, stress and overwhelm are my biggest triggers for wanting to drink. I dislike cooking so I’ve given up on giving dinner parties and baking 5 different kinds of cookies. I don’t barbecue my 4th of July meat anymore, I buy it already grilled at the local market.

I’ve learned to say no to some invitations. Try to avoid too much explaining or feeling guilty. Whatever it takes for you to keep your sobriety has to be your main priority!”

 

Cravings for a Drink, Like a Mosquito Bite

How we crave drink after drink, even though we know we will feel awful afterwards, is a lot like not being able to resist scratching a mosquito bite, even after it has started to bleed.

Although the analogy has been used before, The Mosquito Bite, on Neftwink’s Blog, describes the urge particularly well.

‘The problem with a mosquito bite is that although the initial scratch usually feels really good, the itch comes back. Scratching only exacerbates the itch. . . Our bite never goes away and the itch, that we aren’t supposed to scratch, can be consuming. Drinking relieves us, temporarily, of our itch. And like scratching a mosquito bite, the more we drink or scratch, the more our bite itches.”

 

Drinking SuperMoms

It was 20 years ago, but I remember well how a few drinks seemed to make running errands  and enduring cranky kids go much more smoothly. I thought it helped me be more patient and flexible.  I found out later, when my sons were teenagers, that my “patience” had caused me to put up with more than I should have, not setting enough limits.

An article at Working Mother, says that “the number of women ages 30 to 44 who report abusing alcohol has doubled over the past decade.” 

Many of these women are able to hide their drinking for a while, juggling jobs and carpools, not wanting to admit that they are having a hard time trying to be everything for everybody. “More and more, we hear about successful women hiding a dark secret.”  If they can wait that long, the kids’ bedtime is “wine o’clock.”

According to mental health counselor Heidi Jacobsen,  not only are women more likely to hide their addiction than men, but unfortunately “they’re also less likely to seek treatment than men because they worry about the people who depend on them. . . They can’t lose their job, their home and their children.”