Slainte!

How do I consider this substance/behavior pattern a beloved “friend”?

I’m going to be fairly honest with this post and I am always interested in how many people share similar challenges. Alcohol. I just turned 30 a few months ago, and for the first time in the last 13-14 years, I am actively attempting to curb my drinking. Alcohol has been a good friend of mine since I was in 11^th grade. My friends and I binge drank for the last few years in high school and then in college it just increased. Once out of college, I moved to Spain where drinking with lunch is normal. From that point on, it was strange to not drink every day. Alcohol was a friend of mine for years and years. Bored? Grab a beer. Want to relax? Grab a beer. Looking for a nice evening in with the wife? Why not grab a bottle or two of wine. Weekends, forget about it.

How is it sensual (appeals to my senses)?

My problem is that for the last almost half of my life, everything I did had a drink or a beer or a glass of wine in the background. Because of that, it has now become strange to not have that drink there when doing the most routine things. ‘Man, I’ve got to go to the grocery store, go get a pair of shoes, and then get the car washed. Oh well, I’ll just stop a grab a beer or two real quick and catch some sports center on TV.’ A beer turns into two, then I’m grabbing a bite to eat then before I know it, I’ve blown $50 and have had far more than I planned on having. Those are just the typical times. That’s not even including the times when I crave a drink after going through something stressful or taxing. Rough day at work? Stop and pick up a six-pack. Just had to drop $350 on some kind of vet bill? Definitely need a beer or two after that.

How does this substance/behavior pattern provide “healing” or is a “balm” to my emotional wounds?

I am a very social person, so stopping at the local dive bar immediately puts me somewhere that I can strike up conversations with people to get my mind off whatever was on it prior to walking in. To be honest, I don’t like being alone. If my wife has to work later than I do, or has something else going on, I am very easily talked into going and grabbing a beer with a buddy. It is very easy to find someone to go grab a drink or two at any time during the week. It’s sad but true. I am not always necessarily seeking healing or a balm, but sometimes I’d rather go out and grab a beer or two with a buddy than go home by myself and think about the day in silence.

How my addictive substance/behavior pattern is hated – what has it “cost” me?

I cannot even begin to think about how much drinking has cost me. I blame the vast majority of my credit card debt on drinking. My wife and I lived in downtown Bethesda for five years prior to moving to Damascus. There are so many amazing places to go eat and relax and go out in Bethesda that it happened almost nightly. We would come home from work, tired, sometimes not having had gone to the grocery store the previous day, and just say, ‘Screw it, lets go grab a bite.’ That bite would be at Mon Ami Gabi, RiRa, Jaleo, Caddies, American Tap Room, Redwood, etc., and by the end of the night, we’d be full, but one of us would be $100 in the hole. Literally tens of thousands of dollars between the two of us over the course of living there for five years. That’s just the financial cost. Luckily, I have never let my drinking spill over into my work or family life to the point of ‘costing’ me anything.

What might be a good resource or treatment method for a behavior change?

It’s weird. Well, not really that weird. We got a dog, moved to Damascus, and have both made serious efforts to take better care of ourselves. For me there are two possibilities – well, there were two possibilities…I’m working on that – either I went to the gym, or I came home and had a few beers/drinks. When I go to the gym after work, I am able to get a lot of the energy out of my system and decompress after my day at work. I come home; we cook dinner, watch one of the five shows we are always watching, then shower and go to bed. By the time I get home and sit down after eating, its 8:00pm so I don’t feel the need to drink anything at all. It’s awesome. It’s natural. It’s healthy. It’s great. I not only feel better, but I sleep better, I have more energy, and on the weekends I enjoy that beer or drink that much more. I feel like I’ve earned it. I know it’s going to be a journey for a long time fighting the desire to ‘just have a few beers,’ but I have really become enthusiastic with the alternative. I have gotten into a nice groove with a few friends from work with exercising and going to the gym, and it really does feel great NOT having a drink. I used to keep track day by day on a calendar if I drank and/or went to the gym. I got away from that for the last few months, but the first item on my grocery list this week is a 2014 calendar and I am looking forward to getting back to keeping track again so I can get a good idea of how I am doing.

Cheers!

Week Three Blog

What biases do you find in yourself about process addictions?

Overall, I think I have more of a tendency to accept chemical addictions over process addictions because I have never been around an individual, that I am aware of, with a process addiction. That is not to say that I don’t respect or empathize those who are addicted to processes, I just have never been exposed to them. I have seen people who were addicted to substances and have seen the impact of AOD on their lives. Reading the case study of Mike and Carol gave me a brief view of how harmful process addictions can be to people. I have watched plenty of shows on eating disorders, but again, have not experienced them in real life. I think experiences play a large role in the biases we have and I think my lack of experience with people who have process addictions has influenced how I feel. I am sure that it would only take a few minutes working with people who have process addictions to see how much they addictions impact their lives!

Are there some behaviors your more readily accept or reject as being problematic or addicting?

The first thing I tend to ask myself when thinking about whether a behavior is problematic or not is, ‘Is it negatively impacting their life?’ If someone can play four hours of video games a day while engaging in appropriate relationships, staying healthy, and being successful at their job, then I would not think of it as problematic. That said, if someone is playing four hours of video games a day, is not taking care of themselves physically, is withdrawn from their family and friends, has been laid off from work due to behaviors from the playing, then I would say the behavior is definitely problematic. What some people are able to do as far as gaming, gambling, eating, and shopping, others may simply not able to. With AOD on the other hand, due to the varying problems that come with them and the illegality of many of them, come a whole other array of beliefs. Many drugs are illegal, so I wont comment on those, but if someone can have a couple beers or glasses of wine a night, remain in good health, be successful in work and relationships, then so be it. Some can, some can’t. 

What shapes your views of these processes?

My views come from my experiences. Being that we all go through many different experiences, we are all going to have slightly different views. I played a good amount of video games in college as did a lot of my friends. We all made it through and are successful in life now. If I had known someone who played so many video games in college that they failed out of college, moved home, and live in his parents’ basement, then I would probably have a different view on the addictiveness of video games. My views are absolutely going to change with my experiences in life, so if I was asked these questions 10 years ago, or 10 years from now, my views would be different. Learning about what happens in the brains of individuals who are addicted to chemicals or processes has already opened my eyes as to the impacts addictions can have.

Are you more likely to call something an addiction if you are uncomfortable with the behavior or view it as undesirable or unhealthy?

I think so. Certainly if it is unhealthy! I can’t imagine calling something an addiction if it was healthy. I mean, there are certainly people who are addicted to exercise and might defend it because they consider it healthy. However, while not familiar with the research, I am pretty sure there are some serious negative effects of exercising too much. Can you technically be ‘addicted’ to something that is healthy? If so, I am addicted to smiling, laughing and having fun…and wrestling with my dog.

How might your own beliefs, morality, or spiritual beliefs shape your views of your client’s problems?

Again, I think this comes back to our own experiences. As individuals who work in mental health, we are all educated on how to respect and empathize with our clients/students/patients. While we might not always agree with their beliefs, we have to be able to respect where they come from, the experiences they have had, and work on helping them. If we are not able to work with our clients for whatever reason, then ethically we must make a referral elsewhere. As far as spirituality goes, while I am confident that I could work with people with strong religious beliefs, if it was clear that they were seeking some sort of religious counsel, I would have to make a referral elsewhere.

Week Two Blog

• After reviewing the web references for this week, discuss what types of approaches are you more comfortable with?

I feel that, when properly trained, I would use a variety of approaches together. It would have to be biopsychosocial. The psychological models would be important to use for several reasons. CBT needs to be considered to address any motivations and reinforcers that the user has for using. Learning models have to be utilized because clients might be using to decrease anxiety, stress, or tension. Individuals’ personality traits have to be examined as well to see if there are any predispositions to drug use. With drug use, the family system also needs to be looked into to see if there is any history of abuse or disease. Biological models have to be looked into in depth to see if there are any genetic predispositions in the user. Last, but certainly not least, the individuals sociocultural factors have to be dissected. The environment that surrounds our clients is going to have a significant impact on the addiction. Over time, I would have to become comfortable using all of these approach models as each and every addict is different and needs their own specific treatment plan.

• What strengths do you have as an individual to assist someone similar to Sahira?

The strengths I have as a counselor would come out while working with addicts, such as Sahira, as well. My ability to empathize, listen, reflect, and be appropriately and professionally candid with individuals are all strengths that I would bring as an addictions counselor. While growing up, I was around many people who used many different kinds of drugs. I have seen several of my good friends become addicted to drugs and know the impact it has had on their lives. My training as a counselor and experiences I have had in close contact with drugs and users would all come together to help make me an effective addictions counselor.

• What are areas that you might feel you need to work on?

Experience and learning. I feel that in order to be effective in any field, experience and education are the most important thing. Regardless of the field you are in, when you stop learning and challenging yourself, you become stagnant and when working with clients, that can be dangerous. One needs to always be learning about new techniques, methods, and stay abreast of the current research in the field. I am interested in learning more about addictions, and working with individuals who suffer from addiction.

 

As a final note, honestly, I have started really thinking about my path. As mentioned before, I was close to many types of drugs growing up and saw many of my friends become addicted to various drugs. Starting to read about this in our text, listening to the podcasts, and reading some of the articles and references, I have started to consider learning more about addictions on my way to licensure. I am going to look into what is required and what the path is to become an addictions counselor. The struggle with that for me, though, is doing that while remaining employed as a school counselor. Financially, I can’t afford taking time off from working as a school counselor for another internship. I wonder if there are other options? I wonder if anyone has similar thoughts? Do you have a plan? Something I will definitely be inquiring about as our course continues… 

I must admit…

…I was one of ‘those people’ that thought quitting any addiction was a just a matter of willpower. It was interesting hearing about how drug addiction starts off as voluntary, but then over time, due to the brain changing, the cravings become compulsive and it becomes a disease.

I have watched a lot of the show ‘Intervention,’ and it seems that whenever the addict goes back to their hometown from treatment, they relapse. It makes sense with what was said in the podcast about the strength of environmental cues. I guess if an addict really wants to have the best possible chances of staying sober, they need to completely move away. That has got to be incredibly difficult because that means they basically have to leave everyone and everything they have ever known. 

I was just watching the show Drugged this past week where they followed this guy around who was a serious alcoholic. He was in his late twenties and was always completely drunk. He would just pound vodka and chase it with OJ and be annihilated by noon. At the end of the show, he commits to going to treatment. The next scene, the narrator said, ‘After completing 17 days in the rehabilitation center, Ryan died.’ My jaw dropped because I didn’t expect him to die while IN the rehab center! Wild. It was sad.  

Greetings!

Hello Class!

I am excited to be here in this class and learn from everyone. It is going to be a very information-packed semester.

There are a few people in this class who are also in a different class together on Thursdays, so it will be great to be able to work electronically and in person! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thanks!

Greg