Blog

‘Identity lost or found’ by Tony A

June 12, 2013 by David Clark

Another classic Wired In To Recovery blog, from October 2009. Tony certainly wrote some great blogs.

‘Not had Internet due to incompetence of BT so I’ve not blogged lately. After attending Tia’s funeral last Monday I sat in my flat with that anti-climax feeling about life, my identity and a touch of who I am.

You see, I irrationally started feeling that I miss certain parts of my life as an addict. You know, the dodging, ducking, diving and dealing, never being bored, the estranged behaviours I displayed.

I honestly felt I missed it all and felt a loss of identity. I was questioning who I am and was left thinking about how futile life is. A touch of indulgence I suppose.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addict, behaviour, boredom, identity, mistake, slavery, thinking, Wired In To Recovery

‘Building the science of recovery – what I have learned goes far beyond our studies (Part 1)’ by Alexandre Laudet

June 11, 2013 by David Clark

Hi, I’m Alexandre. I’m an addiction recovery scientist. I’m not in recovery.

Seeking to do science on recovery, rather than addiction, has been a liability with the National Institute of Health (NIH), American scientists’ primary source of research funding. Not being in recovery has cost me points in many sectors of the recovery community.

Most often, I feel professionally ignored at best, by colleagues who do so-called ‘real’ research – on treatment, medication or vaccine development, or (the pinnacle of research stardom), the brain …

Yet, I can’t seem to want to do anything else. I am hooked on trying to build a science of recovery. Why am I doing this?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: alexandre laudet, Faces & Voices of Recovery, NIH, personal experience, quality of life, recovery, science, survey

Susan’s Story, Part 2: ‘Missing Michael – A Story by Blog’

June 11, 2013 by David Clark

Susan lost her son Michael to a drug overdose on the 22nd January, 2010. I, for one, cannot begin to understand what someone must go through after such a loss.

However, I gained some appreciation from the Susan’s extraordinary writing in a blog she published on our online recovery community Wired In To Recovery. I was captivated and deeply moved by Susan’s writing, as were many other people in our community.

This is Part 2 of a slightly edited version of Sue’s blogs. Check out Part 1 if you have not seen it.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: dual diagnosis, homeless, love, mother, mourning, recovery, son, story

‘The user as expert’ by Peapod

June 11, 2013 by David Clark

Another blog on WITR from April 2009.

‘When I went to look for help for my addiction, I ended up in the care of an addiction specialist. He was good at his job. He knew all about addiction.

He was impressive in terms of assessment and he knew about methadone and antidepressants and other prescribing options. His team inspired confidence in terms of their knowlege of addiction.

Unfortunately, it turned out they didn’t know much about recovery. The specialist advised against mutual aid and dissuaded me from professional counselling.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction specialist, mutual aid, NA, prescribing, recovery, residential rehab, scientific evidence, treatment

Must-read books: ‘Tweak’ and ‘Beautiful Boy’

June 10, 2013 by David Clark

Five years ago I read two remarkable books by a father and son. There was only one way to describe these books – they were an emotional roller coaster. I read one straight after the other, hardly putting them down.

I was wrapped… and I was drained! I felt despair… and then hope. I learnt so much from these books. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The two books were addiction Recovery Stories, written by Nic and David Scheff. Here’s what the back cover of Nic’s book Tweak had to say:

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: addiction, book, family, father, hope, methamphetamine, recovery, sheff, son

Susan’s Story, Part 1: ‘Missing Michael – A Story by Blog’

June 10, 2013 by David Clark

Susan lost her son Michael to a drug overdose on the 22nd January, 2010. I, for one, cannot begin to understand what someone must go through after such a loss.

However, I gained some appreciation from the Susan’s extraordinary writing in a blog she published on our online recovery community Wired In To Recovery. I was captivated and deeply moved by Susan’s writing, as were many other people in our community.

I decided it would be a good idea to edit down Susan’s writing into a more manageable size and publish it in a single document. However, I found this difficult, as there was so little I felt I should edit out.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: dual diagnosis, homeless, love, mother, mourning, son, story, tough love

Beth Burgess: ‘What is Recovery from Addiction?’

June 10, 2013 by David Clark

I love this piece of film from Beth Burgess, a recovery coach with Smyls.

There’s a big difference between sobriety and recovery. Beth points out that many people give up trying to stop drinking after a few days because it feels too difficult. They don’t realise that these bad feelings don’t last if you make the journey to recovery.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: alcohol, beth burgess, film, recovery, relapse, smyls, sobriety

Research shows the dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network

June 9, 2013 by David Clark

Here’s one of my own blogs from WITR, written in January 2009, not long after the launch of the website.

‘Last week, the British Medical Journal published a very interesting article on the Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network. This high quality research involved a longitudinal analysis over 20 years of participants in a long-term health study in America (the Framingham Heart Study, see at end of Blog for further details].

The research involved 12,067 individuals who were connected to someone else in this population at some point between 1971 and 2003. Researchers measured happiness by a questionnaire and conducted a complicated statistical analysis of the relationships between people in this large social network.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: cardiovascular disease, Framingham, happiness, hope, public health, research, social network, spread

‘Today is the best day of my life’ by Braveheart

June 9, 2013 by David Clark

An inspirational blog from WITR, written mid-2009:

‘The reason I write, “Today is the best day of my life”, is yesterday has gone and tomorrow is still to come. It it comes at all?

I awoke at 7.30 this morning and I’m in recovery from the disease of active addiction. I had no desire to use and there was no obsessing over what was my drug of choice. Today, I am FREE to make self-caring choices.

My day begins with me having a conscious contact with my Higher Power, who I ask to guide and direct me throughout the day and help me to stay safe.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: abstinence, acceptance, addiction, compassion, confidence, empathy, freedom, recovery

‘The astonishing power of example’ by Peapod

June 9, 2013 by David Clark

This blog appeared on WITR in April 2009.

‘Astonishment. That’s what I felt the first time I was taken to a mutual aid group meeting.

I was in treatment at the time in a residential centre. I was also neck deep in trouble. I had lost my job through my using. As part of the fallout from my own million megaton addiction detonation, I’d caused someone else to lose their job. The police were on my tail and I was massively in debt.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: AA, CA, hope, mutual aid, NA, peer support, recovering addicts, recovery

‘The power of language in treatment and recovery: Do we create barriers?’ by Wirral Voice of Recovery

June 8, 2013 by David Clark

Thought I’d put up some old WITR blogs this weekend, some of my favourites. I’ve included a few of the comments on this first one, a blog from Oliver in early 2010 that challenges our treatment system:

‘I have recently read some interesting research papers on challenging stigma, mainly around drugs and mental health, with particular emphasis on methadone treatment and recovery.

The first thing that came to mind is that there is no other condition, illness, disease or disorder – or whatever one chooses to call it – that carries the same amount of stigma as when someone presents with a drug or related problem. Or that has the same relationship with the crime reduction arena (police and probation services).

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, assessment, barriers, language, recovery-based care, service users, stigma, treatment system

Natalie’s Story: ‘I didn’t plan to be an addict’ (Part 2)

June 7, 2013 by David Clark

I first met ‘Natalie’ over 12 years ago when I lived in South Wales. I will never forget how she emphasised the importance of providing online support for people with substance use problems. She had been desperate to find helpful online information when she trying to overcome her drug problem.

Natalie has always been such an inspiration to people around her. Mind you, many people had to first get over the shock of finding that such a lovely lady had once been a heroin addict.

We left Natalie in Part 1 of this Story in the pre-treatment part of a 12-step treatment programme.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: acceptance, belonging, fellowship, recovery, relationships, son, support, treatment

‘About AA and Step 9’ from Don in London

June 7, 2013 by David Clark

Michael Scott sent me this link a few hours ago and I was really impressed by what Don in London had to say and how he said it. I then realised that there was a YouTube channel full of Don’s videos.

I got a good feeling about Don and he left me in a reflective state of mind. Thanks, Don.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: AA, alcohol, film, humility, make amends, recovery, Step 9

‘Remembering my son’ by Susan C

June 7, 2013 by David Clark

Some of the most moving blogs on Wired In To Recovery were from Susan C who lost her loving son Michael from a heroin overdose in 2010.

Sue contacted me recently and said how much she missed the old website. She found it to be a lifeline when she was struggling. I had the impression that writing helped Sue deal with her terrible loss, if only a little. Here is one of Susan’s blogs from 2011.

Next week, I start a three part ‘Story by Blog’ by Susan C entitled ‘Missing Michael’.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: acceptance, dual diagnosis, gratitude, heroin overdose, love, mother, son, Wired In To Recovery

Special Award for Philadelphia’s Dr. Arthur C. Evans

June 7, 2013 by David Clark

Here’s some wonderful news from Faces & Voice of America:

‘Philadelphia’s Behavioral Health Commissioner Dr. Arthur C. Evans to receive Lisa Mojer-Torres Award

Faces & Voices of Recovery and Caron Treatment Centers invite you to join us at an evening reception recognizing the outstanding contribution of Dr. Arthur C. Evans, Commissioner of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility.

Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: arthur evans, award, Lisa Moyer-Torres, partnership, philadelphia, recovery-based care, symptom management, treatment

Natalie’s Story: ‘I didn’t plan to be an addict’ (Part 1)

June 6, 2013 by David Clark

I first met ‘Natalie’ over 12 years ago when I lived in South Wales. I will never forget how she emphasised the importance of providing online support for people with substance use problems. She had been desperate to find helpful online information when she trying to overcome her drug problem.

Natalie has always been such an inspiration to people around her. Mind you, many people had to first get over the shock of finding that such a lovely lady had once been a heroin addict.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: 12-step, counselling, heroin addiction, hope, mother, pre-treatment, son, story, treatment

Reflections on recovery – From seven years ago

June 6, 2013 by David Clark

This is from the website Articles section. Thought you should see how I was thinking seven years ago:

‘This article comprises two articles I wrote seven years ago for Drink and Drugs News (DDN) in the UK – with a few small changes and additions (including headings).

The original two articles focused on the writing of William L. White and colleagues in the US. I thought it was interesting to look back and see what I was writing at that time.

1. Problems with our treatment system
“Something got lost on our way to becoming professionals – maybe our heart. I feel like I’m working in a system today that cares more about a progress note signed by the right color of ink than whether my clients are really making progress toward recovery.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, chronic disorder, recovery management, self-change, symptom management, system of care, treatment, William White

The Personal Story of Kevan Manley

June 6, 2013 by David Clark

This is a short version of a 35 minute film focusing on Kevin’s recovery from drug addiction that we made a number of years ago. His mother Kerry talks about her experiences during Kevin’s 15 year history of problem drug use and his recovery.

The film was made for Wired In by Jonathan Kerr-Smith and Lucie James in and around Cardiff, South Wales.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Tagged With: faith, film, heroin addiction, mother, recovery, son, story, treatment

‘The monkey on my back’ by Recovery Coach

June 5, 2013 by David Clark

Here’s some powerful writing from one of our bloggers on Wired In To Recovery.

‘Most people have heard the words ‘monkey on my back’ used as a term for defining addiction. Personally, I find the word ‘addiction’ too soft a word to describe the monster every addict or alcoholic battles in daily life. It’s too clinical, too sterile, and just doesn’t pack the same punch as the monkey analogy.

As a hardcore alcoholic for more than half my life, I learned a few things about the monkey.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, alcoholic, mental image, mind, monkey, recovery, rehab, Wired In To Recovery

Untangling the elements involved in treatment

June 5, 2013 by David Clark

Here’s a summary of a piece of research that Lucie James and I conducted some years ago. I am very proud of this piece of work and it certainly opened my eyes to the importance of gaining a sense of belonging in the recovery journey.

‘To understand how treatment helps people overcome substance use problems, it is essential to understand the elements that operate in the treatment process, and how they might interact to facilitate behavioural change and a person’s path to recovery from addiction.

Lucie James and I set out to gain initial insights into these issues by using a qualitative analysis of the views and experiences of clients on the RAPt treatment programme in one male and one female prison in the UK.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 12-step, belonging, learning, motivation, self-esteem, socialisation, support, treatment

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