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Nutritional healing and healthy eating are part of RECOVERY NETWORK’S 90 and 90 – 12 Step Program

When we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, we are also more at risk of relapse. Therefore, we need to understand how to avoid relapse, with nutrition being one important component.

Avoiding relapse is difficult, especially during the first year of sobriety.

To give recovering alcoholics and addicts the best chance of success and sobriety, a program needs to offer a diverse set of life skills that help minimize and deal with cravings. Many of us who have been through the 12-Steps have an understanding of how drugs affect our brain chemistry.

All drugs directly or indirectly target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure.

This over stimulation of our system, rewards our natural behaviors, producing a false sense of euphoria.

We can’t get enough because we never actually feel good anymore, so we repeat this behavior. In essence, we destroy our bodies natural ability to produce healthy functioning neurotransmitters every time we abuse drugs, creating a brain that is literally starving for amino acids.

The good news is, we can help recovery from addiction with proper nutrition.

You can use food and nutritional supplements to feel good again, without the need for addictive substances and essentially help ease cravings, freeing the mind, possibly giving you that extra push you need to focus on modifying and improving your behaviors.

Amino acids are the stuff neurotransmitters are made of.

Supplying the body with an abundance of specific amino acids can help restore their function, reduce cravings, increase sensations of well being, and minimize relapse. It’s time to prime the mind for success.

If you notice your body craving sweets and carbohydrates, it could be a sign that you’re lacking other vital nutrients. Replacing sugar and refined starches with just some of the foods listed (in the guide below) you can help restore balance and emotional integrity to an otherwise stressful situation.

Along with psychological and spiritual therapies for overcoming addiction, nutritional support and dietary supplements are quite literally the food our brain needs for enhanced recovery.

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia (low and variant blood sugar) is a very common problem affecting recovering alcoholics and some addicts, and is one trigger of relapse.

Alcoholics with a heavy history of drinking often develop this condition of swinging and crashing blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels fall, they experience depressed mood, lethargy, and also cravings for sugar, which for alcoholics means cravings for the sugar in alcohol!

Alcoholics are taught that a great way to minimize the cravings is to avoid ever feeling hungry, and by never letting blood sugar levels fall. But, be cautious.

Avoiding the peaks and valleys of too much sugar and caffeine is recommended, as they alter chemistry of the body and brain, and keep them imbalanced, similar to the ways in which alcohol, morphine and heroin do.

Addictive Nutrition expert Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons states, “sugar evokes a beta-endorphin response like an opiate drug such as morphine or heroin.” The blood sugar levels, seratonin uptake and beta-endorphin uptake are all imbalanced for recovering alcoholics and addicts, according to Dr. DesMaisons.

It is critical for alcoholics with imbalanced sugar metabolism to regulate these three chemicals in the brain.

For more information on Recovery Health and Nutrition, the Recovery Network has just written a new guide, includes Recipes, see below!

RECOVERY Health & Nutrition

Steps To A Healthier You (Instant Download)

Health and nutrition can enhance the recovery process and enrich quality of life, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Substance abuse and poor health and nutrition often go hand-in-hand, one intensifying the other.

Dietary imbalances, in particular those related to vitamins, healthy fats, good carbs and proteins, wreak havoc on the health of drug and alcohol abusers.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• Nutrition Is The Science Of Diet And Health
• Proper Health and Nutrition Helps the Healing Process
• Impairment Of Nutrient Digestion
• Malnutrition
• Nutrition Impacts Cravings For Drugs And Alcohol
• Nutrition Deficiencies May Cause Relapse
• Principles To Help Improve Lasting Health And Recovery
• Benefits Of Multivitamins
• Why Do We Need Fats?
• What Are Good Carbohydrates?
• Why Are Proteins Important?
• Good Health And Nutrition Guidelines
• Recipes (Included)

$7.00 – “RECOVERY Health & Nutrition” Guide

To download your guide and get instant access just click HERE and scroll half way down the page.

Relapse Prevention – Drugs & Alcohol

Drug and alcohol addiction recovery is a process, and a process that continues for life.

Unfortunately, because no one is ever “cured” completely from the temptations of addiction, relapse is too often a part of the recovery process.

A drug or alcohol relapse does not mean the end of recovery, it’s merely a stage in the journey that needs to be effectively dealt with.

Although relapse can be emotionally difficult on both the recovering addict and the family, relapse should never mean an acceptance of failure.

It should simply mean that the alcoholic or addict needs to work harder than ever to get back to sobriety. There also needs to be an examination of what caused the relapse and how adjustments can be made to improved the sobriety plan.

Relapse, even after participation in a rehab program is common.

It’s safe to say that one or more relapses are more likely than not going to occur at some point in the journey to recovery.

But that doesn’t mean that a relapse must happen, and for many people, one intensive and serious commitment to treatment is enough to motivate behavioral change and a lifetime of sobriety.

To increase the odds of long term sobriety, the recovering addict/alcoholic needs to participate fully and honestly in all of the recovery and relapse prevention programs during treatment.

The recovering addict/alcoholic needs to work to discover their triggers to abuse, to develop a personalized recovery plan, and to follow that plan once rehab is completed.

The recovering addict must also make a long term commitment to participate in aftercare programs.

No two addicts are alike. How one stays sober long-term and the other relapses, is hard to understand. In general, there are a few important components to success in drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

No one but the recovering addict can induce personal change and growth, and create the best probability of long-term sobriety.

Making the use of all tools available in treatment must be maximized. Full, honest and introspective participation in recovery sessions allows for growth and self-awareness that makes future abuse less likely.

Anyone can go through the motions, and ultimately, even the toughest of programs cannot create internal change in a resistant person.

Change comes from within, and change starts with a commitment to hard, emotional, and honest recovery and reflection.

The RECOVERY NETWORK has just released a NEW ebook that gives tips, tools and techniques exclusively for Relapse Prevention.

Click HERE – Relapse Prevention Ebook

Drug Alcohol INTERVENTION

Treatment works. However, getting the individual to treatment is easier said than done. The exact nature of their problem may not be readily identifiable and those who could help are too close to the problem to be helpful. Family members, corporate colleagues and most clergy are not in the business of treatment. A qualified professional intervention specialist is.

You and your loved one may never have this opportunity again. No intervention should be undertaken without advice and counsel of a professional experienced in the intervention process.

Interventions are delicate matters and it is important that they be done properly.

Confrontations, threats and arguments have proven useless. The denial of the problem within the family and hesitance about treatment blurs reality. A good interventionist works with the family and educates them about the benefits of the intervention and treatment following.

The interventionist helps take family members off the “hot seat”. Intervention is the process of presenting reality to such individuals in a receivable way. It is an invitation, not a confrontation, to accept help.

Intervention is the most loving, powerful and successful method yet for helping people accept help. A quality, effective intervention is done with love and respect in a non-confrontational, non-judgmental manner.

The First Step Is The Hardest

This crisis is an opportunity for change. You or your loved one may feel alone and scared? That’s normal. An Interventionist can help guide you through this difficult time. You’re not alone. This process could save your life or your loved ones life.

Addiction destroys our loved ones and devastates our families. But it can be stopped. You can intervene. Your loved one can recover and be restored. An interventionist can intervene on the disease of addiction and stop the insanity. Drug Addiction Alcohol Addiction Christian Rehab

Are You Willing To Take The First Step?

DON’T WAIT! Addiction is progressive. It always gets worse, never better. And it won’t go away. You and your family don’t have to keep suffering. Change is possible. You can finally find hope. But you must take the first courageous step to do something different while all other attempts have failed. You have nothing to lose but your pain.

Intervention Is An Act Of Great Love

It is a process by which loving family and friends help break the illusion of the addict briefly to enable him or her to see that they have a serious problem and it needs to be addressed immediately.

Replacing Fear With Love

At the intervention, the addict feels surprised and very scared. The addicted person knows their past behavior has been shameful. They expect judgment and condemnation.

PHASE 1 – “The Intervention”

During the first part of the intervention family and friends are usually asked to prepared letters, and when read are expressions of love, fond memories, and respect. They indicate in their letter to the addict that things have changed. Life is different now that they are using.

Replacing Shame With Grace

They also tell the addict that they have a disease and it cannot be overcome on their own. They let them know they are not a bad person but a sick person. Family and friends love them and want them to get the help to be restored. They invite him or her to enter treatment immediately. The majority of addicts are so overcome by this demonstration of grace and love that they respond positively and immediately go into treatment.

PHASE 2 – Replacing Denial With Determination

If the addict does not respond to this offer, the second part of the letters are read. These include specific first hand accounts of what people have seen of the addicts use and subsequent behavior. This is accompanied by a statement of how the family or friend felt at this time. This is followed by a statement that the loved one is ready to help the addict live, but not help the addict die. (Friends and families are often enablers.)

Enabling is a misguided act of love, which spares the addict from the consequences of his or her actions and enable the disease to continue its course. When the addict is in treatment, education for the family will help loved ones identify and stop their enabling behaviors.

PHASE 3 – Replacing Enabling With Boundaries

Each person will then state their “bottom line”. This is a statement of how they have enabled the addict to continue their self-destructive behaviors, and how they plan to respond in a different way in the future. This new picture of the future is very disturbing to the addict.

They cannot survive without a network of enablers. Of those who resist the offer of love and grace, the majority will agree to treatment at this time. About 85% to 95% of addicts agree to enter treatment after these three phases.

Committing To Save Your Loved One

If the addict still refuses treatment at this point, they usually believe that people will not stick to their bottom lines. The addict may even try to quit on their own. When they relapse (and they will) this will be a test of your bottom line. If you stick to it, the majority of addicts at this point will agree to enter treatment.

The Disease Is The Enemy

Our loved one is not the villain, but rather the victim of the disease of addiction. Families and friends are also the victim of the disease. The common enemy is the disease, not the victim. We need to continue to love, support and encourage the addict while maintaining zero tolerance for their disease to continue it’s destruction.

Families need to unite and continue to love the addicted person and fight the disease together. Recovery is not a spectator sport. We don’t stand by and watch the addict try to recover alone. We fight the disease by getting involved in recovery as a family unit.

Together, the addict and the family can recover from this disease. A trained interventionist, will walk with you every step of the way from the preparation of the intervention to the follow up afterwards.

Here is a Life Changing and Helpful Guide To INTERVENTION

FIRST LOVE (Click, then scroll to bottom of page.)

If alcoholics and addicts won’t accept help until they’re ready, what gets them ready?

Love First provides an answer in clear, concise terms.

Dispelling two damaging myths (1) that an addict has to hit bottom and that intervention must be confrontational (2) the authors’ proven approach puts love first and shows families, step by step, what to do next.

Insomnia Alcohol And Sleep

The average adult sleeps 7.5 to 8 hours every night. Although the function of sleep is unknown, abundant evidence demonstrates that lack of sleep can have serious consequences, including increased risk of depressive disorders, impaired breathing, and heart disease.

In addition, excessive daytime sleepiness resulting from sleep disturbance is associated with memory deficits, impaired social and occupational function, and car crashes.

Alcohol consumption can induce sleep disorders by disrupting the sequence and duration of sleep states and by altering total sleep time as well as the time required to fall asleep.

This Alcohol Alert explores the effects of alcohol consumption on sleep patterns, the potential health consequences of alcohol consumption combined with disturbed sleep, and the risk for relapse in those with alcoholism who fail to recover normal sleep patterns.

Many people with insomnia consume alcohol to promote sleep. However, alcohol consumed within an hour of bedtime appears to disrupt the second half of the sleep period.

The person may sleep easily during the second half of sleep, only to awaken from dreams, then return to sleep with difficulty. With continued consumption just before bedtime, alcohol’s sleep-inducing effect may decrease, while its disruptive effects continue or increase.

This sleep disruption may lead to daytime fatigue and sleepiness.

Drug and Alcohol Related Sleep Problems

Sleep problems have been associated with drug abuse, and withdrawal from drugs. Sleep disturbances also have been linked to the use of alcohol and to chronic alcoholism.

Many prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs can cause sleep problems. The severity of sleep problems caused by a drug will vary from person to person.

Prescription drugs that may cause sleep problems include:

• High blood pressure medications
• Hormones such as oral contraceptives
• Steroids including prednisone
• Inhaled respiratory medications
• Diet pills
• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder medications
• Some antidepressants

The following nonprescription drugs can cause sleep problems:

• Pseudoephedrine, including the brand Sudafed
• Medications with caffeine. These include the brands Anacin, Excedrin, and No-Doz as well as cough and cold medications.
• Illegal drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines.
• Nicotine, which can disrupt sleep and reduce total sleep time.
  Smokers report more daytime sleepiness and minor accidents than do nonsmokers, especially in younger age groups.

In addition, the combination of alcohol, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and snoring increases a person’s risk for heart attack, arrhythmia, stroke, and sudden death.

To Read More BACK ISSUES – Click HERE!

Bob And Shelley
FOUNDERS/Recovery Network

Foreclosures Escalate Drug Alcohol Abuse

On a brisk day last fall in Prineville, Ore., Raymond and Deanna Donaca faced the unthinkable: They were losing their home to foreclosure and had days to move out.

For more than two decades, the couple had lived in their three-level house, where the elms outside blazed with yellow shades of fall and their four golden retrievers slept in the yard. The town had always been home, with beautiful rivers and rolling hills.

Yet just before lunch on Oct. 23, the Donacas closed all their home’s doors except the one to the garage and left their 1981 Cadillac Eldorado running. Toxic fumes filled the home. When sheriff’s deputies arrived at about 1 p.m., they found the body of Raymond, 71, on the second floor along with three dead dogs. The body of Deanna, 69, was in an upstairs bedroom, close to another dead retriever.

“It is believed that the Donacas committed suicide after attempts to save their home following a foreclosure notice left them believing they had few options,” the Crook County Sheriff’s Office said in a report.

Their suicides were a tragic extreme, but the Donacas’ case symbolizes how the housing crisis is impacting the emotional lives of millions of homeowners.

The escalating pace of foreclosures and rising fears among some homeowners about keeping up with their mortgages are creating a range of emotional problems, mental-health specialists say.

Those include anxiety disorders, depression, stress and addictive behaviors such as alcoholism, drug abuse and gambling.

And, in a few cases, suicide. Crisis hotlines are reporting a surge in calls from frantic homeowners. The American Psychological Association (APA) and other mental-health groups are publishing tips on how to handle the emotional stress triggered by the real estate meltdown.

Psychologists say they’re seeing more drinking, domestic violence and marital problems linked to mortgage concerns – as well as children trying to cope with extreme anxiety when their families are forced to move.

“They’re depressed, anxious. It’s affected marriages, relationships,” says Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych, a Chicago-based employee-assistance firm that is counseling homeowners over mortgage fears.

“People tend to catastrophize, and that leads to depression. Suicide rates go up. We see an increase in drinking, outbursts at work, violence toward kids. Before, their houses were like ATMs,” as they rose in value. “Now, they feel trapped like a rat in a corner.”

Foreclosure filings surged 65% in April compared with the same month last year, according to a report Wednesday by RealtyTrac.

One in every 519 households received a foreclosure filing last month, and the number of homes with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing the report in January 2005.

One in seven homeowners worry that they won’t be able to make their mortgage payments on time over the next six months, according to an April Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll, and more than one-quarter fear their home will decline in value during the next two years.

ComPsych says financial concerns are now the top issue the firm’s counselors are hearing in calls from clients.

Calls about financial worries have surged 20% over last year; those related to mortgage problems have doubled.

Counselors are hearing stories of the mental-health toll caused by the housing slump. One couple was going through a divorce, and the wife told the counselor that financial stress was the final trigger.

They had maxed out their credit cards and were living off credit in hopes that they could keep their house. Another woman called because she suspected her husband was gambling again, apparently hoping to win big so they could repair their financial mess. She was afraid they were going to have to move in with her parents.

For Gary Sweredoski of Myrtle Beach, S.C., the threat of losing his home to foreclosure has taken both a physical and an emotional toll.

“It angers you. It frustrates you. It has a large bearing on your emotional state. When the thought of losing a home looms, you lose more than a building. You lose what you worked for so many years, all of the equity that you have accumulated over the years. It’s humbling. It affects us deeply.”

Financial Stress Brings Issues To The Surface

In many cases, psychiatrists say, financial stresses, such as those caused by the mortgage crisis, tend to bring pre-existing mental-health issues to the surface. Studies also show a strong connection between financial distress and emotional stress, including anxiety, depression, insomnia and migraines.

Children will likely feel the parents’ tension around financial stress.

This could cause feelings of helplessness and anxiety in the child. Sometimes, young children blame themselves for their parents’ stressful situation.

Jennifer Paschal, 36, of Woodstock, Ga., has tried to ease the effect of the foreclosure of her home on her children, Bailey, 12, and Trent, 9. But she says they’ve been deeply pained. After 13 years of marriage, Paschal is going through a divorce.

The divorce and medical bills led the family to lose its home to foreclosure in April. Paschal couldn’t afford the $1,300 monthly mortgage payment on her $45,000 annual salary as a day care center director.

The home is a six-bedroom house on an acre of land, with a trampoline in the backyard, blooming pink azaleas and rose bushes, and a muddy creek where Trent and Bailey would catch frogs and play with their two dogs, a retriever and a Labrador.

Before they left, Paschal took the children to their rooms and told them to fill a box with whatever they wanted to take with them. They moved in July to a two-bedroom, $900-a-month apartment.

The “for sale” sign on the house they lost to foreclosure went up this month. When she saw a picture of it, Paschal says, she cried.

The children are suffering, too. Trent worries about money. Recently, at the grocery store, he told his mother not to buy milk because it cost $4. He begs his mother to get a house again, saying that he’s old enough now to cut the grass.

To Read BACK ISSUES – Click HERE!

Economy Panic Attacks

Housing prices are plummeting and the financial industry’s meltdown threatens the whole U.S. economy. No wonder Americans are feeling more than a little tense.

Many people are losing sleep during these economic downturns and financial bailouts.

How To Stop ANXIETY ATTACKS – Click HERE!

Because our emotional well-being is so closely linked to our financial health, experts worry if the economic uncertainty continues for very long, all that fretting could take a physical toll by driving up our blood pressure and adrenaline levels.

Long periods of tension and stress can make you more susceptible to infections and lead to digestive problems, headaches and cardiovascular damage.

“I think a lot of people are feeling like they are on the edge now,” says Roger Haskett, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.”

Most people haven’t lost everything yet, but they’re concerned about what is going to happen or what is likely to happen. They feel anxious and may be having disrupted sleep.”

Many may go searching for solace in the fridge or at the local bar.

The emotional strain can lead to depression and anxiety and health-undermining behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, says Dr. Craig Pollack, an internist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

Pollack is currently studying the impact of foreclosures on individuals’ health.

While it’s too soon to say whether panicky people are skipping doctor appointments or forgetting to fill their prescriptions, Pollack has heard about financial fallout stress from doctors on the front-line.

One recent case involved a mother who declined to schedule a follow-up medical appointment for her child, saying, “I can’t. I have no idea where I’m going to be in a couple of months,” Pollack recalls.

Unfortunately, the economic mess won’t likely be solved overnight, so Americans will need to learn to cope with the ongoing uncertainty.

While it may be tempting to turn to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and binge eating, there are healthier ways to deal with anxiety.

• Talk openly about your fears, says Kathleen Hall, CEO and founder of the Stress Institute. You need to be able to say things like, “I’m scared to death we’re going to lose the house” or “We may not have money to buy food,” she says.Yet, while you should share your feelings, don’t obsess over it. Get it out of your system and then move on to lighter topics.
• Don’t become a recluse as you try to ride out the uncertainty, or if you’ve already been personally affected. Physical proximity to other people can stimulate the feel-good hormone oxytocin and lift your spirits. “Try to have lunch with someone at least once a week,” Hall says.
• Exercise will also help you feel calmer, even if it’s only a 5 or 10 minute brisk walk, experts say. Studies have shown that by just stepping outside, you can lower your blood pressure and heart rate.
• Certain foods may also help calm you, although that doesn’t mean you should scarf down fatty, sugary junk food. Hall suggests foods rich in vitamin B-6, such as bananas, tuna and turkey, which are known to stimulate the production of stress-relieving serotonin in your body.
• Find distractions. Watch a funny movie. Take deep breaths which can help regulate your blood pressure.
• Try to stick to your regular sleep schedule. If you’re worried about the economy and having trouble sleeping, skip the late night news, suggests Haskett.

If you’re feeling vulnerable, you don’t need those kinds of stories right before you go to bed. You’ll be much better off reading a book about travel or a nice light novel.

How To Stop ANXIETY ATTACKS – Click HERE!

Bob And Shelley
FOUNDERS/Recovery Network

To Read BACK ISSUES – Click HERE!

Robert Jakobsen is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. He has walked-a-mile-in-your-shoes. Today, he lives happy, joyous and free, one-day-at-a-time in Recovery.

Robert and Shelley have founded a website called: RECOVERY NETWORK: One Source, all-inclusive information on drug and alcohol addiction from people in recovery. Robert is also a “featured EXPERT author” on ezine@articles.com.

The Recovery Network website also features a unique recovery program for Christians by incorporating Addiction Bible Scriptures into a 12 Step Program.