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By Charlene Rubush, April 9, 2012 2:00 pm

Nearly every day I visit one of my favorite websites, The Fix. Today I read an excellent article by Vicki Hogarth, who is a recovering alcoholic, freelance writer and former celebrity journalist.

The title of the piece is Relapsing on Mouthwash. The subtitle says a lot.

The meetings I went to were creepy enough for me to avoid the program altogether—and eventually relapse while gargling. Then I realized something had to change: me.

I won’t go into the whole article, but the gist of it was, that Vicki had gone to a 28-day rehab, and when she came out, she really wasn’t into AA meetings. She found the meetings depressing.

She tried going out with her friends from work who drank, and she stayed sober for awhile. But as months went by, she notes that the “novelty of my sobriety wore off.”

One morning before work, she was gargling mouthwash, and instead of spitting it out, she swallowed it. Well, this brought on a buzz and before you know it, she was doing it too often. Within two weeks of binging on mouthwash, she had to detox with medical support.

Fortunately, this episode led her back to AA, where she found an AA meeting of people young, like herself. She even met an acquaintance there, and she finally began to feel comfortable with AA and the program.

Reading this article reminded me of an experience I had while attending Open AA meetings. (I’m not an alcoholic. I was trying to understand a loved one’s behavior.) Much to my surprise one night, I met an old friend and co-worker there. Jane had hired me for my first hairdressing job and was probably the first alcoholic I had daily interaction with. (Although I didn’t realize she had a problem at the time.)

I even went out with her a few times, and noticed she really downed the drinks awfully fast. But since I’d never been around that kind of behavior at that time in my life, I wasn’t particularly alarmed. Jane wasn’t a loud drunk. She actually became strangely quiet. It never occurred to me then, that I was putting myself in danger by riding with her.

Sadly, Jane’s problem was so bad, that one evening she went out barhopping alone, and got so drunk that she hit and killed a woman while driving. I still remember Jane being out of work due to her own injuries. She had all of her teeth knocked out and many broken bones. I never did know if she had to serve any jail time.

It was strange to meet up with her again so many years later in AA. But now I look back and feel extremely grateful that I wasn’t with her that horrible night. I’m also hoping she is still working her program and will never get in a car and drive drunk again.

To read Vicki’s article, go to:

http://www.thefix.com/content/hating-aa-drove-me-drink-moutwash-10038?page=all

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By Charlene Rubush, November 7, 2011 2:45 pm

I’m always looking for helpful websites that pertain to PTSD and its many manifestations, one being substance abuse. We know that substance abuse is one of the major problems combat vets with PTSD, face.

I recently came across the fix, which I can’t say enough good things about. Wow, do they have some awesome articles!

As someone whose life has been affected by a loved one’s abuse of alcohol and other substances, I’m always looking for new insights. Years of attending Al-Anon, Open AA meetings, plus attending over 60 lectures at a treament center on understanding alcoholism and its effects on the alcoholic and his family, certainly opened my eyes to the complexity of the disease.

Even with all that education, I still feel there is so much to learn. Today, I still consider myself “a recovering person.” I’ve read that sometimes a “co-alcoholic” is even sicker in their thinking, than the practicing alcoholic. When I first learned that fact, I recoiled at the idea that that could be so!

But today I am convinced that it is certainly possible. My thinking had gotten so warped when I was living in the alcoholic atmosphere, that I actually started telling myself, “I’m strong. I can take whatever he dishes out!” Now, how sick is that?? They don’t call it “stinking thinking” for nothing.

Thankfully, today I have regained my sanity, and live a peaceful life. I’ve learned the hard way that we have to take care of ourselves, before anyone else. So if you want to learn from others who have “walked the walk” check out the fix- addiction and recovery, straight up.

I will be referring to their website and what they have to offer, quite often. I feel I have found a great resource there, and am happy to pass it on. We’re all “a work in progress.” There is help and knowledge so readily available now, for those that want it.

I shudder to think what direction my life might have gone in, if it hadn’t been for my reaching out to those who knew more than I. So visit their site. You’ll be glad you did.

http://www.thefix.com

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By Charlene Rubush, July 2, 2010 1:25 pm

Part One:

Doug Thorburn is one of today’s most informed, insightful, and pioneering  authorities on alcoholism. I have read and reviewed almost all of his books, and return to them often, for increased understanding of this perplexing disease.

Thorburn offers an excellent, free newsletter, available from his website. I’m going to share some highlights here, from his excellent book, Alcoholism Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society’s Most Destructive Disease.

In the introduction, Thorburn notes:

•  Alcoholism is the most misunderstood of all diseases. This is rather surprising, since  1 out of 10 people has this disease and we are all directly or indirectly affected.
• The doctors and psychologists whom we trust to treat diseases and mental disorders are almost completely untrained in understanding and diagnosing the affliction. Medical doctors take as few as 24 classroom hours on the subject, virtually all on treating withdrawal and none on diagnosis.
• Psychologists are schooled in the idea that childhood trauma and other negative environmental factors can cause alcoholism, even though the evidence shows that such influences only shape its course.
• Secondary diseases are usually diagnosed long before alcoholism is identified, even though the latter is the root cause  or primary contributing factor to at least 300 other  illnesses and disorders. Emergency room medical personnel treat symptoms of addiction, including accidents.
• Yet in an estimated 50-80% of admissions, they rarely test for alcohol or other drugs  in the system.

Thorburn asserts that the appalling unawareness of the disease results from the stigma, and from the common misperception that alcoholism implies a weakness in an individual.  These faulty perceptions make others reluctant to diagnose or even suggest the  possibility of alcoholism.

From my own experience, the average person has very little understanding of this complex disease. That ignorance only adds to the devastation that is so often wrought by this “baffling, cunning” illness.

Visit Doug Thorburn’s website to become informed and empowered on the subject of alcoholism. The life you save may be that of a loved one, friend, or quite possibly, your own. Knowledge is power, and Thorburn’s newsletter is FREE!

http://www.preventtragedy.com

Charlene’s Note:

I’ll be posting more info on this cruel disease soon. Stay tuned.

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By Charlene Rubush, June 30, 2010 8:55 pm

Stunning Fact: 46% of American families lives are touched by alcoholism.

Toby Rice Drews is a licensed social worker/counselor who specializes in treating the families of alcoholics. Her series of books, entitled “Getting Them Sober” have helped numerous families of alcoholics to understand that:

“Alcoholism isn’t just about drinking. It’s a family disease. It causes the wife and kids to become as addicted to the alcoholic as the alcoholic is addicted to the booze. While the alcoholic lies passed out, anesthetized, his family goes through the years of his drinking, stark, raving sober. Their world is like no sane family’s worlds. They believe lies, expect miracles, have him locked up, bail him out, wish he were dead, and pray that he gets home safely.” Continue reading 'Getting Them Sober Foundation Helps Families of Alcoholics'»