How Do I Get My Wife Off Drugs?

Posts Tagged ‘Abuse’

Substance abuse prevention speakers take the topic seriously, but sometimes I wonder just how many others do? I suppose as a substance abuse prevention speaker who knows the pain and torment personally from an experiential level, I am more apt to see the danger in substance abuse and drunk driving.

I grew up the son of a mother (a former high school cheerleader and honor graduate) who was an alcoholic and substance abuser. As a child I saw my beloved mother self-destruct and torment my grandparents as a result of alcoholism and using every drug imaginable. Ironically, my mother (a former drunk driver herself) was killed when crossing the road as a pedestrian when an 18 year-old drunk driver hit her – killing her on impact.

Dead on arrival, police awaited the return of the young drunk driver who left the scene of the accident. Upon returning, the police video (which I later painfully watched) showed the young man crying and screaming, “I can’t live with this on my mind!”

As a former lifeguard and fitness trainer I don’t drink alcohol to this day. Yet I don’t condemn those who do and kindly serve as the designated driver whenever anybody close to me drinks.

After a childhood of pain and hell as a result of substance abuse and drunk driving, I myself was hit and nearly killed in July 2008 by a drunk driver (a two-time DUI offender driving after her license was revoked). The 61 year-old lady barreling down the road in a large Chevy truck, driving drunk at 4:40PM on a Tuesday afternoon, hit my car repeatedly (completely totaling it and nearly killing me) without stopping, attempting to flee the scene of the accident, after which she hit and totaled a parked car before being arrested by police.

For nearly five months I drove numerous rental cars, while battling my insurance company to be financially compensated to purchase a replacement vehicle for my automobile totaled by the negligible drunk driver. Even worse I spent days and nights in hospitals and doctors’ offices receiving medical treatment after the accident for injuries, which still cause me pain and trouble to this day. The added stress and strain medically and financially also negatively affected my marriage, as logistically my wife and I shared the one vehicle the drunk driver totaled.

Personally encountering the crooked and fraudulent business practices of tow truck companies, medical professionals, insurance claims adjusters, and car salesmen added additional aggravation and suffering to my life at a time when I was most vulnerable.

Nevertheless I somehow persevered and battled through it all to stand tall, becoming a voice of conscience to substance abusers, drunk drivers, they who prey on victims of catastrophic accidents, and those suffering through seasons of tragedy turning their world upside down.

I guess God spared my life so I can speak to others.

and the husband who is drunk can also say wrong thngs to the child that can disturb the child?
and the woman must endure…and feel bad and unable to concentrate to her life?

Your body is a magnificent machine – Don’t abuse it

If you take care of your body well it will run smoothly as any other finely tuned machine. But you must make sure you fill it with the proper fuel and service it properly on a regular basis. The proper fuel consist of a daily consumption of healthy food and nutrients

Then your machine will perform more perfectly to keep it running at top performance and help build a stronger immune system. It’s more likely now that you will be able to defend your body against all kinds of sicknesses and serious diseases. You will be amazed of the positive changes that will happen in all your bodily functions.

Now it’s true some people were not fortunate enough to be born with a healthy body. However they still should practice healthy eating habits also. Depending on the severity of their conditions there is always a chance to reverse a serious sickness or health condition. There have been many stories of people experiencing a medical miracle.

It’s a great concern to me that a large percentage of the population has resorted to unhealthy diets. Since the general public is usually on a fast pace everyday they neglect planning regular healthy meals. It’s so much easier to stop on the way home and pick up a meal at a fast food restaurant or stop at the grocery for a processed frozen meal.

Let me encourage you to become more educated about the hazards of fast food, processed food or any food high in percentage of fat, sugar, sodium or any other unhealthy ingredients. You will be totally shocked by what you find out about foods you eat everyday. These types of foods can create adverse conditions within your body. Then the next thing that could happen is you have broken down your defense system and increased your potential for contacting a serious disease or illness.

When some of my friends and relatives began dying or contacting a serious disease at an early age I realized why this was happening to them. It all had to do with their eating habits and other unhealthy practices. Then to make matters worse they succumbed to conventional medicine and became hooked on prescription drugs.

Then it happened in my family the day my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. On the first visit with my wife to her oncologist I had a heated discussion with him. I wanted to discuss alternative treatments instead of conventional for her disease. He was not receptive to my ideas at all. As it turned out my wife did agree to his treatments without my endorsement.

After that time I vowed I would immediately start searching the Internet and any other places for information about alternative medicine. In the last four years I’ve continued my search and will continue to do so for as long as I’m able.

I now publish my findings in articles I’ve written and submitted to several directories. I also have a health web site, a bimonthly newsletter where I dedicate one page entirely about health issues. Just recently I published a free special report about the importance of a proper diet. I offer it free on my web site. I will also continue to publish special reports on other health topics.

Until enough people become truly serious about taking charge of their own health this nation’s population is going to become sicker and sicker. We are now one of the unhealthiest country on this earth. The government, the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry are mostly responsible for this situation.

Many people that I talk to about my belief think I’m foolish to believe such things. I truly feel sorry for those who believe otherwise. I can’t understand why anyone would want to resort to taking a great amount of prescription drugs to solve their illnesses. I believe it’s more beneficial to be on a healthy food regime where you can enjoy life to the fullest. My wish is that America will become a healthier nation real soon. I intend to spread my philosophy as much as possible so it will eventually happen.

Copyright © 2007 All Rights Reserved Sonny Julius

The Mayor of San Francisco announces that he’ll enter rehab and counseling for alcohol after it’s revealed that he had an affair with the wife of his campaign manager. Isaiah Washington is undergoing counseling for his use of a homophobic slur. Michael Richards is in counseling for yelling racist epithets. Met Gibson enters rehab for alcoholism after making anti-Semitic remarks when stopped by police for driving while intoxicated., Sen. Mark Foley enters rehab for alcohol after it was revealed that he had sent sexually suggestive e-mails to teenage pages., Reverend Haggard enters rehab when confronted with having a sexual relationship with a male prostitute.

The list goes on and on and on.

Then there are the Lindsey Lohans and Nicole Ritchies who enter rehab for drugs, alcohol or whatever, become ‘experts’ on addiction recovery, tell everyone how their lives have changed, yet within a short amount of time are seen partying, driving under the influence, and acting out.

We read the newspapers, listen to the radio and go online wondering, who is next in the line-up for rehab? Who will come out a few weeks later, write their memoirs, go on the speaking circuit, and tell us to live our lives?

There could be a gold mine in running rehab centers for celebrities that don’t want to take responsibility for their actions and for counselors who specialize in famous people who make racist, homophobic, or any other hate-filled remarks.. There’s probably also money to be made by graphic artists who create diplomas for graduates of rehab and counseling who are declared ‘cured’ of alcoholism, drug addiction, racism, homophobia, and homosexuality.

Rehab is getting a bad name and soon there will be no room for the average alcoholic or drug addict who works hard to stay clean and sober, takes responsibility for their actions, and knows that there is still work to do after the first 30 days.

I’ve been clean and sober for over 22 years and I’ve put a lot of work into transforming my life. One of the first things I learned in AA was that alcoholism and drug addiction are not excuses for injuring yourself or others. Part of my recovery was making a list of people who I had harmed, making amends to them personally and accepting the consequences of my past actions. I didn’t make an announcement to the world and I still don’t think I have all the answers, but I do know a thing or two about rehab.

I realize, for example, that my amends and apologies have to mean something and indicate a change in actions and thought processes. I also know that “apologies by proxy”—when celebrities make inappropriate remarks then apologize to well-known people from the group targeted by the remarks—just don’t cut it. There seems to be no end to well-known people who make racist remarks about Black people and then call Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson seeking absolution, as if they have the power or time to forgive and make such comments ok.

Entering treatment for addiction means you get treatment for your addiction. Any other changes you make are up to you. That also means that.a racist alcoholic, who gets treated for alcoholism can still be a sober racist, anti-Semite, homophobe, or engage in inappropriate behavior.

As a diversity and inclusion strategy consultant, I speak to individuals and organizations throughout the world. I hear racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic remarks from all kinds of people. At the same time, I’m with people who work hard to understand others who are different than themselves, who learn to break through incorrect assumptions and stereotypes, and appreciate the opportunity to interact with others in meaningful dialogue.

Rehab is not the cure for all the -isms or for hate. The cure is education, self-examination and the willingness to get to know people from diverse backgrounds as human beings and understand their lives and experiences.

Simma Lieberman

P.S. The cycle continues: Ms.USA was on Larry King talking about her new self and giving advice after several weeks of rehab.

I am a born again christian with an abusive husband when drank and kind when sobber. this disturbs my faith. Help me help him understand how wonderful I feel when the Holy Spirit finds peace in my heart when he is sobber and kind.

Florida drug treatment centers say the number of people seeking help for the abuse of painkillers is on the rise. OxyContin, Vicodin, and other opiates are only available with a doctor’s prescription, but more and more people are still able to abuse them. In fact, an estimated 5.2 million people are believed to be abusing painkillers right now. Because people with this type of addiction are often living with chronic pain, their addiction requires an individual plan introduced by residential drug rehabs to be treated.

Who Is Abusing Painkillers?

What was once a very hidden addiction is now making headlines throughout the country. In Georgia in 2007, WWE wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his wife and seven-year-old son before killing himself after a history of concussions, drug abuse, and an addiction to painkillers. This isn’t the only famous addiction to painkillers. Many famous names such as Anna Nicole Smith and Matthew Perry have also suffered from this terrible addiction. Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has also admitted to abuse of opiates.

Residential drug rehabs aren’t just treating the rich and famous for this addiction, however. Many ordinary people start using painkillers after an accident or injury that is causing genuine pain, eventually becoming addicted. This occurs because the longer someone takes the opiates, the more their body becomes accustomed to the drug. This requires them to increase their dose in order to achieve the same effect. Once that person becomes an addict, say Florida drug treatment experts, the addict can be taking upwards of thirty or more pills every day.

Where Are They Coming From?

In 2005 in Florida, drug treatment wasn’t in the mind of one 60-year-old family physician. The doctor received a 25-year sentence and $550,000 in fines for trafficking Oxycodone, fraud, and racketeering and an additional five-year sentence for selling and handing out Xanax and Valium. Doctors do not generally cause addictions intentionally, but an estimated 50% do fail to talk to their patients about their addiction.

Pain pill addicts don’t just rely on their regular prescriptions for the drugs either. They use excuses such as losing their medication or saying that they spilled them in order to get their doctor to prescribe more. Florida drug rehabs say that when this stops working, addicts will head to drop in clinics or jump between several doctors to get enough medication to satisfy their habit.

How Painkiller Addictions Are Treated

One of the first steps residential drug rehabs take to treat someone addicted to opiates is a medically controlled detoxification. This doesn’t cure the addiction, but it makes the violent withdrawal caused by the addiction much easier to deal with. This withdrawal causes chills, vomiting, pain, and a variety of other symptoms that make the abuser very ill. From there, Florida drug treatment centers say, a personalized program is developed to help the addict live a drug-free life. This includes an alternative treatment plan for dealing with pain that many addicts do suffer from.

The abuse of opiates is a tragic reflection of modern society and it is taking its toll in devastating ways. It isn’t a poor man’s drug, it isn’t a fad of the rich, it is a very real addiction that permanently affects millions of lives every year. Florida drug treatment experts say the only way to combat this form of addiction effectively is to educate the public, work with healthcare professionals, and get addicts into residential drug rehabs before it is too late.

Millions of Americans are enrolled in the welfare system; a program designed to give a boost to the poor and needy families to help them make it through the year while they got back on their feet.  Unfortunately, it has now become a way of life for many.  Many argue that welfare is now destroying our culture and creating dependent people who learned to abuse privileges that come with living in America.  Welfare has become a target for gluttonous mothers and others who have no values or willingness to obtain a job.  This definitely makes an impact on the needy families and people with disabilities who deserve to receive aid from this program.  Mothers who sit around waiting for the next check to come in the mail and are not willing to do anything to help themselves or their families should not have the privilege of receiving government assistance.  That is why there should be enforceable guide lines that are met to regulate how long people stay on the welfare system.

            In earlier times of American history there were no welfare programs to help aid the needy.  All America had depended on the charity of churches, and sometimes private organizations to help the poorest families.  It was not until 1935 when President Roosevelt signed the Aid For Dependant Children (AFDC) that a program was put in effect by the government.  This was a bill containing the original provisions of the welfare program:

The bill allowed $18 per month for one child and $12 for each additional child.     The bill expanded on the infrastructure of state programs that had been set up as        ‘widow’s funds’.  Only single mothers received funds.  At this time, just about           50% of those receiving AFDC were children supported by widows, 17% were             children with an incapacitated father, 21% were supported by a woman who had   been abandon by her husband and just 2% of children on the welfare rolls were    supported by women who had never married (Snyder 1).

This bill continued to stay in effect until 1996 when President Bill Clinton negotiated with Congress to pass the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act which drastically changed the program.  The program replaced AFDC by calling it the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  TANF was very similar to AFDC but limited the receipt of benefits to five years and with few exceptions made recipients responsible to find work as soon as ready, or no later than two years after coming on assistance.  Bill Clinton’s reform was criticized by many because they believed it was too much like AFDC and would have no effect on a change.  Statistics show that:

There were 2,032,157 families receiving TANF cash benefits in June 2003, the       most recent month for which data is available.  The total represents a 0.3 percent    decrease from March 2003 and a 54 percent decrease from August 1996, when        TANF was enacted.  A total of 4,955,479 individuals were receiving TANF             benefits in June 2003, 0.6 percent fewer than in March and 60 percent fewer than in August 1996.  From January 2001 to June 2003, the number of TANF families    declined 5 percent and the number of recipients declined 9.2 percent (“Temporary         Assistnace” 1).

Although statistics show that Clinton’s reform works, people are still continually abusing the system   Recipients find new ways each year to prolong their dependency on the system.  It is not fair to hard working tax payers who are giving their well earned money to greedy, lazy Americans that are able to work, but do not choose to.  Mothers are the most common offenders among the many million Americans who receive aid from the government.  Women easily cheat the program by simply having more children, by having more children means more money comes in the mail.  They also live with partners, which according to the regulations are not allowed. In order to be a recipient, mothers eligible to receive welfare are to be single and be the sole support of their children. Drug and alcohol use are the two other ways that mothers could and will abuse the welfare program.  Many problems occur when welfare recipients begin to use drugs.  They tend to use their allotted money on drugs which leaves no money for taking care of their children.  Their next step into deceit is to resort to getting pregnant because they know by having more children means more money.  Pollack states in the “American Journal of Public Health” that, “Among 2002 National Survey of Drug Use and Health respondents deemed “in need” of substance-abuse treatment, welfare recipients were significantly more likely than non-recipients to receive such services….Controlling for other factors, welfare receipt was associated with higher prevalence of illicit drug use” (2024).  This study shows how people on welfare are still abusing the system even with the reforms that have been activated and put into effect.

To show personal experience or occurrence with this situation would be an example my grandparents informed me of.  My grandparents have a dear friend that lives next door to a woman who is collecting welfare.  The row home she lives in with her three children and her boyfriends rents for approximately $1300. per month.  But being that she is on government assistance, she only pays $24. a month.  This lady does not hold a job and also gets food stamps and subsidized electric.  She receives money from the government for her three sons.  Critics on the opposing side may say that she might not have the skills to work.  This is a totally false statement.  It is a personally known fact that if someone is looking for a job that is on welfare the government will provide training and help that person find a job.  This is a known fact because it has happened to my second cousins wife before they got married.  The most ridiculous part about the welfare program is that the government is willing to provide help for people that are capable of working but are just too lazy to work.  A more irritating situation is when a honest working family becomes a victim to hard, unfortunate times and requires assistance from the government but don’t qualify to receive the help.  Here is an example from the news; a father and mother are both working two jobs to make ends meet, they have a son who has a chronic illness that can not be treated because they don’t have the money for pay for it.  The government would not help this family in any way, so the married couple had to get a legal divorce so that they could say their son lives with and is supported by a single mother and she doesn’t have enough money to pay for the bill.  By the mother being single and having a child she was able to receive the health care.  This situation completely makes no sense.  Basically what the government is doing is allowing people to cheat the system just so their child can receive treatment.  What is wrong with this picture?  You would think that the government would be willing to help the family instead of putting them on Medicare which would go against their ultimate goal of decreasing the governments’ responsibility for yet another dependent family.  The government needs to re-evaluate and enforce their government assistance system. 

In Clinton’s reform, “PRWORA permitted chemical drug testing.  This allowed states to deny benefits to adults convicted of drug felonies, and allowed states to terminate benefits to illicit drug-using women who violated program requirements or who simply failed to find employment” (Pollack 2024).  From the beginning of this reform, some states began to implement their state welfare programs to help illicit drug and alcohol abusers to receive treatment to able them entry into the work force.  The state of California developed the “Cal-WORKS” program where “each county receives a portion of a 63.5 million dollar funding pool designed to help persons receiving welfare benefits remove alcohol and drug-related barriers to employment” (“California Counties” 1).  Not only is the state of California trying to help drug abusers, but the “Governor of Illinois, Jim Edgar has proposed to reduce welfare program spending by 2.5 percent in the states fiscal year that begins July 1.  He also is suggesting setting aside 3 million dollars in new money toward the establishment of a drug screening and assessment program for welfare beneficiaries” (“Illinois Considers” 4).  If Edgar’s proposal is approved, the state will require welfare recipients who have substance abuse problems to undergo treatment.  The good part, state officials believe that beneficiaries will get off the public assistance treadmill and provide for themselves.  The bad part would be for those beneficiaries who would have their benefits gradually decrease and have no intentions to cooperate with the rehab programs. 

Welfare programs have proven beneficial in helping people and families that are in need.  Because of the program’s abuse, new state regulations were needed.  Statistics show that the reform program implemented by Bill Clinton back in 1996 is working.  It has succeeded in reducing the number of families and people on assistance.  A quote from the Truman Show states, “we except the reality of the world who which we are presented.”  This phrase underlines what sociologist call agents of socialization.  The book definition for agents of socialization is groups or social contexts in which significant processes of socialization occur.”  There are two types of socializations, the first is primary socialization which takes place in infancy and early childhood and is the most crucial period of culture learning.  Children around the age of two tend to absorb a lot of crucial information at this stage.  The family is the main source of cultural learning where they learn language and behavior patterns.  If a child is born from a mother that abuses drugs and lives on welfare it is obvious to say that this child will be exposed to nothing but the environment they live in.  This will start a family trend where everything is given for free and nothing is achieved.  Children will have no incentive to achieve anything in life because they would not have the right support for their goals.  The final type is secondary socialization which takes place from childhood to maturity.  At this point other agents take over the family role such as peer groups and the surrounding communities.  As children begin to develop into young adults, they start to be influenced by their surroundings and friend.  Stereotypically, most welfare families live in subsided homes where there is nothing but government assisted families.  This point refers back to the family where there is no incentive to make oneself better.  No one peer involved in the young adults life will be able to support or encourage higher education because they may not have achieved that themselves.  Not even the school could help the young adult because most teens will find school not important because most likely there parents dropped out or failed high school.  So to them, there would be no need in school.  The point is, if more welfare mothers keep having more and more children just for the money, they are just bringing more and more future government assisted people in the world.  The children will not be able to see any other side of the world if they are trapped within that type of environment.  The agents of socialization proves that the Truman quote is true that children are highly influenced by their families and environment.  Without strict regulation, a vicious cycle will continue to grow with an increasing number of government assisted people.  In the reform, Clinton allowed states to implement their own regulations to the program.  Many states have introduced into their program assistance abusers.  The results have clearly shown that the programs were helping, but if not regulated properly, many people will continue to abuse and find new ways to cheating the program.  That is why enforcement of the laws that are already in place need to be applied and up held so that the numbers of recipients continue to decrease.  The welfare program was implemented to help those who are in need of a little extra help until they can become a self sufficient individual and should not be allowed to be used as a source of permanent income.