NOVEMBER 1, 2008

Brian: Welcome to the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour my name is Brian Fujii I am the Clinical Director at Breakthrough and during this hour we are going to discuss Aftercare and the importance of individuals that have gone through alcohol addiction treatment and their road to recovery. My special guest today is one of our voices of recovery his name is George and we welcome here today.

George: Thank you Brian.

Brian: George is going to share his history and sharing his recovery experiences and how they have made a difference in this life and career. It helps people understand that recovery is the way to go and life can get better. Jill is not with us today and I hope she is enjoying this fall day and she will be back next week and we will team up again.

What does it mean to be in recovery and the importance of aftercare. It is defined as a way that individuals who have been in alcohol addiction treatment can continue their work as far as being able to help them understand alcohol addiction treatment modalities and helping them with their relapse prevention and develop new relationships as far as helping them keep on that road of recovery. This is a call in show so please participate with us today and if you are in the listening area and you want to call the number is 770-226-0920 and if you are outside the area it is 1-888-920-2665.

Before getting into the part of what aftercare means I want to share some statistics of how people move into the area of alcohol and other drug addiction and some studies recently indicate that high school age are already engaged in alcohol and drugs. A study done recently showed 8^{th graders, 52% had already tried alcohol and in fact one out of four 8th graders had actually be experiencing inebriation and binge drinking is 4 to 5 drinks in any one given event and so students are using alcohol and it is not only illegal but being used in very inappropriate ways. As adults you have a responsibility and we know that many parents are in denial and therefore are part of the problem. I do know we look at statistics and we know that people are actually starting to drink at such young ages and more than likely the children get it at home. The study goes on to say that 10th graders, 71% of them have already tried alcohol at some time. Children have brains that develop from the back to the front and that is the frontal part of their brain and it is not getting the development that they need in those early years and so is there a reason why our children can’t understand things in school? We find out that 25.6% in the 10th grade level had experienced binge drinking, so that is a significant result. George, one of the things we talk about in alcohol addiction treatment is why it is important for us to be able to look at our drinking patterns and so we are talking about some, how old were you when you had your first drink?George: I was young and had tasted beer by the age of 13. You know about the age of 16 you know the driving period that is when it started. You know the same old thing getting together with friends in somebody’s basement and drinking.}

Brian: A lot of times in that basement. Parents think that if they are at home and aware of what the kids are doing, do we really know? If you are aware that they are drinking what kind of pattern are we sending to young kids about tasting beer and wine at young ages. So as we begin looking at the statistics let’s look at 12th graders, when you begin looking at the pressure the high school kids have with image and being able to tell their friends that they aren’t weak and they want to be identified with the gang. If you are a parent with a child in middle to high school and you don’t think they are exposed to this I would like you to give this a second thought and find out what is really going on in the arena of the school. 770-2226-0920 is the number to call here or if you are outside Atlanta, 1-888-920-2665 we would love to hear from you and give us your input.

We work with adults and many times the children too become deeply involved and possibly can be influenced and there we are trying to struggle to help the adults understand how they can fight this problem with alcohol. George, one of the things we teach at Breakthrough is that addiction is when the brain chemistry really changes and when we spoke before we know that people begin wondering if they are a bad person or because they have poor moral character or not enough willpower but at Breakthrough we talk about how the brain changes and the more alcohol a person drinks it causes the brain to really change. I know one of the things we see so much is the problem of blackouts and blackout is defined differently than passing out, when you pass out you are unconscious but a black out it means that they are still conscious but they are not remembering what is being said or what was ..has that ever happened to you George.

George: Yes I experienced it quite a bit before stopping drinking. It was difficult to remember anything the day prior and it was pretty common and uncomfortable and you wake up and someone is talking to you asking you questions and you want them to ask more questions to help you remember.

Brian: What kind of embarrassment and doesn’t it produce confusion and maybe also what obligations did I commit myself to, this again becomes a highly problematic area when people are struggling and they are this is how alcohol impacts the brain and we talk about the way that people can identify whether or not they have a problem so when you were struggling did you think you could cut back did you try?

George: Sure that is common uh and I did, there was a few times I would say that this is the day and I am not going to do what I always do and by mid day I was at the liquor store.

Brian: It looks like we are at a break right here so as we look at drinking patterns give us a call at 770-226-0920. We will be right back

Commercial Break

Brian: Welcome back to the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour and my special guest is George and we are talking about alcoholism and aftercare and finding ways to continue on the road to recovery and I want to share some ideas with our listening audience and as we take a look at alcoholism we find many young children beginning to drink and so beginning at that young age they will develop a pattern and that is not a healthy one and 9% of the adult population meet the criteria for alcohol dependence and addiction. Aftercare is a program that we offer at Breakthrough we meet on Monday and Wednesday nights from 5 to 6 and is therapist led and we try to help people understand their triggers and cravings and prevent relapse and they can change the way they behave and that is the whole idea and that is to change behavior. What we find is that there is a relapse rate of more than 50% or more at the two to four year after alcohol addiction treatment event. If a person is not constantly engaged in trying to stay focused on their recovery there is a 50% chance of a relapse and I make a distinction between a slip which is a sip of something and they realize this is not what they want. The habit is so real and pick up a drink and then become conscious of what they are doing. George is that something you had happen?

George: No, I would have had it and drank it.

Brian: I have had clients tell me they were at the grocery store and put a six pack in their cart and not notice until check out, the unconscious level of thought when you try to stop using alcohol, 50% or more with relapse means there are still those who won’t. The difference is the need to continue working on your recovery. We know the brain can heal because if you don’t drink the neurochemicals are restored to normal levels and we know that recovery is a lifetime event and is something you will be doing for the rest of your life and you know you can not drink again.

George: Well, I did have some efforts prior to the Breakthrough program and yet unsuccessful but the cognitive approach at Breakthrough had a great effect on me and I had no idea of the components into the disease and the time that it takes organs to heal and the brain I am at the healing point now. That is mind boggling when you see what you are doing to your body as you addiction alcohol.

Brian: Again, what we are talking about is physiological damage and we teach that alcohol does more damage to the internal organs than any other legal or illegal drug. The liver, heart and the brain. So many don’t understand that because it is legal we make it sound like it is ok and we know some individuals can get in trouble if they are not careful. 770-226-0920 again 770-226-0920. As we take a look at addiction being more than alcohol or cigarettes and a whole lot of other substances if we take a look at this we do know that it impacts not just the person but do you find that alcohol has impacted career family friends and other areas of your life so let’s talk about this George.

George: Well alcoholism effects every person you come in contact with a tremendous strain on the family, your job and everything you do. It is not quite as noticeable until you stop. It changes everything you do, um, basically your life’s goal every day is where the next drink will come from. It is subconscious and basically until you get the drink that is the functionality of your day to day existence.

Brian: True, because the brain as it has been impacted can only think about the next drink and this is when we talk about the neurochemicals as we drink more and more and then we get more and more dependent for alcohol. 770-226-0920 again that is 770-226-0920 if you have any questions for George especially if you are struggling today with alcohol or opiates and any of the types of mood altering substances we want you to call us today and be a part of this conversation and this is a great time for you to understand from a person in recovery and the struggles they face and also they can identify with what is going on with you. At Breakthrough we offer a free consultation for anyone, we will give you the information to help you understand the programs we offer. We have evening programs for those that work every day and that is on Monday Tuesday and Thursday nights. If you would like information on the free consultation call us at 770-734-8091.

We are at another break in our show and we want you to participate so please call us as we talk with George. Stay with us we will be right back.

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Brian: So many folks we talk about hitting bottom and not everyone lowest level is the same. We have seen this in so many ways. We have different stages, the introduction; not really a problem, then as it progresses there are more negative then positive. Many find they are not happy with what is going on and there are families out there driving down the road and you know of someone in your family a husband or wife or an adult child and you know this is hitting home and it is something you have been thinking about for a long time. 770-226-0920 because this is the kind of discussion that needs to get started, we always say that many people and not just the person struggling, the family are the ones also that are in denial or maybe minimizing and this means it just doesn’t seem bad. The point is it is a big deal and the longer you wait the longer you procrastinate the longer you decide that it is not a problem, you participate in that individuals looking for help. They need someone there to give them a shove or a boost to get them moving in the right direction and you can be that instrument and be that person that helps the individual the husband, wife or child and just like what George said it came to a point that his life was falling apart and you don’t have to wait that long. If you see that it is a problem.

Please hang in there and we want to share some more information with you and we will be back after the break. George would be able to give you or your loved one the information and insight that you need to get the help you need.

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Brian: We are sharing our ideas about the support you receive after alcohol addiction treatment. People who have never gone through alcohol addiction treatment say they don’t know what it means. At Breakthrough there are reasons we encourage our clients to continue support and it helps individuals to stay sober. If someone leaves alcohol addiction treatment with no aftercare plan the chances of relapse are very high. I think it is very important to understand that aftercare is a very important part and is critical. We talk about the difference between abstinence and sobriety. Abstinence is stopping and many can we also have medications at Breakthrough to help decrease craving and opiates there are also medications to help you with those also but at t he same time abstinence is different. Sobriety is reclaiming those values of life that went out the window when you started using alcohol and drugs. Learn how to be honest again, talk to the important people in your life and share your feelings. One thing we find in recovery is that when people start using alcohol and drugs, the biggest struggle is dealing with the feelings instead of numbing out. We understand that addiction is truly a brain disease and so the benefits of aftercare are developing additional relapse prevention skills while going through our alcohol addiction treatment programs. A second is that it is a place to process the psychosocial stressors such as relationships and job stress, boredom and isolation and we know that boredom and loneliness are keys for people struggling with alcohol and thirdly exposure to those whose goals are living a sober lifestyle. It is also a place to reclaim values in your life. We see this happening as people stay sober and they start talking to each other without arguing and they are actually solving problems. These are the benefits we find as we get engaged in a program. George I know you have 5 months of sobriety, there are people out there struggling with alcohol how can you live a life without alcohol. It is the most important things someone can do, I always ask how many hours a day do you spend thinking about drinking?

George: I was going to say 24 hours a day, all of the above. The big difference is that once I got sober in the program and this by far is the best. I tried AA and it works for some but not for me, I needed the cognitive approach because I needed to understand the physical and the mental and that is what I needed. It is basically the same thing, staying sober is big part of aftercare and I am a social animal uh, you know that time I spent going to the local pub to shoot the breeze and have a few beers and start off drinking has been replaced and I will go to the aftercare with my peers and help someone else get over the hump. Basically the thing is the phrase I use is “I got the monkey off my back but the circus is still in town.”

Brian: That is so true and we are about to break so hold on to that thought and we will be right back. 770-226-0920 again 770-226-0920.

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Brian: George thank you so much for sharing and we just want to wish you continued luck on your road to sobriety. We will see you next week, if you have any questions about what we do at Breakthrough you can contact us in Norcross at our office and the number is 770-734-8091.