Informal Resolution When Discrimination Occurs

Sometimes the best course of action is to talk to the individual who you believe has discriminated against you as a result of your addiction history. This will give you an opportunity to confirm that past drug or alcohol use is indeed the reason why you are not getting a particular job. It will also allow you to talk openly and honestly about what you have been through -and stress the many positive qualifications you bring to the position.

Administrative Appeals Against Addiction Discrimination

If you have reason to believe that a government office or association has discriminated against you as a result of your addiction history, you may be entitled to an administrative appeal and a hearing. Those government offices that often hear these types of appeals include:

• Public housing agencies
• Government benefit programs
• City or state employers

Formal Legal Challenges to Discrimination

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals who have, or have overcome an addiction to drugs or alcohol. This is a federal law -and if you feel that it has been violated, you may be able to charge the offenders legally. In the process, you may be able to get the company or institution to provide restitution, change their policies or provide other forms of relief.

It is Important to Act Quickly!

There is a deadline associated with filing complaints such as those discussed above. In many cases, this may be as soon as 180 days after the occurrence of discrimination. Deadlines vary, so check with the city, state or federal court in question if you feel that you have been wronged.

The following is a brief look at what you can do if your insurance company refuses payment or reimbursement for expenses associated with rehab treatment.

Check Your Employee Handbook

The first stop should always be your employee benefits handbook. Your company may have a policy in which they can override the decision of the insurance company and help you accordingly.

Ask Government Agencies for Help

State offices are the ones responsible for the enforcement of addiction treatment insurance laws. Contact the office of the state insurance department, state health department or even the attorney general’s office if you feel that you are not getting the coverage required by law.

Ask the Rehab Center for Help

Drug and alcohol rehab centers will generally stand by you in your fight against the insurance company. In addition, addiction treatment centers may be able to provide some alternatives to help offset the cost of care such as private financing through their network of lenders.

Only Work with Addiction Treatment Centers that “Get it”

The drug and alcohol rehab programs that understand the real seriousness of addiction are the ones who will allow you to start treatment while you settle things with your insurance provider. These are the types of committed professionals who can help enact real change in your life!

Most importantly, you should never delay treatment as a result of a battle with your insurance company. Breaking the cycle of addiction and obtaining professional help is the most important thing you can do for your future. If you have the law on your side, all other matters will work themselves out over time.

Simultaneous Treatment For Dual Diagnosis

Here’s the reason simultaneous treatment is so important. In many dual diagnosis situations, the mental illness symptoms preceded the drug or alcohol use. Some people with mental illness self-medicate to make life feel better. They may not even be aware that they have a treatable problem. Some mental illnesses show difficult behavioral symptoms like aggression, impulsivity, irritability, and poor organization.

If the underlying cause isn’t treated properly, the person may use drugs or alcohol out of desperation coping with their condition. They often unknowingly create a much bigger problem for themselves. But at the moment, their drugs of choice may provide the only psychological relief they can count on.

The Focus On Drug Addiction

Research-based drug addiction treatment commonly includes two different styles of talk therapy. Group therapy is regarded as the most powerful platform for personal change. Individual therapy is also provided for each person as a more private way of working out problems.

Other activities can include physical exercise such as aerobics, nature hikes, yoga, obstacle courses, and horse back riding. While these may seem to be somewhat unconventional for a drug treatment program, they do a lot to enhance the talk therapy approach. It’s not just a mental experience, it’s a whole body, mind, and spirit experience.

Why Treatment Is So Important For Dual Diagnosis Situations

Mental illness and addiction must be taken seriously. They are serious conditions that require professional help and a lot of support. Either one of these problems can be devastating if not treated properly, and can be even worse if they are combined. Drugs and alcohol can inflate depressive feelings and suicidal thoughts. Some drugs can amplify the difficulties of anxiety, especially if a person goes through withdrawal.

Drugs and alcohol can impair judgment, push emotions to extremes, and reinforce self-destructive behavior. If a person doesn’t get help, the problems will simply grow and create havoc. These are not problems that a person outgrows or gets over. Treatment is the only sure way to manage a mental illness and addiction.

Because of the chronic nature of these problems, a person with a dual diagnosis may need some form of support or treatment across their life span. Halfway houses or sober homes are good options for transitioning out of residential treatment. Outpatient treatment can be customized to deliver the right amount of support for a person’s specific needs. Also, many recovering addicts and alcoholics (dual diagnosis or not) are encouraged to join some form of peer support group like AA or NA.

Dual Diagnosis Drug Treatment

Dual diagnosis treatment programs are specially designed to meet the needs of their clients. They understand how the addiction works with the mental illness and they are ready with the latest treatment methods. If you need to know more about dual diagnosis treatment, call us today with your questions. We’re here to help.

Teens Don’t Understand The Risks

It’s a pill that comes from a doctor. It’s manufactured in a pharmaceutical facility with people making sure it’s made correctly. It’s a legal drug that’s available all over, and my friend/grandmother/neighbor takes it. So why would it be dangerous?

This facade of safety is what probably dupes a teen the most about prescription pain pills. Teens simply underestimate the power of these drugs because of incorrect perceptions about the nature of legal medications. It doesn’t have the same dirty look as crack cocaine made in a back alley. It isn’t cooked up in a chemical kitchen on an abandoned farm. It comes in a nice tidy bottle with a little label printed on it.

Teens inherently have difficulty sizing up true risk. It’s not their fault, it’s just a sign of their immaturity. The parts of their brain the manage judgment and decision making aren’t fully developed or experienced yet. They may buy the innocent looking image and rationalize any nagging thoughts of risk. And that’s the kind of risky choice that can get an unsuspecting teen hurt or even killed.

Prescription Drugs – A Quick Review

Prescription pain pills are usually some sort of narcotic drug. In some cases, they are mixed with another type of pain reliever like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. The big danger with narcotic-based drugs is that they suppress the central nervous system. Aside from making someone feel dragged down or sleepy, the most life-threatening complication is slowed breathing.

When a drug slows the central nervous system, it causes the lungs to reduce the breathing rate. If this drops too low, the brain can be deprived of oxygen and suffocate. A teen may think they are getting an easy high when they are really tempting fate with their CNS and lungs.

Prescription Drugs High Potential For Addiction

Prescription drugs are also highly addictive. If they don’t eventually threaten a person’s breathing, they can certainly create a life of chaos and disruption. Once the body develops a tolerance for the drug, the user needs more just to feel normal.

Withdrawal symptoms can be nearly unbearable, so teens them by turning their life inside out to get drugs. Selling things, stealing, dealing drugs to pay for drugs – they’ll do whatever it takes so they can just function. That’s how it works – the innocent looking pill sucks a teen into a spiraling hell of compulsion and survival.

Teens Need Support And Treatment

Teens with drug abuse issues need treatment as soon as possible. Because it’s a growing trend, treatment for prescription drug abuse and addiction is more available than ever before. And because addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum, family members have an important role in treatment. Contact us today to find out how we can help you and your teen with prescription drug addiction.

Many of the alternative programs are founded on the notion that spirituality need not be integrated into an addiction recovery process. Still other alternative sources insist that a “cure” for addiction is attainable.

Essentially, alternative approaches to the traditional 12 steps cater to the mindset of logical addicts and alcoholics on the spectrum of afflicted individuals. Addicts who can’t fathom the concept of a higher power, refuse to believe in the possibility of God, and scoff at organized groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, tend to relate more to the non-12 step approaches such as the SMART model, Rational Recovery, and Accelerated Recovery. Let’s scratch the surface of a few of these methods. Perhaps it will give you a new topic to bring up with your buddies during Friday night’s poker tourney.

We’ll start with the SMART Recovery model. SMART is an acronym for Self Management And Recovery Training. SMART advocates point out their model’s effectiveness in keeping abreast of current research in the addiction and alcoholism fields. They claim to base their recovery pointers on science rather than spiritual principles. In addition, SMART’s face-to-face forums are known for being open to discussion among members. Alcoholic Anonymous meetings often require members to refrain from “cross talk” or exchanging anecdotes throughout the course of the meeting. SMART recovery is more lenient in the sense that conversation is welcomed with open arms as long as it conducive to the topic at hand. SMART is “based on scientific research, advocates the appropriate use of prescribed medications and psychological treatments”, and teaches members the tools to cope with life’s stressors in healthy way. SMART groups even touch upon alternative venues for which to have fun in sobriety.

Rational Recovery (RR) is another alternative approach to the 12 steps. This approach utilizesAddictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT). The long and short of it is encouraging training participants to distinguish between the healthy, logical side of their brain and the unhealthy hemisphere. In Alcoholics Anonymous, followers call this notorious side of the brain “The Committee”. You’ll hear speakers talk of how they wake up in the morning and hear The Committee whisper, “I’ve been waiting for you to rise.” From there, The Committee tries to egg the alcoholic or addict into action that is ultimately self-destructive. Rational Recovery builds many of its lessons around the premise that the addictive voice, routinely personified as “the beast” — is an evil creature that dwells within all human beings as a byproduct of instinct. “The beast” seeks pleasure whether the source is from sex, drugs, or fluids. The ability to quiet the beast is where true self-discipline and AVRT techniques are put to the test.

Rational Recovery tries to narrow down addiction and alcoholism into simple blocks of distinguishable features that make it manageable for members on a daily basis. Rational Recovery is controversial in the sense that it dismisses the disease concept of addiction and chalks it up to a matter of self-will instead. Many find this message to be somewhat offensive. For instance, as the authors of Rational Recovery’s describe the beast, they write, “Your survival appetite is aimed at the wrong stuff, to be sure, but addiction is more a reflection of health than of a mysterious disease. The desire for pleasure fades among sick or diseased people, further suggesting that addiction is a reflection of health rather than a disease process. In RR, some call the human midbrain ‘the party center,’ because of the bond between pleasure and addiction. Of course, it is often quite stupid (self-defeating) to act on healthy desires or impulses, as in substance addictions.”Adjectives such as “stupid” and “ridiculous” are commonly utilized in the context of describing traditional methods of alcoholism and addiction treatment, i.e. the 12 steps. The 12-step framework and AA program are literally discredited as nothing more than pish-posh.

Third on the docket is AcceleratedRecovery. This alternative claims to have the best non-12 step approach to breaking dependence from alcohol. Advocates treat the physical and psychological malady alcoholism invokes. Omitted is the focus on spirituality. As you can tell, less God and more science seems to be the trend among non-12 step recovery approaches.Accelerated Recovery’s central website cites statistics re: AA’s abstinence rates among members; “Greater then 93 percent of all treatment programs in the United States are based on theTwelve Step philosophy, and their poor outcome results are predictable and well documented.” Interesting.What the writers don’t do is cite abstinent rates for members whom have completed Accelerated Recovery treatment, thus illustrating the flip-side of the coin. Hence, readers have nothing to compare the 93 percent figure against. Even if the so-called 93 percent failure rate is true, it’s certainly better than 100 percent. Chances are, it’s probably higher than the success rate of Accelerated and other non-12 step approaches combined as well.

There will always be alternative approaches to the 12 steps cropping up, probably until research finetunes the answers to alcoholism’s many mysteries more securely. Human beings love to debate, and the 12 step modality as the “gold standard” is a topic of no exception. As for me, I will continue trudging the road of happy destiny with my fellow AA’ers, thank you very much.

When speaking with a recovering alcoholic, it’s normal to find yourself pulling anecdotes from the sky to try to fill the conversation with unrelated topics. Thankfully there are a handful of simple guidelines to keep in mind that may help ease the uncertainty. Refer to this list often — hopefully it will preclude you from feeling completely in the dark when it comes to interacting with an alcoholic who has undergone treatment.

Basics first. Talk to the alcoholic like you would anybody else. Your friend is a mortal being just like you. You differ in that he struggles with an obsession of the mind, a physical allergy, and a spiritual malady. In terms of the latter, through treatment he or she most likely formed a conception of a higher power and sustained conscious contact with the God of his/her understanding. Don’t fret; AA is not a religious cult. Spiritual sickness is a component of the disease, however, and it is natural for your friend to have a new relationship with a higher power upon exiting rehab.

If your friend had diabetes or osteoporosis would you feel differently around them after they returned from a four-week wellness program? Probably not. If you and your alcoholic friend John have always bonded over sports and seafood, by all means, pick up related conversations where you left off.

In terms of questioning the alcoholic about his stint in rehab, keep it simple. Focusing excessively on his length of sobriety and his meticulous action plan for staying booze-free “til the end of time (AA’s motto is “one day at a time” for a reason!) can be tastefully avoided. While in a rehab center, the alcoholic is surrounded by other alcoholics, AA slogans, anonymous fellowship text, life lessons, and much more. When he’s finally free of the 24/7 emphasis on recovering from alcoholism, chances are he’s amped to talk about “normal” things. However, everyone’s different in that regard.

Going forward, if you’re close with the alcoholic, try to keep in mind the following:

• Differentiate between helping and enabling. In light of a relapse, providing your friend with loads of cash (like you may have provided pre-treatment) is probably not the best move. When in doubt, ask yourself if the help you’re about to provide, such as paying off this month’s credit card debt, is something he could do for himself if he was sober. If the answer is yes, you’d be doing both yourself and the alcoholic a disservice by following through.
• Practice detachment. In other words, try to view the alcoholism as separate from the friend in which the disease resides. If it helps, consider the person chemically compounded with two brain hemispheres -the alcoholic brain, and the logical brain. When you start hearing the alcoholic brain talking (such as justifying a recent relapse, or obsessing about the quantity of wine to be served at the upcoming party), attribute the behavior to their alcoholic circuitry and separate it from their lucid self.
• Don’t blow up or react emphatically to a relapse. If John goes on a drunken, week-long bender, throwing up your hands and yelling at him may actually push him away into isolation and social withdrawal. The stronger your reaction, the more the alcoholic will focus on your words and anger. Putting on a poker face when your friend tells you he went out and got sloshed last night forces him to analyze his part in the relapse, rather than harp on details of your argument. In this vein, the alcoholic cannot abdicate responsibility onto someone else. He may look for a chance to oscillate energy away from his gut feelings surrounding the relapse — don’t give him fuel for the fire.
• Set healthy boundaries. There’s no need to sit the alcoholic down in an interrogation room and figuratively hammer them on help patterns you will and will not extend should their sobriety slip. However, you can uphold a light, congenial conversation with your alcoholic friend post-treatment as a means for highlighting your newfound boundaries. Simply relay the lengths you’re willing to go to in light of an unlikely relapse. For example, “I will not bail you out of jail should an arrest occur. I cannot loan you money under any circumstances. I can no longer be an on-call babysitter for your child should things change for you,” and so forth. Remind him that the boundaries are not a form of punishment, they are a byproduct of healthy differentiation.

Relapse post-rehab happens in statistically high doses. Remaining unenthused requires your friend to dig deep about what led to the relapse and examine his intrinsic impetus for going out. It’s natural to want to “save” or “help” your friend if you witness is hardships after he falls off the wagon. Stay strong by reminding yourself of the founding principle upon which Al-Anon is based -the only behaviors you can control are your own. Focus on being a good friend without enabling alcoholic actions. Last of all, remember that setting healthy boundaries and loving your friend with alcoholism are not mutually exclusive.

Know What You Can And Cannot Control

Many people (including non-addicts) get caught up in what they can and cannot control. It’s easy to get ticked off at the businesses that can’t hire you or anyone right now, the bad financial situation you grew up with, or the family member that still doesn’t understand why you can’t be around drugs or alcohol. But you can’t control those things for the most part. Life is a bunch of moving parts, and you cannot have influence or control over all of them.

For those things you cannot change, your best strategy is learning how to live with them. You’ll either need to wait until something changes, put a past problem back in the past, or realize you can’t change a person’s mind. People in recovery can spend a lot of mental and physical energy trying to change the unchangeable. This often distracts them from the things they do have more control over.

You Have Control Over Your Mindset

You can’t really make another person change their opinion or viewpoint about something. That has to come from within themselves. If your family still doesn’t get it that you can’t be around all the usual booze at the Christmas party, then you need to make your choices accordingly. Do your best to communicate your needs and the reasons, watch what they do in response, and then it’s up to you to determine whether or not you can realistically spend time with them.

You may want so badly spend Christmas with your family. But if it means putting yourself in harm’s way, you’d do better to find other people to hang around with during the holidays. Acknowledge your efforts, their lack of understanding, and move on. The important part? Moving on. That’s where it’s up to you.

The Serenity Prayer

There’s a reason Alcoholics Anonymous has adopted the serenity prayer. Its most famous lines speak to things being changed and controlled.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

This is about choosing your battles and using your energy wisely. It’s so easy to get tangled in pointless family drama, rumination over past relationships, and self-pity over poor choices. It may not be easy facing your own attitude or giving up your old grudges. But doing that can change the entire landscape of your mind.

What Happens Today Is Up To You

There’s more to the Serenity Prayer than just the handful of famous words printed above. But when you talk about making change in your life, it’s hard to find something more honest than that. Your sobriety is something you can manage, but only if you are smart about it. Keep good support around you. Keep learning about what you can change and what you can’t. And most of all, recognize that today is your biggest opportunity. What happens today in your sobriety is up to you.

Alcohol Addiction Myth #1: “If she were an alcoholic, she wouldn’t have a job.”

There is a term that describes the employed person who has an addiction to alcohol: “functional alcoholic.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that the alcoholic is good at her job or that her addiction isn’t causing scenarios in which non-addict co-workers are losing their jobs due to the fact that the alcoholic isn’t holding it together. How much is the alcoholic supported by team members or assistants? Is this a job that she should have outgrown years ago? Is she being passed over for promotions or other job opportunities? Has she made lateral moves that keep her out of contact with clients or top level corporate members?

Even if she is fabulous at her job and has not a single issue at work, this is not necessarily indicative of her status as an alcoholic. If she is physically abusive to others, drives under the influence, attempts to care for children while drinking, or has health issues due to drinking and still can’t stop, then she needs alcohol rehab.

Alcohol Addiction Myth #2: “He has to hit rock bottom before he can get anything out of alcohol rehab.”

Hitting “rock bottom” is a subjective thing. Just because your loved one doesn’t recognize the precarious life they’re living doesn’t mean that they won’t benefit from alcohol rehab. Studies show that people don’t have to want to go to addiction treatment in order to benefit from it. Just the break from that rehab provides from alcohol can be beneficial and provide your loved one with a moment of clarity in which to view their life and what it’s become from a more objective state of mind. It does take “rock bottom” for an alcoholic to recognize that they need treatment because it takes something serious to break through the haze of addiction. From your clearheaded vantage point, you should be able to see clearly whether or not your loved one’s use of alcohol is hurting him and those who love him.

Alcohol Addiction Myth #3: “He only drinks socially. He can’t be an alcoholic.”

Or, “He stops drinking for periods of time so he can’t be an alcoholic.” Or “He doesn’t drink at work or around the kids or when he’s driving so he must not be an alcoholic.” The illusion of control during alcoholism is just that: an illusion. If a person continues to drink to excess and get drunk on a regular basis despite issues with finances, health, family problems, and legal problems then it’s time for an alcohol intervention.

Alcohol Addiction Treatment at Michael’s House

If your loved one needs alcohol rehab, the best way to help is to get them into alcohol rehab. If you would like to secure a place for your loved one in alcohol addiction treatment or if you need assistance staging an alcohol rehab intervention, contact us at Michael’s House today.

Fisher says: “I didn’t even like coke that much. It was a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get high.”

Fisher was 19 when she played Princess Leia. At 24, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and now, at 53, she is performing a one-woman show called “Wishful Drinking.”

She has been in and out of drug and alcohol rehab since she worked on the Star Wars series. She says: “I realized I was doing a bit more than other people and losing my choice in the matter.”

Fighting Drug Addiction is a Lifelong Battle

While Fisher isn’t proud of her past with drugs and alcohol, she’s under no illusions about her future. Getting clean and sober has been a lifelong battle for the actress and it’s one that she recognizes as something that doesn’t just go away.

Fisher says: ” I’ve been sober for three years now. I’ve been trying to get sober and stay sober for a long time. The longest stretch I’ve done was about eight years. Kicking drugs has been difficult. It doesn’t go away, it’s not like a virus.”

Drug Addiction, Relapse and Relapse Prevention

Once you’ve been through drug and alcohol rehab, kicked your drug of choice and learned how to live without drugs and alcohol, the real work begins: remembering to implement what you learned in relapse prevention each and every day. Fisher makes sure she doesn’t take her sobriety for granted; she even uses it as fodder for her performance. Not everyone can do that. But you can make sure that recognizing what you’ve been through is a part of your life. Service projects, 12 step meetings, sponsoring someone newly sober – all of these things remind you daily how you used to live, how far you’ve come and let you know that you’re only a relapse away from being back there again.

Finding a Network of Support in Drug Addiction Recovery

Refusing to isolate yourself at home or at your job and instead volunteering or attending 12 step meetings gives you more than just a reminder of where you used to be; it also gives you an opportunity to build a network of support for yourself. By choosing positivity, you draw positive people to you. These friendships and acquaintances provide a buffer between you and relapse after drug rehab. In the 12 step program, for example, you can ask for an acquaintance’s phone number and for permission to call if you feel tempted to use, but in some cases, it’s just enough to know that there are others out there that you can go to coffee with who are going through what you are experiencing. Surrounding yourself with positive people are clean and sober will help you to stay clean and sober yourself long after drug and alcohol rehab.

Call Michael’s House today to learn more about our drug and alcohol rehab program or our long-term sober living facilities here in Palm Springs, California.

His friends were devastated, just as he had been when he lost his buddy years earlier. But rather than succumb to drugs and alcohol to treat their depression, they have chosen a different route.

Fighting Drug Addiction and Drug Overdose With Organization and Hope

Melissa Barnes, 19, is a friend of Selchow’s. She says: “We lost Aaron because of drugs. Now we want to go out there and tell his story.”

Barnes is president of Rally for Addiction. She and five other friends of Selchow started the organization with the hope that the organization, because it is run by young people, will speak to young people in a way that other organizations aimed at teen drug use but run by adults cannot.

Jessica Snee, 17, is vice president of Rally. She says: “We have to figure out how to get into people’s heads. They need to realize what they’re doing and want to stop for themselves, not for us.”

On October 28, the group will hold a candlelight vigil at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos to promote awareness and to give others in the community an opportunity to remember loved ones lost to drug addiction.

Barnes says: “We want people to understand that drug addiction has to be out in the open; you don’t need to be ashamed. This is something that is killing our youth, and we need to unite to fight it.”

Support the Fight Against Teen Drug Addiction and Overdose

If you would like to support Rally, you can. Vigils, like everything in life, costs money, and Rally members are working hard to raise the $5000 they need to hold the vigil by the date of the event. For example, because Selchow was a skateboarder, Rally members approached Jimbo Phillips, a Santa Cruz skateboard artist, and he offered to design a board in memory of Selchow well below cost so that they can raise money for the event.

Their website, RallyForAddiction.com, makes these boards available to anyone who would like to support their cause. The design features a skull with dog tags rising from a grave with Selchow’s name, and the words “Remember Our Fallen Brother” and “You only get one chance at life.”

Get Help For Those You Love: Drug Addiction Intervention

If someone you love is addicted to drugs and alcohol, don’t let another day pass without trying to help. One way to communicate to your loved one that their drug and alcohol abuse is deadly and reaching a crisis point is a drug rehab intervention. It is at an intervention that you can help your loved one understand that drug and alcohol rehab is the only way to effect positive change in their lives.

If you would like assistance finding a professional interventionist or a place for your loved one in drug rehab, contact us at Michael’s House today.