High-functioning alcoholics?

An article in the New York Times today spoke in depth about a segment of the population not often talked about- the high-functioning alcoholic. Sarah Allen Benton has recently published a book called "Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic" which can be found on Amazon here. Her basic premise is that this special type of alcoholic is able to somehow manage a job, family, friends and yet mask their problem drinking, sometimes for years. Many of these people are able to maintain a semblance of a normal life while covering up the massive wreckage that alcoholics routinely suffer.

What's interesting about this segment of the population is that it has existed in almost secret for hundreds of years. Employees, customers, and family members are often willing to overlook out-of-control drinking since their loved one or boss can maintain their job performance. The three martini lunch, popular up through the early 90s, was almost a right of passage for high-performing executives. They looked at alcohol as a reward for their hard work.

For many of these high-performing people, the major consequence for them is the fact that the one aspect of their lives that they can't control is their alcohol intake. They've avoided many consequences- loss of job, loss of family, financial ruin, etc. The other interesting thing is that there is an entire segment of the treatment world devoted to treating this population. Talbott Recovery Campus in Atlanta functioned for years by simply treating doctors. Hazelden Springbrook in Newburg, OR has a program dedicated to helping healthcare professionals. And programs such as The Landing, Promises, and other high end facilities specialize in treating high-functioning alcoholics- basing treatment tracks on the assumption that clients their don't need a complete overhaul of their lives, just around their relationship with alcohol and/or drugs.

What can be troubling about this segment of the population is relapse. When high-functioning alcoholics, who are used to perfection in all aspects of their lives, have trouble with sobriety, they can run into trouble when relapse happens. They can often move downhill fast. Luckily, there are resources available. Places such as Sunrise Recovery Ranch, Mayflower Center, and Jaywalker Lodge provide programs for chronic reluctant-to-recover patients, and can work together with the job and family to insure a smooth transition back into life.

It will be interesting to see how much this article and book bring awareness to this issue. People suffer in silence daily due to the ignorance of their friends and family members about the signs of out-of-control drinking. I can only hope that this article can help bring things to light about the secret lives of high-functioning alcoholics.

In other news, my friend Rick Ohrstrom over at Sober Bulldog just returned from the Gaza Strip working on addiction and trauma. Make sure to check out his website and stay tuned for a new blog about his experiences overseas.

Here's Anderson Cooper's breakdown of doctors in treatment:



Here's something funny.

As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. See you tomorrow.

Addiction and young adults

In Milwaukee this week, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to Community Advocates, Inc. to support the Milwaukee Addiction Treatment Initiative.

The Milwaukee Treatment Initiative is a great project- they are working to close the gap in providing treatment services to those who need it. According to research, almost 21% of those between 18-25 in Wisconsin fit the criteria for a need of addiction treatment, compared to 17% nationally. This project shows good initiative for a grassroots movement to improve addiction treatment.

As someone who got sober at a young age, I am in full support of this. One of the biggest problems is the myth that college is a place to go crazy for four years and then adjust to the real world. The truth is, many kids go to college without proper preparation for the struggles they will face. Addiction and alcoholism go hand-in-hand with the feelings of uncomfortability and uncertainty, and those are feelings that run rampant in college students. The resources available on college campuses are woeful at best, and it's hard for college students to find the help they need without family help. When families aren't educated about the signs of addiction and depression, a kid can get in deep trouble on a college campus.

Milwaukee is taking a lot of steps to improve this, and I applaud them for it. We always need more resources available, and it's good to see foundations stepping up to support further resources and research.

Make sure to check out this video about where I work, Sober Living By The Sea. Thanks to Michael Hurst, our web designer, for posting this video and managing our blog.



Here's an interesting video regarding Erin Brockovich and her daughter's struggles with addiction:



As usual, here's something funny.

Come and find me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Also, make sure to check out my friends over at 12 Angels and their research project. See you this week.

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this as a favor to my friends over at 12 Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people in early recovery to get jobs and foster entrepreneurship. Check out the links below, and please take the surveys! I'll have a new blog up at the beginning of this week about educational consulting.

-Mike

Are you or have you ever been in a 12 step program to help you overcome your alcoholism or addictions? Would you be willing to help other recovering alcoholics or addicts reintegrate into the professional world by spending just 3-5 minutes of your time? If you answered “yes” to both of those questions, then now is your opportunity to make a difference by participating in a completely anonymous survey to help design a revolutionary online application for the benefit of the recovery community.

12 Angels is a nonprofit organization that fosters social entrepreneurship in the recovery community. The organization’s goal is to create and implement programs that will counteract the economic damage caused by alcoholism and addiction.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in our survey. Please complete only one of the two surveys presented below. Select the one you feel most accurately fits your background and experience.

Survey 1 - Sponsor: If you are, or have been, a sponsor in a 12 step program:

Survey 2 - Sponsee: If you are, or have been, a sponsee (but never a sponsor) in a 12 step program:

Anti-addiction pill? Buyers beware...

CNN posted a story at the end of last week about naltrexone, an anti-craving drug. Dr. Mark Willenbring had this quote: "There will be a 'Prozac moment', when primary care doctors start handling functional alcoholics."

Here's another quote, this the response from Hazelden's medical director: At Hazelden in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a small proportion of patients receive anti-addiction drugs, but medical director Dr. Kevin Clark says the traditional model -- based on intensive therapy and the 12 steps popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous -- is still best. "It is a disease of the brain, but it's a multifaceted disease. It has a spiritual component, a behavioral component to it," says Clark. "Our experience tells us that having the network of support and recovery is what really makes the difference."

I lean towards the Hazelden response- I am in recovery and I believe that simply taking medication without a sufficient support network would lead to an unhappy life. There's a difference between stopping drinking and actual recovery. Until we develop a medical treatment that can do something besides simply reducing craving, then we still need to work with addicts and alcoholics to find recovery through 12-step programs, therapy, and supportive rehabilitation centers. However, I do think this is huge medical progress- and I'm happy that we're making strides to find other solutions which may increase successful outcomes.


Here's a video about placing naltrexone under the skin of heroin addicts:



And here's something funny.

As always, find me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Take care.

Methadone: A blessing or a curse?

Methadone maintenance has been around for years- it's development stemmed from predictions in Nazi Germany that the war would cause shortages in opiates being able to cross into Germany's borders. In 1947 Eli Lilly's company started producing methadone stateside, and off we went. The drug was first published as a pain reliever, and now is mostly used in harm reduction around addiction.

I'm torn on the effectiveness of this methodology. What I've heard in anecdotes from members of 12-step programs is that their lives only really started to get better once they were able to detox off of the methadone, which creates a physical dependence of it's own. What is difficult to discern is that most of the people I've spoken with bout this have had resources for private addiction treatment- for those without resources, methadone seems to be a good start.

Methadone can be a start towards a path to a new life; however, it is not the be-all, end-all solution. Without therapy, a recovery program, and a plan to eventually remove oneself from a mind-altering substance, the chances of someone really recovering from addiction are slim. When planned correctly, methadone can be an important component in helping an individual get better.

The problem is in the profits- methadone maintenance is one of the most profitable businesses today, and I worry that clinics don't attempt to taper people off solely to make their numbers work on the bottom line. We need to respect the quality of life of our patients, and the easiest way to do this is to make a long term plan when someone begins a methadone maintenance plan. With all of the tools and resources available to us, we can put a plan together that allows methadone to be an active part of recovery.

Here's a link to the HBO special "Methadonia," a documentary regarding people who are hooked on methadone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mULJZzq4-cQ


And here's a video on methadone and the consequences of not managing it correctly:



And, as always, here's something funny.

Find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. Looking forward to your feedback!

Intervention

With the T V show Intervention creating such a huge following and awareness, we've been able to see more resources put into the hands of struggling families. The effectiveness of such an approach can be shown in multiple ways- the addict going into treatment, the family setting boundaries, etc. What many people may not realize is that intervention is generally for the family- regardless of whether or not the identified individual enters treatment. The most important part of the intervention is recognizing the problem- a drug addiction, a compulsive behavior, or a behavioral problem- and addressing it from the viewpoint of the family.

Once the family is able to understand that they can make changes within their own family dynamic WITH OR WITHOUT A COMMITMENT FROM THE IDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL, then the interventionist has made lots of progress. Of course, it's hard at the outset for a family to see that the intervention is a success when an individual chooses not to seek help. However, should the family hold the boundaries the interventionist helped them set, they'll often see a change in the individual and the family system. Following the intervention with participation in a program of recovery such as Al-Anon is essential for family members to continue their healing process. The most important thing- DOING SOMETHING. When a family chooses to move forward with an intervention, they are creating a bottom for the addict- therefore, allowing an individual a chance to get well before things get worse.

Interventions are the greatest gift a family can give.

Here's some clips from the Intervention TV Show:



And here's some of my favorite interventionists:

Gallant and Associates
Addiction Intervention Resources
Surrender Interventions
Crisis Case Management
Bayer and Associates

And here's a video for the song Intervention by Arcade Fire. I just thought this was cool.



Here's something funny.

As always, find me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Have a great day.

Obama says NO to legalization

In his first internet town hall, President Barack Obama said he is against the legalization and taxation of marijuana. Since the majority of the questions for this town hall came from individuals via the internet, the response was instantaneous. Twitter users reacted swiftly with their disapproval (check it out on the previous article).

The tough part for politicians and businesses today is the quick reaction by bloggers, Twitter users, and Facebookers to write about what they see wrong. I trust that Obama has worked with experts to come to this decision for now- what's nice is it seems Obama isn't completely adverse to change and is willing to admit he was wrong and not have to stick to his guns. If a good argument is economically and scientifically presented, I'm sure he'd change his stance based on the evidence.

Once again, I'm torn on this issue. I'm wondering what my friends over at Faces and Voices of Recovery would have to say about this; I can say that there hasn't been a lot of uproar about this issue besides some Twitter feeds from Vaughn Howland.

It's really interesting to watch people in the industry start to get into social media, like blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I'm still working on ways to make all of this work better and would welcome any ideas to help use social media to help our cause. Make sure to check out the All About Addiction blog as well.


Here's a good argument pro-legalization.

Here's an interesting video from Lou Dobbs:





Here's something funny.


As always, find me on LinkedIn and Twitter. See you later this week.