The Bridge To Recovery

For those of you who are avid readers, I apologize for the lack of posting for the last couple of weeks. I've been on the road for work and haven't had access to wireless internet. Here's the first of a few updates.

I spent a long weekend in Bowling Green, KY doing a referent weekend at The Bridge to Recovery, a residential treatment center with a focus on codependency. With tracks starting a 14 days and going up through 90, The Bridge can do treatment like I've never seen, focusing almost solely on family members of addicts as well as addicts themselves. Carol Cannon, one of the founders and a pioneer in the field of codependence (and published a couple of books, most notably "Hooked on Unhappiness") provided one of the best definitions of codependence I've ever heard:

“Codependence is the pain in adulthood that comes from being wounded in childhood, which leads to a high probability of relationship problems and addictive disorders in later life.”

With a huge focus on trauma and codependency, I was really impressed with The Bridge. This was also an amazing weekend to be there, as it was both the 35th anniversary of The Bridge AND the retirement celebration for the founders, Paul and Carol Cannon. I got the opportunity to meet and speak with alumni from all the back in the late 80s, and really got a feel for the work that they were doing. In addition, Dr. Stephen Grinstead of Addiction Free Pain Management , who also works with Terry Gorski doing Relapse Prevention training, told his story and lead a workshop on "Identifying and Managing the Inner Saboteur." He took the clients through his workshop, as well as the visitors (like myself), staff, and alumni. A really powerful experience to do some difficult group work and look at how denial manifests in our daily lives. Also got the opportunity to hear stories from Josie Ramirez-Herndon and Dr. Jeff Seat over the weekend, a truly great experience.

Overall, a fantastic visit. I wouldn't hesitate to send a family member to treatment at the Bridge, and I'm looking forward to doing some work with them in the future. Such a diamond in the rough; it's weird to think that they've been around for 35 years and yet are not really known about on the West Coast. Hopefully we can spread the word; long term treatment for family members of addicts can only provide a healthier, more supportive network for people trying to maintain their recovery.

Here's a video about The Bridge to Recovery:



In the next blog: my trip to Nashville.

Here's something funny, Will Ferrell's video about health insurance.

As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you tomorrow.

Relapse and Addiction in the news

Lots of addiction and drug use in the news as of late: of course the biggest story was Michael Jackson; his death, and the long history of addiction, will rival Elvis's in history I imagine. And if it doesn't, then we should make sure we as a people and a media are looking at it honestly. That, of course, was a huge splash and brought about a new wave of awareness about prescription pain medication.

A couple of months ago, the "Shamwow guy," Vince Shlomi, was arrested for being in a drunk fight with a hooker. And this past Friday, news about Billy Mays (pictured above) and a history of cocaine use breaks across the wire. Then over the weekend, Josh Hamilton, a darling of the media for his miraculous comeback from drug addiction (see a great article on his comeback from ESPN the Magazine here and I mentioned his comeback in my blog earlier this year), had pictures posted on Deadspin.com, a sports media blog, of an obvious relapse during spring training in January.

A couple of thoughts here: first and foremost, it's hard to be in the public eye. We've seen tortured artists, athletes, and successful people for centuries-- some of the most powerful people in the world have been the most troubled (see Howard Hughes, Elvis, Michael Jackson, etc. etc.). The list goes on and on. And when people who have any sort of issue- a drug problem, depression, anger management issues and the like- get into the public eye, the odds of a slip being exposed to the media are increased tenfold. For someone like Mays, whose persona was one of an over-the-top pitchman for various products on late night television, cocaine seems like a natural fit. For Hamilton, who had completely lost everything and built it back up, a relapse (for someone not as popular) may have been a tiny setback. However, in Hamilton's case, his entire season is being scrutinized for evidence of drinking or drug use, and whether or not his lack of performance this season is tied into that.

As we know, addiction is a chronic and fatal disease, as we've seen with Jackson and Mays. What we also need to remember is that sometimes people slip, like Hamilton did in January. Instead of making snarky remarks and making life more difficult, we as a group need to support Hamilton and his recovery. One can only hope that the Rangers will allow him time to find his way back to a recovery program-- and that Hamilton will make that decision as well.

Here's a video of the Josh Hamilton story, previous to his last relapse:


Hope: The Josh Hamilton Story - More amazing video clips are a click away

Here's a clip of Hamilton talking about his relapse:



Blitzcorner | Josh Hamilton Speaks about Relapse Video



Here's something funny.

As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you this week.