C2R.......Colorado's next generation of peer recovery support.................................................. Connect U 2 Recovery ................ It's What We Do
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
OBHS Peer Recovery Support Network Grows
September 25, 2013...
Just completed a confidentiality training with 9 peer volunteers today at the clinic. This brings our total number of volunteers to 14. Of course, they are performing a myriad of encounters with peers. We have methadone program volunteers and non-methadone volunteers at different times during daily clinic hours. The charge nurse met with these volunteers today and reviewed some basic information and processes to follow. The counselor team lead stopped by to thank the volunteers, remind them that they are breaking new ground at the clinic, and the work they are doing is vital and appreciated. The culture is indeed changing at OBHS.
We love our peers in recovery!!!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Peer Recovery at OBHS
It started with an idea, 2 grant-funded peer mentoring trainings from Advocates For Recovery Colorado, and a peer facilitated support group in the spring of 2012.
It was an idea whose time has come. In less than 18 months, OBHS now has 4 distinct Peer Recovery Support groups, provides a meet and greet with new patients as well as people seeking treatment, a newsletter, a blog, a Facebook group page, and is actively supporting a new adaptation process for new methadone patients. And over 150 of the 600 individual peers from the program have participated in our efforts.
These volunteers have made such an impact on the way OBHS does business that the PR department found it appropriate to celebrate and announce to the hospital campus and the community that Peer Recovery Services are HERE!!!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
from the AATOD blog
Written by Mark W. Parrino, AATOD President
This represents our first blog. More will follow based on initial responses. You are free to make comments, which can be added to our website. This represents a slightly more informal way of communicating what AATOD is doing in representing the collective interests of our field. AATOD released its most current Five Year Plan in 2012. Three of the most prominent issues affecting the existing system and the future of or field are Health Care Reform; work with the Criminal Justice System; and prescription opioid use and addiction.
Health Care Reform
We continue to work with our associates who comprise the Coalition for Whole Health and the Legal Action Center in preparing for the implementation to Health Care Reform in 2014. There are concerns about impediments to getting reimbursement for Medication Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction through OTPs and DATA 2000 practices. At the present time and according to SAMHSA data, there are approximately 310,000 patients in OTPs, with the majority (300,000) utilizing methadone. It is estimated that there are over 350,000 patients receiving buprenorphine through DATA 2000 waived practices in the US. This number varies depending on the source of data.
We are also working with individual states through Board member chapters of AATOD to improve access to care through Medicaid reimbursement at the state level. This is especially challenging for a number of states given restrictive state budgets. It is tragic that individuals who are making laws in state legislatures have not read the basic information, which provides a foundation of how we provide treatment to chronic opioid addicted individuals through OTPs and DATA 2000 practices.
Criminal Justice System
AATOD is also working with partners in the Criminal Justice system, as articulated in AATOD’s 2012-2016 Five Year Plan. We understand that there are shifting attitudes towards the use of various medications in the Criminal Justice system. There are a number of educational initiatives that are designed to counter such issues and we are grateful for the publication of a groundbreaking report by the Legal Action Center concerning the “Legality of Denying Access to Medication Assisted Treatment in the Criminal Justice System and the recently published RSAT (Residential Substance Abuse Treatment) Training Tool “Medication Assisted Treatment for Offender Populations”(Bureau of Justice Assistance, DOJ).
The Power of Patient Recovery
From our point of view, it is critical to work with patient advocates and families of patient advocates in educating legislative bodies and the public about what we do. While we have extremely powerful data to support our work, it may also come down to the emotional stories of patients and their families. One experience that comes to mind occurred during a hearing about the use of methadone maintenance treatment in Maine in 1995. From my memory, the most influential presentation came from someone who was not on the hearing docket. A woman rose from the audience and asked if she could be heard. At that point, there were two methadone detoxification programs in Bangor, Maine. The hearing was to determine if such programs were to be given maintenance status and the result would lead to opening additional facilities in the future to respond to the needs of patients. The woman was extremely clear. She was married to a patient in one of the two detox programs. Her husband was a fisherman and had been in treatment for several months. She explained to the panel that her two young daughters had new clothes as a result of the fact that money was being saved for the first time in many years. The apartment was clean and there was food in the refrigerator. Her request of the hearing panel was to ask if they could find a way to allow people like her husband to remain in treatment as long as he benefited from such care.
As legislators and regulatory officials continue to challenge the use of Medication Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction, this kind of story needs to be told by patients and their families in different states.
If these challenges are not forcefully made, we will lose the struggle of being able to provide access to Medication Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction. While the promise of Health Care Reform is great, we must be careful not to let other parties undermine the very point of increasing access to care for millions of Americans who desperately need treatment..... reposted from the AATOD blog
Monday, July 22, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Chris Rene
Four months after nailing his X Factor audition with a show-stopping performance of the self-penned “Young Homie,” Chris Rene is releasing his fiercely personal anthem as a single. Newly signed to Epic Records, the Santa Cruz-based rapper/singer/songwriter/musician came in third place on The X Factor and enamored audiences with his breadth of talent and then-recent triumph in overcoming addiction. Masterfully capturing Rene’s struggles with substance abuse and journey to recovery, the revamped “Young Homie” now boasts a fatter beat and smoother groove perfectly suited to Rene’s inspired fusion of hip-hop and soul-pop.
To create the intensely infectious midtempo track, Rene joined forces with J.R. Rotem (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross). In laying down his redemptive story of surviving addiction and “turning negatives to positives,” Rene swings from soulful singing to rapping, revealing his remarkably dexterous flow. Dynamic yet tender, “Young Homie” also deftly flaunts Rene’s elegant piano-playing and balances the throbbing beat with soaring synth effects.
“The song’s about learning how to be a grown-up,” says Rene, who was working as a trash collector and only ten-weeks sober when he performed “Young Homie” at his X-Factor audition. “When you’re young, you feel like there’s no limit, no consequences to your actions. So it’s me talking to my younger self and to all the young brothers out there, telling them that life’s too beautiful to live like that.” But despite the weightiness of that message, Rene never comes off preachy or heavy-handed in “Young Homie.” From the high-reaching vocals in the song’s intro to the old-school vinyl crackle and turntable-scratch of its final seconds, “Young Homie” retains a breezy sweetness that’s a testament to Rene’s lyrical flair and long-cultivated pop sensibility.
Rene started writing songs at age 12, the same year he picked up a guitar for the first time. “I took one guitar lesson and learned the pentatonic scale, but since we didn’t have money for lessons after that, I just messed around and learned how to play on my own,” he says. Around that time, Rene also taught himself to play piano. “At first my hands were just going all over the place,” he recalls. “So I said to the piano, ‘I don’t understand you, but someday we’re gonna be best friends.’ I got so frustrated, I just eventually just started figuring it all out.” That year, Rene formed a punk band that included his brother Mike on drums. Called Diversion, the band featured Rene on guitar and vocals and ended up releasing a self-titled album in 2000.
According to Rene, his family played a major role in his musical savvy. His grandfather Leon Rene was a record-label owner and songwriter whose compositions include “Rockin’ Robin” (recorded by Michael Jackson) and “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” (recorded by Louis Armstrong). In addition, Rene’s father was a songwriter and jazz pianist, while his siblings include Gina Rene (a singer featured on the Mean Girls and Step Up soundtracks) and Gabriel Rene (a record producer). “Music’s in my blood and it was all around me when I was growing up—I soaked it up like a sponge,” Rene says. Over the years, he built on that musical background by exploring a dizzying range of musical genres. “I’ve been influenced by every kind of music you can think of, from Mozart to Led Zeppelin to Outkast,” he says. “I love Al Green, I love punk rock—just anything that’s got that crazy passion.”
But while Rene’s uncommon combination of pedigree, talent, ambition, and appetite seemed ready to propel him into musical stardom, his struggles with drugs and alcohol interfered. “I started smoking weed when I was 12, and by 15 I was smoking every day,” he says. “When I was 17 or 18, I started doing cocaine and crank—first it was once a week, then it was three times a week, then it was every couple of hours.” After a few stints in jail and rehab, Rene stayed clean for three years but then resumed drinking and smoking. “My mind told me, ‘You got a car, a home, a kid. You can drink like normal people. You can smoke weed.’ But pretty soon I started doing meth, and it all went downhill fast.” Last year, Rene wrapped his car under a tree in an accident that nearly killed his longtime girlfriend (also the mother of his son Ryan).
Rene entered Janus Rehabilitation Center in Santa Cruz immediately after leaving the hospital. Soon after he finished up the 30-day program, Rene’s sister approached him about auditioning for X-Factor. “For a long time I thought shows like that weren’t really for me—I had this idea like, ‘If I’m gonna come up, I’m gonna come up on my own,’” he says. “But something was telling me that the time was right for this.” What’s more, Rene’s time in rehab had instilled him with a new sense of purpose and fearlessness. “No matter what happened, I knew it was gonna be good,” he says. “I had just almost wasted my whole life, so even if I got up there and L.A. [Reid] and Simon [Cowell] ended up throwing water balloons at me, it would have been a privilege.”
For Rene, making the bold choice to perform an original song at The X Factor audition was a no-brainer. “I wrote that song when I’d had three years clean, and it was my way of telling everyone what’s up,” he says. “It’s like, ‘There you go, world. Judge me, love me, push me, hug me. I’m just gonna be myself.’” Still, Rene found himself floored by The X Factor audience’s ecstatic reaction and by the outpouring of support from the judges (particularly Reid, who stated that “I’ve worked with some of the greatest hip-hop artists, from Jay-Z to Kanye West, and all of my boys, they would be proud of me today to tell you that you are the truth”). “When L.A. said that, it blew me away beyond belief,” says Rene. “He’s been in this business a long time, and he’s got a really strong sense of what’s good and what’s great.”
To that end, signing with Epic Records and furthering his relationship with Reid feels like a “blessing,” according to Rene. “It means so much to me that L.A. believes in me enough to sign me and get me into the studio,” he adds. Looking back to less than a year ago, Rene notes that his life has been radically transformed for the better. “I’m out here in Los Angeles, working with amazing producers and writers, making genuine music that makes people feel good,” he says. “It’s a total 180 from where I came from.”
To create the intensely infectious midtempo track, Rene joined forces with J.R. Rotem (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross). In laying down his redemptive story of surviving addiction and “turning negatives to positives,” Rene swings from soulful singing to rapping, revealing his remarkably dexterous flow. Dynamic yet tender, “Young Homie” also deftly flaunts Rene’s elegant piano-playing and balances the throbbing beat with soaring synth effects.
“The song’s about learning how to be a grown-up,” says Rene, who was working as a trash collector and only ten-weeks sober when he performed “Young Homie” at his X-Factor audition. “When you’re young, you feel like there’s no limit, no consequences to your actions. So it’s me talking to my younger self and to all the young brothers out there, telling them that life’s too beautiful to live like that.” But despite the weightiness of that message, Rene never comes off preachy or heavy-handed in “Young Homie.” From the high-reaching vocals in the song’s intro to the old-school vinyl crackle and turntable-scratch of its final seconds, “Young Homie” retains a breezy sweetness that’s a testament to Rene’s lyrical flair and long-cultivated pop sensibility.
Rene started writing songs at age 12, the same year he picked up a guitar for the first time. “I took one guitar lesson and learned the pentatonic scale, but since we didn’t have money for lessons after that, I just messed around and learned how to play on my own,” he says. Around that time, Rene also taught himself to play piano. “At first my hands were just going all over the place,” he recalls. “So I said to the piano, ‘I don’t understand you, but someday we’re gonna be best friends.’ I got so frustrated, I just eventually just started figuring it all out.” That year, Rene formed a punk band that included his brother Mike on drums. Called Diversion, the band featured Rene on guitar and vocals and ended up releasing a self-titled album in 2000.
According to Rene, his family played a major role in his musical savvy. His grandfather Leon Rene was a record-label owner and songwriter whose compositions include “Rockin’ Robin” (recorded by Michael Jackson) and “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” (recorded by Louis Armstrong). In addition, Rene’s father was a songwriter and jazz pianist, while his siblings include Gina Rene (a singer featured on the Mean Girls and Step Up soundtracks) and Gabriel Rene (a record producer). “Music’s in my blood and it was all around me when I was growing up—I soaked it up like a sponge,” Rene says. Over the years, he built on that musical background by exploring a dizzying range of musical genres. “I’ve been influenced by every kind of music you can think of, from Mozart to Led Zeppelin to Outkast,” he says. “I love Al Green, I love punk rock—just anything that’s got that crazy passion.”
But while Rene’s uncommon combination of pedigree, talent, ambition, and appetite seemed ready to propel him into musical stardom, his struggles with drugs and alcohol interfered. “I started smoking weed when I was 12, and by 15 I was smoking every day,” he says. “When I was 17 or 18, I started doing cocaine and crank—first it was once a week, then it was three times a week, then it was every couple of hours.” After a few stints in jail and rehab, Rene stayed clean for three years but then resumed drinking and smoking. “My mind told me, ‘You got a car, a home, a kid. You can drink like normal people. You can smoke weed.’ But pretty soon I started doing meth, and it all went downhill fast.” Last year, Rene wrapped his car under a tree in an accident that nearly killed his longtime girlfriend (also the mother of his son Ryan).
Rene entered Janus Rehabilitation Center in Santa Cruz immediately after leaving the hospital. Soon after he finished up the 30-day program, Rene’s sister approached him about auditioning for X-Factor. “For a long time I thought shows like that weren’t really for me—I had this idea like, ‘If I’m gonna come up, I’m gonna come up on my own,’” he says. “But something was telling me that the time was right for this.” What’s more, Rene’s time in rehab had instilled him with a new sense of purpose and fearlessness. “No matter what happened, I knew it was gonna be good,” he says. “I had just almost wasted my whole life, so even if I got up there and L.A. [Reid] and Simon [Cowell] ended up throwing water balloons at me, it would have been a privilege.”
For Rene, making the bold choice to perform an original song at The X Factor audition was a no-brainer. “I wrote that song when I’d had three years clean, and it was my way of telling everyone what’s up,” he says. “It’s like, ‘There you go, world. Judge me, love me, push me, hug me. I’m just gonna be myself.’” Still, Rene found himself floored by The X Factor audience’s ecstatic reaction and by the outpouring of support from the judges (particularly Reid, who stated that “I’ve worked with some of the greatest hip-hop artists, from Jay-Z to Kanye West, and all of my boys, they would be proud of me today to tell you that you are the truth”). “When L.A. said that, it blew me away beyond belief,” says Rene. “He’s been in this business a long time, and he’s got a really strong sense of what’s good and what’s great.”
To that end, signing with Epic Records and furthering his relationship with Reid feels like a “blessing,” according to Rene. “It means so much to me that L.A. believes in me enough to sign me and get me into the studio,” he adds. Looking back to less than a year ago, Rene notes that his life has been radically transformed for the better. “I’m out here in Los Angeles, working with amazing producers and writers, making genuine music that makes people feel good,” he says. “It’s a total 180 from where I came from.”
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Anonymous People- New Theatrical Trailer
Recovery is OUT - to change the addiction conversation from problems to SOLUTIONS. An independent feature documentary about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addictions.
The Anonymous People - Theatrical Trailer from Greg Williams on Vimeo.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Communities of Recovery
Road to Recovery September 2012: Building Communities of Recovery: How Community-Based Partnerships and Recovery Support Organizations Make Recovery Work
The goal of recovery is for individuals to lead successful, satisfying, and healthy lives integrated in the community. This requires the availability of prevention, healthcare, treatment and recovery support services. Community-based organizations play a vital role in addressing the diverse needs of people in recovery from mental and/or substance use disorders. Partnerships and networks within communities serve to leverage the particular contribution that individual community-based organizations have to offer. Recovery support organizations, those that focus on the recovery needs of individuals, are becoming an increasingly important part of the solution. Housing, employment, education, and socialization are all pieces of the puzzle the fit together to achieve overall behavioral health objectives. This show will describe how communities are organizing and networking to provide recovery support. The show will also highlight efforts to change the culture of communities to accept and embrace people in recovery.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The Original Recovery Community
Recovery is Real. People Recover. Every Day. Every Week. Every Year.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a recovery community that has been supporting persons living in recovery since 1939. Certainly not designed to work for everyone, it does work for millions. If you don't know anyone lviing in recovery, it may makes sense to check out these communities as they are full of people who have made "not using" work.
Much Thanks to Don P for sharing his story.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Road To Recovery 2013
Recovery Month promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment, and recovery for mental and substance use disorders, celebrates people in recovery, lauds the contributions of treatment and service providers, and promotes the message that recovery in all its forms is possible. Recovery Monthspreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Wrapping Newtown/ Sandy Hook In Support- Long Term
Out of tragedy, Newtown, CT can become a beacon of hope to the world. We have seen how mental illness and substance use disorders can devastate families and our community. But by educating, empowering and embracing its citizens, Newtown can show every community a road map to wellness. Newtown is in a unique position to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of prevention, early intervention and ongoing support for young people and their families. Help us make Newtown -- and your town -- a safe and well home for our children.
You can make a donation to Family Connection here
Out of tragedy, Newtown, CT can become a beacon of hope to the world. We have seen how mental illness and substance use disorders can devastate families and our community. But by educating, empowering and embracing its citizens, Newtown can show every community a road map to wellness. Newtown is in a unique position to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of prevention, early intervention and ongoing support for young people and their families. Help us make Newtown – and your town – a safe and well home for our children.
In many ways, Newtown is typical of communities across the nation and throughout the world. But for Newtown, at least one thing is a matter of pride: Newtown is a soccer town! Newtown has enjoyed great success in the sport, bringing home State championships and even producing remarkable athletes who have gone on to play professionally. Soccer brings our young people and families together. Now, as we try to heal from the devastating tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, our love of soccer will continue to be a driving force in bringing our community together. Newtown’s own Premier men’s soccer team stepped up, and with long-term recovery for our town in mind, has proudly set a goal:
The Newtown Pride FC Has Dedicated It's Entire 2013 Benefit Season To Newtown Parent Connection (NPC)!
Our talented team, Newtown Pride, has committed to playing a series of fund-raising exhibition games against professional soccer teams to support and grow the work of the Parent Connection. Events with notable teams and participants are now being scheduled both in Newtown and across the country. While Newtown Pride’s primary goal is to wrap its own community in support, their highly publicized and exciting soccer events are sure to have an even more far-reaching effect.
At all the games, Newtown Pride plans to pack seats and open hearts. As a premier team, they will be underdogs kicking off against seasoned professionals. But win or lose, people everywhere will be rooting for this extraordinary group of men -- and Newtown -- to succeed. Newtown Pride is on a mission to help its shattered community recover, and transform – making Newtown feel like home again, safe and well. Forever.
For more information on the Newtown Pride squad visit their Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/NewtownPrideFC
More About The Cause:
Newtown Parent Connection is a non-profit organization serving Newtown, CT since 1993. Newtown Parent Connection has a vision to plan, build, and finance a PERMANENT wellness, prevention, and recovery support infrastructure for ALL of the young people and families in our community who were directly or indirectly impacted by the traumatic events of 12-14-12.
Experts, along with well-founded research, tell us that those who have been exposed or connected to this type of childhood trauma are at higher risk for potentially adverse behavior, mental illness, and substance use problems as they age:http://www.samhsa.gov/children/earlychildhood_trauma_resources.asp
The knowledge of this evidence demands long-term thinking and planning for our community. We must put into place the necessary elements of lasting community-based support.
What We Plan To Do With Your Support:
To build a lasting plan 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years down the road for Newtown, we must increase NPC’s local organization’s capacity for Community Education, and Non-Clinical Support Services throughout the community.
Through your support on this campaign we will expand our capacity to deliver and grow the following programs:
- Having The Necessary Conversations, Educational Forums, and Community Information Available To Residents.
- Growing The Non-Clinical Community Supports Available For Families of Newtown (Parents-To-Parents).
- Growing The Non-Clinical Community Supports Available For Young People of Newtown (Peer-To-Peer).
Saturday, April 20, 2013
In the Midst of a Recovery Revolution.
What are Recovery Support Services?
Recovery Support Services (RSS) are social vehicles for recovery. These non-clinical services often operate to initiate or support recovery in conjunction with the work of formal treatment or other existing mutual aid groups. (SAMHSA, 2007)
Types of Recovery Support Service Providers:
Recovery support services are typically provided by volunteers or paid staff familiar with their community’s support for people seeking to live free of alcohol and drugs. Providers of RSS include:
PEERS - Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) are designed and provided by peers who have gained both practical experience in the process of recovery and the wisdom of how to sustain it. PRSS expand the capacity of formal treatment systems by promoting the initiation of recovery, preventing relapse, and intervening early with relapse occurs. PRSS provide four types of recovery support: emotional support; information support; instrumental support; and, affiliational support. (SAMHSA, An RCSP Conference Report, 2006)
FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS - Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) provide services within the context of a religious framework of beliefs and rituals. These services may or may not be peer-driven, and can be used as an adjunct to treatment or as an alternative to treatment. With the adoption of the “Charitable Choice”laws and voucher programs such as Access to Recovery (ATR), faith-based organizations are now able to be enlisted to provide more focused RSS services.
CLINICAL STAFF - Clinically supervised recovery support services are delivered by personnel who are trained for specific recovery support services positions within treatment agencies or other systems. As part of ROSC, such recovery support staff assists in the implementation of aftercare and assertive continuing care and may also serve as recovery coaches or case managers.
RecoveringYour Life
April 2013
Recovering Your Life
by Tim Murphy reposted from poz.com
Substance abuse fuels HIV rates—and is prevalent among people with HIV—but it can be overcome.
Click here to read a digital edition of this article.
In 2012, viewers of NBC’s hit show The Voice heard Jamar Rogers blow the roof off his version of “Seven-Nation Army” by the White Stripes, earning him a spot on judge Cee Lo Green’s team and a journey that took him to semifinalist. Viewers also heard the story of how Rogers rebounded from a longtime crystal-meth addiction and an HIV-positive diagnosis in 2006 to a new life as a pro singer. His brave disclosure made headlines around the world.
But the story the slickly packaged show didn’t have time for was just how the brutal addiction led the 31-year-old belter to getting HIV—and how, since he tested positive for the virus, he has had to struggle daily to keep drugs out of his starry new life.
“My biggest hurdle is still pot,” said Rogers from his new home of Los Angeles, where he keeps busy with numerous appearances and the release in February of Projector, his latest album. His single “High” was inspired by his struggles with addiction. “My one goal is to get off [marijuana] completely. I don’t want it to be the first thing I run to anymore whenever I get stressed out.”
Rogers shared with POZ how his itinerant childhood and early sexual abuse led him into heavy drug use as young as his teens. By the mid-2000s, when he was living in Atlanta, daily crystal-meth injections had reduced him from a fun-loving club kid to a hollow-eyed scarecrow living in a crack house, covered in boils he later learned were MRSA, a dangerous form of staph infection. When he showed up for the birth of his wife’s child by another man, he went into the hospital bathroom to get high. He emerged with his hands shaking so badly he couldn’t cut the baby’s umbilical cord.
Only a few months later, deathly ill in the hospital, he was finally diagnosed with the virus. He had a paltry five CD4 cells. “I was freezing cold, I had thrush in my mouth—I had some 1980s shit going on!” he laughs today. Rogers, who identifies as bisexual, says he doesn’t know if he got HIV from having unsafe sex or sharing needles, but the diagnosis was the kick in the pants he needed not only to get on HIV meds and regain his health, but also to finally get clean. He and his wife moved to Milwaukee, where he started singing for a church that knew and accepted his whole life story.
A few years later, single and aiming for fame in New York City, he plunged into a new church, volunteered for people with HIV/AIDS and attended 12-step meetings with other recovering alcoholics and addicts. “I found love and community in church, but in 12-step meetings I heard other people’s stories like my own—and I got to do service in the group,” he says.
Despite a life filled with spirituality and sober support, Rogers had a small meth relapse while still in New York City, and there’s his continuing struggle with marijuana. “I have my daily communication with God,” he says. “I spent 30 minutes talking to Him before this interview asking what I should say.”Rogers is on a journey—to live fully and healthy with HIV after addiction. “When I found out I was HIV positive,” he says, “a small whisper inside me said, ‘You’re going to be OK.’ And I vowed I’d do whatever I had to do to survive this.”
Rogers’s journey is one that many HIV-positive folks find themselves on. According to a 2010 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report, nearly 25 percent of Americans with HIV/AIDS were in need of treatment for alcohol or illicit drug use. Meanwhile, according to a 2011 SAMHSA report, less than 10 percent of the population at large had substance dependence over the past decade.
Why are rates so much higher among people with HIV? “Substance use is a coping reaction for many people with HIV,” says Perry Halkitis, PhD, a New York University professor who has spent years studying drug use in HIV-positive people and has written a forthcoming book, The AIDS Generation, on the topic. “Living with HIV isn’t just a medical condition. It’s an emotional and social reality, and substance use ameliorates the negative feelings around it. We can say there’s no stigma around having HIV, but there is. And people who have been HIV positive for decades often have a lifetime of trauma to deal with. Using is an easy fix to confront those negative states.”
Just ask “K.T.,” a 53-year-old African-American Atlanta woman who was shooting drugs when she learned she had HIV in 1987, back when the diagnosis was widely seen as a death sentence. “If I hadn’t been doing drugs when I found out, I’d have lost my mind,” she says. “At the time, it helped me numb the news.” She’s been clean two years now.
But an anesthetic is not a real fix for coping with HIV—what’s more, it can make HIV worse. Numerous studies have found that excessive drinking and drug use are harmful to the physical and cognitive health of people with HIV, not to mention that they are frequent deterrents to taking prescribed medications, HIV-related and otherwise.
In recent years, experts and the media have caught on to the high rates of crystal meth use among HIV-positive gay and/or bisexual men such as Rogers. Last December, many viewers of the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague, about the members of ACT UP and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) who pushed for effective HIV treatment in the late 1980s and early ’90s, were dismayed to learn that Spencer Cox, one of the HIV-positive activists featured in the film, had died of AIDS-related complications after not taking his HIV medications. For years, Cox had struggled with a crystal meth addiction. Mark Harrington, a colleague of Cox and the executive director of TAG, told The New York Times after his death, “He saved the lives of millions, but he couldn’t save his own.”
Cox’s death especially moved Mark S. King of Atlanta, who writes My Fabulous Disease, a sassy blog about living with HIV. King, 52, started writing soon after he tested positive in 1985. He made it to the protease age by throwing himself into spirituality and AIDS services work, only to plunge into the meth- and muscle-driven gay circuit-party world in the late ’90s.
“It felt like a celebration and freedom and escape after all I had been through, watching friends die,” he says. “But the drugs became more and more important until I wouldn’t even go to parties anymore. I became an isolated, pathetic daily injection drug user.” Since then, his life has been an up-and-down struggle to break free of the grip of crystal. At press time, he had been six months clean, thanks, he said, to 12-step meetings and the therapeutic benefits of blogging.
In New Orleans, Michael Weber, 57, has a similar story. He’s the first to admit he has always had addictive tendencies. “My first drink when I was 16 turned into a blackout,” he jokes. But when his longtime lover, Dennis, died of AIDS in 1990, Weber plunged into a 19-year abyss of addiction—first heavy drinking, coke and pot, then, starting in 2005, meth. “I never dealt with his death,” he says. “I did nothing right in my grieving, never saw a therapist.” He also didn’t bother getting an HIV test of his own all those years, even though he was virtually certain he was positive, because he and Dennis had always had unprotected sex. Weber learned he was positive in 2007, when, in a strange irony, his own drug dealer dragged him to an outpatient rehab program at the city’s N.O. AIDS Task Force. That program, and the 12-step meetings that followed, was the start of his road back to life. Today, he is four years clean and sober; he’s also the events coordinator for N.O. AIDS. “I wish Dennis could see the person I am now,” he says.
But of course, gay men like King and Weber are not the only HIV-positive folks who struggle with addiction. “One of the hardest HIV populations to keep in drug treatment is women,” says Moneta Sinclair, who heads addiction services at Atlanta’s HIV agency Positive Impact. “They tend to be caretakers for everyone but themselves. And often there’s low self-esteem involved, a connection to some other person supporting their drug habit.”
Low self-esteem, in fact, was one of the factors that led to cocaine and heroin addiction for Lynn Morrow, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina. She used for years until she ended up at a state addiction treatment center in 1999, where she learned she was HIV positive. But even after she left the center, she kept on using, until seven years ago.
“Finally I accepted that I was an addict and asked for help,” Morrow says. Two years ago, she went back to a treatment center, this time for addiction to prescription painkillers. Today, she stays clean with a combination of 12-step meetings, Bible study, taking care of her grandson, Bryant, and fun stuff like shooting pool and watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. In meetings, she says, “I hear what other people have to go through—and I think, ‘If they can go through that not having to use drugs, I can too.’”
Identifying addiction as a major problem for many people with HIV is one thing. It’s another to address it. Some positive folks, like Rogers, have found that they can continue to use some substances, like pot or an occasional beer or two, without the devastating health and social consequences of other substances, such as crystal meth. Others have found a path to giving up all substances through the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Crystal Meth Anonymous and other 12-step programs, which abound in large and midsize cities and hold at least a skeletal presence in small ones and suburban areas. In those meetings, says Morrow, “You got people who share their stories, and you all got one thing in common—you’re addicts.” That common bond is the glue that keeps many coming back to 12-step meetings. “When I was drinking and drugging, there was nobody in my life who cared about me,” Weber says. “It’s amazing to have a community of sober friends now.”But the 12-step model is not for everyone. It’s the gold standard of long-term recovery, says Cathy Reback, PhD, a senior research scientist at Baltimore’s Friends Research Institute, where she studies addiction and treatment in gay men and transgender women at high risk for HIV, “but it doesn’t work for everybody, and people who don’t embrace it shouldn’t be denied a treatment opportunity.” In many 12-step programs, there is a strong belief that one must “surrender” one’s will to God, or a “Higher Power,” in order to get clean or sober. However, many people who go to 12-step meetings are turned off by the religious tone of some meetings and the fact that some 12-step programs use literature that heavily contains references to God.
That’s the case with “Benn,” 56, a gay male government worker in Charlotte, North Carolina, diagnosed with HIV in 1996 and clean from crystal meth and all other substances for five years now. Benn says that the 12-step model helped him get clean. “If it hadn’t been for Crystal Meth Anonymous’s rigid and unwavering rules, I wouldn’t have made it,” he says. “It had to be all or nothing, by the book, doing my steps, working with a sponsor.” But five years later, says Benn, he’s come to chafe at the program’s religiosity. “I was raised Southern Baptist, but there’s more prayer in a lot of the meetings than I’m comfortable with. Some of them end with the Lord’s Prayer.”
He continues to go to meetings for now because he acknowledges that they work. He’s also looking into starting a 12-step meeting for agnostics and/or atheists. Such meetings already exist in many cities. And recently he cofounded an informal addiction and recovery support group at his HIV care provider, Charlotte’s Rosedale Infectious Diseases. His cofounder, Wesley Thompson, a physician’s assistant there, says the group is small but growing. “There are no religious overtones,” says Thompson, while acknowledging that 12-step meetings are highly effective for many. “It’s a place for open discussions. People will say, ‘I have HIV and I couldn’t perform sexually because I thought no one would want to touch me, but when I did crystal, I wasn’t afraid to be touched.’” Thompson believes that drug users must get in touch with their root reasons for using before they can work toward stopping.
As for Weber, he says that in order to make AA work for him he had to embrace spirituality beyond the idea of the standard Charlton Heston white male God. “Once in a meeting, I heard somebody say, ‘I don’t believe in that guy on the cross, but I know there’s something out there greater than me.’ When I realized I didn’t have to put a face on God or call it Jesus, I started to feel the presence of something.”
Most folks agree that, 12-step or otherwise, the key to recovery is to become part of a supportive community larger than oneself. That’s worked wonders for K.T. in Atlanta, who finds community in NA meetings, at her church and at SisterLove, a 21-year-old Atlanta agency that serves women living with, or at risk for, HIV/AIDS. “My positive sisters always let me know when they have something going on,” she says. “We make jewelry together, listen to music, have a bite or two, go on a little trip. I’m a firm believer in keeping hope alive.”
But in the same breath, K.T. mentions something that many HIV-positive people in recovery struggle with—how to let go and have fun, not to mention find intimacy, sex and love without the crutch of substances. “I like dancing, but I don’t have anyone to take me,” she says. She adds that she might finally be ready to look for companionship on sites like POZ Personals or even to simply go out and hit the dance floor with her HIV-positive girl-crew.
Weber struggles with the same issues. “I haven’t dated in four years,” he says. “I’d like to, [but] New Orleans is a huge party town. I have to be very careful who I let into my life.” For now, he socializes through his work and his 12-step buddies, and he’s looking to take art classes. But down the line, he says, “I might have to move to a bigger city with a deeper gene pool. I’m free to explore and take risks now that I’m sober.”
The bottom line? “Find whatever resources are available in your community,” Reback says. “If you’re in a rural environment whose only 12-step meetings have religious overtones, you just might have to put up with that to hear the message underneath.” Reach out to friends, family, doctors, therapists, faith groups, online support networks, your local HIV/AIDS agency—anywhere you feel safe and secure admitting you have a problem.
After all, comebacks start by asking for help. Jamar Rogers knows that. For him, a journey that began in a hospital room led to his deciding to go public with his struggles as a means of giving hope to others. “Between taping my disclosure and it airing publicly, I was a wreck,” he says. “I fell into a depression. Then the day after the show aired, I was running to the bank in New York and a Puerto Rican guy recognized me and said, ‘Hey papi, I’m an ex-heroin addict, and I’ve been living with HIV for 25 years.’ I thought to myself, ‘OK, I did the right thing.’”
Breaking the Cycle
Steps you can take toward cracking addiction’s grip.
TEST YOURSELF
See if you can control your use by having only one drink a night—or smoking pot just once a week. If you can’t, or if it’s torture to do so, you might need help. Quizzes at alcoholscreening.org andaddictionnomore.com can also help you answer that question.
TRY HARM REDUCTION
Not yet willing or able to stop drinking or using completely? You can still try to minimize its effect on your health and HIV management. Start by being honest with your doctor and/or therapist about your use. And learn more at harmreduction.org.
REACH OUT FOR HELP
For a list of HIV/AIDS centers near you, type your ZIP code intodirectory.poz.com. One may have counselors or groups for substance problems. There’s always good old-fashioned Alcoholics Anonymous (aa.org), Narcotics Anonymous (na.org) and 12-step groups for addictions ranging from meth to pot to compulsive sex. Turned off by 12-step? Try the leading alternative: smartrecovery.org.
GO AWAY
Maybe you need to go away to rehab to jump-start your recovery. The fun, newsy addiction website thefix.com includes rehab reviews and has a free rehab helpline at 1.888.GET.FIXED.
FIND YOUR BLISS
What’s the point of getting clean or sober if you’re going to mope? Sure, life after addiction has its ups and downs—but it’s a great chance to learn what really brings you joy. As if channeling Oprah Winfrey, Jamar Rogers says: “Let’s live our best lives!"
Friday, April 19, 2013
Shift- A Peer Recovery Network
Shift is a peer recovery network supporting dynamic recovery paths by uniting our LGBTQ community to experience freedom through empowerment.
Addiction can feel like a prison, devoid of hope, light, joy, and companions. It is our goal as LGBTQ peers in recovery to journey with you on your path of recovery, whatever that may be. The variety of peer-led events and services provides opportunities to grow and thrive in a safe environment, allowing you to tap into your own unique strengths while learning from those around you. Join us as we travel the many paths of recovery, striving toward liberation and a new life.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Sobriety is Lookin Good
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK STAR, BRADLEY COOPER, 7 YEARS CLEAN AND SOBER: "I DON'T DRINK OR DO DRUGS AT ALL ANYMORE."
Written by DeShawn McQueen on Tuesday, 05 February 2013. Posted in Celebrities, Voices in Recovery, Breaking News
"Being sober helps a great deal." Apparently it does, as Cooper immediately became a breakout sensation the year he became clean and sober, back in 2005.
Speaking of 2005, that was the same year that Cooper starred alongside Vince Vaughn and one of the Wilson brothers in the hilarious comedy, "Wedding Crashers."
Cooper then followed up with hits like A-Team, Limitless (which I loved), The Hangover (funny), The Words (breathtaking), and most recently, Silver Linings Playbook (valiantly performed).
In the latter, Silver Linings Playbook, Cooper convincingly portrays a near defeated Bi-Polar male, who undergoes treatment and triumphantly fights his way back from the brink.
If you did not know, of course Cooper has been nominated for an Academy Award for his performance! I look forward to February 24, two days before the three day California Bar Examination, when I presume Cooper with walk away with Oscar!
With that said, although it is clear that Cooper is living the promises, it was not always that way.
In fact, Cooper battled with alcoholism and drug addiction his entire twenties while he was a struggling actor.
Cooper has openly and publicly discussed that he realized that he was an alcoholic when during a substance induced moment he bashed his head into the concrete.
To make a long story short he spent the evening in the hospital, where he underwent a procedure to have his forehead stitched.
As I have said before, that is all ancient history as the legend in the making is taking Hollywood by storm, one sober day at a time.
For all you newly sober people out there, please stick with sobriety; your dreams are bound to come true!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Renew Magazine for the Addiction and Recovery Community | Renew Everyday
Connect 2 Recovery Colorado supports recovery oriented media such as...
Renew Magazine
Here at Renew, we’ve got big plans for 2013. As of January 2012, we are moving entirely online, making
the new Renew 100 percent digital, shareable and interactive
What does this mean for you?
Lower Cost. Instead of $24.95, you will now receive a full year of Renew for only $15.95. That’s only $3.99 an issue and nearly $10 in savings we’re passing on to you! Plus, as a current subscriber, you’ll also receive access to the complete Renew archives (2 years of content!) and an additional year of Renew free, just for reading.
Better Product. We’re moving to a seasonal schedule, sending you four big issues a year packed with more celebrity interviews, inspirational stories, recovery resources and expert tips than ever before.
Mission-Driven Design. The most noble goal we can have in recovery is to help others who still need to find it. With the new digital format, you can share stories or even entire issues of Renew with friends and family online. Our content will be enriched with interactive features and social media compatibility, making it easy to interact with our recovery community and spread the word to help others in need.
These are big changes and making them wasn’t an easy decision. Ultimately, we wanted to keep costs low and the value high for you, our valued subscribers, while enhancing your recovery experience with Renew.
If you are a current subscriber, your email address you initially subscribed to Renew with will act as your passport to Renew's digital edition. Use it for your USERNAME and PASSWORD. Click here to login and read. Please change your password following your first login.
If you do not remember your email address when subscribing or did not provide us with one, please confirm your purchase with your First and Last name to info@reneweveryday.com and provide a valid email address.
We believe strongly in the power of change and the need to make Renew a resource for everyone looking for recovery, enjoying it, or supporting a loved one on their journey to health.
Renew Magazine for the Addiction and Recovery Community | Renew Everyday
and catch up with Renew Everyday on Youtube...
Renew Magazine
Here at Renew, we’ve got big plans for 2013. As of January 2012, we are moving entirely online, making
What does this mean for you?
Lower Cost. Instead of $24.95, you will now receive a full year of Renew for only $15.95. That’s only $3.99 an issue and nearly $10 in savings we’re passing on to you! Plus, as a current subscriber, you’ll also receive access to the complete Renew archives (2 years of content!) and an additional year of Renew free, just for reading.
Better Product. We’re moving to a seasonal schedule, sending you four big issues a year packed with more celebrity interviews, inspirational stories, recovery resources and expert tips than ever before.
Mission-Driven Design. The most noble goal we can have in recovery is to help others who still need to find it. With the new digital format, you can share stories or even entire issues of Renew with friends and family online. Our content will be enriched with interactive features and social media compatibility, making it easy to interact with our recovery community and spread the word to help others in need.
These are big changes and making them wasn’t an easy decision. Ultimately, we wanted to keep costs low and the value high for you, our valued subscribers, while enhancing your recovery experience with Renew.
If you are a current subscriber, your email address you initially subscribed to Renew with will act as your passport to Renew's digital edition. Use it for your USERNAME and PASSWORD. Click here to login and read. Please change your password following your first login.
If you do not remember your email address when subscribing or did not provide us with one, please confirm your purchase with your First and Last name to info@reneweveryday.com and provide a valid email address.
We believe strongly in the power of change and the need to make Renew a resource for everyone looking for recovery, enjoying it, or supporting a loved one on their journey to health.
Renew Magazine for the Addiction and Recovery Community | Renew Everyday
and catch up with Renew Everyday on Youtube...
Monday, April 15, 2013
Legends in the Rooms: Chuck C
Legends in the Rooms: Chuck C.
We're All God's Kids: A New Pair of Glasses helped to define what AA was really about....
By Daniel Isanov reprinted from thefix.com
For me, this concept revolutionized my approach to life. It gave me a way to behave. Love was an action.
At the time I first read A New Pair of Glasses, I was listening in meetings for evidence of my future. I had surrendered to my alcoholism, and the jerk who walked in the door had been given the grace to accept that if his life never got any better than smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee inside of AA meetings, well, that would be just fine. It was better than the horror show he had just left behind by a factor of about a billion.
And yet. What do you do between meetings? How do you support yourself and—let’s be honest—how do you fill your time? It was one thing to be an AA soldier, and it was another thing to be one of the men and women who actually had a life in the aftermath of alcoholism. What Chuck proposed was a very different way of thinking about God and spirituality than I had seriously considered. I was washed up on shore and just grateful that none of the natives were beating me. He gave me ground to stand on. He gave me hope.
read the rest of the article at TheFix.comhttp://www.thefix.com/content/legends-rooms-chuck-c2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Greg Williams Shows Us Hope
"We cannot change the whole world. We cannot make everyone's situation what we perhaps would like it to be. But if we just try, one life at a time, to show others that there is hope, that others do care, perhaps the world will change around us in ways that we may never see, or truly understand. Improving the human condition one life at a time: This is our story of hope."
-Author Unknown, in Maggie Oman Shannon, Prayers for Hope and Comfort
C2R Colorado would like to congratulate Greg Williams and his film "The Anonoymous People" on their debut in Connecticut this weekend. The spirit of Mr. Williams work is destined to live well beyond this particular year. Voices like his that continue to underline the fact that recovery is a practical and evidence-based solution to the overwhelming global problem of addiction will truly change our world. Look for Greg Williams and his film "The Anonymous People" to premier in Denver on May 31st.
Friday, April 12, 2013
CCAR Recovery Coach Academy in the News
Innovative CCAR Recovery Coach Academy™ Trains 2,100 Coaches Nationwide: Creator of the Original RCA Has Impact in 28 States since 2008
Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery™ announced that it has trained more than 2,100 recovery coaches nationwide through its CCAR Recovery Coach Academy™, the first peer-based recovery coaching and training program designed for those interested in guiding individuals into and through long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction. (read more)
CCAR Recovery Coach Academy Testimonials from CT Community For Addiction Recov on Vimeo.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Perseverence........... Gotta Get Through This
artist case maclaim- baton rouge museum of street art
Emotional Management
There is no feeling without a thought. There is no feeling or thought without a corresponding physical response. We are not many. We are one.
It is a mistake for any of us to so divide ourselves into segments that we lose the sense of ourselves as holistic beings. There is no thought without a feeling. However by singling out a specific aspect of how we as people function, in this case the emotions, specific care can be given on that aspect. Feelings have the power to both take us to heaven and pitch us into hell. Feelings are perfectly capable of telling us the saving truth as well as sending us on the road to destruction. Feelings are powerful. As with all powerful things the task is to control and manage that power so it works to the person’s benefit.
Feelings must be understood for what they are and where they originate if the person experiencing them is to gain a life of sobriety, balance and serenity.... Earnie Larsen
Now and again, C2R Colorado will post music that inspires our recovery. Today we salute a 90s tune from across the pond written and performed by Daniel Bedingfield. Most of our biggest challenges in recovery have been working through our emotions. Maybe that's why they call it emotional sobriety.
I gotta get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta make it, gonna make, gonna make it through
Said I'm gonna get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta take my, gotta take my mind off you
Give me just a second and I'll be all right
Surely one more moment couldn't break my heart
Give me 'til tomorrow then I'll be okay
Just another day and then I'll hold you tight
When your love is pouring like the rain
I close my eyes and it's gone again
When will I get the chance to say I love you
I pretend that you're already mine
Then my heart ain't breaking every time
I look into your eyes
If only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
God, God gotta help me get through this
If only I could get through this
God, God gotta help me get through this
If only I could get through this
God, God gotta help me get through this
If only I could get through this....
lyrics.. daniel bedingfield
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Gabor Mate in Denver with LifeRing
LifeRing Annual Meeting 2013
Every year LifeRing holds an Annual Meeting, inviting all convenors, delegates to the LifeRing Congress and interested members to gather together to meet one another, hear presentations by highly regarded professionals in the Recovery area, and to discuss LifeRing’s progress. The meeting is held over a weekend each Spring and includes the Congress in which elected delegates choose who is to serve on the Board of Directors, and which, if any, changes to the LifeRing bylaws will be accepted.
This year, the meeting is set for Denver, Colorado and will run from May 31 through June 2. Denver has the largest concentration of LifeRing meetings and members outside of California. The annual get-t0gether has been held there twice before with great success.
This year, we’re particularly excited to have arranged for Dr. Gabor Mate to be our main speaker. Mate has written several books, including a seminal and prize-winning work, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, which draws on his years of experience as a medical doctor, particularly his work at a clinic in a part of downtown Vancouver, Canada, with substantial numbers of drug and alcohol addicts. Having a speaker of Dr. Mate’s stature is unusual for us and involves higher-than-usual expenses, so there will be an extra charge for those who wish to hear his presentation. He is widely regarded as a fine speaker, “known for the power, insight, clarity, candor, compassion, humor, and warmth of his presentations.”.... more information here...Monday, April 8, 2013
Recovering with Pride
someone's else's issue
become your shame
Apr 02, 2013... by Jeff Zacharias reposted from Renew Every Day Magazine
Times are changing and there’s heated language from both sides of the debate. Much of that language has been divisive and if you’re a member of the LGBT community, it can have a deep impact both mentally and emotionally.
How do you feel if you’re called any number of derogatory names and what’s the long-term impact on your well-being? For individuals who are not only LGB,T but also impacted by addiction -- in recovery or not -- there is likely an increase in the level of shame they hold due to the impact of these issues.
“I’m not only LGBT, but an addict and/or alcoholic as well," they may tell themselves. "I must really be a terrible person! Who could possibly care about me?”
A word of advice if this resonates with you: You don’t have to own anyone else’s thoughts, feelings or words! Yes you are gay and also dealing with an addiction; yet you’re no more or no less than anyone else.
Now, this is easier said than done, I understand. But again, don’t personalize, don’t own someone else’s stuff. It’s enough just to carry your own shame about what you’ve done,particularly when in active addiction, but shame is a silent killer. It wants you to believe that you’re somehow flawed deeply in your core; that you’re not good enough; that you’re not worthy. For someone who’s both LGBT and dealing with an addiction, you get a double whammy.
Addiction often stems from someone trying to manage his or her feelings of guilt and shame, some of which may be partly due to being LGBT. Being under the influence makes it so you don’t have to look at what’s going on inside, nor examine feelings related to who you are at the core. The deceiving part of addiction is that when you sober up, guess what’s waiting on you?: the original feelings of shame, most likely compounded by even more shame for things that you may have done while in your addiction which leads to twice as much shame. The cycle continues and worsens but there is hope. It is possible to be LGBT, clean, sober and lead the amazing life you’ve dreamed about.
The amazing thing is that being LGBT is more widely accepted now than ever before. Additionally (and unfortunately), there is addiction in every single family, so people are becoming more aware of, and more sensitive to, it. There are tons of people out there who will love and accept you, just as you are. There are lots of LGBT individuals in recovery: All you have to do is look around and ask for help, love, support and acceptance. It exists and the possibilities are endless for LGBT individuals to gain acceptance on all levels for who they are – LGBT and dealing with addiction.
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