Humans everywhere create and rely on concepts of time- ideas about the nature of time that allow us to make plans, share memories and discuss possible futures. How does our perception of time impact us and the decisions we make and the way we run our lives? Demonstrations of time dilation on the Space Shuttle proved that clocks ran slightly slower than reference clocks on Earth. Atomic clocks on satellites appear to run faster. In most cultures, time is expressed in spatial metaphors, but these expressions are not universal – they are products of our culture, language and environment. Many cultures express the future as being ahead of them, but for some cultures, it is expressed as being behind them. We don’t really have a complete understanding of time and how it functions nor is our concept of time universal. Our understanding of time is based purely on our own experience of it on Earth. What does this mean for recovering addicts where for many of us, the past is where anger and resentment come from and the future is where fear and anxiety are based? We cannot suspend time nor dismiss it but learning to live in the moment helps us to cope.
I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I enjoyed the discussion.
This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment.
The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to
search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.
Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
The most respected people in the Gulags and the concentration camps were the people who told the truth, regardless of the consequences to themselves. Are we, as addicts, capable of evaluating and drawing conclusions about what is truth and what is not and how does the way an individual defines the truth for themselves impact on their own community ? Do we only tell the truth when it is convenient to us ? Do we look for convenience in our lives or meaning ? If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting the same results. The objective in recovery is to change. Changing myself means evaluating myself and my emotions truthfully.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning .
I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I enjoyed the discussion.
This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.
Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
Rehab – it’s a word that has the potential to conjure up a range of mixed emotions. Rehabilitation centres are portrayed by the media in different ways, some of them more accurate than others. Unfortunately, due to the stigma around addiction, rehab can have a negative perception attached to it, which may deter people from initiating the process. What we aim to do in this article is to outline some of the aspects of an in-patient program as a way of preparing potential clients and their families for the recovery process.
Detox and
Withdrawal
Depending on the type and quantity of the substances
that a client has used, he/she will undergo a detox process as the body
withdraws from the effects of drugs and alcohol. The extent of this detox
varies from person-to-person. What you can expect is that a medical physician
will be appointed to the client, to monitor their wellbeing and ensure that the
physical side effects of withdrawal can be overcome.
Information
Sessions
Clients who book into rehabilitation centres will be empowered through knowledge around aspects such as the disease theory of addiction, what life in recovery entails as well as the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual impact of addiction. During these sessions, clients will have a chance to engage with their peers and ask questions in an open and inclusive forum. Awareness alone however, is not the key to long-term recovery, which is why rehabilitation centres take a multi-pronged approach to treatment.
One-on-One
Counselling
Every client is assigned a counsellor at the onset of
his/her treatment process. That counsellor will guide the client through the
recovery process, talk about deep-seated issues and help to unpack their
addictive thought patterns. Clients respond differently to counselling. While
some may be resistant to the process, it quickly becomes clear that opening up
and sharing with someone who can be trusted, is integral to getting and feeling
better.
Group Therapy
Group therapy involves a counsellor or group facilitator
hosting a session in which clients are invited to participate. Active
participation is encouraged. In this environment, clients can challenge each
other, share their experience and learn from the experience of others. Group
therapy has proven extremely effective in the treatment of addiction.
Introduction to
the 12-Step Fellowships
After treatment, one of the most effective ways of
staying clean and sober and finding a new way of life, is found in the rooms of
Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. South Africa has strong
fellowships within NA and AA, with members who are readily available to provide
free support for people who have entered recovery. Rehabilitation centres will
ensure that clients attend these meetings during treatment in order to start
building valuable connections with others in recovery.
These aspects of the rehabilitation process are not exhaustive. Our programme is comprehensive and based on years of experience and collective expertise in the field. If you or a loved one is in need of treatment from drug or alcohol addiction, contact us for a free consultation and we’ll support you in your recovery journey.
No Obligation Addiction Assessment
Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
The Relationship between Addiction, Alcoholism and Violence
17 September, 2019Articles, News
Drug and alcohol abuse have complicated effects on the human mind and behaviour. As far back as 1995, the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved described the relationship between substance abuse and violence as a case of “cause and consequence.” The connection between drug addiction, alcoholism, and violence crosses many thresholds (individual psychology, public health, and domestic violence, to name a few), and is vitally important in understanding the scope of how controlled substances can affect people.
DRUGS AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR
The correlation between substance abuse and violent behaviour has been well documented. For example, the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment noted that more than 75 percent of people who begin treatment for drug addiction report having performed various acts of violence, including (but not limited to) mugging, physical assault, and using a weapon to attack another person. Examining gender differences, the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that before seeking treatment for substance abuse, the rate of violent acts was as high as 72 percent among men and 50 percent among women. People enrolling in treatment were often referred by family members because of violent behaviour carried out while under the influence.
Why is there a link between alcohol abuse and violence? In 2010, Live Science reported the results of a Scandinavian study that found the risk for violent behaviour increases with intoxication, but more so among individuals who are prone to suppressing their feelings of anger while they are sober. Testing people who reported that they were prone to burying their angry feelings, researchers observed a 5 percent increase in violent behaviour that followed a 10 percent increase in drinking to the point of getting drunk. People who didn’t work out their anger were more likely to get drunk, and that state of drunkenness was connected to a rise in the chance of engaging in violent behaviour. People who did not suppress their angry feelings did not show a similar association.
The researchers noted that “only a tiny fraction of all drinking events involve violence,” but the likelihood of being violent while drinking appeared to be based on how well people who drink can deal with their anger while they’re sober. Since drinking alcohol can lower inhibitions, compel risky behaviour, and rob people of their self-control, an individual with unreleased rage can act out when sufficiently intoxicated.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Of all the forms of violence influenced by drug addiction or alcoholism, violence toward a domestic partner may be one of the most concerning. The U.S. Department of Justice explains that the abuse in a domestic arrangement is not limited to physical acts, such as hitting, punching, slapping or pulling hair; “domestic violence,” as a legal term, can also cover sexual abuse (rape, marital rape, treating a partner in a sexually abusive and demeaning way, and molestation), emotional abuse (intentional and malicious attacks on a partner’s self-worth), and psychological abuse (controlling the partner, blackmail, threatening harm to children, violence toward pets, and intimidation).
As explained by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, violence against an intimate partner can also include stalking, social isolation (not letting an intimate partner leave the house, for example), and depriving them of resources and necessities. Various studies have identified substance abuse as a factor in 40-60 percent of incidents of domestic violence, either in precipitating the abuse or exacerbating it.
Some research has indicated that spousal abuse could be a predictor of the development of a drug addiction. Further to that point, women in abusive relationships often report that their abusive partner coerced them into engaging in alcohol and drug consumption. The American Journal of Public Health noted that substance abuse tends to be more prevalent among women who suffer domestic abuse, even among pregnant women who were victims of violence. Such is the extent of the influence of drugs and alcohol on violence that on days when substance abuse occurred- physical violence was 11 times more likely to take place.
Other research showed that more than 20 percent of male perpetrators of intimate partner abuse had used alcohol or drugs immediately before the most recent incidents of violence. Many studies have found a strong connection between excessive alcohol use and the action of partner violence, although there is not yet a consensus on the cause and effect – whether the drinking causes such men to be violent or whether the alcohol abuse is used as a way to excuse (or justify) the violence.
Unsurprisingly,
the victims of intimate partner violence tend to be mostly female – 85 percent,
according to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics. Compared to men,
women have a 5-8 times higher chance of being abused by an intimate partner.
Most of the partner abuse takes place in the home.
Violence fuelled
by drug and alcohol consumption also takes place in same-sex relationships.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals have higher rates of
substance abuse than the general population, often due to the prejudice that
many of them face in their lives, and this may manifest in violence carried out
within their domestic unions.
If you or a loved one needs help with addiction or alcholism, contact us for a consultation.
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
