The Key to Sustained Recovery

In counseling clients with alcohol and drug problems, I begin with a very simple challenge as the key to sustained recovery: Will you still be practicing the changes we implement now in a year from now when no one is looking over your shoulder, when it's just you and the mirror. Unfortunately, many fail.

The clients who succeed understand that recovery is not about talking a good game, it's about making changes that are not messed with - EVER. "Yeah, I'm not going to hang out with my drug buddies anymore" is very simple to say and 100 times more difficult to actually do. Those who are driven to succeed have no problem making this change. Those who have not suffered enough negative consequences from their alcohol or drug abuse usually go right back to their old habits as soon as counseling or probation is terminated.

Much of this has to do with failing to accept the reality of their problem, or in other words maintaining their denial over it. An individual is more accepting of the changes that need to be made once he or she has effectively dealt with the reality of their substance abuse problem. For a free online screening to help you or someone you know determine if alcohol or drugs is becoming a problem go to this url: www.drugscreening.org.

The results of such screenings are only the beginning. Don't forget: awareness is great, but awareness does not equal recovery. Awareness plus Action equals recovery. What are some actions? For starters:

Not associating with negative influences.
Refusing to be around your drug of choice at all times.
Becoming aware of your favorite denial and attacking it when it surfaces.
Learning about relapse triggers and avoiding them when possible.
Living a healthier life to reduce drug cravings: having healthy diet and exercising.
Associating with positive influences.
Learning about 12 Step meetings and using them to aid your recovery.
Knowing who to call and what to do if you feel like using or after you do use.

Change is not easy. What is your plan?

Do Not Tolerate Bullying in Summer Camp

As summer vacation approaches and you arrange for your kids to go to summer camp, please beware! Improperly supervised campers are at a high risk for bullying. For a great synopsis on summer camp bullying, copy and paste following link into your browser for an article by Dr. Joel Haber, PhD.:

http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2006/Feb/html/camps-raisingawareness.htm

Camp can be fun but lets face it: camp is generally very spread out and kids who are mean have more opportunity than at school to bully. Young campers are usually directly supervised by a Counselor who is a teenager. Teen Counselors may not be very invested in preventing bullying behaviors among their small group of campers and may even consider it as innocent teasing or "kids being kids."

Keep the lines of communication open with your child. Ask questions! Review the day when they get home and specifically ask how they like their counselor. If a problem occurs do not hesitate to contact the camp director. Use the Bullystoppers.com reporting tool to report camp bullying if necessary. Summer vacation should be fun - don't let bullying make it a nightmare for your child.

Should Governor Corzine Resign?

On April 12, 2007, NJ Governor Jon Corzine's SUV hit a guard rail at 90 plus MPH while in rout to a meeting between fired talk show host Don Imus and the Rutger's Women's Basketball Team. There are a number of problems that occurred as a result of this accident, listed as follows:

1. The Governor's driver was speeding in excess of 25 MPH over the speed limit, creating a dangerous situation not only for the occupants of the SUV, but other drivers on the road as well. The Governor was not in rout to address a state emergency or a crisis. He was trying to avoid being late for the start of a meeting in which he was not a participant in and that could have started without him.

2. The Governor was not wearing his seat belt. This resulted in very critical injuries including a multiple and compound fracture of his leg and breast bone and multiple rib fractures. The medical staff who treated his injuries stated he was lucky to be alive.

3. A law enforcment offical was quoted as saying Governor Corzine has refused to wear his seat belt in the past despite the attempts of his drivers to get him to do so. For the record his drivers are NJ State Troopers. Tom Shea, the Governor's own Cheif of Staff was quoted by several news sources as saying "Those of you who know Governor Corzine know he's not always amenable to suggestion."

Not always amenable to the suggestion? Certainly the seat belt law is controverial. Certainly many people take the position that the state may be going a bit too far with the seat belt law. Certainly, the Governor should resign. That's right, resign. As a counselor working with young people, I am very concerned about the Governor's hypocrisy and its ripple effect on New Jersey teens. If the Governor can make public his intentions not to adhere to this state law, why should any young New Jersey teen feel compeled to do different? Teens know that he was not citizen Corzine at the time of the offense. He was on the clock as Governor, in route to the meeting mentioned above.

It is hard enough for professionals and parents to help teens overcome the many irresponsible impulses characteristic of this developmental period. Why should a hypocritcal Governor make their job any tougher? He shouldn't. In this counselor's opinion, when the executive head of a state publically declares he does not follow a law, any law, that person should not hold office. It's a matter of principle. If this is not addressed in an effective manner, will future NJ governors be more likely to ignore laws they don't personally like as citizens?