Kusnacht-Zurich
Seestrasse 228
January 30, 1961

Mr. William G. Wilson
Alcoholics Anonymous
Box 459 Grand Central Station
New York 17, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Wilson,

Your letter has been very welcome indeed.

I had no news from Roland H. anymore and often wondered what has been his fate. Our conversation which he had adequately reported to you had an aspect of which he did not know. The reason, that I could not tell him everything, was that those days I had to be exceedingly careful of what I said. I had found out that I was misunderstood in every possible way. Thus I was very careful when I talked to Roland H. But what I really thought about, was the result of many experiences with men of his kind.

His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God.1

How could one formulate such an insight in a language that is not misunderstood in our days?
The only right and legitimate way to such an experience is, that it happens to you in reality and it can only happen to you when you walk on a path, which leads you to a higher understanding. You might be led to that goal by an act of grace or through a personal and honest contact with friends, or through a higher education of the mind beyond the confines of mere rationalism. I see from your letter that Roland H. has chosen the second way, which was, under the circumstances, obviously the best one.

I am strongly convinced that the evil principle prevailing in this world, leads the unrecognized spiritual need into perdition, if it is not counteracted either by a real religious insight or by the protective wall of human community. An ordinary man, not protected by an action from above and isolated in society cannot resist the power of evil, which is called very aptly the Devil. But the use of such words arouse so many mistakes that one can only keep aloof from them as much as possible.

These are the reasons why I could not give a full and sufficient explanation to Roland H. but I am risking it with you because I conclude from your very decent and honest letter, that you have acquired a point of view above the misleading platitudes, one usually hears about alcoholism.

You see, Alcohol in Latin is “spiritus” and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum.

Thanking you again for your kind letter.

I remain yours sincerely,

C.G. Jung

1″As the hart parteth after the water brooks, so
parteth my soul after thee, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)

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There are two major challenges concerning dishonesty that must be met and overcome in order to enter into a healthy recovery.

1. The dishonesty and lying has to stop. Unfortunately, for many people, this has become a habit. This behavior needs to be ‘unlearned’and the habit broken.

2. We must also overcome the fear of the consequences of once again being truthful

Being dishonest can easily become the standard of action, or way of life for most alcoholics or addicts. We deceive ourselves and we lied to others. We lie about how much we used, and how often we used.  We hid our feelings and emotions, or became distant from our relationships, perhaps not in all areas, but certainly in terms of our substance use.

We lied about where we went and what we had been doing. It’s a way of staking our claim to our right to continue drinking or using drugs. The lies, self deception, and self delusions were created for the for the purpose of allowing us to continue to use. Somehow we needed it all to make sense.

Sometimes it was not even our intention to deceive. But it is simply that our thought processes had become so clouded and confused and distorted, that our sense of reality was way off base and we no longer made sense.

Many people have discovered that there is a tendency to continue to be untruthful it just doesn’t go away when your substance abuse stops.

Technorati Tags: clean-and-sober, honesty, sober

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While there are announcements every few years that there is a new treatment in the works which will allow people to drink while eliminating the chance for addiction; as you know it’s not available yet, if indeed it ever will be.

Controlled drinking dates back to the 1930s. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous mentions it, saying essentially “The great delusion of every alcoholic is that one day he can drink again like a gentleman”.  Personally, I haven’t seen anything yet that can prevent alcohol or drug problems other than abstinence.

However, research continues into controlled drinking – but most of this research suffers from flawed methodology and reporting.  The results are also usually not reported quite as they are by the press; you can’t blame them, it does make a great story. The truth here is that no long term studies have shown controlled drinking to work for alcoholics. Now, of course those who are not dependent on alcohol can indeed cut down; but were are talking here about those who are genuinely addicted to alcohol.

If you have become dependent on alcohol, you cannot, repeat, cannot go back to simply drinking in moderation. Chemical dependency rewires your brain – you cannot simply use controlled drinking.

The myth of controlled drinking rests largely on the anecdotes about alcoholics who have managed to exercise the willpower necessary to stop drinking for a while. The reasoning is that if I can stop drinking for a month, then I can quit anytime and don’t have a drinking problem. Then these alcoholics go right back to drinking, convinced that they do not have a drinking problem. Believe me, when they stop, they’re just counting down to when they can start drinking again.

Another thing I hear (which makes me crazy, every time) is that if you aren’t ready to quit just yet, try cutting down and then quit altogether. As an addiction therapist, I know this doesn’t work. It’s like a doctor telling someone who just attempted suicide to try jumping off of a smaller building next time and work their way down.

It seems there is no escaping the fact that controlled drinking is nothing more than a myth which leads many alcoholics to delude themselves a little longer. If you want to quit using, the only way is to quit using.

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Craig Ferguson speaks on his past problems as an alcoholic and why he will not ridicule Britney Spears and her shaved head crisis. Must watch! … CBS Craig Ferguson late show speak heart Britney Spears shaved head alcoholic ridicule

Overcoming Drug and Alcohol Addiction - Curry and Wandzilak

Complete video at: fora.tv Co-authors Constance Curry and Kristina Wandzilak discuss the struggles with drug and alcohol addiction at the heart of their book, “The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter’s Worst Nightmare.” —– Constance Curry and Kristina Wandzilak talk about “The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter’s Worst Nightmare.” This riveting memoir of survival and transformation reveals the true story of a daughter’s decline into alcohol and drug addiction …

NPR: Share Your Stories of Addiction

Today, I work for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in St. Louis. Nothing makes me feel better than seeing someone get help, achieve their potential and become the person they were meant to be. ~ Dan Duncan …

Breakingthecycles.com - Changing the Conversations » Blog Archive …

It brings a new perspective to alcoholsim that I have never encountered. Jasmine Says: March 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm. Hi. It’s late but I wanted to ask a quick question: Do you recommend alternative treatments for depression if it persists …

Causes of Alcoholism| Etiology of Alcoholism| Factors leading to …

Personality factors. - Many alcohol and drug users appear to have some degree of an underlying personality disorder. A number of them possess self-indulgent tendencies or sense of inferiority which makes them incapable to face stresses …

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2.    I recognize no power as great as I am; nor any person as smart as I am, and if you don’t like it, come outside. 

3.    I made a decision to run my life and everyone else’s life suit only me, and I pity those who get in my way. 

4.    I made a searching and thorough inventory of every one other than myself, and find them woefully lacking in all respects; and I never hesitate to tell them so. 

5.    I admitted to no one, including God and myself, that there could possibly be anything wrong with me or my actions. 

6.    I went to extreme efforts to protect and increase my defects of character and I did a little drinking besides. 

7.    I continued my obnoxious and arrogant air of asking no one for anything, my Big Eye was for telling, not asking. 

8.    I kept a complete list of all persons who had harmed me, either real or imaginary, and swore to get even with them all. 

9.    I got even where possible, except when to do so might injure me. 

10.    I continued to bitch and whine about everything to everyone and, when I was right, promptly reminded them. 

11.    I sought through scheming and conniving to materially improve myself, at the expense of my fellow man.  I never hesitate, when the opportunity presents itself to bring disaster and misery to anyone who happens across my path. 

12.    Having had a complete moral, physical, financial and spiritual breakdown, all of my remaining effort was directed toward dragging those near me and dear to me down to the same depths of despair.  And I did a little drinking too.

Technorati Tags: 12 step variation, 12-steps

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How to Get a Resistant Alcoholic Or Drug Abuser In Treatment

By Mike Shery

There are compelling reasons why people become addicted to alcohol and drugs. Psychological factors are extremely powerful. The addicts conscious and unconscious cravings become the dominant software programs that run his self-destructive life.

Our brain as reflected in the day -to-day experiences of our mind is everything. Because of disorders in our brain or the way we think, the psychiatric implications of drug abuse are omnipresent, and can cause major dysfunctions in the life of the one who is addicted-and his family.

The psychological scripting or indirect hypnosis which determines the quality of the addicts lives is well known. To illustrate, if one is the child of a substance abuser it is likely that, as he grows, he will rapidly justify the use of these substances to himself and REALLY think that it is OK!

In some unintentional way, the addict has been programmed by his parents to think that since it is OK for them, it must be OK for him. He is, in effect complying with the suggestions of this powerful indirect hypnosis.

Mind-altering drugs and alcohol have a compelling, gradual, silent and insidious effect on ones brain and, consequently, the way the addict perceives his life. It is life-changing and becomes a serious brain, mind, perception and behavior problem.

Ones brain can get so accustomed to depending on these chemicals that over time it actually “talks” itself into needing them, producing various extremely compelling withdrawal symptoms in order to get the addict to feed its self-defeating and toxic cravings. The feelings and perceptions of reality created by his chemically-fed brain literally changes his reality.

Contrary to reality, his cravings and use are viewed by him as legitimate, in his control and actually life-enhancing. This addict fights treatment and feels misunderstood and unappreciated.

So what is required to overcome the psychological causes of drug and alcohol dependence on one who is in denial or refuses treatment? The answer: Getting help from a psychological counselor or interventionist; it is a tried and tested method.

Since, the addict in denial will resist any attempt to engage him in treatment, the professional help of an expert interventionist is a MUST! The professional interventionist can make it possible for the treatment-resistant addict to successfully overcome his denial of harm that has occurred to himself and his family.

Talking to a counselor or psychologist who specializes in the use of clinical interventions is a good start to finding ways to get the resistant addict to overcome his addiction. There are many excellent intervention specialists available to the families and significant others of treatment-resistant substance abusers.

The best of these will be licensed in the practice of psychology or substance abuse counseling. Even though the resistant addict will not go into a rehabilitation facility on his own, rehab facilities can be quite effective.

There, they learn how to live life without the use of mind-altering substances. The purpose of interventions is to get substance abusers out of their denial and show them the ways in which their disease is affecting the people they love the most and then, most importantly, to get them into a rehab center right away!

The goal of a professionally-led family confrontation or intervention in the home would be to break down his resistance so he will enter inpatient treatment, not tomorrow or the next day, but, immediately!

Doesn’t the drug or alcohol abuser have to want help? No, the abuser does not have to want help, however the most successful interventions occur when there have been significant destructive consequences resulting from the persons drinking or using.

These consequences are then used to show the abuser the ways in which his life has become out of control and unmanageable. Cost? It is true that inpatient treatment and the intervention itself can be expensive.

However, while the intervention itself must be paid for out-of-pocket, most alcohol and drug abuse patients will find that their health insurance will cover a substantial portion of their inpatient and treatment expenses. Do these interventions work?

It is believed an intervention has a 90-95% success rate when done under the guidance and supervision of a licensed specialist with the help of the family and friends who are close to the individual needing the intervention. They can be very successful because, although drugs and alcohol have taken over a persons life, it is still very painful for the abuser to be confronted with his/her abusive behavior and the pain it has caused to his loved ones.

A substance-abuse intervention is a last-ditch attempt by family members and friends, often in the home setting and under the guidance of a professional counselor or psychologist, to help a treatment-resistant chemically dependent person get help for his/her problem. The good news is that these interventions are often successful and can get the initially resistant patient into a drug and alcohol treatment program immediately.

With the help of a specialist and loved ones, the intervention process can be the beginning of a new life for the addict and those close to him.

Dr Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo and Lake-in-the-Hills. He’s an expert psychologist and interventionist. Call 1 847 275 8236 and make an appt or  learn more about counseling at: http://www.carypsychology.com

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In addition to substance use addictions such as alcoholism, prescription pill, and controlled substances, there are process addictions. These addictions are related to compulsive behavior such as shopping, gambling, and disordered eating. Being active in addiction not only hurts the user, but also those associated with them such as friends and family. This raises questions. What is addiction? How does it start in when? It is hard to discern when a pattern of behavior moves into addiction?

It is a mystery why some can use drugs or alcohol and not become addicted, while others cannot avoid it. Victims of addiction have lost the ability to control or stop their user behaviors. Addiction is possible for everyone despite ethnic, social or economic status.

There is not a standard addict profile. There is no poster child. Despite a lot of study researchers cannot agree on the causes or cures for addiction. A real hard part of addictive behaviors and addiction to measure is the emotional impact on self and others. Getting relief from uncomfortably emotions is a prime motivator for engaging in addictive behaviors. The irony is that using generates more negative emotions that require more relief.

While addiction manifests itself in different people in different ways, here are the most common signs and symptoms of addiction:

Symptom 1 - Unable to meet responsibilities of relationships or at home, school or work.

Symptom 2 - Compulsive preoccupation, meaning one spends a great deal of time thinking about the substance or behavior

Symptom 3 - Has tried but failed to stop using the substance or end the behavior. Things spin out of control.

Symptom 4 - Engages in the behavior or substance use knowing it is dangerous or in dangerous situations such as driving.

Symptom 5 - Because of the addiction, one stops activities or hobbies that were fun or enjoyable.

Symptom 6 - There is a need to increase the amount and frequency of the behavior or substance to achieve the desired felling or affect.

Symptom 7 - Ones life has become centered around the addiction, isolation from others occurs.

Talk to somebody if any of the above symptoms are occurring. Everyone agrees that addiction is a progressive disease. Left untreated, it will get worse.

There is more information available here on addiction treatment.

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1. Profound narcissism. They are often self-centered and self-absorbed.

2. Extreme grandiosity. Mostly image – addicts “front strength”, but are actually weak with low self-esteem.

3. Manipulation and lying. Con games, stealing, cheating – the whole gamut.

4. Impulsiveness. Like lightning they move from impulse to action, bypassing the weighing of possible consequences to self or others.

5. Extreme risk taking. Crime, overdose, HIV infection, Hepatitis C, etc.,

6. Externalizing of blame. It’s always someone else’s fault, never there own.

7. Isolation. They retreat into a world filled with secrets, shame and guilt.

8. Passivity. At times, they collapse into inaction, awaiting the rescue by others.

Sound like anyone you know? (or better yet, someone you once knew?)

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by Bill Urell

There is an old adage that states quitting drug and alcohol use is easy, staying quit is the hard part. I’m not sure if I agree with the easy part, but it is a fact that many people have difficulty maintaining abstinence from drug and alcohol use and suffer a relapse. There are certain attitudes and behaviors that can be developed that will decrease the likelihood of returning to drug and alcohol use.

Here is a list of the top five sobriety tools:

1. Motivation level - maintaining abstinence from mood altering drugs is definitely doable, but in most cases difficult. In order to achieve difficult goals it makes sense that the motivation has to be very high. People who rank their sobriety as a number one priority often have better results than those who put maintaining recovery on their ‘to do’ list. There should be an absolute commitment not to drinker drug ‘no matter what’.

2. Handling cravings - as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, thoughts and cravings of using drugs or alcohol will occur to anyone in recovery. The skill that needs to be developed is to stop these thoughts and cravings from becoming an actual using incident. The good news here is that cravings generally decrease in frequency and intensity over time. It helps to have a concrete plan of action in place prior to the occurrence of the craving for using thought.

3. Coping skills - often people in early recovery rely on coping skills that were developed to protect their drug and alcohol abuse. This might include becoming isolated and pushing people away, becoming dishonest in cheating, or becoming self-centered in the extreme. In other cases coping skills are either undeveloped, or underutilized. Some examples of life skills that may need some work are the ability to communicate, basic social skills, knowing how to develop and maintain interpersonal or intimate relationships.

4. Identifying, owning, and processing emotions - there is often stated rule in relapse prevention that advises people in recovery to avoid “people, places, and things” that could be dangerous to the recovery. In reality, is may not be the situations or triggers that are more dangerous, but our rather our inability to handle the emotions that these things generate. Our actions are often generated by our feelings.

5. Self-esteem and self-confidence - if a person does not have the self-confidence in their ability to remain abstinent, certainly undercuts the motivation to keep working at it. If a person does not start feeling better about themselves in recovery and gain self-esteem, then the idea of returning to drug and alcohol use can become very attractive. There needs to be some internal reward for going through all the effort of maintaining sobriety.

Relapse back into drug and alcohol use happens with alarming frequency for great number of people. It is therefore only prudent to develop plans that decrease the possibility of relapse. However, relapse not a part of the recovery process, many people stopped using drugs in our overall never to return to it. In my experience, however, these people have put a great deal of proactive planning into use. They have made recovery their number one priority and have been ferocious in their commitment.

Technorati Tags: Addiction, Addiction-Treatment, relapse, Relapse Prevention

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Have you really thought about it? Boredom is a feeling that life is very dull, that nothing is going on, everything is monotonous, not exciting, and very tiring.

Sometimes a vacuum is created when we stop hanging around people, places, and situations that used to occupy so much of our time; all those things related to drinking and drugging. In trying to do the right thing by avoiding them we end up with huge blocks of time with absolutely nothing to do.

Boredom simply means that nothing new is going on. The danger here is that one nothing new is going on, a natural inclination for addicts and alcoholics is to start thinking about stimulation and thrill seeking. And we all know something that works very well and very quickly, a return to drinking and drugging. There is a solution to avoid this deadly trap.

You must take action for yourself. Get off the couch or out of bed and start finding some new activities.

Put yourself in the position of being able to meet new people. This can be as easy as sticking out your hand and saying “Hi my name is…”

Actually do something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. Go scuba diving, sky diving, take the class at the local school.

Get interested in other people, extend interest or a helping hand to others. One of the best ways to get out of your own head is to start helping another person, they get the help they need and you feel good about yourself and giving it.

The key to overcoming boredom is to take action. Don’t just sit around and wait for things to happen, make them happen. The thought is just a thought nothing really happens until we take some action. Don’t let boredom become a dangerous drug and alcohol relapse trigger for you.

Technorati Tags: boredom, relapse, relapse trigger

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1. Relapse is not uncommon following drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

The frequency with which relapse can occur following treatment is the bad news, the good news is relapse need not be a part of anyone’s addiction recovery. It is not mandatory that you have one or two slips or a full-blown relapse in order to achieve lasting abstinence and sobriety. However, relapse happens with her frequency that cannot and should not be ignored. Provisions should always be made for an action plan if relapse does occur.

2. [Tag-tec}Relapse[/tag-tec] is most certainly preventable.

It can be arguably stated that the most common cause of relapse is complacency. It is very important for someone in recovery to be monitoring their thoughts, feelings, urges, and actions at all times. It has been shown that being active in a 12 step program, and/or extended professional treatment at some level increases positive outcomes, and helps against relapse. Both sobriety and addiction treatment should be seen as an ongoing process and not an event with a definitive beginning and end. You never quite graduate.

3. Relapse is fairly predictable.

That statement may come as a surprise to some people. However, there are distinct signs and symptoms of one who is engaged in the relapse process. Unfortunately, the early stages of relapse are not noticeable to the person in recovery themselves, but they are apparent to those surrounding them. In easily remembered danger gauge is the acronym H.A.L.T. this stands for being hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. On a professional level, work should be done in identifying patients’ individual external relapse triggers and cues, as well as emotional triggers. It can be a little more complex than simply avoiding “people, places, and things”.

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• Drug And Alcohol Relapse Prevention: 5 Solutions To Common Relapse Triggers Do you know practical strategies for drug and alcohol relapse prevention? After reading this article, you will have some concrete strategies to utilize. Drug and alcohol relapse is a fact of life for many people in addiction recovery. Relapse prevention is the strategy to interrupt the process before return......
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“Gratitude” by Father Joseph C. Martin

The 12th Step, “having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we try to carry this message to the alcoholic and to practice these

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There are a number of personality traits that can be a block to addiction recovery, narcissism is one. In the old days in Alcoholics Anonymous they referred to it as grandiosity or ‘bigshotism’. The article that follows provides some really interesting insights into narcissism. I found this article on U.S. News and World Report.

7 Myths About Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder
By Lindsay Lyon

A hallmark of narcissism is overconfidence. But there’s one thing that narcissists can legitimately be confident about: Not all that we assume about narcissism is true. Research psychologist Jean Twenge laid out these seven myths about narcissism, which she and her coauthor identify in their new book, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. Edited excerpts from her conversation with U.S. News:

1. Narcissism is really high self-esteem. No, it’s not. Someone can have really high self-esteem and not be narcissistic. The key difference is that people high in self-esteem focus on relationships and narcissists are missing that piece about caring about relationships. They want to know what other people can do for them, but in terms of having close emotional relationships, they don’t care.

2. Deep down, narcissists are insecure and have low self-esteem. People assume that narcissists must be concealing some deep insecurity or they actually hate themselves. But the data don’t back it up. Even if you measure self-esteem in a subtle, unconscious way, deep down inside, narcissists think they’re awesome. It’s important to understand that this is a myth because when people act like jerks and they behave narcissistically, often others will say that the solution is that they really need to boost their self-esteem. Well, that’s not going to help. That’s exactly their problem.

3. Maybe narcissists have a reason for being narcissistic. This comes up a lot. People think, “Well, maybe narcissists have a reason for being this way.” That’s not true. When you look at objective measures of intelligence and beauty, narcissists are just like everybody else. They just think they’re great. They’re legends in their own minds. There are lots of studies on this. My favorite one came out a couple months ago. It was titled “Narcissistic Men and Women Think They Are So Hot, but They Are Not.” If you ask narcissists how attractive they think they are or how smart they think they are, they rate themselves high. But when you look at an actual IQ test, or someone else rating their photograph, they’re average.

4. A little narcissism is healthy. You have to ask, “Healthy for whom?” Narcissism is basically never healthy for other people. It tends to work out OK for the narcissist in the short term, but in the long term, they end up messing up their relationships at work and at home, and they end up depressed later in life.

5. Narcissism is just physical vanity. Physical vanity is a correlate of narcissism, but there are plenty of other [aspects of narcissism], including materialism, entitlement, antisocial behavior, and problems in relationships.

6. You have to be narcissistic to be successful. Narcissism isn’t linked to success. Self-esteem isn’t even linked to success. So why do people make this association? It’s partly because we think that self-admiration is always good, and it’s partly because highly successful narcissists are highly visible, like Donald Trump and Paris Hilton. But there are plenty of people who are successful in those fields who we haven’t heard of because they don’t have their own TV show with “Money, Money, Money” playing in the theme song. They’re just as successful; they’re just not on TV.

7. You have to love yourself to love someone else. The reality is that if you love yourself too much, you won’t have any left over for anyone else. Again, keep in mind that if you hate yourself and you’re really depressed, you’re probably not going to be a great relationship partner either. But people with low self-esteem are perfectly good relationship partners most of the time. They can be insecure, but they do care about their partners, unlike people who are narcissistic.

Technorati Tags: narcissism, Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• Quitting Smoking: Some Quick Facts Thinking of quitting smoking? Research shows non-smokers have a lower rate of alcohol and drug relapses than smokers. •    About 33% of all smokers try to stop smoking each year. •    More than 90% try to quit without any nicotine cessation treatment. •    Most smokers will make several attempts to......
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• 10 YouTube Video Marketing Myths Recently, an article appeared where an “expert” listed the top 10 reasons that you shouldn’t use YouTube for online marketing. It was shocking YouTube news to us that these reasons seemed in most cases simply wrong, or at best, misguided! However, after doing some research, it seems that other people......