Alcohol Abuse HelpAlcohol Abuse Help: Treating The Whole Person By Ned Wicker I am often being challenged to turn away from the 12 Step approach to alcohol treatment and recovery in favor of either a purely medical intervention, or an option that allows people to decide for themselves the approach that best suits them.
Usually the push back about 12 Step is on what people perceive as a narrow or rigid way of approaching the problem. What is interesting to me is that there are many ways to solve any problem, but as some approach what may be considered “Christian” there is a kind of push back that not only shuts the door, it slams it. It has been my experience that people will, for the most part, at least listen to a holistic approach, but the conversation is shut down when that holistic approach includes matters of the spirit or God. It’s OK to use the healing arts, but when you say “spirituality” many people think of “religion” or “God” or some other formal construct comes to mind. I prefer to look at spirituality in terms of meaning, a sort of way of feeling our way through life to identify what brings meaning to the human experience. So spirituality doesn’t have to be religion. That, of course, leads to the popular comment, “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual.” They have a sense of something, but they can’t define it, nor do they necessarily understand it. Religion tries to explain it, but usually does a very bad job. Even from my Christian perspective, I’m not so sure I understand it completely. Many also like to attach their own spiritual/religious beliefs on to something that otherwise would be neutral. The original intention of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the 12 Step process was not to bring religion to the alcoholic, but to open up his/her spirituality to allow for that “power greater than ourselves” to intercede. “God, as we understood him” does not mean religion, as it does not advance any one set of doctrines, theological position nor does it require the recovering alcoholic to necessarily believe in God at all. The real question is then “What brings meaning?” If any religious belief comes out of this experience, it is strictly the choice of the recovering person, who as the result of the steps, had a spiritual awakening. The awakening is not defined. Still, if one were to suggest that something other than sheer determination and willpower was possible, there is reluctance to go in that direction. It all comes with the territory, to advocate for a holistic approach to the dilemma of addiction will invariably lead to loud and negative comments that I assiduously turn people away from alternative treatments to religion. Nothing could be father from the truth. However, it makes no sense to me to treat an alcoholic so they can drink, or beat the drum for a miracle pill that will prevent alcoholics from drinking. That approach leaves so many areas of the person’s life untouched, and if the alcoholic is honest and allows a thorough examination of his/her life, the non-physical factors that played into the development of the disease are as much a cause for concern and treatment as the disease of alcoholism itself. I realize that some of my thinking is out of the modern mainstream, mainly because I am not too impressed with human effort. The old saying is “He pulled himself up by his own bootstraps.” I say show me a man who pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and I’ll show you someone who is kidding himself. We almost always give ourselves too much credit, both for getting into trouble and for getting out of it. AA realized that we are powerless over alcohol, which I interpret more as being powerless over the human condition. The centerpiece of the Sistine Chapel depicts God reaching his hand out to Adam, who in turn slightly holds out a limp finger. I see us as being very much like Adam, powerless, helpless and without some external force, hopeless. We want to do things our own way and if there is success, we want credit for it. See, I took a pill and now I can drink again. I’m cured. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are very complicated. Recovery doesn’t stop at “don’t drink,” but moves forward to a change in lifestyle. The holistic approach to alcohol abuse help, treating body, mind and spirit, does not exclude one treatment for another, but includes medical, psychological and spiritual interventions. The whole person is serviced. 12 Step can provide alcohol abuse help goes far beyond addiction. It’s about the human condition and how we function in the world. It’s about the person. Alcohol Abuse HelpThe hardest part about help is getting it, even though there is a lot of help available.It’s hard because the alcoholic does not want help. They want to LEFT ALONE. They LOVE to drink and they're not interested in quitting! They know they don’t have a problem and they want everyone to MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS! Their friends see it. Their families see it but it doesn’t matter. Their co-workers see it. They don’t see it and everybody else is wrong! Actually, it is important that the addict see the problem. Without the buy-in of the addict, without him/her realizing they have a serious problem, no treatment is going to take place. They WILL REFUSE to get help to matter what! There is a television reality show called “Intervention” which documents the denial of addicts as they are approached by family and friends to seek help. In one episode, the Methamphetamine addict and an alcoholic, who is destroying her health, her family’s property and all of her relationships, is steadfastly in denial that there is any problem of any kind and refuses help. Totally Lost She curses her family for bringing it up. On video, we see how selfish she has become because of the drug. She cares for no one but herself and her drug use comes before anything else. She refuses treatment. She refuses help. Most everything she mutters is profane. She is completely lost. The wake left behind a drug addict is the crushed hearts of those who see the problem, want to help, but on their own, for the best of reasons, likely contribute to the problem rather than solve it. In these shows, an interventionist is called in by the family, not just to confront the addict and coax them into rehabilitation, but to coach the family and teach them communication skills. More importantly, the interventionist teaches the family boundaries, and how to stick to those boundaries. Alcoholism help is not based on enabling the addict; once rules are established they MUST be adhered to. If the rules are broken the addict MUST feel the consequences otherwise the family is going to enable the addict to continue using. No alcoholism help is possible! For more about Alcohol Abuse Help go to books Alcohol Abuse Help Alcohol Abuse Help Alcohol Abuse Help Alcohol Abuse Help Alcohol Abuse Help HOW TO USE THIS SITE:This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read: RECOVERY… Yourself... Your Family... Your Friends... Your Community... The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.  You Can Be ADDICTION FREE FOREVER!Are you or your loved one struggling with addiction?YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOW! Use this at-home guide to End Addiction Forever:Click here for details!
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