Guest guest Posted June 19, 1998 Report Share Posted June 19, 1998 Welcome Judie: Nice to see you here, I read your post and I said to myself, this sound familiar Did you get my post regarding the new recovery group I am trying to start up? It is not as easy as I thought it was going to be, having trouble getting a meeting place. I wanted to ask you a question, you said in your post that there were a couple of the instructors that were not disease model, who are they? Nice to see/hear? you. Margie your HS classmate! http://expage.com/page/alcoholanddrugrecovery Re: Big help >In a message dated 98-06-18 16:03:50 EDT, Judie writes: > >><< Since I made the decision to leave 12-step programs ( I had been >withdrawing >> slowly for about 5yrs) I have told know one except my husband, who still >goes >> to AA. He accepts my decision, however I do not for one second believe many >of >> my aquaintances in AA/NA would. Too much fear. " oh no your gonna drink and >use >> if you leave us " . I have always believed it was a decision to go out and >use, >> and if I needed an excuse, well I use any number of them. Anyway, it was >great >> when I found the ar12 ng, cuz I needed to know I was not crazy. > >> I have been enrolled in college (returning after 20 yr). Human Services is >my >> major. >> I am currently working toward Alcohol/Drug Certificate, I have so far been >> fortunate in having a couple of instructors who do not by into the disease >> concept, and also disagrees with the diseasing of all the other human >> behavioral traits. However, one class " Codependency " out text books Melody >> Beattie's Codependent No More, yikes, so self serving and assuming I just >> about puked everytime I had to read that book. Another text had a test you >> could take to see if your codependent, and the instrutor pointed out that >> there was no way anyone could pass it, hence we are all codependent and we >> better get to a 12 step meeting. > >Hi Judie, > >I, too, am a returning student. There was 25 year hiatus between having gone >to high school and going to college. I thought I would feel terribly out of >place, but it has been great. One of the things that I have appreciated >greatly about being in school with so many young people is that I have learned >that not every young person is a preoccupied with using as I had been. > >> I do not think I will work in the Drug/Alcohol field, however I will remain >> working in the field of Human Services, and I am glad to know of the >> alternatives to the 12 steps, and will most likely hestitate before >suggesting >> AA/NA. > >I am a sociology major with an emphasis on social work. Next year I will have >my BA. After barely making it through high school as a teen, I feel good about >how I am doing in school these days. Up until this year, I shyed away from >doing anything at school(papers and such) that had anything to do with >alcoholism or addiction. I was still entrenched in a 12 step program at the >time. This year I did do research pertaining to this topic for the first time. >I doubt that I would have been receptive to what I have read thus far before. >I am really excited because next semester I am doing " independent study " for >one course. I am choosing my subject matter and drawing up a contract with a >professor advisor and the head of the department. My topic conerns addiction. > >> I am currently working in a group home for teenage girls, and there is one >> 17yr old in the program. It saddens me that she has been labeled as having a >> life long disease, and will have to attend meetings for the rest of her >life, >> and if she does drink or use she will feel so much guilt and remorse, which >> might end up worse than if she was just allowed to be the normal teenager >that >> she is. I do not condone drinking and using, however I do believe as Stanton >> Peele, that most teens grow out of it. I see that even with my old high >school >> friends. > >I am beginning to see a picture emerging where many teens experiment with >alcohol and drugs as a rite of passage type affair, moving on to more >responsible behavior on their own with no intervention. This has become more >and more obvious to me as I am surrounded by so many young adults at school. >Also this past semester in a 400 level social research methods course, the >professor had us all work on various types of research pertaining to a single >topic. Considering the controversy around drinking on campus, it is no >surprise that the students overwhelmingly chose alcohol use on campus as the >topic. It was a great class....exposing much information about drinking >patterns of youth in our area as well as foreign students and those who have >participated in student exchange overseas contributring information of alcohol >and college youth in other countries. One of the patterns that appeared >concerned freshman and sophmore students being more inclined to drink to >excess, while many students who had been heavy or binge drinkers earlier >moderated their drinking considerably throughout the junior and senior year of >college. Also, many students who exhibited excessive drinking throughout >highschool seemed to have passed this stage and were less involved in the >*party* community in the dorms. This research was incomplete and flawed at >best.....it does, however, show some trends that may be worth persuing. > >When I, myself, was a teen hung with a lot of other youths that were doing the >same thing I was. We could all have easily been labeled as alcoholics or >addicts. Most of these teens grew up, and became responsible members of the >community--even some that had been in considerable trouble with the law. On >the other hand, I never got in trouble, but my using to excess persisted. > >> Anyway, what I am trying to say is the ng has been a big help to me, and I >> hope we don't allow a few jerks to spoil it. > >> Sincerely >> Judie > >They can't *spoil* it unless we all cave to their imbecilic behavior. > >Take care, > >Bette > > >> > > >---- >Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ >To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... >To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... >-- >Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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