Sharing some resources
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 585
Sharing some resources
I've been doing some homework - seeking support groups, doing research, trying to understand addiction & recovery & treatment. I wanted to share some info I found for other folks out there struggling with living with an A (either actively drinking, in sobriety, or working recovery).
While I felt great support from other attendees at the Al Anon meeting I went to last Sunday, part of me feels like it may not be a good fit for me (the faith-based approach, a lack of a discussion environment). No offense to anyone, but I think that telling people "you have to go to Al Anon" just isn't a blanket good directive for all. I will give it another shot, but I also wanted to see what other support groups are out there. Not shockingly, there aren't many, and there are even fewer that aren't faith-based. I did however find Smart Recovery & started to look into them, and I like the scientific, non-faith-based approach. I haven't attended an in-person meeting yet (was going to go to one last night but the snowstorm that passed through here kept me at home, grr), but I "attended" an online Family & Friends meeting earlier this week, and I really liked it. Their overall approach (for both those struggling directly with addiction & their loved ones) also happens to line up very well with the therapy that my husband is going through at his rehab center.
I happened upon a great NPR interview regarding addiction treatment & understanding treatment centers & approaches: Inside Addiction Treatment | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR. It's somewhat shocking how many people out there struggle with addiction, how few of them actually get treatment, and the disparity between the approaches/types/levels of treatment out there. The whole interview is long (50 minutes) but it's worth the time - good, honest insight into treatment options, detox, etc.
I also watched a great movie on addiction called Pleasure Unwoven. I mentioned it in a comment on another thread, but wanted to mention it here as well. It helped me to better understand the disease model of addiction/alcoholism and just what has been literally going on inside my husband's head!
I'm still working, still researching...still have a lot to learn about myself and the disease, but I just thought I'd share these few things - they hit home with me and have helped me a bit to better understand and to know that there are options out there.
While I felt great support from other attendees at the Al Anon meeting I went to last Sunday, part of me feels like it may not be a good fit for me (the faith-based approach, a lack of a discussion environment). No offense to anyone, but I think that telling people "you have to go to Al Anon" just isn't a blanket good directive for all. I will give it another shot, but I also wanted to see what other support groups are out there. Not shockingly, there aren't many, and there are even fewer that aren't faith-based. I did however find Smart Recovery & started to look into them, and I like the scientific, non-faith-based approach. I haven't attended an in-person meeting yet (was going to go to one last night but the snowstorm that passed through here kept me at home, grr), but I "attended" an online Family & Friends meeting earlier this week, and I really liked it. Their overall approach (for both those struggling directly with addiction & their loved ones) also happens to line up very well with the therapy that my husband is going through at his rehab center.
I happened upon a great NPR interview regarding addiction treatment & understanding treatment centers & approaches: Inside Addiction Treatment | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR. It's somewhat shocking how many people out there struggle with addiction, how few of them actually get treatment, and the disparity between the approaches/types/levels of treatment out there. The whole interview is long (50 minutes) but it's worth the time - good, honest insight into treatment options, detox, etc.
I also watched a great movie on addiction called Pleasure Unwoven. I mentioned it in a comment on another thread, but wanted to mention it here as well. It helped me to better understand the disease model of addiction/alcoholism and just what has been literally going on inside my husband's head!
I'm still working, still researching...still have a lot to learn about myself and the disease, but I just thought I'd share these few things - they hit home with me and have helped me a bit to better understand and to know that there are options out there.
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