:The AA Blog

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is surely one of the leading known preventable causes of mental and physical birth defects. A woman who drinks alcohol runs a great risk of causing serious birth defects to her unborn child. These mental and physical defects can, and usually do, last throughout their whole lives.

Consuming alcohol during pregnancy puts an unborn child at risk in several different ways. On top of the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage, just one alcoholic beverage per day can raise the risk of a child being born with extensive, lifelong physical and mental problems.

Some characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) include:

· Extremely under weight at birth
· Tiny circumference to the head
· Unable to survive
· A delay in development (mental and physical)
· Undeveloped organs
· Abnormal physical appearances – especially in the face
· Epilepsy
· Lack of motor skills and coordination
· An underdeveloped sense of creativity and imagination
· Lack of basic learning skills
· Unable to form personal relationships
· Problems in behavior

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Continuation….

My family had no choice but to shut me out, I was as dangerous to them as I was to myself. Life spiraled out of control, I hated the person I had become but I was falling so fast I couldn’t even decide which way was up.  In fact, it was like I wasn’t even a person at that point.  I was just this ‘thing’ that spent every hour of every day trying to score some more dope. When I started using I was consuming drugs, now it was the drugs that were consuming me.  

When I hit rock bottom I was sleeping on the streets and a dog that I had tried to keep as a pet decided to leave and find a better companion. At first I was crushed, not even my dog thought I was a worthwhile person. But I was lucky, that dog’s decision saved my life. I needed to know that I was alone, needed to know that I had no place else to fall. I hit that bottom hard but I learned to kiss the floor as I finally became receptive to HELP! 

It broke me.  I didn’t want to be sick anymore.  I knew I needed help or I was gonna die.  I’m not gonna sit here and tell you it’s easy.  I don’t think rehab ever is.  It won’t happen unless YOU make it happen… but you can not do it alone, nobody can. Every day is its own struggle and the only weapons we have in this battle are our faith and our true friends.

Getting yourself surrounded by the right people, the ones who care about you and not the dope… the ones you meet in a structured recovery program… they are the light at the end of the long and very dark tunnel of addiction.

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The alcohol rehab program at Cliffside Malibu offers hope for alcoholics and their families. Their staff draws upon a wealth of experience in successfully treating alcohol dependency, using group, family and individualized psychological/emotional therapy in addition to alternative treatment methods such as yoga and acupuncture.

Their alcohol rehab program has been developed by experts to counter the effects of long-term alcohol abuse and to give their patients the best chance to beat alcoholism.

At Cliffside Malibu, they firmly believe that to be successful in addiction treatment, each patient’s individual circumstances must be considered and accounted for. They use programs that are targeted at specific addictions, but their counselors and therapists will work closely with a guest during all stages of their stay and tailor the treatment to their needs, making any adjustments required to ensure that they succeed.

Cliffside Malibu employs a range of traditional and alternative treatments in their programs including personal, group and family counseling, herbology, massage, yoga and acupuncture.

Individual attention is critical, so every patient is assigned to a primary therapist on admission, ensuring that he or she receives valuable one-on-one time and that treatment is constantly monitored and adjusted as required to meet his or her unique needs.

The premises at Cliffside Malibu are second to none, with a luxurious beachfront location that boasts a long list of amenities, including: Gourmet meals, ocean vistas, well-appointed rooms, access to a wealth of recreational and relaxation activities, an exclusive location that ensures privacy and security and discrete staff.

For more information please visit Cliffside Malibu.

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I did it.  I hit rock bottom.  As a roadie for a rock band I started drinking and partying and living like the image I had in my head of a ‘rock star’ or a ‘celebrity’ because it looked like they were having so much fun.  At first, the parties were new, the people I was meeting were exciting and the access to drugs and alcohol at concerts and events was never an obstacle.

Then my addictions began to deepen. Before I realized how much the substances had started taking over my life, I went from drinking top shelf liquor and getting wasted on Hollywood quality drugs to waking up in strange places with people whose names I didn’t even know and sharing a needle.  I had thought I was living life in the limelight, but then the dreams quickly evaporated as the lime started to rot. 

People I called ‘my friends’ weren’t really my friends.  You’re great when you’re up and you’ve got dope, and you can get them in with the ‘in crowd.’ But their motivated by the same addictions you are and they’ll chase the next high instead of sticking with you the first time they have to choose. To a user you become little more than a wallet with a face. If you don’t have drugs or money for drugs, you just aren’t their ‘friend’ anymore.

When my real friends finally couldn’t take my lying and stealing any more I cast them off without seeing clearly how much they wanted to help me. Instead I decided that Dope was my only friend, my mother, my father, and my lover… even as it was killing me.

TO BE CONTINUED..

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Recently, 14 teenage kids admitted in court to attending a party which was fueled by alcohol last October in an area of the woods in Norfolk, Massachusetts. After the party, 17-year-old Taylor Meyer drowned in a swamp hust a few miles away.

The age of the kids who attended the party ranged from 16 to 20. Each of them admitted to being at the party and being involved in underage drinking. Under thee terms of their plea deals, the records of the kids will be wiped clean after attending 5 AA or NA meetings with a limited time frame. The teenagers are also required to perform 16 hours of community service.

Taylor Meyer’s mother, Kathi Meyer was present during the trial and silently watched as the young adults were sentenced. The brother of one of Taylor Meyer’s close friends is said to have provided the kids with a bottle of rum.

That young man, Brian Zuzick was only 19, however he has been charged with procuring alcohol for a minor and if convicted can face up to a year in prison along with a hefty fine.

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By Bert Pluymen

At one time, Bert Pluymen was named one of the best lawyers in America. However his book, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Sobriety concentrates on a stimulating perspective on alcoholism.

Editorial Reviewer, Marlene Chamberlain wrote, “He (Pluymen) is careful to point out that alcoholism is not just a disease of the down and out, but of the rich and famous and everyone in-between. Although his approach contains a good touch of humor, he remains fully cognizant of the seriousness of his subject. He mixes both facts on alcoholism and stories of alcoholics from different walks of life and at various stages of recovery.”

She goes on to write, “A particularly valuable chapter is “Wake-up Call for Women.” Here he warns that not only are women at increased risk because of their drinking, but they suffer much more for drinking far less than men. For them, alcohol can become lethal after just two drinks.”

Jessica Ann of The New York Palentery says, “This book is not about religion and never recommends church. It is a SEXY, HUMOROUS, AND SCIENTIFIC journey through the joys and pitfalls of drinking–and the joys of sobriety. I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious enough about their drinking to have searched this far. If you are an intelligent, accomplished person, who enjoys wine, beer, and fine scotch as much as I did, but wonders about partying too much–you have found a home in this great book.”

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Shia LaBeouf star of the upcoming film “Transfomers 2” has been testing the waters of Alcoholism for quite some time now. His most recent being the July 27th early morning traffic collision in which he flipped his Ford F150 but the 22-year-old actor will still face misdemeanor DUI charges for signs of intoxication at the scene of the accident. Had anyone involved in the collision sustained more serious injuries, LaBeouf could have faced felony charges.

LaBeouf originally made headlines in back in November 2007 when he refused to leave a Chicago Walgreen’s and was arrested for trespassing. He was completely drunk and hadn’t the slightest idea as to what he was doing or saying.

In an interview with David Letterman, the Times quoted the actor as saying, “…drinking and driving is one thing, but drinking and shopping…it’s just as bad.” A more recent interview with the actor in the September issue of Details magazine provided insight into LaBeouf’s behavior, most notably in reference to his relationship with his dad. “We would drink and smoke together,” says LaBeouf. “…And I don’t know how to do it like a gentleman. I don’t know how to have just one.”

Though LaBeouf has never formally attended Rehabilitation for his apparent Alcohol Dependency, he does know where to lay the blame. Having grown up with a father who abused Alcohol and Marijuana on a continuous basis, its no wonder a child star such a this would become such a mess. Sacrificing one of the largest movie contracts in the course of his career might not have been the smartest thing LaBeouf could have done.

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Standing majestically high above the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California; Passages Malibu Cure Center looks more like a Hollywood movie set than a place to overcome a severe Alcohol Dependency. Near the entrance of the $23 million mansion is a well-stocked Koi pond, two stone-carved lions with gargoyle-like faces guard the marble walkway to the imposing front door, which is framed by a Parthenon-style stone portico and supported by eight 20-foot-high Ionic marble columns.

The main house of Passages Malibu is spacious (over 15,500 square feet), exquisitely detailed and finished with exotic woods and marble, several fireplaces, a juice bar, a library, chef’s kitchen, a dining room to seat thirty people, eight bedrooms, treatment rooms for massage, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and the other modalities, a large family room for informal meetings, a fully equipped glass enclosed gymnasium filled with trainers waiting on you hand and foot, an arts and crafts room, a media room with a flat screen 65 inch television screen, an auditorium with stage for the production of plays and readings that seats approximately 80 persons, and a large living room for informal meetings and relaxation by a fire. The grounds are spacious (just over 3 acres), with a beautiful, peaceful view overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The 29 luxury Tempur-Pedic mattresses here are currently filled with patients who pay $67,550 a month for them. Passages, owned and run by Chris Prentiss and his son Pax, is the most expensive, luxurious and controversial residential drug-treatment center in the world. Prentiss explains that his cure techniques simply involve intense around-the-clock therapy. When asked why he charges $67,550 a month for this cure, he says, “These are the finest therapists on the planet, and when you start to hire that kind of people, they cost a lot of money.”

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Jenna’s Story: Part II continuation:

No matter how much I didn’t listen, they still talked to me and tried to get me to see how screwed up I was.  Nine hundred and ninety nine times out of one thousand, I didn’t listen to them…. Even though I said I did. I knew I had to get control of my life and quit drinking. 

I had tried quitting a few times on my own but it was never enough.  I needed help and reaching out was both the hardstand smartest thing Ive ever done.  I couldn’t go it alone, but thankfully there are others… also recovering addicts who share the burden and ease the transition from addiction to recovery.

I learned a lot about myself in rehab and I feel like it has given me a purpose.  I’ve enrolled into college again and I want to be a social worker and help kids in the same situation as me.  It’s not easy getting beyond your habits, but support groups with a special person are a big part of making it. I want to be that person. I want to succeed.  I want to be sober.

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Alcoholism affects many people in the US and has quickly become one of our fastest growing dependencies to date. Over 18 million adults suffer from alcohol use disorders. Some argue, why it is that Alcoholics develop the problems and issues that they do and a big part of it is internal issues that may be related to broken relationships, childhood abuse, neglect and/or abandonment can lead to a life of alcohol abuse as a way to somehow ‘ease’ the pain.

Some often argue that problems in ones childhood can leave a ‘void’ within ones spirituality and can lead to a rather difficult life of constantly trying to find things to fill that void. Alcohol, drugs, sex and many other common addictions become a common part of ones life in this never ending pursuit to fix all the things you may feel are ‘wrong’ with your life.

Alcohol acts as a depressant on the central nervous system. This can lead to a decrease of activity, anxiety, tension and inhibitions. Another well known fact of Alcoholism is that alcohol affects other body systems as well. Gastrointestinal tract irritation can happen with erosion of the esophagus and stomach linings, causing nausea, vomiting and even bleeding.

Whatever is to blame for your Alcohol related problem, there is no time to waste. If you or someone you know suffers from an Alcohol Dependency, help is out there. You just have to be able to step up to the plate and take it.

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