It’s really a sad state of affairs when we see how infectious our appetite can be to watch someone self-destruct.  It’s like bees to honey—we can’t seem to get enough.  It’s crazy that within a 24 hour period of Charlie Sheen opening up his first twitter account, he had the fastest following, thus far, of one million people.  What does that say about our society?  If people really cared about Charlie, as his dad does, then people would stop buying into the self-destructive rants of Charlie Sheen. This isn’t fun to watch, it’s disturbing.  What is most disturbing is hearing Charlie Sheen talk so negatively about the recovery community.  In an interview, Charlie Sheen described 12-step organizations as “bootleg cults” and also went on to say, “I am special, and will never be one of you.”  As a person in a 12-step fellowship, recovery is about taking responsibility and being accountable for our actions.  Recovery as experienced through our twelve steps is our goal, not mere physical abstinence.  We learn that we are not the center of the universe.  While using, we thought that we had fun and that non-users were deprived of it.  People in recovery look at the unmanageability of their life in active addiction and realize how out of control we really were.  We know that we are powerless over a disease that is incurable, progressive and fatal.  We soon realize that we are not bad people—we are sick people.  Through the 12 steps, we learn how to become responsible for our actions.  When we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free.  We do live to become productive, responsible members of society.  I would like to propose that instead of looking at the negative effect of a self-centered, out of control, erratic person like Charlie Sheen spouting his insanity, that we should focus on what recovery has done for millions of people all over the world.  We do recover!     

The 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards took place last Sunday to honor the achievements of contemporary musical artists as well as the greatest musical legends of our time.  Rap music heavy weight Eminem received 10 Grammy nominations, more than any other artist—including Record, Song, and Album of the Year—and walked away with 2 Grammy’s on Sunday night.  This came as no surprise and he has become one of the best selling solo artists of the last decade, selling more than 80 million records worldwide.    What did surprise many, however, was the accessory that Eminem wore around his neck that night—an Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety pendant.  This accessory elaborated on the title and motif of his latest album Recovery.  The pendant represents the three part answer to the three part disease of addiction: unity, recovery, and service.  Regarding his sobriety in juxtaposition to his music, Eminem was quoted saying, “I had to learn to write and rap again, and I had to do it sober and 100 percent clean…That didn't feel good at first ... I mean it in the literal sense. I actually had to learn how to say my lyrics again; how to phrase them, make them flow, how to use force so they sounded like I meant them.”  Eminem’s difficult transitions both in his personal life and in music have not been in vain as Eminem’s song “Not Afraid” won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance and his album Recovery won the Grammy for Best Rap Album on Sunday.  We hope other artists join Eminem in this dialogue to ensure that the message of hope and recovery is heard by everyone.  

Also make sure to check out our Foundation for Recovery Bookstore, which carries the Alcoholics Anonymous pendant.

TLC is known for shows about people with dwarfism, polygamy, and most recently, Sarah Palin.  The newest show on the network that is creating buzz is My Strange Addiction, which premieres on Wednesday, December 29^th.  The new reality show gives an expository on the lives of real people who exhibit uncommon addictions and behaviors.

The trailer for My Strange Addiction shows footage of people who claim to be addicted to eating toilet paper, sleeping with a running hair dryer, and consuming laundry detergent.  The show is bound to raise many questions about addiction and recovery.

Will you be tuning in to watch TLC’s My Strange Addiction?

“Where do you work?” a stranger usually asks soon after they meet you.  In the beginning, I felt the need to explain myself.  “I work for the Foundation for Recovery… but I’ve never done drugs or alcohol in my life” I would say in my defense—a disclaimer of sorts. “Not even once,” I would tell them.

Every time I answered that question I carried the weight of the stigma.  I was scared—fearful that I would wear the face of addiction in the eye of the beholder.  Would I become an addict in the eyes of a perfect stranger? 

I don’t know and I don’t care anymore.

I am, however, sure that my own eyes have since been opened.  Even though I have never used, I now see an opportunity to reduce stigma and educate my peers about recovery every time a stranger asks me where I work.  The truth is that they don’t stay strangers for very long; recovery brings people together.

The Foundation for Recovery and I still have a lot of work to do.  There are still some people in recovery living in the shadows of shame and there are still many suffering addicts without the resources and support that they need to become autonomous.  I rest assured, however, that together we will be able to create a paradigm shift in the consciousness of our society and strip recovery of its stigma and negative connotation, one introduction at a time

On this Veterans Day, the Recovery Time Machine blog focuses on the effect war has on the occurrence of the disease of addiction in veterans.  Ninety-two years ago today, an armistice went into effect between the forces fighting World War I, marking the end of the “war to end all wars.”  Sadly, the Treaty of Versailles did not end all wars.  Within twenty years, the world was at war again, and today our country is engaged in wars on two fronts.  Among all the other devastating effects of war and violent conflicts around the world, one that is often overlooked is war’s ability to contribute to addiction in its veterans.

When P!nk burst onto the music scene in 2000, the splash she made was overshadowed by that of her fellow pop princesses.   With a Billboard hit in her hands, her future in the music industry was as promising as it was ambiguous.  One thing was for sure, she didn’t have Christina’s vocals, Britney’s sex appeal, or Jessica’s charm—but she didn’t need to.  The pop music underdog had enough edge to eventually become Billboard #1 Pop Song Artist of the Decade.

P!nks latest single, “Raise Your Glass” from her upcoming album Greatest Hits: So Far!!! stays true to her roots but also raises some questions about the relationship between alcohol and celebration in our culture.  The pop star sings, “So raise your glass if you are wrong / In all the right ways, all my underdogs / We will never be, never be anything but loud / And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks / Won't you come on and come on and /Raise your glass! / Just come on and come on and / Raise your glass!”  It’s doubtful that P!nk is toasting with apple juice but the problem doesn’t lie within the lyrics of her songs; the song is simply the expression of a issue that America has with alcohol.  

This Major League Baseball postseason, the Texas Rangers brought their respect for recovery into the spotlight.  Following major series wins this season, the Rangers respected star slugger Josh Hamilton’s recovery by celebrating with ginger ale as opposed to more traditional champagne.  Hamilton has come a long way from the minor leagues and his failed drug tests of 2004.  This year alone, he lead the Rangers to the franchise’s first ever World Series and was named Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series.  Even more impressively, however, Hamilton is not shy when talking to the media about the miracle of his recovery from addiction.

Image from nytimes.com

Many artists in the music industry have made careers out of glamorizing addiction and drug use in Hollywood.  Katy Perry, however, speaks out against drug use and addiction in her single “Circle the Drain” from her #1 selling album Teenage Dream.

She writes, “I thought I was the exception/ I could rewrite your addiction/ You could’ve been the greatest/ But you’d rather get wasted.”  It is highly speculated that these lyrics are directed at her ex boyfriend Travis McCoy—who has a strong history of substance abuse.  The frustration and hopelessness that Katy expresses in the song is easily identifiable for many friends and family members of addicts. 

She ultimately confesses, “[I] can’t be your savior, I don’t have the power/ I’m not gonna stay and watch you circle the drain.” Ultimately, Katy Perry left Travis McCoy and is now engaged to British comedian, Russell Brand.  “Circle the Drain” exemplifies the impact that substance abuse has on interpersonal relationships and the need for recovery not only in the music industry but in every layer of society.

Fifty-seven years ago today in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California, the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) organization that we know today held its very first recovery meeting. 

In the middle of the twentieth century, more and more people with multiple addictions were going to Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) meetings to seek help getting and staying clean.  Rather than giving full support to these addicts, however, Alcoholics Anonymous was becoming increasingly opposed to the involvement of drug addicts in its fellowship.  Some groups even explicitly forbade recovering drug addicts from becoming full members of A.A., allowing them only to attend “open meetings.”  Realizing that addicts needed more support than A.A. was able to provide, a group of former drug users in Southern California decided to take their recovery into their own hands and form a Twelve Step fellowship specifically for those addicted to habit-forming drugs.

Hazelden Publishing recently announced the imminent release of The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous.  After seventy years of privacy, the original working draft of the Alcoholics Anonymous “Big Book” will now be made available, complete with hand-written notes, edits, and marginalia.  While the manuscripts for A.A.'s Big Book have been a mystery for the last 70 years, the Foundation for Recovery Library, Archives, and Museum has several different versions of the Narcotics Anonymous "Basic Text" manuscripts in its collections.  Come check them out in the exhibits at the Foundation for Recovery Store!