The Pocket Sponsor

The beautiful Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve

What a beautiful tradition for Christmas--I would love to see people in recovery adopt this--read from the Big Book, the Pocket Sponsor, various meditation books..a night of graditude and recovery sharing!

The beautiful Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve : TreeHugger: "Book lovers will want to adopt this lovely holiday tradition, which melds literary and holiday pleasures into a single event.

Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading. This custom is so deeply ingrained in the culture that it is the reason for the Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” when the majority of books in Iceland are sold between September and December in preparation for Christmas giving."

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Research reveals adults believe other kids are obese or abusing drugs but don’t worry about their own children

OK--this is the truth and reflects what I deal with a lot--I have always said about "Sober Coaching Your Toxic Teen" that by the time parents know they need it--it is too late! Get the workbook now and learn what you need to know BEFORE you get slapped in the face.

I know parents used to believe that soda was good for kids!!!

Research reveals adults believe other kids are obese or abusing drugs but don’t worry about their own children | The Courier-Mail: "PARENTS “underrate” their child’s significant health issues with research revealing adults believe other children are obese and using drugs but are not worried about their own."

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Rehabs address lower success rates in gay community-we should too

I went to a speakers meetings Sunday night and a recovering woman from the LGBTQ community was the speaker--powerful lead she gave and very inspiriing to all of us--especially the newcomers in the room. I was reminded of how difficult it can be when you are "different" then your peers in some way. When I arrived in several fellowships in 1969--I was "different" (a hippie who also did drugs) and almost run off--but my tenacity and AND the few who reached out to me even though many people in recovery saw me as a threat, are what kept me from going back out.

This Holiday season, make a speical effort to reach out to anyone you see as different--do you not like their looks? They bore you at a meeting, they are strongly religious and you are spiritual, they are gay and you are not, they are young and you are old, they are professionals and you are a blue collar worker? Reach out this year and the gift you give will be to yourself. (read about the Gay community's plight below):

Rehabs address lower success rates in gay community - NY Daily News: "Molly Gilbert, who works at the PRIDE Institute — a Minneapolis-based addiction treatment program founded in 1986 with a specific focus on treating the LGBTQ community — said that most data shows that somewhere between 28% and 35% of the LGBTQ community has a substance abuse problem."

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Attorney general releases shopping guide, warns parents to monitor kids' online

WE do need to monitor our kids online habits--we know this yet do we make the time???

Attorney general releases shopping guide, warns parents to monitor kids' online: "“You as a parent really need to have some understanding of what it is they’re doing with the technology you’re giving them,” Madigan said. “As parents, we have to take responsibility of having these conversations that may not be the most fun but turn out to be some of the most important.”"

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The Family Drug Addict and Thanksgiving

What a great article for any family that has to deal with their drug addict over the holidays! Alcoholism and Drug addiction ruined holdiay after holiday when I was a child--this story talks about dealing with it as an adult. Wow--worth reading. I especially realted to "All this contentment made me a sitting duck for the family drug addict and her annual permutations on holiday-destroying crisis creation." Forget that it's written on a chatolic blog--it's the truth and well written!

The Family Drug Addict and Thanksgiving: "So, they rouse themselves from their self-absorption and go to work, manufacturing crises and doing everything in their power to pull the rest of the family into the traumas of their own devising. They won’t stop until you stop them, or until they’ve made such a mess of the holiday that everyone — Every. Single. Person. — from the littlest baby to the senile old lady is a frazzled wreck, and sullenness and misery hang over the turkey like a fog."

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Opening a dialogue between parents and children about drugs-Dr. Oz

Recnelty Dr. Oz turned from advising people about their weight and aging woes and posed the question about what bothers them about their kids--he got and earful. They were fearful their kids had picked up deadly drug habits. And they have--but its not really anything new. Youth and addiction--its been a problem for us since the dark ages--talking to kids is a always a great idea (although not a panecea) and I support teh National Night of Conversation for the 19th!

Opening a dialogue between parents and children about drugs - Houston Chronicle: "Oz learned that drug overdoses have surpassed traffic accidents as the leading cause of death among young people and that prescription painkillers, and even heroin, are seeping into American middle schools and high schools. That's when the cardiologist, host of "The Dr. Oz Show" and father of four, decided to use his bully pulpit to focus on youth addiction and recovery.

Oz, health officials and addiction experts around the country are calling for a "National Night of Conversation" on Nov. 19. They are hoping families will set aside that Thursday evening for heart-to-heart talks about drugs."

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Wonder why medicine cabinet pain killers are so dangerous to your kids?

Answer: Heroin

The heroin epidemic is recycled every 7 or 8 years--concerned citizens go after it, they manage to get kids to look elsewhere, (unfortunately usually to speed or psychedelics) --then in a few years the heroin epidemic returns.

Is there anything different about it this time? Actually there is because strong pain killers are getting more expensive and harder to con doctors out of--so kids (and way too many adults too) turn to heroin. People are catching on. Solutions? Same as always. Education, diligence, and honestly facing the problem. Read about the "new" epidemic below.

Heroin’s Low Cost and Easy Access Attract People Addicted to Painkillers: Study - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "Researchers surveyed 15,000 people being treated for drug addiction, and conducted in-depth interviews with 267 of them. They found almost half of those interviewed were addicted to opioid painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet before using heroin, HealthDay reports."

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Parents & Professionals New Lower Price for Sober Coaching Your Teen

This Holiday season we are lowering the pirce of the workbook for parents dealing with a drug crisis--AND now you can begin a parental support group for as little as $80! Check it out.

Parents & Professionals: Begin a Parental Support Group Today

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Manitoba family who lost son to prescription drug use says help is needed - Manitoba - CBC News

I feel so bad for the fmailies that lose kids to prescription durgs--well any drugs. But when they go into tyour bathroom and get their death sentence there--it is so hard to forgive one's self. For not seeing. For not understanding the danger...The story of this 18 year old is below but it oculd be any of us.

Manitoba family who lost son to prescription drug use says help is needed - Manitoba - CBC News: ""They asked me, 'How old is he?' He's 18," said Dalton. "'Does he want to come in'? I said, 'Yeah, he wants to come in.' 'Ok, well, we will make arrangements on Monday to have somebody call you and get the process started.' Well, when you are in that situation, you know, again, experience now tells me, you don't have time.""

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How a Teen’s Bedroom Can Reveal Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Calling all Parents who think they have a "great" line of communicatin with their teen..READ THIS ARTICLE:

How a Teen’s Bedroom Can Reveal Drug and Alcohol Abuse: "Except no real-life teen lives here — and the computer mouse has a secret compartment for hiding pills, the water bottles are filled with alcohol, and the key ring can be transformed into a marijuana pipe.

This mockup of a teen’s bedroom is actually an innovative exhibit inside the Hanover Mall outside Boston, and the purpose is to tip off parents to signs that their teens may be secretly using drugs and alcohol."