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Ten Tips for Long Lasting Recovery from Alcohol or Drug Addiction:
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.
Maybe you now recognize that you have an alcohol or drug problem. Ending denial is a big step, but it’s not enough. How do you stop? What if you have stopped a few times, but can’t seem to stay clean? If you’re really serious and want to stop, here are some tips to help:
1. Change your friends & phone number – Unfortunately, the very root of our addiction problems sometimes lies within our circle of friends. Are there any particular friends you consistently hang out with that lead you into substance abuse? It’s time to reassess what a friend really means to you and the kind of friends you should hang out with to lead a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes this means changing your phone number and moving to sever negative relationships. This can be hard, but in the end it may save your life.
2. Change your environment – Just as you should review your friendships, you should also think about the places you go to hang out. Maybe it’s a night club, or a ballgame where they serve beer. Or perhaps it is a certain part of town you have frequented that makes you feel temptation. If these places cause you to relapse, you should avoid them at all costs. This might mean staying at home or visiting constructive environments instead.
3. Occupy your free time – Boredom can be a dangerous opponent in your recovery process. You may have found that the times you used drugs, smoked or drank alcohol were partly attributed to having nothing to do. Try reading your local paper to find cultural events, activities and fun things to do that don’t involve substance use.
4. Exercise – It’s a fact that if you feel depressed, you are more likely to use drugs to self medicate. One way to fight depression is to make yourself feel healthy and happy. Combining weight lifting with cardiovascular exercise will increase your strength and stamina as well as your overall sense of well being.
5. Diet – Diet is the other half of making yourself feel healthy and happy. Avoid fast food restaurants and foods high in cholesterol or sodium. Also moderate your use of soda, candy, dessert, or foods with artificial flavoring.
6. Work or Volunteer– Boost your self esteem by feeling a sense of accomplishment and productivity. It’s a great feeling when your boss warms up to you or when you know you made a difference. Work is a great way to replace the focal point of your life from addiction to prosperity. This will boost your self esteem and reinforce your sobriety.
7. Build relationships – You may have noticed that as an addict, the drug becomes the center of attention in your life. Flip the table around! Whenever possible, make an effort to bond with your friends and family. They will return their support to you in a time of need.
8. Get a sponsor – There is nothing like having a mentor in recovery to help with your journey to a new way of life. Sponsors have been the key to so many success stories of addiction recovery. It’s just like having a big brother or sister there to watch your back and guide you onto the right path.
9. Visit support groups – Whether or not you are shy or believe in support groups such as AA and NA, you should give them the benefit of the doubt and try one out sometime. At first you might be resistant to what they teach… but you might begin to enjoy them and appreciate the value of what they are doing for your life. Millions before you have received life changing wisdom from support groups.
10. Try having faith – Whether or not you believe in God, you may want to consider the powerful side effects of being a spiritual person; peace and serenity. After all the years of drug use… don’t you want to release yourself from the chaos? Faith will bear many fruits in your life and give you a whole new outlook on the road ahead.
How does OASIS use data to reduce youth substance use?
OASIS is a youth substance abuse prevention coalition in Stoughton. The strategies selected and implemented by the OASIS coalition come from information collected from the people who live and work in Stoughton. For the last two years, OASIS has worked with members of The Outcomes Project, a program of Health Imperatives, to collect information to assess and evaluate their substance abuse prevention strategies.
In 2008, OASIS conducted a survey to collect information from Stoughton Public School parents. This survey helped OASIS learn that most parents do not provide alcohol to their teenage children. With this information, OASIS designed a billboard that was displayed in town during prom and graduation season. The billboard message was, “Think parents provide alcohol to teens? Actually, MOST Stoughton parents (97%) DO NOT provide alcohol to teens. Thank you parents.” This billboard was used to dispel the myth held by parents that most parents in Stoughton typically provide alcohol to their children. By promoting the actual normative behaviors of parents, OASIS intends to correct misperceptions about parents providing alcohol to their children which will encourage the minority of other parents to not provide alcohol to teens.
OASIS is consistently collecting information to guide and evaluate the success of their strategies and programs. They gather information from youth, community members, service providers, school personnel, and other community sources. OASIS appreciates the time people take to complete surveys and participate in other methods of data collection and believe that all the information is valuable to help reduce youth substance use in Stoughton. Please visit the OASIS website (www.StoughtonOASIS.org) to learn about all the upcoming events and strategies OASIS is planning and please consider participating in an upcoming data collection activity!
Lisa Marschke and Jennifer Hohl
The Outcomes Project is a program of Health Imperatives, www.healthimperatives.org
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.
Marijuana is the most commonly-used illegal drug in the US, used by over 25 million Americans in the past year according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. While most teenagers do not smoke, a recent study shows that 32% of 12th graders have used at least once in the past year. Marijuana use among teens has gone down since the late 1990’s (see www.monitoringthefuture.org for national survey data). We hear a great deal of information from “pro-hemp” forces that marijuana is not harmful and should not be grouped with other illegal, and more dangerous, drugs. I’d like to go over some of the arguments they make:
· Pot is totally natural; it’s a plant: So is tobacco. So are many varieties of poisonous and hallucinogenic mushrooms. Poison hemlock is a plant, and is fatal to humans. Lots of things in our environment are natural but still harmful or deadly.
· Weed isn’t nearly as harmful as alcohol, which is legal: It’s true that alcohol in large quantities is more harmful and kills more people. One way to put it is to say that marijuana harms fewer people than alcohol does, but more than tofu does. It isn’t health food.
· Marijuana is not addictive: It’s true that marijuana is not physically addictive like heroin. Cocaine isn’t technically physically addictive either, but nobody would seriously say it’s not dangerous. Some people can find pot psychologically addictive. If you find yourself thinking about the drug when you’re not using, or find that you need it to calm down or to feel “normal”, then you’re addicted.
· Marijuana has been proven effective for managing pain and glaucoma: There have been no controlled studies to prove that marijuana is more effective than conventional drugs. Medical science does not consider any smoked medicine to be appropriate- dosage can not be controlled, and the method of smoking damages lungs and other organs just like cigarettes do.
· Pot is just recreational and doesn’t lead to other drugs: It’s true that many people use marijuana and never graduate to hard drugs. It’s also true that virtually everyone on hard drugs started with marijuana. It’s not a “gateway” for everyone, but it certainly increases your risk.
So do you (or someone you know) have a problem? How can you tell? Check this space next issue for more information. Or wwwStoughtonOASIS.gov
How Do I Know if I Have a Marijuana Problem?
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.
Last week I tried to rebut some of the common arguments of the pro-hemp forces. While marijuana is not as dangerous as opiates or cocaine, it is still a psychoactive and illegal drug, and it harms people. Some people reading this article will be unconvinced, however, and may say “OK, weed isn’t health food, but I use it and it hasn’t destroyed my life”.
Maybe it hasn’t. But I would urge you to ask yourself some tough questions:
· Do you have less motivation in school than you used to? Are your grades going down?
· Has your job performance deteriorated? Do you skip work more? Have you been sanctioned or fired from work?
· Have you stopped doing healthy activities that you used to enjoy?
· Do some people who used to spend time with you now refuse to do so?
· Are parents/friends/relatives/girlfriends/boyfriends telling you that you are smoking too much?
· Are you in legal trouble?
· Do you find yourself thinking about weed a lot when you haven’t smoked in a while?
· Are you always broke?
· Have you stolen money or drugs from people close to you?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, is it possible that marijuana use has contributed to any of this? If so, help is out there- contact OASIS and we can help put you in touch with professionals who know how to help, visit wwwStoughtonOASIS.gov
Teens with Time on their Hands
Sarah Strothkamp
Sarah is a graduate student at BU School of Public Health. She will be completing her Masters in Public Health this December. Sarah is interning at OASIS for the summer as part of an internship program through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA.
Summer can be a dangerous time for children and teens alike. Risks of sun damage or heat exhaustion often come to mind, especially when sending a young child off to camp, but what are the summer time risks for teenagers? According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002, teens are more likely to try marijuana or alcohol for the first time during summer months than during any of time of the year. The increased rate of teen substance use during the summer can be attributed to more free time and boredom.
Having certain freedoms as a teenager is an important part of growing up, but teens should know that there are limits and boundaries to their newfound freedoms. Have a designated curfew along with multiple check-in times during the day. Make sure that the rules are clear and enforceable with appropriate consequences if a rule is broken. Just as important as the consequences, are praise and reward when your teen follows the rules.
Stay involved in your teen’s life. Be aware of where they are going and with whom. Knowing your teen’s friends is important, and keep an eye out for sudden changes in who you teen is hanging out with, as this could be a warning sign of drug or alcohol use. A great way of staying involved in your teen’s life is to set aside family time once a week. Choose a fun activity that everyone can take part in and engage your teen in conversation about his or her life.
Finally, getting your teen involved in new activities during the summer is a great way of keeping the boredom at bay. Encourage your teen to volunteer in the community, get a job, or learn a new skill by taking a dance class, martial arts class, cooking class, etc. Have your teen spend time looking at colleges online or even planning a trip to visit a few schools. And don’t forget to have your teen check out what Stoughton Youth Commission has planned this summer.
Staying a Step ahead of the problem
Corie Brookshire
One of the most challenging parts about being a student today is not necessarily having the ability to successfully complete all the homework, tests or projects assigned. Every day students in all grades face the more difficult task of navigating the complex social and emotional aspects of their lives. Schoolwork ranks a distant second when students are having problems with friends, are upset or angry about something, or don’t feel good about themselves. Second Step is a guidance curriculum designed to help students tackle these issues. Second Step has been implemented by the guidance counselors in the Stoughton elemenary schools for over ten years now. The goals of Second Step in the elementary level are to teach the students to solve problems peacefully and have compassion for others. The main topics covered are Empathy, Impulse Control and Problem Solving, and Anger Management. Students learn by reviewing lesson cards with social situations pictured, watching DVDs, engaging in role plays and participating in discussions. The benefit of Second Step being taught throughout the system is that students learn a common language when facing challenging problems such as dealing with name calling and teasing, resisting peer pressure or expressing feelings. If you ask them, students will often say they enjoy Second Step, particulary role playing!
The middle school version of Second Step was piloted last year. Second Step replaced the previously taught seventh grade substance abuse program Project Alert. Research found that Second Step adhered more to the social norms approach that OASIS supports of clearing up misperceptions about substance abuse among teens and making good choices, instead of focusing on the negative consequences of using drugs and alcohol. Second Step at the middle school level continues to highlight empathy and problem solving, but adds in bullying prevention, coping with strong emotions, and substance abuse prevention. Lessons consist of group and class discussions, watching DVDs and participating in activities that support each topic. Second Step continues to be well received by the students at the O’Donnell Middle School. I want to thank the administration and staff who support our continued efforts.
Kerri Foley is the Massachusetts Promise Fellow serving at the Stoughton Youth Commission and OASIS as the Youth Coordinator.
One of the goals of OASIS is to give youth ways to feel more connected to the community and activities to help them make better decisions, especially regarding substance non-use. The OASIS youth coordinator, with community and youth collaborations, organize programs and events aimed at cultivating a better Stoughton for our middle and high school students.
OASIS offers middle school students in Stoughton to be part of a basketball tournament at the O’Donnell Middle School. It’s open to any sixth, seventh, or eight graders of all ability levels. Students fill the gym and play against their peers, and even sometimes against Principal Wayne Hester, and Vice Principals Matt Colantonio and David Guglia. Community volunteers referee and organize games with the kids that aren’t playing in the tournament.
On Friday, February 12th, the Stoughton Youth Commission and OASIS will be hosting a ‘Friday Knight’ Open Mic at their new home at 110 Rockland Street. They welcome performers of all kinds – bands, singers, solo acoustic sets, comedians, dancers, and poets. This one is for high school students only but stay on the look-out for middle school events in the next few months.
What’s the best way to make our town better for our youth? Ask them. This is the idea behind the Youth Speak-Outs. The Stoughton Youth Commission and OASIS value what youth have to say and what is important to them. OASIS collaborates with Stoughton high school and middle school students and coordinates an open space where community members and youths can meet and talk about how Stoughton can help them improve themselves as well as improve their community. The upcoming Speak-Outs are February 3rd from 7-9pm for high school youth and February 10th from 6-8pm for Stoughton middle school youth. Both are held at the Town Spa and will offer offer free pizza! Sign up now!
OASIS is introducing a new way to help youth. Beginning in February, they be offering personal and professional trainings to all high school youth in Stoughton. Some topics include leadership, project planning, and public speaking. These monthly trainings will be held at the Stoughton High School media center after school.
All of these programs are free. Contact Kerri Foley at KFoley@Stoughton-MA.gov or at 781-341-2252 x 457 or go to www.StoughtonOASIS.org for more information.
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.
Last week I tried to rebut some of the common arguments of the pro-hemp forces. While marijuana is not as dangerous as opiates or cocaine, it is still a psychoactive and illegal drug, and it harms people. Some people reading this article will be unconvinced, however, and may say “OK, weed isn’t health food, but I use it and it hasn’t destroyed my life”.
Is Marijuana Dangerous?
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.
My name is Arlene Newman one of the original coalition members. Over the five years I have seen the Coalition encourage members of the community to come together to provide information and programs that have changed the lives of so many in positive ways.
As a volunteer I have learned the needs of Stoughton Residents and helped facilitate and
Participate in many programs and activities. My most favorite is OASIS STRENGHTING FAMILY PROGRAM.
I attended the very first facilitator training program in 2005/2006. To date OASIS has 7 run programs for families with children from 6 years to 17 years.
My most memorable experience was co – facilitating two 12 week sessions for 6-12 year old children.
My biggest reward has been the joy of watching this age group enjoy learning the skills of communication with peers and parents, making appropriate choices and enjoying the entire experience of developing self confidence and positive behavior rewards.
I am now the Site Coordinator for the Program that allows me to interact with parents as well as the children to insure that the experience of participation is special and meaningful and has rewarding results in their lives.
Our reunions have provided more inspiration and confirmation of the success of this program. The skills and tools taught are easily continued in the everyday busy stressful lives of our participants making family time, discipline and positive choices a new beginning for our family members.
Our next program begins on January 26,2010 and registration is required, please contact Dawn Fontaine 781-341-2252 or email dfontaine@stoughton-ma.gov.
Ten long-lasting tips for recovery from drug or alcohol addiction
Dan Tarlin is a clinical social worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor at Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he directs the Partial Hospital Programs for children, adolescents, and adults. He has been working in the field for over twenty years and is a charter member of OASIS.