Sober Transitions

Thoughts of a Recovering Addict

Family and Friends Held a Surprise Intervention to Convince Eamon O'Hara to Attend Rehab

By EAMON O'HARA
MALIBU, Calif., March 28, 2008

On Dec. 1, 2007, Eamon O'Hara's family gathered with four recovering drug addicts in his boyhood home to prepare for a surprise intervention. On that day there was a single goal: to get Eamon to agree to go to rehabilitation.

The 22-year-old was once an honor roll student and star athlete whose life had spiraled into a drunken mess of legal, financial and familial problems. Most recently, a drunken car accident had left him with a face full of glass, but even that was not enough of a wake-up call for him to stop binging on an average of 40 beers, seven nights a week.

The intervention worked, and Eamon agreed to give rehab a chance. He flew to the Marshak Clinic in Malibu, Calif. During the Marshak Clinic's 28-day detox and educational rehabilitation program, Eamon was introduced to a low glycemic diet augmented by supplements and intense yoga sessions.

He is now living and working in Villa Malibu's Club Soba, a sober living facility.

These are Eamon's thoughts after 118 days of sobriety.

I could not have asked for a more rewarding experience than I have encountered during my sobriety, thus far. The obstacles I have already overcome in such a short period of time are things that I truly believed impossible during my lifetime. At first I was reluctant to commit to such a life-changing experience. I had never ventured down a road like this before; I stood face to face with the fear of the unknown. After all, the reason for my excessive drinking and drug use was because I wasn't willing to face reality, and was afraid of the possible grim future that seemed to becoming surreal.

My life just wasn't coming together the way I had hoped. Instead of taking actions to fix the problem I had created, I took the easier way out. I chose to numb my feelings with the use of chemicals in an attempt to feel instant gratification and satisfaction for the way I was living.

The Dec. 1 intervention was a most shocking experience; perhaps one of the most memorable events to take place in my life. Whoever thought that a kid growing up in a middle-class town, with a loving supportive family, and a strong athletic and academic background, would need an intervention at 22 years old because his life had become so unmanageable due to drug and alcohol abuse? Not me!

Continue Reading Article at ABC News: Journey Into Rehab

 

Staying Sober with Daniel Baldwin

Actor Performs Surprise Intervention for Troubled 22-Year-Old

By ERIC M. STRAUSS
March 28, 2008

For more than 18 years, actor Daniel Baldwin has battled an addiction to smoking cocaine. He has been in and out of rehab nine times, and in January, he joined the reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew," planning to serve as a mentor to the other participants. But during the fourth episode, Baldwin left the show, saying it was "no longer conducive to my sobriety. Period."

Actor Daniel Baldwin confronts Eamon O'Hara, left, during an intervention.O'Hara's mother had sent Baldwin a letter asking him to help her son, who was abusing alcohol.

(ABC News)

At the end of 2006, he allowed ABC News cameras unprecedented access to his seven-month journey through rehab at Renaissance Malibu, one of the most exclusive rehab facilities in the country. He struggled to rid his body of drugs, dealt with mounting legal problems, resumed his acting career and began to rebuild relationships that were affected by his addiction.

The hourlong ABC News documentary received an overwhelming response last summer, and Baldwin received dozens of letters, some offering support and some asking for help.

 

Request for Help

One letter stuck out for Baldwin. It was a note written by Kristen O'Hara on the night the ABC News program ran. Kristen's 22-year-old son, Eamon, went from honor roll student and star athlete to a binge drinking, emotional, financial burden on his parents and loving younger brother and sister.

continue reading......

Drunkorexia...An Eating Disorder with a Twist

The latest entry in the lexicon of food-related ills is drunkorexia, shorthand for a disturbing blend of behaviors: self-imposed starvation or binging and purging, combined with alcohol abuse.

Drunkorexia is not an official medical term. But it hints at a troubling phenomenon in addiction and eating disorders. Among those who are described as drunkorexics are college-age binge drinkers, typically women, who starve all day to offset the calories in the alcohol they consume. The term is also associated with serious eating disorders, particularly bulimia, which often involve behavior like binging on food — and alcohol — and then purging.

Anorexics, because they severely restrict their calorie intake, tend to avoid alcohol. But some drink to calm down before eating or to ease the anxiety of having indulged in a meal. Others consume alcohol as their only sustenance. Still others use drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine to suppress their appetites.

"There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth but have no problem drinking a beer," said Dr. Douglas Bunnell, the director of outpatient clinical services for the Renfrew Center, based in Philadelphia.

The center, like a small but growing number of eating-disorder and addiction-treatment facilities, most on the West Coast, offers a dual focus on substance abuse and eating disorders. ....... continue reading

Coming Up Soon!!!!

UKESAD- 5^th UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders May 8-10, 2008 www.ukesad.org

CARON -  Greater New York Community Service Awards Breakfast -  Friday, May 9, 2008 8:00AM - 3 West Club - 3 West 51st Street, NY

NAATP 2008 Addiction Treatment Leadership Conference May 18- 21, 2008.  Renaissance Esmeralda Resort - Indian Wells, CA

 

Current Drug Information : 'Budder'

Budder is a concentrated form of THC, the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis (marijuana).
Contents

    * 1 Comparison with Other Cannabis-Related Drugs
    * 2 Method of Use
    * 3 Effects
    * 4 Method of Creation
    * 5 References
    * 6 See also

Comparison with Other Cannabis-Related Drugs

Budder is reported as being the purest cannabis product available, at anywhere between 82% and 99.6% THC/CBN/CBD[1], making it several times more potent than the buds of the cannabis plant that are usually consumed (5%–15%). One hit of Budder is supposedly equal to 1 – 2 full cannabis joints. Also the high is reported as being more clear and longer lasting than "average" marijuana.

Method of Use

Inhalation is the primary method of consumption, and is performed by first heating a piece of metal with a propane torch, or with a budder-kit which consists of a butane torch with a small strip of metal attached and designed to be heated when the lighter is lit. A minuscule amount (about the size of the head of a pin) of the budder is applied to the heated metal. This will result in gaseous THC and other cannabinoids being released, which can then be inhaled. You can also use charcoal (found at most middle eastern stores used for hookahs). You use a pin/dentist tool(found at hardware stores) to scoop the budder and drop onto the coal. You can use a plastic pop bottle with the bottom cut off as your hooters.

Effects

The effects of budder are reasonably fast-acting and long-lasting, and similar to the effects of smoking cannabis. Initially, the user may experience a sharp increase in body temperature and heart rate. The user will then enter a mellow and soft state of mind for several hours, whose effects can include but are not limited to:

    * auditory and / or visual hallucinations (however not anywhere near as strong as psilocybin/LSD)
    * random stream of consciousness-like thought patterns
    * disconnection / separation from outside events
    * paranoia
    * hunger

Major effects subside after 3 or 4 hours, depending on dosage and THC tolerance of the user. Some effects can still be felt after 8 hours, and in some cases users can feel "burned out" the next day.

Budder is extremely potent and sometimes has a delayed "kick-in" time before it reaches its full effect. The result of this is that users can overconsume and then be overwhelmed by the extreme effect of the drug.

Method of Creation

Budder is made by whipping in air and freezing isomerizied hash oil. Isomerization is an additional chemical step that converts the delta 9-thc to delta 6-thc activating a lot of the normally non-active cannabinoids[2].

References

   1. Beautiful Budder article at cannabisculture.org
   2. Article mentioning Budder at The Vancouver Sun

Thank You Joyce for sharing this new information with us!
    Joyce Sundin, CCDC II, NCAC II, BRI II, CPGC
Board Registered Intervention Specialist
Addiction Intervention Specialist
206-634-0434
888-634-0434
www.interventionhelp.com