Beyond Addiction from Creators Syndicate

Memorializing Days for 05/26/2012

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The unofficial start of summer is an official holiday to remember all Americans who have died in wartime service for our country.

That's easy for me to do, because I cry every time I watch the opening scenes of "Saving Private Ryan." I'm forever in awe of our fighting men and women — far younger than I am — whose bravery I never will match because I never will know ...

Updated: Sat May 26, 2012

Enough Already for 05/19/2012

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Rarely do I go back to back on the same topic. But I'm awash in readers' responses to a daughter's plea about her alcoholic mother, so here we go.

Last week, Cathy W. from Milwaukee asked, "When is enough enough?" Her family wants to do something to help her mother, whose denial is killing her and grinding down everyone who loves her. Don't wait, I told Cathy. Do an interventio ...

Updated: Sat May 19, 2012

Into Action for 05/12/2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Right now, there are too many people in crisis for me to fill this space with the musing of my own head. It's time for action.

Dear Mr. Moyers: You talk all the time about alcoholics or people who use drugs. But what about the rest of us, the family? My mother is drinking herself into a bad, bad situation. She's damaged her liver, ruined her esophagus and who knows what else, and all but ...

Updated: Sat May 12, 2012

Lives of Faith for 05/05/2012

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

This is a short story about faith and recovery — recovery not from addiction but from tragedy — a story involving people I knew of but never had met, even though we had shared a horrific moment, a sudden jolt of electricity that forever fused and changed our lives, 41 years before.

Theirs is a story of inspiration.

The other day, we gathered around a table in Amarillo, ...

Updated: Sat May 05, 2012

Guilt Doesn't Equal Shame for 04/28/2012

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

When it comes to gauging shame, nobody is a better judge or jury than people awash in their own addiction. Shame is a driver of why we get high in the first place; we don't like what we feel about ourselves. The worse we feel the more we drink or take drugs. Yet the more we consume the worse we feel. Around and around the centrifuge we go until it is impossible to tell whether shame is chasing ...

Updated: Sat Apr 28, 2012

Midway on the Way for 04/21/2012

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

To appreciate how far we've come, it is sometimes necessary to return to the places we've been.

Every week, I hear from people who aren't sure whether they can endure the struggle to overcome addiction and keep a tenuous grip on their newfound recovery. But among veterans with years or decades behind them, the anguish can be just as intense, though it isn't about the drink or drug anymor ...

Updated: Sat Apr 21, 2012

Juvie Education for 04/14/2012

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

This week, I went to court thinking I knew a lot about drugs and young people. After shadowing the process of juvenile justice for an afternoon, I discovered some things I hadn't realized.

—"Weed" (marijuana) is beer. It is ubiquitous, the overwhelming drug of choice and a factor in almost every teen's reason for being in court. Kids smoke it as parents used to drink &mda ...

Updated: Sat Apr 14, 2012

Double Jolt for 04/07/2012

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The local grocery checkout counter and the foyer in my own home aren't exactly places I expect a blow to the gut. But twice in an hour today, I got a jolting reminder of why personal perspectives make it so difficult to come together in conversation about substance use in communities like mine.

"How are you, sweetie? How are the kids?" the veteran cashier asked me as she has ev ...

Updated: Sat Apr 07, 2012

Red Rubber Ball for 03/24/2012

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Let the record reflect: I have a new respect for swag. And it is all because of an innocuous red rubber ball.

That's remarkable, because until this week, I disdained swag, even though I never had heard the acronym to describe the "stuff we all get" — you know, key chains and silly plastic magnets and cheap pens and other novelty junk that fills bags usually given away for ...

Updated: Sat Mar 24, 2012

Much Better Now to the End for 03/17/2012

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

There are a lot of us out there.

A recent national survey by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services asked people this question: "Did you once have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but no longer do?" According to the survey data, 1 in 10 of the respondents said yes, which the survey correlates to about 23 million of us ...

Updated: Sat Mar 17, 2012

Up or Down and Always for 03/10/2012

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Huffington Post is a favorite source of mine for solid, if not slightly off-center, news. The other day, though, a story about addiction treatment was so far off base that it missed the mark completely.

Here's the bold headline: "Rehab Surges In Bad Economy With Executives Who Won't Stop Working." The article went on to make the case that treatment centers' business booms w ...

Updated: Sat Mar 10, 2012

Two Illnesses, One Debate for 03/03/2012

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Let's compare and contrast the lives and deaths of Anthony Shadid and Whitney Houston.

First, in life, both were enormously successful. For Shadid, a newspaper reporter, that meant the coveted Pulitzer Prize. He won two within six years, covering the conflicts in the Middle East for The New York Times. For Houston, that meant six Grammys and a string of No. 1 hits as one of the world's g ...

Updated: Sat Mar 03, 2012

Bookends for 02/25/2012

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dr. George Mann and Mel Schulstad were like bookends on opposite ends of the row. Their perspectives came from different positions. But their intent was exactly the same. George stood up for the family, while Mel did the same for the family's alcoholic or addict. Between the two of them, they did wonders to keep everyone from falling down.

George died earlier this month, and a few weeks ...

Updated: Sat Feb 25, 2012

Whitney's Legacy for 02/18/2012

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Had she lived, Whitney Houston would have been in the second-to-last "class" of baby boomers turning 50 years old. Her death underscores a dangerous dynamic facing this generation as it enters older age.

About 77 million Americans were born between 1946 and 1964, the span generally defined as the baby boom generation. Now we're entering late middle age and senior years. Yes, it ...

Updated: Sat Feb 18, 2012

Stealth Bomber for 02/11/2012

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Sometimes it is the immediacy of the moment's emotions that demands this space, and that's what spills forth right now. The best I can do is just lay it out; if I think too hard, I'll bury it in a neat and tidy column, and you won't know what I'm feeling.

Tonight a friend of mine is in the Union Gospel Mission. As homeless shelters go, it is a fine place. It's still a place, though, for ...

Updated: Sat Feb 11, 2012

Vigilance: A Mouthful for 02/04/2012

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Suddenly, I'm enamored with going to the dentist. I even welcome his prying at my teeth and poking into my gums, which need repair. Bring it on, I say. Except when he's got his tools in my mouth propped wide-open. Then I utter nothing.

My new affinity with my dentist of 20 years is all about the medication he's prescribed after my past few visits. Hydrocodone, the conqueror of pain, the ...

Updated: Sat Feb 04, 2012

My Hero Mel, Twice for 01/28/2012

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

It's not often any of us can claim one hero twice in our lives, and for different reasons.

In my life, that's Mel Schulstad. He died this month. He was 93. This past week, I had the honor of offering a eulogy at his memorial service in Everett, Wash. Here is part of what I shared:

Col. Lewis Melvin Schulstad is my genuine war hero. A combat veteran of the air battles over Europe i ...

Updated: Sat Jan 28, 2012

Back at Me for 01/21/2012

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

My most memorable moment with a boomerang as a kid was tossing it in defiance of the large plate-glass window across the street from where I was standing. Mine clearly was not designed for sport; those, if thrown properly, return to the thrower, at least in theory. No, mine flew as the boomerang was originally intended — straight and true to kill small animals for food in the Australian o ...

Updated: Sat Jan 21, 2012

An 'Insider's' Appeal for 01/07/2012

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Now it's your turn.

Usually, in this space I offer solicited guidance to readers who are struggling with problems related to alcohol or other drugs. Sometimes I just pontificate on what is relevant to my own experiences in sobriety, whether you ask for it or not.

Today I'm the one asking for your help.

I am writing a book. It is an "insider's" guide to addiction a ...

Updated: Sat Jan 07, 2012

New Days to New Years for 12/31/2011

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Virgin promise abounds right now. Whatever we vow to change about our lives, hopeful commitment drives us into 2012 like a snowplow charging down an impassable road after a paralyzing blizzard. The path ahead is fresh, clean and clear. We're on the move again in the right direction.

The holidays are always a reminder that we've done too much of something that isn't good for us. The first ...

Updated: Sat Dec 31, 2011