Wonderland Recovery Blog

In September, our team will be starting entrepreneurship training at Wonderland Center and Chandler Lodge. For many recovering addicts and alcoholics, the disease of addiction has made it very difficult to get a good job. Many addicts enter sobriety with criminal records, gaps in their resume and limited support from friends and family (we create a lot of wreckage!). One way to create opportunities and increase wealth is through entrepreneurship. When getting a job is difficult, we start our own businesses.

Our organization the 12 Angels http://www.12angels.org/ will be using materials provided by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. http://www.kauffman.org/ The vision of the Kauffman Foundation is to foster “a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities.”

In a report published by the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction in 2006 “the largest component of the cost of substance use disorders is the loss of productivity* and its impact on businesses. In 2002, drug use disorders alone contributed to a loss of productivity amounting to $128.6 billion based on work in the labor market and household production that was never performed, but could reasonably be expected to be performed if it were not for drug misuse. Alcoholism alone is estimated to cause 500 million lost workdays annually.”

It is time to increase the quantity and type of programs offerred to recovering addicts and alcoholics. We believe “social entrepreneurship” will help lead our recovery in the area in productivity! We support Wonderland Center and Chandler Lodge as models of social entrpreneurship!

The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently cited between fifty and seventy risk factors for drug abuse 1)the individual’s peers 2)the individual’s family 3)the individual. The largest risk factor for drug abuse is an untreated childhood mental disorder including trauma and PTSD. Two other major reasons people take drugs are to “feel good” or to “feel better” (self-medication).

Scientific research, mainly in neurobiology, has produced significant studies of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The findings through brain imaging demonstrate that trauma can affect the body and brain much more than had previously been understood (Van der Kolk 1996). Traumatic memories are stored not only in the mind but throughout the body as what scientists call cellular memory.

Whether a person’s addiction is caused by trauma or whether trauma intensifies addiction, our therapists, psychiatrists and doctors use the latest techniques to support recovery. This includes:

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy helps you explore and understand the unconscious aspects of the trauma and its personal meaning for you. This form of treatment may be necessary for multiple traumatic events experienced over time (e.g., childhood abuse in a dysfunctional family).

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). The premise of EMDR is that many traumatic events are not properly “processed” by the memory network of the brain, and that the eye movements of EMDR help a person “reprocess” the traumatic memory through “rapid learning” so that it no longer has negative psychological effects.

Pharmacotherapy refers to the use of medication to help alleviate serious symptoms, such as anxiety and insomnia, so that psychotherapy can be effective.

Group Therapy may be used for social support and to help individuals understand and resolve the social aspects of their symptoms.

Creative Arts Therapies are sometimes used in conjunction with other treatment.

I had an interesting experience upon my return from Wonderland. As I was withdrawing some money from an ATM machine in a local convenience store near my house, a lady who has worked there for some time and was familiar with me approached me and indicated that I had been gone for a while and that she missed me,. She then asked if I had gone somewhere to get help. I was a bit taken aback for two reasons, one that she would recognize my extended absence as hundreds of people must walk through the doors of the store everyday and two, that she would presume that I had gone to get help for my substance abuse. Now it is fair to say she was aware that I was a heavy drinker as I purchased a lot of alcohol from this store. But her inquiry was one of clear concern, sincerity and she said “I looked very good”.

A week or so later when that same lady was working the register and I was purchasing my usual stock of diet coke and diet Rockstar, she stated to me that, prior to my stint at Wonderland and return to Baton Rouge, she felt that my spirit walked with angels but that she could tell that my heart was lost and that she prayed consistently that God would help me to find peace. I found this truly astounding that someone who was merely an acquaintance could have taken such an interest in me and volunteered such information unsolicited.

On my next visit, I engaged the same lady in conversation, she commented that here comes that sweet sweet man as I approached the register. She was very close. Again I was stunned that she had taken such a continued interest in my well being and truly seemed to care about my welfare. She further indicated that she had often talked about me with her co-workers and was truly concerned about my welfare and was very much relieved to see that I had gotten help and found some element of happiness and hoped that I continued on the sobriety path that I had begun. I am not altogether sure what the moral or message is in this story, but it is truly evidence of our impact on others in life whether we recognize it or not and that there does exist some higher power that perhaps makes itself known through others.

Relapse is a tragic reality of addiction (alcoholism). Addiction is a complex but treatable brain disease. It is characterized by compulsive drug craving, seeking, and use in the face of severe consequences. Relapse to drug abuse occurs at rates similar to those for other well-characterized, chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. As a chronic, recurring illness, addiction may require repeated treatments to increase the intervals between relapses and diminish their intensity, until abstinence is achieved.

I have relapsed while in treatment many times. In fact out of my 10 treatment experiences - I used, tried to use, or left to use, 50% of the time. 80% of the time, I relapsed within the first year of my recovery. Addiction is a brain disease. The brain controls our behavior. Therefore relapse is part of the disease. It will occur in most attempts at recovery. What steps can we take to help our addicts and alcoholics when they relapse?

Increase the amount of containment; Increase the amount of structure; Increase accountability
Increase education; Increase or modify therapy; Increase medical or psychiatric care; Increase the number of 12 Step meetings; Encourage spiritual practices; Encourage healthy exercise and nutrition; Reduce the shame of relapse and encourage honesty; Just for today, let’s stop living in denial! Relapse is part of the disease and therefore part of our recovery.

At Wonderland we know addiction is life threatening and incredibly important to address immediately. Our treatment philosophy is that of integration not isolation. We don’t minimize the severity of addictive disorders. All of the staff has suffered the horrible pain of losing family members, friends or associates to this disease. Our first priority is to stop active addiction and provide enough containment for recovery to begin. The question is “do you need to be on an island, in the mountains or in the desert to begin your recovery”?

One of the biggest challenges with the recovery process is “Work”. Work is an incredibly important part of recovery. We work with clients with a diverse set of work situations.

Some of our clients are financially fortunate; making money is not required for them to pay their bills. We treat entrepreneurs, executives and professionals who have achieved financial and professional success in their work lives.

The challenge for this group of clients coming into treatment may include:

1. Diminished professional reputation
2. Lost time away from their profession or business
3. Missing upcoming events, projects or deadlines
4. Lost income or opportunities
5. Contractual obligations and commitments

Most treatment centers have a one size fits all philosophy of treatment. There attitude is set aside your work life and come into treatment. Faced with this choice many addicted people choose not to go into treatment. Many people needing treatment put off going into treatment because of this approach. At Wonderland we offer individualized treatment programs specifically tailored to each individual’s needs. We encourage recovery as soon as possible. Don’t wait.

I know the doctors and psychiatrists at Wonderland are the best in the business. They are cutting edge professionals that specialize in addiction. They provide life saving services to our clients. Yet with all their knowledge, skills and experience they cannot stop an addict from using! Our counselors, therapists and clinical team are the best they can’t stop an addict from using. Our nutritional consultants, fitness gurus and yoga teachers can’t stop an addict from using. I have come to the conclusion no one can stop an addict or alcoholic from using except the addict or alcoholic. Therefore all the services we provide at Wonderland are designed to empower our clients to help themselves. We provide a comprehensive set of services from multiple disciplines to provide exceptional recovery rates for our industry. And we encourage our clients to attend 12 Step meetings. The 12 Steps are not for everyone. But they do work for millions of people, including me. There are over 11,000 treatment centers in the nation and over 50,000 sober livings. If alcoholism and addiction were easy to treat, addiction would not be a bigger health problem than cancer or diabetes.

We all know alcoholism and addiction are huge social problems. What is less understood is alcoholism and addiction’s affect on productivity? It is easy to see, walk into a drug treatment center, how many people are not working, on disability, unemployment or general relief. Why? Addiction separates us from society. Being clean and sober is the first step back. Complete recovery requires reintegration into society. One of the ways we reintegrate is through working. Why can’ the newly clean and sober find jobs or work? A criminal record, gaps in employment, poor personal and professional networks or all of the above. Early recovery is a roller coaster ride of emotion and physiological changes in the body. In the recovery community we call it healing. A friend of mine Executive Dave said in our weekly “work in recovery” group something I’ll always remember: Find a “Get Well” job in the first year. I love that! While your body and mind are healing take it slow. Don’t try to find the perfect career, just get a Get Well job. Keep busy, go to meetings, get support and stay clean and sober. In my life this has turned out to be the best advice possible.

Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) http://www.pacificcommunityventures.org is an amazing organization. They are on the cutting edge of social entrepreneurship. This organization is a hybrid between a traditional VC firm and a Nonprofit Community Development organization. PCV has helped Wonderland develop employment programs and benefits for our team that help drive our success. If you get a chance check out PCV they are a company to be followed!

Alex

We get many questions on our recovery rate. We have a strong community of alumni in recovery. Our last check-in with former clients placed the percentage still clean and sober after leaving treatment at 65%. We are very proud of this statistic. We hope one day we can achieve 100% recovery rates for our clients; we want all of our clients to be happy, successful, clean and sober. There is no known cure for alcoholism and addiction. For more information on alcoholism and addiction please see this very well written article. http://health.howstuffworks.com/alcoholism7.htm .

We wish every person a life free of addiction. We cannot claim anyone leaving Wonderland Center has been “cured”.

Alex Shohet