1. JANUARY SHOW THEME     ANNOUNCED: NEW YEAR'S     RESOLUTIONS MADE GOOD  2. WE WILL NOW BROADCAST     FROM KKLA STUDIOS 3. THIS WEEK'S SHOW: "IT'S     NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE     YOUR NEW YEAR'S     RESOLUTION" 4. STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE     DOC: "WHEN IT'S NO LONGER     FUN..." by Dr Steve 5. THOUGHT FOR RECOVERY-     "MAKING A RELAPSE     CHECKLIST" By Bob Munck 6. HYTHIAM IS OUR CORPORATE     SPONSOR 7. SIGN UP FOR THE FLASH! 8. ARCHIVES- LISTEN TO PAST     SHOWS 9. RECOVERY RADIO A NOT-     FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

1. JANUARY 2006 SHOW THEME ANNOUNCED  
NEW YEAR’S HOUSECLEANING: FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH OUR NEW YEARS’ RESOLUTIONS

OK. So we did it. We made our New Year’s resolutions. What’s next?? How do we follow through on our New Year's resolution to quit drinking or using??

New Year’s Eve is the time when we customarily do our annual mental, emotional, and spiritual housecleaning, and come up with a list of things we will do in the coming year to improve our lives. Many of us decided to quit drinking or using drugs…or, to stop our compulsive, addictive behavior. Now what??

This month on Recovery Radio we will help those of you who’s New Years’ Resolution it was to get into Recovery. We will walk you through the entire process, from decision to quit, all the way to maintaining ongoing, solid sobriety. How does one actually do it??

We will examine each step: Intervention/surrender, detoxification, rehab and “treatment”, and finally, ongoing recovery maintenance. We will provide an overview of the entire Recovery Process, from start to “end”…although there really is no end. Recovery is a daily reprieve, dependent upon ongoing work to keep our Recovery healthy and durable.

Coming in February, 2006: Sex Addiction! All month!!
 

2.  IT'S A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME!!
RECOVERY RADIO MOVES BROADCAST SITE TO KKLA STUDIOS

Beginning this Saturday, Bob and Dr Steve will be doing our weekly live broadcast from the Glendale, CA studios of our Los Angeles affliliate, 99.5 FM KKLA. You will not notice any difference in the broadcast; only we will!!

We are looking forward to this move, as the studios at KKLA are state-of-the art, and well-supported with seasoned industry professionals. We have very much appreciated the help of Chuck Everts of Everts Sound Studios in Laguna Niguel, our broadcast home for the past 8 months. Chuck and his buddy Bill Peters have been wonderful friends and great supporters, but Chuck is easing back towards retirement, and is ending his his studio's weekends and nights commitments.

So...so-long for now, Chuck and Bill, and hello KKLA!! Here we come!!

“It’s NOT Too Late to Make Your New Year’s Resolution!!”

If January 1st arrived and you are still drinking or using drugs, or are still acting out on your compulsive addictive behavior, you may be feeling depressed that you did not follow through on your desire to quit. Well don’t feel alone!! Most of us have made this apocryphal decision (to quit “tomorrow”!!) literally thousands of times…only to pick right back up the next day.

This is the nature of addiction. It is chronic, compulsive, powerful, and very predictable. It is a disease; a brain disease. We are unable to control our addictions by ourselves. WE NEED HELP!

The first critical step towards freedom from addiction is to WANT RECOVERY. This does not usually come from our own decision-making. Either we hit such a low bottom that we are now completely, totally, and thoroughly beaten down and demoralized, OR, we are forced into it through an intervention by concerned family and friends.

Tonight we will discuss the ways that an addict can make that critical decision to WANT RECOVERY. It is NOT too late to make a 2006 New Year’s Resolution. We will examine what an “intervention” is, and how it is done. We will outline the basic process that usually occurs once a person has made the decision to seek Recovery. For instance, what is “detox”?, and why is it so critically important to go through this often-times very unpleasant step? Why is it generally best for an addict to go into a formal treatment program (“rehab”), as opposed to simply getting a sponsor and attending 12-Step meetings?? Why is it so much more difficult for most addicts to dispense with the rehab treatment process? Is residential treatment more effective than outpatient treatment? Why?...or Why not?? We will examine these and other interesting issues.

Essentially no family in this country is spared from the effects of the disease of Addiction. We all know someone near us who is suffering from this terrible disease. But Recovery from addiction is possible! Learn more about the overall Recovery process by joining us this week.

Join us "LIVE!!" this Saturday night, 6 - 8P Pacific Time 99.5 KKLA Los Angeles, or, in 10 other cities, or, Streaming on the Web. RECOVERY WORKS!!
 

Drinking and using drugs was fun at first…WONDERFUL, it seemed. “Better living with applied pharmaceuticals”. Or so I thought.

After a while, it was no longer fun. In fact, it became a chore; very much a chore, and an ugly one at that. Why??

The brain is set to work at a specified level of mood. It is normal to feel…..well….NORMAL!! All of us will experience life events that will cause our mood to either go up, such as when we win the lottery, or have great sex with our partner, or, to feel down, such as when a loved one dies, or if we lose our job. This is NORMAL.

Throwing alcohol or drugs into our brains can cause it to temporarily feel GREAT!! However, the brain will ALWAYS adapt itself to return to the pre-existing “normal state”. If we have drugs in our system constantly, the brain will gradually “inhibit-down”, or, re-set it’s balancing influences and neural circuits to get back to “average”. This is called “adaptation”. If we are constantly drinking alcohol or using drugs, our brain situation will gradually adapt such that even with drugs on board, we only feel “normal”. Back to baseline, so to speak.

This is why over time, it takes more alcohol or drugs in order to get “HIGH”. Eventually, we MUST drink or take drugs, just to feel “NORMAL”. That's when it is no longer fun. It becomes WORK!!

So, it should be no surprise, that at some point in time, we will arrive at that point where we must constantly drink or use just to stay on an even keel. If we don’t, we experience WITHDRAWAL, which is just as unpleasant as it used to be pleasurable to get high. An equal but opposite reaction...Newton's law applied to the brain. Yechhhh!!!!!

If we had only known this terrible fact before we started, we just MIGHT have thought twice about continuing our drinking and using.

Unfortunately, we MUST pay the piper when we decide to get into recovery. The first step, then, is DETOX. Detox is the gradual removal of alcohol or drug from our system during the time that we are getting off of them. Detox from certain drugs is merely unpleasant, such as with heroin or other opiates. You WISH your would die, but you don’t. On the other hand, detox from alcohol and benzodiazepines can be extremely dangerous, and can result in death from Delirium Tremens, or “DT’s”.

The BEST way to detox is to NOT do it on your own. First of all, once you start to withdraw and feel lousy, you will easily be tempted to resume your drug, just to end the misery quickly and predictably. Secondly and more importantly, detox can be life- threatening, as with alcohol. Therefore, detox is best done under medical supervision. We call this “Medical Detox”.

When you quit, do it right! Do it with Medical Detox!!

This is Dr. Steve, giving it to you straight, tonight!!!

**Call us or send an e-mail if you need assistance in finding a medical detox.
Contact info here>>>

Each week on our show this past year, Bob has shared his "Thought for the Day", a unique personal devotion meant to inspire those of us in Recovery. This is from a man with 15 years of personal sobriety, and with many years of recovery leadership. He has seen and heard it all. He has sponsored hundreds of men during that time. This week, Bob will put a new twist on his reflections; they will now be called "Thought for Recovery", and will focus on pearls of wisdom that all alcoholics and addicts in Recovey can use to enhance their own Recovery. This week in the FLASH! we are reprinting Bob's inaugural Thought for Recovery:

Making a Relapse Checklist

Relapse does not happen in isolation, nor does it occur without warning. Always, ALWAYS...there is a pattern of behaviors that begins weeks if not months before an actual relapse. In a sense, relapse is not a random event; rather, it is planned in advance. Having a checklist of warning signs- "symptoms", behaviors, and thought patterns that lead to relapse- can help us avoid dreaded relapse. Here are some informally-described things to look for in your life:

1) EXHAUSTION: Allowing oneself to become overly tired or in poor health. Some alcoholics are also prone to work addictions -- perhaps they are in a hurry to make up for lost time. Good health and enough rest are important.
2) DISHONESTY: This begins with a pattern of unnecessary "little lies" and deceits affecting fellow workers, friends and family. Then comes the important lies to oneself. This is called rationalizing –A "Ration of Lies"
3) IMPATIENCE: Here, things are not happening fast enough. Or, others are not doing what "they" should be doing...or more correctly, what WE want them to do.
4) ARGUMENTATIVENESS: Arguing small and ridiculous points of view indicates a need to always be right. No one is always right.
5) DEPRESSION: Unreasonable and unaccountable despair can grow and start to cycle into a crisis. This should be dealt with early on -- sharing and talking about it with a trusted friend helps tremendously.
6) FRUSTRATION: We simmer with anger towards people around us, often because things may not be going our way. Remember -- everything is not going to be just the way we want it.
7) SELF-PITY: Wallowing in ourselves: "Why do these things happen to me?" "Why am I an addict?" "Nobody appreciates me, nor all that I do (for them!)".
8) COCKINESS: "I've got it made" ... Arrogance occurs when we no longer have fear of our Addiction -- such as going into drinking & using situations to prove to others we have no problem. Doing this often enough will wear down our defenses.
9) COMPLACENCY: "Drinking & using was the farthest thing from my mind." Not drinking was no longer a conscious thought either. It is dangerous to let up on self-disciplines because everything is going well. Having a little fear is always a good thing. After all, more relapses occur when things are going well... than otherwise. It is dangerous to let up on self-discipline just because everything is going well.
10) EXPECTING TOO MUCH FROM OTHERS: "I've changed; why hasn't everyone else?" In reality, it's a plus if they do change-- but it is still our problem if they do not.
11) LETTING UP ON DISCIPLINES: ...Such as Prayer, meditation, daily inventory, 12 group attendance. This (letting up) can stem either from complacency or boredom. We cannot afford to be bored with our program. The cost of relapse is always too great.
12) USE OF Prescription Drugs: We may feel the need to ease things with a pill, and our doctor may go along with us, but we can easily lose sobriety starting this way -- this is perhaps the most subtle way to have a relapse.. and yet the most predictable!! Remember, we will be cheating!
13) WANTING TOO MUCH: We should not set goals we cannot reach with normal effort. We must not expect too much. It's always great when good things happen that we were not expecting.
14) FORGETTING GRATITUDE: We may be looking negatively on our lives, concentrating on problems that still are not totally corrected. But- it is good to remember where we started from -- and how much better our lives are now.
15) "IT CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME.": This is dangerous thinking. Almost anything can happen to us and is more likely to if we get careless.
16) OMNIPOTENCE: This is a feeling that results from a combination of many of the above. This is where we have all the answers for ourselves and others. No one can tell us anything. We ignore suggestions or advice from others. When this occurs, relapse is quite imminent unless drastic change takes place.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I have a Recovery Plan?

• Am I carefully following that Plan?

• Have I let up on any part of my Plan?

Then....Take a weekly inventory of these warning signs, and see where you stand. If the inventory suggests that relapse is possible...or imminent, take action immediately!!

Our newsletter is a free, weekly update on what's going on here at RRS. We will include a PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK"S SHOW TOPIC, HOW Program updates, and much, much more.
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LISTEN TO PAST SHOWS!
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RECOVERY RADIO A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
The Recovery Radio Show is organized as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public benefit corporation under the IRS tax code: Our Mission is to provide education about addiction to our fellow human beings, and to do what we can to allow those still suffering to get into recovery. If you, or your company, would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the RRS, you may do so with our profound thanks and appreciation by clicking on the link above, or by going to the "DONATE" button on our website on the HOME page. Or, you may call our very own Melissa Stewart at 866.334.0471 M-F between the hours of 8A - 5P.

That's it for this week....Join us this Saturday Night, won't you?????.....6-8 Pacific Time...on-air, or on the web.

Yours very truly, and in sobriety,
Dr Steve, Bob, and the Recovery Radio Crew