
{"id":3450,"date":"2008-09-18T07:39:31","date_gmt":"2008-09-18T15:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2008-09-18T07:39:31","modified_gmt":"2008-09-18T15:39:31","slug":"recovery-and-%e2%80%9cthe-peace-within-yourself%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/09\/18\/recovery-and-%e2%80%9cthe-peace-within-yourself%e2%80%9d\/","title":{"rendered":"Recovery and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Peace within Yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Peter Kramer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>September is celebrated nationally as Recovery Month, a time to recognize the possibilities and promise of a life free from addiction. This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theme is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Join the Voices for Recovery; Real People, Real Recovery.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nThe National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2007 had good news and bad news. On the one hand, cocaine and methamphetamine use were down among young adults, cocaine use by one-fourth and meth by one-third. Still, one in five reported using an illicit substance the month before. Among the 12-17 age group, drug use in the month prior to the survey decreased from 9.8 percent to 9.5 percent, continuing a five-year trend. Their alcohol and tobacco use was also down.<\/p>\n<p>Significantly, use by the 50-59 age group increased, suggesting that baby boomers have not given up habits started 30 and more years ago. Of 20 million people over the age of 12 who admitted using an illicit substance, the great majority reported using marijuana. The study found a direct link between illicit drug use and incidents of depression.<br \/>\nMillions of individuals suffering from substance abuse have found comfort and success in Twelve Step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). <\/p>\n<p>The steps refer to a process whereby the individual, through attending group meetings, relentless reading, prayer and study, and with the support of a sponsor, conducts a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fearless moral inventory.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The steps include admitting one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s powerlessness over the problem, asking for help from a higher power (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God as we know him\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), acknowledging wrong done to others, making amends and, finally, helping others in their own path to the better life possible through recovery.<\/p>\n<p>By contacting the customer service number of the OPC (Orange Person Chatham) Area Program \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 913-4120 or 1-877-277-2303 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c callers can locate an AA or NA meeting in the three-county area. We can also answer, in a confidential manner, all kinds of questions about issues and services pertaining to mental illness, substance abuse and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Donna Edmonds, a 34-year-old client of the UNC Horizons Program based in Carrboro, is a Voice for Recovery. Horizons, a component of the UNC School of Medicine, provides treatment for women addicted to substances. Its support includes outpatient support groups; prenatal and postnatal OB-GYN treatment; classes in relationships, job skills, nutrition and money management; a residential program for the women and their children; and onsite day-care and other comprehensive services for the participants\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 children. After years of significant cocaine use, Ms. Edmonds has experienced success with Horizons.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Edmonds wrote an essay recently about what recovery has meant to her:<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The most amazing lesson I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned while on the journey of recovery is how to become a source of comfort to those around me, thanks to my sharing of the story of my addiction. When I was crushed and overwhelmed by life during active addiction, it was then I received the gift of desperation.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No one needs to fear the trials of life. No matter how great a hardship you face, there is a Higher Power to strengthen you, making you better equipped to provide understanding and acceptance to those around you who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve encountered the same hardships.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Release your burdens, return to reason and normality \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find that recovery is the counselor of peace within yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><em>Peter Kramer works for the OPC Area Program.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peter Kramer September is celebrated nationally as Recovery Month, a time to recognize the possibilities and promise of a life free from addiction. This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theme is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Join the Voices for Recovery; Real People, Real Recovery.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}