The Fifth Carnival of All Substances

THE fifth. Not a fifth. As in, I plead the fifth.

Okay?

Let's start out with something a little different.

Anabolic steroids and other drugs are part of the arsenal of any competition body builder. . . body builders are at risk for health problems and shouldn't be dying at 30 years old so says Mike Hart who tells the story.

If you're in need of a "centre" spelled British style, there's one in British Columbia that Isabella Mori's enchanted with. I'm waiting for the stats, but check out her enthusiasm, curb only if you must.

I'm not a particularly organically oriented person (it makes me think of dirt, mainly, when someone says, It's Organic). But Live Life, Organics and Your Health has some links about drugs that might interest you. If it's not organic, then it's synthetic, right? Does it all comes down to how you dress in the end?

News Syndicated tells us how one town is handling meth addictions.

All this wellness nonsense is now contaminating television, apparently, my last refuge. But if you're really into it, and why wouldn't you be, wellness, I mean, since sickness really is not fun, then check out Wellness TV on the Dish Channel. (I hope I got that right).

As strange as this may seem, a blogger (Money Walks) writes about the merits of this automobile gasoline versus that gasoline and she's walking this carnival as we speak (or perhaps driving a hybrid car). I said that ethanol wasn't exactly the alcohol I was talking about, but okay. It's hard for me to say no to anyone who takes the trouble to RSVP to an open blog carnival invitation.

The Fit Shack is still kvetching about sugar addictions. (I say this while eating a Hershey nugget, toffee, no disrespect, FS)

Quit Coping should be clapping herself on the back for quitting smoking, reinventing herself for her kid. Now that's inspiring.

Health Plans Plus is looking out for you, making sure you don't just accept the verdict that your kid needs pharmaceutical intervention for ADHD. It's an interesting piece.

Is Negativity a substance? It is now. Problem is, I don't see anyone getting high on being negative. Again, how can I say no to these bloggers? Are you people going to tell me I need to be more assertive?

Okay, I'm assertively emphasizing:

THIS CARNIVAL IS FOR STORIES, preferably RECOVERY STORIES, as in Recovery from SUBSTANCES.

That's exhausting, emphasizing like that. Who said assertiveness would be easy?

See you next month,

therapydoc

All Substances Postponed til October

I apologize to all of you who were counting on the Carnival of All Substances* to be posted on the 10th of September. Traditionally (is 4 a tradition?) I get it up on the 10th

But this week's a bear, honestly, and I just can't do it. Last week I moved my office (no stress there) and had out of town guests. I'm squeezing a week's worth of patients into a very short week for the third week in a row, and still have grocery shopping to do for the holiday.

And then. . .the cooking. There's (a) the chicken soup and knaidles, (b) the chalah, (c) the tzimmis, (d) the fish heads . . .

Fish heads?

Oh, you don't know. So we greet the first holiday, Rosh HaShana (the New Year) with all kinds of symbolic foods, especially sweet ones, like apples dipped in honey. But some of us have to have fish heads on the table, too.

I think fish heads gross EVERYONE out, honestly, except maybe people who actually cook a LAMB'S head and put it on a platter for the table. Anyway, these heads represent the bracha (the blessing)

You should be like the head and not the tail.

So let's try to keep at least a step ahead this year. Why not?

And on that note, I hope it really is a good year for all of us.

Shana Tova Umt'ookah ( have a good and sweet new year). I'm hoping to see Tanta Fela.

TherapyDoc

P.S. I'll get that carnival up, the Old Mighty willing, on October 10 instead.

The 4th Carnival of All Substances-Therefore, Choose. . .

WHAT? You come here for booze, meth and coke and I offer you cheese, figs, spices, grapes, almonds a pomegranate, olive oil (that's an ancient olive press, perhaps used 2008 years ago), carob seeds, baklava and a peach?

Maybe you can make a substance out of something. Frankly, they're better for you, taste better, will get you high if you consume in the right frame of mind (mainly if you're hungry), and have fewer calories, except for maybe the baklava and the cheese.

But when was the last time you had cheese like that, and when has anyone had baklava, seriously?

Those who burtz (yiddish, rhymes with tour, add the "tz", means complain) about sugar addictions haven't submitted anything so I can totally get away with all of this!

You've heard "Therefore choose life?" We say, Therefore, choose . . .

Okay here we go.

Erin, who beat an Oxycontin addiction tells us about differences in motivation (like why be dirty when you can be clean) over at What Winners Do.
Thanks, Erin.

Two Dogs Barking reminds us what a drag co-dependency can be. She tells us how it's pretty hard not to be angry when an S-O who had been using through-out the relationship finally gets sober, except she's already booted him and now he's with someone else. Two wanted to break dishes but got a grip (yay).

Fact is, it's pretty hard to express anger safely. The sixties are over, basically, but I'd like to get my hands on those styro-foam bats, if anyone still has them.

And Jimson Lee, over at Speed and Endurance informs us that real athletes know how alcohol messes with your body. His personal fave drink is Gatorade mixed with H20. I'll have to try that. (Isn't Gatorade loaded with caffeine?)

Another fitness buff, RT, tells us who to call if someone we love is using. Ghostbusters, it's not.

Meanwhile, the Registered Addiction Counselors at Bright Eye-Online Alcoholism and Addiction Counseling give you a nice rational, cognitive therapy approach to coping with cravings for drugs and alcohol (picture your S-O saying Bye, Bye, been nice to know ya'). They also present a cognitive tx spin on relapse prevention. This is EXACTLY the stuff I taught at Univ of Illinois. You'll love it (if you like this sort of thing).

Charles H Green, Trusted Advisor generally writes about business, but is kind enough to lend us a philosophical spin on recovery. Booze, drugs, money, there are parallels to finance, obviously. Charles has a really nice post about apologizing that probably is more connected to us, check that one out, too.

Addiction Recover Blog reminds us of 15 signs of trouble, as if we need to be reminded(we do, we do!).

Tracee Sioux at So Sioux Me, Complaint Free House kvetches about her kid's kvetching and then tells us that she thinks she's also addicted to complaining. She writes, Could complaining be considered a substance if the idea of giving it up as a coping mechanism makes me feel as if I'm in recovery? Sorry dear, you're reaching.

But Scott, equally off the track, presents the characters from Harry Potter as real people you meet on campus, in College and Finance, the first humor blog I've seen about money.

Let's finish up with a couple of late submissions that I haven't read but you probably should (or could, or would, far be it from me to tell you what to do):


You get the professional take on co-dependency, Nancy at Emotional Well-being tells you where that's at. I trust Nancy.

Andy at Money Walks (is this an addiction, spending? I suppose it is, fine). Has something to say about paying off those cards. Just do it, maybe, I had to shop so I didn't have time to read it, but you should.

John, at the Universe of Success is serious when he tells you how to stop drinking.

And finally, Bill, at the Universe of Success (would I lie) asks if we're all nuts.

Very nice. My daughter-in-law's mother once sent me a nut-cracker shaped like a squirrel. Not a small item, takes up a lot of room on the table, and it's grown on me. But I have to tell you, I don't take that kind of talk lightly, don't appreciate words like "nuts" or "crazy" to describe people who have the guts to talk about issues in therapy.

Just an FYO.

THE BAR IS CLOSED. YOU CAN ALL GO HOME NOW. PEACE AND LOVE AND HAVE A SOBER WEEKEND. That goes with slow down when you drive, you'll live longer.

therapydoc

The THIRD, Count 'Em, THIRD Carnival of All Substances

And here we are. Has anyone seen this movie? That's Seth Rogen playing pot-head Ben Stone, a do-nothing stoner who hangs out with his stoner friends and goes to clubs or works on a pornographic web site, his fresh idea that's already been done.

But one day he's exceedingly lucky. He meets gorgeous Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) and she's so drunk she has sex with him, and you can guess the rest of the story. Suffice it to say the movie thinks it's Parenthood, but it's not.

I had a nice dinner party recently and 8 of the 9 guest had seen Knocked Up. All opinions ranged from liking to loving it. I have a problem watching people get stoned or be stoned like that, and I also have a problem watching people have sex, so I gave it the minority 2 thumbs down.

It's so cringe to me and why would I volunteer to cringe.

Recovery posts sometimes make you cringe. But from what I understand, most people LOVE it. So without further ado, here's a fantastic, smart bunch of sober bloggers, The 3rd Carnival of All Substances.

We're starting with a fabulous pic of the boring, empty, but amazingly beautiful state of North Dakota. Scout tells us that she couldn't possibly wait to leave N. D. as a kid, but now waxes nostalgic, affectionately remembering that flat-line horizon. Scout, dear, this is just the way it is, sorry. And wasn't that where they filmed Close Encounters? And why do I think of rattle snakes when I think of N.D.?

Scout's completed 11 years, mazal tov (you know what that means, right, not the mazal tov, but the 11 years--we're talking 11 sober years). Congrats Scout.

Bill, over at Addiction Recovery Basics has a great list of irrational core beliefs that royally mess with your self-esteem (personality, life, relationships. . . all kinds of nasty realities). He's my kind of cognitive doc, puts the compulsive into compulsive behavior--for our purposes, using.

Vicarious Rising inspires, as always, with Hope Says Yes When Nobody Asked, a Laotian proverb. I really like the picture and the thought.

Meg at You and Me are Floating on a Tidal Wave, always eloquent, reminds us withMASK that a combination of speed and alcohol makes for a high with more than a little rock and roll. It can bring out the tiger in you, a less than likable tiger, unfortunately. Makes my bruise on the face post pale by comparison.

Denial can't last forever, unfortunately, and over at The Practice of Recovery you'll learn that following a rude awakening, some people take the first step in the 12-step program. This is tough cringe stuff at its best, but don't let it scare you away from AA.

At some point in your life, if you need it, you'll know it.

By including food addictions I'm way overfed with submissions. But check them out. How about starting with Emotional Freedom and weight loss without cravings? If Karen's method doesn't work, remind me to hypnotize you the old fashioned way with a hanging watch on a gold chain.

Next up is JoLynne's post at The Fit Shack, on addiction pyramids. Makes me want to stop eating altogether, seriously.

Isabella Mori, one of our very with it mental heatlth professional bloggers fills us in on Step 3 (and some of you don't even care how many there are, right?). But this is great. She says,

Step 3 reads "made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of G-d as we understood G-d." How can someone who does not believe in G-dgod use this step?

I so love this stuff.

Over at the Philosophy of Change you'll find a before and after post, 12 months of change, very graphic and well-done post. Our philosopher won't tell you how he got straight in this story but if you read a little farther into the website, perhaps you'll find out. I like philosophy as much as the next doc.

And finally, So Sioux Me invites you over to a smoke-free blog, dreaming of the easy beat-your-addiction fix. What's that say, Sioux?

And that's it for now. Thanks all for your submissions. The next Carnival of All Substances will be held on August 10, 2007, with the Old Mighty's help, of course. Tell your friends.

I'm looking for 12-Step in-jokes. What do you say? Oh, and you have to explain why they're funny. Please? People need to know this stuff.

You can enter right here.

therapydoc

The 2nd Carnival of All Substances

Now, you may know I'm into recovery stories, and that's why I started this carnival, but I'll post everyone else, too, as long as the post or the blog host is not offensive (to me).


THE best post I've seen in ages was a post about CHOCOLATE. The carnival submission had these incredible pics of a candy display case full of chocolates, dozens upon dozens of them, you keep scrolling, and scrolling, virutally drooling.

At the very end the blogger tells you how many calories you've just consumed.

I was all set to make this THE pick of the month, but decided to take a look at his other posts. The blogger's very, very smart, and funny, but he's cavalier about serious subjects, like. . .rape. So I'm sorry, friends, I can't link to anyone who is cavalier about that. And I'm sorry, too, since this blogger's picture was so much better than the ones above. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, though, right?

THAT SAID, WE DO HAVE SOME TERRIFIC POSTS FOR YOU TODAY!

Let's start with one of my favorite recovery bloggers, ERIN, the author of Twenty-four Hours A Day at What Winners Do. Erin says, "The out-patient program taught me one of the fundamentals of addiction recovery…stay in the day."

You think that's easy? Try it. Try not looking back and not looking forward. Good luck.

Meg at You and Me are Floating on a Tidal Wave writes a fabulous post about The Little Prince (starring herself as Fox). If you haven't read the prince, you should, and if you haven't read Meg, you should read her, too. Here's the link.

Then we have an Anonymous Blogger who tells us how to overcome a pain pill addiction which has got to be valuable advice at Addiction Recovery Blog.

She has another post on the subject, adding that people who use prescription drugs will punctuate the high with alcohol (yup, tends to kill you, too).

Hueina Su thinks she can help you reconnect to your authentic self. I'm guessing she's assuming that if you're drinking and 'a drugging that you've NOT connected to your authentic self. So check it out. She might actually be in Hawaii. But I could be wrong.

Kbaggy is a new mom at Babylune and likes a very, very small drink now and then. But she's worried she'll smother the kids if she takes them into the bed and warns, Don't drink and co-sleep! Perhaps this is a British thing. Please tell me.

Anonymous blogger at Addiction Recovery Basics. tells all about being a dry drunk. Thanks. Can't be easy, we're sure, but probably even harder to live with one.

The Junky's Wife writes about the Drunky's Wife at her site, The Junky's Wife. What else? Faced with a choice between a heroin addict and an alcoholic, life's not simple. She's asking you to vote. Hmmm.

TwoDogsBlogging has a couple of great stories to share. The first one is how you really have to watch out what you pray for. Even though I'm a very rational, logical therapydoc there's a spiritual part (I know, you're just shocked) that assumes the Old Mighty is listening at all times, that He/She has nothing really more important to do, than give the nod when a person least expects it, so we may as well ask for it all, go for broke. Dogs says, Be careful.

Two Dogs has a second post about her family and how grateful she is that she straightened out her life. At AA meetings they talk about "watching the parade" which means (I think) watching people drop out of the program before they get sober, wondering why some make it and some don't. They listened to Bolero in her family--maybe that helped. (I wish I were joking-- these things matter, washing dishes with your mom while listening to Bolero matters. Oh, just read it.)

MouseTrapper at Med Journal Watch reminds us that candy cigarets are really devices to lure little children to the dangers of real cigarets. Don't buy them for your kids! Thanks, doc, for a great post.

Virginia shares her truama (dad killed mom, then himself, pretty powerful stuff) at the Centre for Emotional Well-Being. She recovered from trauma and alcoholism and shares a video interview with her son, a military officer with PTSD and alcohol on the path to recovery.

Then there's my friend Rohit over at Darpan who has words of wisdom, if nothing in particular to say about substance abuse. I like him, though, so read what he's got to say about Arthur Ashe. I think Rohit once sent me pics of the homeless in Florida, but I can't find them anymore on his blog. Maybe it was someone else.

Tracee Sioux at Go Sioux Me let's you know how easy it is to get addicted to legal medications for anxiety. She watched the second plane hit the tower on 9-11.

Tracee also tells us how she quit smoking (on her OTHER blog, Blogfabulous. She did it for the kid. Way to go.

Definitely worth a snootful is Nancy's post at the Centre for Emotional Well-Being shares an opinion piece about celebs in rehab, the "Lohan" Phenomenon. Nancy's an LISW, LICDC, an actual substance abuse counselor, and she knows what she's talking about. A pleasure, honestly, to hear the straight talk.

Phil, at Phil for Humanity (does he mean, fill???) has the Secret to Happiness, I kid you not, on his secret post. He's thinking that enthusiasm and good health are the key. But frankly, I think Phil is really smart and that makes him happy.

That's all folks. We'll do it again July 10. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to all of you who participated. Just so you should know. When I came in from work (it's a 4 mile bike ride) I filled my glass with ice, pomegranite juice (thanks, FD) apple juice (ordinarily not my favorite, left over from Passover), a splash of lemon juice, and water. And I am in such a good place.

Oh yeah, i zapped a chocolate chip cookie in the microwave. Did you know that cookies should be served hot? There's a qualitative difference in flavor.

To your health,

Copyright 2007, therapydoc

What's this?

These aren't that great (the pics, that is, the candy's just fine).







I had wanted to upload them for yesterday's post about me teaching high school A P Psychology (you'd have to read the one below this to understand the connection between candy and teaching psychology.) But I had some trouble.

So here you go, just a taste.

And one correction:

The business name might be FANSTASIA chocolates. The nuts are from ILLINOIS NUT. Whatever. Better pics will be up on Sunday along with the Carnival of All Substances.

Chocolate, you see, is a substance.

See you there!

therapydoc

We're Friends, Right?

I hear that Dooce devotes entire posts to her hate mail. I thought about doing that, seriously. But there really hasn't been any certifiable hate mail in this past year of blogging. Some serious very much I dislike you mail, but no HATE mail.

Also some rather invasive, creepy mail. Not much spam, and nothing I'd write to Blogger about, and I haven't called the FBI. But it feels creepy.

Me exposing someone as a creep feels creepy to me, even if it works for Dooce. I'm not her, and being me, you don't get to even hear me swear (for the most part). So why in the world would I let you read something creepy.

Here we talk lashon (rhymes with trah-tone) naki (pah-key) .
We talk in clean language on this blog.

I bring this up because on Sunday, May 20, 2007 we're doing the First Carnival of All Substances, a collection of posts from people who have mega-experience with drugs and/or alcohol, even food and sex addictions.

Some bloggers (okay, most bloggers) are pretty loose and throw off expletives in this very fashionable I-don't-give-a-blank-that-I'm-swearing attitude. So I've had to say NO to submissions for the carnival that have words I find objectionable.

But we're still friends, right? I'm not your therapist (probably), in cyberspace I'm just another friend. We've established that if you need therapy you have to go to a therapy doc, someone local.

We're friends.

So is this okay that I don't post your stuff if it bothers me?
It's just gotta' be, peops. It's just gotta' be.

Love and Peace,

therapydoc

All Substances

I promised (blee neder, which means no promises, really) I'd host the first Carnival of All Substances tomorrow, May 13, 2007.

But. . .

There have been a few complications and it won't be ready until the following week. So if you still have a recovery story for me or a story that doesn't glamorized drug/alcohol abuse and/or dependency, than FOR SURE there's plenty of time to write it up on your blog or send me an old story and I'll link over to you.

I'll post the carnival (blee neder) next Sunday, May 20, 2007, if you get it to this link by May 19, 2007

thanks for your understanding,

therapydoc