Addictions, Fetuses, Consequences, And New Help

Currently, we do not have conclusive evidence regarding the likelihood that people who have FASD will have problematic substance use issues. However, the literature does  suggest that a disproportionate number of people with FASD will have substance use problems (Streissguth, Barr, Kogan, & Bookstein 1996).

There is also a high likelihood that women with FASD, like all women, will be sexually active, and at some point may become pregnant. Given the possible reality of substance use for women with FASD, in conjunction with likely sexual activity, there is a strong risk that women with FASD may use alcohol or drugs while pregnant.

Thus, from the perspective of FASD prevention, women with FASD need to be viewed as a group warranting particular attention. As well as being at high risk of having problem substance use, practice wisdom tells us that  women with FASD who have substance use problems do not do well in traditional substance use treatment programs (AA, NA, etc.): they are “very challenging” to work with and have “poorer outcomes.” (Solution bottom #2)

I agree with the last statement the most. It’s because programming for all substance abuse sends women and men to Alcoholics Anonymous. The government, health agencies and help groups and every client, would benefit from reading this:

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AA is scary.

Clients are obligated to do all ten steps in “The Big Book,” follow the advice of numerous slogans and learn the AA jargon. If the client admits he or she does not believe in God it become a problem because belief in God is essential. It’s injected into 5 of the 12-steps of the book that will become your new bible. Someone will tell you a candle will do for your higher power, or whatever – maybe the North Star. And members do that.

When the group sees a problem in a client they band up on him or her (in the zestiest way pro-AA people can) to save you. The group or an individual will get you into contact with a sponsor (your other brain - to think for YOU).

It’s part of the program you see and if you don’t follow the “AA way” you are in “denial” and doomed to “relapse,” both symptoms of the disease you now have. Keep up your skeptical attitude and you are in trouble. People have been asked to leave groups if they don’t conform. And if a whole meeting group strays from the AA framework, that whole meeting place could be removed by headquarters from all lists of meetings anywhere.

What the client may begin to realize is that he or she is participating in a program that’s not working.Well, it’s no surprise. Group members everywhere are completely unaware that 95% will not make it through the 1^st year, including those who attend AA (right from AA Headquarters in New York). Therefore they don’t speak about that scary truth. Who can quit with these statistics, if they were known? A newcomer, while putting in the honest effort, will see faces dissapearing one by one, being replaced by new faces. Yet in the Big Book, Bill solemnly declares, "Rarely have we seen a person fail." That is an outright lie. How can the logical brain accept this?

To keep you there, AA uses the disease concept whereby the client is “SICK” and has a life-long illness that is progressive, incurable and will keep getting worse until you die – even if you keep attending meetings – which you have to because it is the only program that works. (Hmmm, that’s not true.) Symptoms of this sicknes, as above, are “relapse” and “denial.” 

Flipping the coin over from the Disease Model to the Structural Model of, the statistic reveals that people who used any drug, or alcohol, that quit on their own, is also 5% of the drugging population. Interesting. That is the same number of people who get through a year of AA without “slipping.” So I surmise that the people who are successful with AA for at least a year, would have quit on their own anyway.

People do quit on their own. We’ve heard of it and can all probably remember a self-quitter somewhere in our life (tobacco, drugs, gambling, etc.).

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Looking at the health system in Canada, the very people who send clients to AA don’t realize what they are doing. Few know that 5% statistic. You see, they have no right to say it works until they themselves become addicted and attend meetings for the year. Oh, they’ll say they are very happy about attending AA. I know – I was there and for me talking about beer drinking and laughing or crying about it became a mental torture for some (you should see the stress and discomfort on some), but still had me telling people that AA saved me. I lied to people about that, while I knew I was doomed to fail. I'm sure I'm not the first one.

This is one reason why pregnant women cannot be sent to AA by any court order or to be coherced by any councelor to attend. Especially women with FASD or ARND. It is better to go with Rational Recovery. If you have never heard of this, you will down in blue.

First, self-quitting, a new-age concept, forces one to be more realistic and conclude that it is actually easier to quit with nobody’s help than it is to quit with the help of too many doctors, if you know what I mean. There will be no denial. No relapse. No ambivalence (should I or shouldn’t I). No sponsor (second brain), no drinks after meetings, no imaginary God or disease, etc. Sounds so scary but the fear will dissipate on a personal journey with two great tools. Most anyone can do this. How? Just read these two books:

Get the book from Jack Trimpey: “Rational Recovery – The New Cure for Substance Addiction”: ISBN-13: 978-0-671-52858-4 You can quit with this. This is called the “structural model of addiction” (as opposed to the disease model of AA) and shows why you had problems quitting before and why you can quit this time. "There's nothing wrong with you."

Also, get the book teaching you “rational emotive behavioural therapy” (REBT) by Albert E. Ellis Ph.D.(Rest his soul), “Anger – How To Live With And Without It” because quitting can evoke primary emotions that usually turn into the seconday emotion of “anger” if the primary emotions are not resolved. For example: Frustration unresolved guarentees that anger is coming but you won't necessarily feel the transition. You will, with no doubt, have this problem, maybe even many times daily with different events. Remember that thoughts evoke emotions about events and generate all feelings, some negative, like self-downing, frustration, blaming, depression, etc, are all hard to deal with. Dr. Ellis had made these manageable or, for some, perfectly fixable if you really practice his ABC’s. ISBN 0-8065-2426-X

So if you take it upon yourself to heed the advice of both of these books. 2 books – no meetings. Requires only personal responsibility. Not God’s Hand. Keep in mind, you still have to have a desire to quit. Rational Recovery can do this with you and you’ll have finished your self-training in a matter of weeks or less and feel good about quitting. You will find out about the abstinence commitment effect.

If you have a concept problem in either book, I can help but first try hard to get it yourself. Email me at: fafasd@gmx.com. I have been trained in both AVRT and REBT, as above.

I’m not sorry if I seem harsh but addictions are serious business and tough works in the business of quitting. Be one of the 5% who quits alone. People do it every day somewhere. Use God for other good purposes. I’ll be honest. I quit for 6 years before I had MY first alcohol slip. I definitely thank Rational Recovery (RR). AA was killing me. AVRT says, "Be who you are. Solve your problems keeping them separate from your abstinence goal." They are separate; unrelated. If you wish to be the ass in the family, don't blame the booze or drugs or people. Sober people deal with all kinds of bad family issues and they don't go running to the bottle and become alcoholics.

Informed consent: I'm speaking to adults to keep 2 choices in mind. I am not telling you what to do. If you really want AA, that is your perogative. Or try the new cure (that I have personally endorsed). Keep in mind the choice you now have and, in case you didn’t know, you do have the legal right in Canada to choose your own recovery method as long as it is legit. AVRT is legitimate. In the USA, (California+), AVRT groups are popping up everywhere. What shouldn't be popping up everywhere are more drunks.