Monday, May 23, 2016

What is the Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous?

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The preamble for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), created in 1935, provides a description of what AA is all about:

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. 
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

At the heart of AA are twelve statements that members incorporate into their lives.  These Twelve Steps are a group of principles which may be spiritual in nature.  The goal is that practice of the Twelve Steps will eliminate the obsession to drink and lead members to happy and joyous lifes.

Here are the Twelve Steps:

 1) We admitted we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives had become unmanageable.
2) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

If you notice, alcohol is mentioned very little.  In fact, it is only mentioned in Step 1.  The rest of the steps focus on surrender, forgiveness, humility, limitations, and service to others.  Regular and devoted practice of the Twelve Steps is said to result in the growth of character traits such as honesty, humility, and patience.

For more information, check out the AA website.
  

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Substance Abuse Makes You Sick



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Everyone knows – or should know – that substance abuse can lead to major complications.  For instance alcohol has a damaging effect on every organ system.  Taken regularly in large doses, alcohol can cause the permanent loss of memory, gastritis, esophagitis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, weakened heart muscles, and fetal alcohol syndrome – for starters.

But did you know that substance abusers just get sick more often than those who don’t abuse substances?  You may be asking:  What is substance abuse?  Abuse in this context is the continued use of alcohol or other drugs in spite of negative consequences.  Let’s say a person drinks too much at a bar one night and is arrested for DUI on the way home.  A week later, instead of drinking less or calling a cab, that same person makes the choice to repeat the conduct that led to the DUI.  That would be abuse.

Abuse differs from addiction or dependence, which is the compulsive use of alcohol or drugs regardless of the consequences.  The person doesn’t make the choice to continue drinking, the person is compelled to drink.

How does abuse make you sick?  Well, alcohol abuse can lower your immunity to infection.  Substance Abusers also tend to neglect proper nutrition and exercise.  So substance abusers are just more susceptible to catching colds and illnesses.

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Friday, May 13, 2016

Do You Know the General Signs of Drug Abuse?

Would you know how to recognize if a fellow attorney in your law firm is abusing drugs?  The American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs provides some basic information.  It warns that each drug has its own specific symptoms of abuse, but there are some general signs of which we should be aware. 

•Bloodshot eyes or pupils that are larger or smaller than usual.
•Changes in appetite or sleep patterns. Sudden weight loss or weight gain.
•Deterioration of physical appearance and personal grooming habits.
•Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing.
•Tremors, slurred speech, or impaired coordination.
•Drop in attendance and performance at work or school.
•Unexplained need for money or financial problems. May borrow or steal to get it.
•Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors.
•Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies.
•Frequently getting into trouble (fights, accidents, illegal activities).
•Unexplained change in personality or attitude.
•Sudden mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts.
•Periods of unusual hyperactivity, agitation, or giddiness.
•Lack of motivation; appears lethargic or “spaced out.”
•Appears fearful, anxious, or paranoid, with no reason.


If you suspect that a fellow attorney is abusing drugs, contact your State's Lawyer Assistance Program


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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Another Attorney Arrested for DUI




Media in the Southeast (see here and here, for instance), reported on the arrest of a prominent Alabama attorney on DUI charges.  The attorney was arrested after he allegedly drove his Lamborghini 20 mile per hour faster than the posted speed limit at around 3:30 in the morning.  The media reports that the attorney refused a sobriety test. 
We don’t pass judgement on the attorney, and note that being arrested is not the same thing as being found guilty.  Who knows if the attorney had been drinking or was intoxicated.  Those are facts yet to be proven.  We just post this as a reminder that drinking and driving don’t mix. 
Heavy drinking increases the chances of injury or death.  As we have written, alcohol use is a contributing factor in about forty percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes, suicides, and falls; sixty percent of fatal burn injuries, drownings, and homicides; and fifty percent of severe trauma injuries and sexual assaults.

Friday, May 6, 2016

A Florida Attorney Is Disbarred for Drug Use and Other Misconduct


The media in Florida reports that a criminal defense attorney there has been disbarred for drug use and other misconduct.  She admitted to using methamphetamines, cocaine including crack, ecstasy, LSD; and taking Adderall, Xanax, and Oxycodone without a prescription.  She also had sex with her clients and phone sex with inmates.

For some attorneys, the legal profession has an unsustainable professional culture.  How bad is it?  Attorneys suffer from alcohol use disorders at a rate much higher than the general population or in other professions.  A recent study by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs reveals that 21 percent of working attorneys qualify as “problem drinkers,” 28 percent deal with depression, and 19 percent struggle with anxiety issues.  In comparison, 6.8 percent of adults nationwide suffered from an alcoholic disorder in 2014.

Drug abuse is also a problem for attorneys.  One site reports that 1) 18-20% of lawyers abuse drugs, and 2) 25% of lawyers facing disciplinary actions are found to be abusing drugs or alcohol, and suffering from a mental disorder.

Why?  In many law firms attorneys carry heavy workloads that require working 60-80 hours per week.  It should come as no surprise that this leads to significantly high rates of depression, anxiety, and stress.  Drugs and alcohol provide an unhealthy means of escape from daily problems. 



Tuesday, May 3, 2016

How Would You React to a Colleague’s Substance Abuse: With Compassion or Disgust?

You are eating breakfast one morning before work.  Your television is on for the local news broadcast, but you’re not paying that much attention to it.  Except when the news anchor mentions the name of one of your work colleagues.  You glance at the TV to see a quick report of how he was arrested for public intoxication during the night.

How do you react?  With surprise at first.  But what are your follow-on thoughts?  Do you look down upon him from a high perch of moral superiority?  When you arrive at the office do you participate in negative gossip with fellow employees about your colleague’s drunken episode?  Should he be fired?  Will he tarnish your employer’s reputation, and you by extension? How could you work with such an undisciplined bum? 

Would your thoughts about your co-worker be different if the news report was about his diagnosis of cancer, or heart disease?  In that case your feelings would most likely be those of compassion and support.  But did you know that substance addiction has been recognized as a disease since this country’s early history? 

One of America’s Founding Fathers, Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence), was one of the first medical providers to use the term “addiction” in reference to the loss of control accompanying alcoholism.  Dr. Rush observed in 1805 that drunkenness resembles certain hereditary diseases.  He argued that “habitual drunkenness” should be regarded as a disease.  Modernly, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism continues to recognize alcoholism as a disease.  Formal diagnostic criteria for alcoholism are included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, as well as in the International Classification Diseases, published by the World Health Organization.

In Bakersfield, California, an attorney for the public defender’s office was arrested and charged with being drunk in public.  But instead of throwing him to the curb, his office-mates have shown support for him, saying they will stand by him.  Now this is not to say that the attorney even has an addiction problem.  That’s not what we’re saying here.  It turns out that a death in the family may have precipitated the event.  The point is his office and co-workers showed him support, and not the door.
 
One of the Marine Corps’ 11 Leadership Traits is to “Know Your Marines and Look Out for Their Welfare.”  Do you as a civilian employer know your employees and look after their welfare?  Or do you know nothing about them, and cast them aside at the first bump in the road?   We think the Bakersfield Public Defender’s Office is made up of leaders. 

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