Is It Just Pot? While the debate rages on legalization matters, the view from the ground floor regarding cannabis addiction is anything but benign

Transcription

1 volume 8 issue 3 spring 2013 edgewood.ca Providing news and views on addiction medicine to health professionals, referrals and alumni since 1994 Is It Just Pot? While the debate rages on legalization matters, the view from the ground floor regarding cannabis addiction is anything but benign Growing up in Nanaimo A multi million dollar expansion has Edgewood s campus for addiction medicine stepping forward into the new millenium Challenging sober issues Can an alcoholic really claim sobriety if he or she is indulging in drugs but not alcohol? A 12-stepper tackles the controversial issue A PHYSICIAN S THOUGHTS Most of my clients have used cannabis, in one form or another. However, few of them would ever believe they were addicted to it. HELPING FAMILY MEMBERS... our clinical practic zeroes in on helping the whole system of relationships family, friends, even workplace relationships...

2 THIS EDITION News New building opens 5 Edgewood s Nanaimo campus grows with latest expansion Opinions Marijuana addiction 3 Argue all you like but this addiction has consequences A psychiatrist s take 9 Pot may not be a big gun in addiction, but it fires bullets too Are you sober if you toke? 15 A 12 stepper s perspective on pot and the word sobriety Features Is it really only pot? 6 Case studies kill the stigma Family programs 14 Retiring leader says goodbye Making the grade 11 Edgewood earns 3-year accreditation Spirit & addiction 13 Getting better leads to true humility published quarterly by Edgewood Holdings Inc Boxwood Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9S 4L2 HOW TO REACH US By phone: By fax: Toll Free: TO COMMENT ON THE MAGAZINE communications@edgewood.ca LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & STORY PROPOSALS communications@edgewood.ca (Letters may be edited for length and clarity) VISIT US ONLINE IN THIS ISSUE NEW LOOK, NEW VOICES Welcome to the new Edgewood News. We are delighted to introduce this updated, expanded version to our readership. We ve changed the look of our publication and over the coming months will be introducing a wide range of contributing writers who bring fresh voices and perspectives to the on-going discussion. Addiction encompasses the whole gamut of mental, spiritual and physical matters. Our themes, writers, photos and suggestions are all about enriching your understanding of the disease and reinforcing the time-tested roads to good health in recovery. We are also pleased to welcome Edgewood s Jeff Vircoe to our editorial staff. With an impressive background in journalism and a true news hound s nose for a good story, Jeff brings fresh energy, style and content firmly rooted in recovery. What we haven t changed is our committment to bringing you a newsletter that is informative, provocative and hopefully a darn good read. We hope you enjoy our new News. Feel free to write in and tell us what you think. Feedback is always gratefully accepted, remember? Jeff Vircoe: jeff.vircoe@edgewood.ca Lis Muise: communications@edgewood.ca Jeff Vircoe Editor Lis Muise Graphic Design/Editor

3 plainly speaking statistics marijuana s risks not to be minimized Lorne Hildebrand, Executive Director what you should know Our experience at Edgewood suggests the general public, those families who struggle with addiction, and most certainly those advocating for medicinal use of marijuana could benefit from more information. What we are concerned with is the lack of knowledge of the potential addictive qualities of the drug and other associated health risks. As with alcohol consumption, many people use marijuana without suffering any apparent negative consequences. Like the occasional drinker, the occasional toker may not recognize or give credence to the potential for harm from the substance. It is well documented that while consumption of alcohol is benign for some, it can lead to addiction issues, physical and neurological damage, family crisis, or medical and police emergencies for others. While statistics for the consequences of marijuana use are limited, it is reasonable to suggest a percentage of those using marijuana run the risk of experiencing the same types of harms associated with alcohol. (Most people choose not to use illegal or controlled substances, so it remains to be seen if legalizing marijuana would change its consumption and/or harm patterns.) For those genetically predisposed to addiction, marijuana is both highly addictive and destructive. For others, prolonged use can negatively affect brain function, trigger psychotic... the occasional toker may not recognize... harm. episodes and lead to lung disease from the constant exposure to toxins in the inhaled smoke. When despite all of this, the person using marijuana cannot stop, that s addiction. Choice at that point has nothing to do with it. For those who support medicinal use of marijuana the implications of the method of delivery of the active ingredient is worth considering. Our experience with marijuana addicts in treatment is that they are admittedly less interested in a controlled dosage in pill or tablet form. They are more interested in smoking as much as they themselves deem to be okay. And, while anecdotal evidence abounds, there still is no clear scientific evidence that proves marijuana an equal, or superior, medicine to conventional medicines already available. Society continues to debate the merits and perils of marijuana use and its legalization, but if we are going to engage in debate let us at least be as informed as we can be on this complex subject and consider all aspects of its use. For some, marijuana remains a benign social stimulant; for others it can be the beginning of a path to ruin. Perhaps some of the case studies presented in this issue of The Edgewood News will shed some much needed light on the subject. canadians big on pot Tops list for marijuana use The 2007 World Drug Report of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs revealed that Canada topped the list of industrialized nations for marijuana use. Only four countries, all nonindustrialized, had higher rates: Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Ghana and Zambia. The report found in per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 64 years used marijuana. Data indicates up to 15% of Canadian marijuana users are problem users, a proportion more or less the same for users of alcohol and other drugs. Fewer adolescents see regular cannabis use as harmful. They are initiating cannabis use at a younger age and more are using it on a daily basis. COST OF ADDICTION Canadian angles in drug stats In its 2008 annual report on organized crime, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada stated that Canada has become one of the primary source countries in the world for ecstasy. 60% of illicit drug users in Canada are between the ages of 15 and 24. Oxycodone prescriptions (known by brand names Oxycontin and Percocet) have increased 85% in 10 years. Between 1991 and 2007, opioidrelated deaths doubled in Ontario. For every $5 spent on drug rehabilitation by the Canadian government, $95 is spent on incarceration of drug users. EDGEWOOD News 3

4 Edgewood s latest growth CAMPUS CONCEPT CONTINUES TO MATERIALIZE WITH NEW RESIDENCES Edgewood Treatment Centre s latest expansion is now complete. In keeping with a long-term plan which began with extensive changes to the main building in 2006, Extended Care patients and Insite participants began to move into Phase II in early February. After nine months of construction, a new $3.8 million, two-storey building now sits prominently facing a pond at the end of the covered walkway across from Edgewood s main facility. While the 2006 expansion included an enlarged cafeteria and kitchen, a fully equipped gym facility, new offices and group therapy rooms, along with a meeting room and offices for the Insite program, Phase II provides for a whole different set of needs. Phase II was designed primarily as a multi-purpose, residential facility. The east wing will house guests, such as family members attending family conferences, and participants of Edgewood programs, such as Insite and labyrinth meditational weekend retreats. The west wing of the new facility is designed to accomodate Extended Care patients. The new facility features a kitchen and eating areas, lounges and laundry facilities for guests, as well as meeting rooms and offices for staff. To ensure privacy, neither wing is accessible to the other and both wings are designed as discrete units. As well, a new outdoor labyrinth has been constructed by the pond as part of the expansion, offering patients the opportunity to experience the healing and calming effects of a centuries old tool in a natural setting. Grand opening slated for April 26, This new two-story building multi-purpose building now stands on the south-east corner of the Edgewood Campus. New landscaping softens the curve of the pathway leading to The Residence. 4 EDGEWOOD News

5 BOUQUETS Comments from recent InSite participants who where housed in our new residence during their program. Comfortable, clean and welcoming. It strengthened connections by providing opportunities to explore further our feelings, experiences and relationships. It is an asset to the program to have the residence and for me to enrich my experience. I felt that we did a lot of bonding in the after hours. It was great! All in all, a very nice facility and I am so grateful. ANNOUNCEMENT Grand Opening! The Residence (on Boxwood) Join us Friday, April 26, pm at EDGEWOOD Come see our new residence and discover the services available! Open to the Public EDGEWOOD News 5

6 CANNABIS addiction It s Not Just Pot by Jeff Vircoe Marijuana addiction is a subject not easily broached or defined. So many entry points, so many critics waiting to pounce and voice their rebuttals. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion. Edgewood knows a thing or two about its patients who have a relationship with weed. And from the front lines, the view is anything but mellow. Chemical dependency is defined as a committed pathological love relationship of a person to a mood-altering chemical substance, a psychoactive drug, in expectation of a rewarding experience and those who come to Edgewood with marijuana as their main drug of choice, battle the same demons as the alcoholic or even the opiate addict. Regardless of the consequences, addicts keep using until the pain of staying the same is greater than the fear of change. Edgewood case study 1 - Bill Admitted: Summer 2012 In treatment: 58 days Bill is a 59 year-old man, a blue collar worker from western Canada. An abuser of alcohol in his mid-teens, by the age of 23, his drinking had calmed down to a few beers once a month. His use of alcohol faded to low levels. His cannabis consumption was a different story. Bill began dabbling in pot at the age of 20. Just one joint, once a month. By age 30, it was one joint, twice a month. By 46, the pattern climbed to one joint, once a week. Five years later it was one joint, twice a week. By age 52, Bill was smoking one joint daily. The last seven years he bumped it dramatically to four joints daily. 6 EDGEWOOD News

7 I d finish what I had before sleep and I d worry about how to get it the moment it was gone. The odor of marijuana clung to Bill. At one point, he was reported to his employer. A doctor recommended he seek treatment at Edgewood. I did not know you could get addicted to marijuana, he said. In fact, during his admission proccess Bill made it clear to staff that it was an anger management deal that had landed him in treatment. I have a pissy attitude and I am quick to judge. While at Edgewood, Bill learned about the disease of addiction as it related to his marijuana use and underlying issues; how years of verbal and physical abuse in his upbringing played a part in his anger. Bill s wife spoke to episodes of road rage. He was often intense, usually negative, with little patience for opinions not aligned with his own. So much for marijuana making things more mellow. The cognitive damage sustained was obvious too. According to Bill s wife, He was physically present at family events, but withdrawn and sometimes adversarial. He was easily confused. I would have to repeat things often. Edgewood case study 2 - steve Admitted: Spring 2013 In Treatment: On-going I wouldn t be able to sleep if I knew I still had it with me. I d finish what I had before sleep and I d worry about how to get it the moment it was gone. How many times have addicts or the counsellors that treat them, heard a comment like that about a drug? Was it heroin? Crack cocaine? Oxycontin? Alcohol? It was cannabis. Meet Steve, a quiet, likable 23 year-old drug addict. His story began with a two-year, late teenage love affair with marijuana. Within months he was smoking five grams of pot a day. After two years of daily pot intake, the threat of drug tests put his career in jeopardy. He switched to synthetic cannabis. Promoted as natural herbs, Spice or K2 is a psychoactive designer drug that is sprayed with synthetic chemicals that produce the high. When smoked, Spice offers a similar high to that produced with pot ingestion and it doesn t trigger a positive result in most drug screens. But, like most drugs, it isn t cheap. Steve was quickly spending in excess of $1,200 a month. The cost was high in all areas of his life. THE BRUTAL TRUTH OF ADDICTION How did it all get this crazy? In high school, Steve had been a high level athlete, a good student, close to his family. By the time he arrived at Edgewood, he was no longer involved with sports, wasn t talking to his family and was lying regularly to his girl friend and employer to hide his abuse of chemicals. In his first assignment, describing his symptoms of addiction, Steve was brutally honest. I spend most of my free time at home where I can smoke up without any interruption. Every day I smoke Spice. I convince myself I wouldn t be able to function the same without it, I have resentment towards myself for not being able to control my addiction. As governments scramble to draft laws in response to the legalization of marijuana and as marijuana lobby groups attempt to knock down arguments both scientific and holistic about the potential for trouble with marijuana, treatment centers continue to battle with the nasty facts of addiction. Whether it s heroin, cocaine or marijuana, away from the campaigns of lobbyists, the truth isn t pretty. And the truth is Steve s story is just one of millions. We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life, says Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. NIDA supports most of the world s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. As a research psychiatrist and scientist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate the toxic effects and addictive properties of abusable drugs. Marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug. The risk of addiction goes from about 1 in 11 overall to about 1 in 6 for those who start using in their teens, and even higher among daily smokers, cautions Volkow s organization. So Steve s dilemma is no surprise. See CANNABIS on next page EDGEWOOD News 7

8 Cannabis Continued from page 7 Though case study after case study shows the necessary criteria is being met to prove cannabis addiction is debilitating, a quick search of the web serves up tens of thousands of sites arguing each point presented by the other side. Studies indicate heavy users experience significantly lower educational achievement, lower income and a subjective, self-assessment of impaired cognitive function, social life and health. Withdrawal symptoms experienced by long-term users include: irritability, restlessness, anxiety, sleep disturbances, appetite disturbances and stomach pains. Problems also include cognitive decline and under performance in occupation or trouble in relationships, lack of energy and inattentiveness. Edgewood case study 3 - ted Admitted: Winter 2010/11 In Treatment: 50 days Ted is a blue collar man, a hard-working, single father of three. Unlike Bill, he says his upbringing was idealic. Still, he was an only child and a bored one. At 14 he began smoking drugs, one to two grams of pot, hash or hash oil and continued until he was 24 a full decade of being very high. By the age of 26 he had cut down to one joint daily and remained at that pace for 16 years. I used to quit every few months every now and then just to see if I could, Ted says. But he couldn t stay quit. By his mid-forties, he was back up to a gram a day. By the time Ted arrived at Edgewood, he had been a daily user for 40 years. Just an evening pot smoker, was how he described himself. The symptoms of his addiction were clear. It destroys your motivation. When it came to my schooling, well, I d smoke pot every day at lunch hours. That doesn t help make you a good student. It also drew a line between me and the law. It put me in a counterculture, where I stayed for a long time. He was not happy about having been forced to come to treatment. He thought he was doing fine. But while at Edgewood, he says, he learned all about the addiction. It was pretty hard to deny I was addicted to pot. IT S ALL TIED IN Now two years clean and sober and active in a support group, Ted s life isn t great. He has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which makes it difficult to breathe. Is it the result of his 40-year pot habit? Not exclusively, he says. Remember, I smoked tobacco for 40 years too. But it s all tied in. When he looks at his life in sobriety he says the COPD has made things tough, so it s hard to say life is better. But when it comes to his relationships with his children and grandchildren, he is pleased. Oh, I have a much different perspective as a grandparent, he says with a laugh. But I know I m an example for my kids. A different example than I was before just a guy sitting in a cloud of pot smoke. That can define a whole childhood. The house always smelled of marijuana. That affects the friends that would come over. So I m a big example for them. It s the old, If he can quit... So is it just pot? Judging by the scientific data and brain studies of Dr. Volkow, the medical experts on the ground in treatment centres, and from those most closely affected by the use of cannabis products the users and their families there is nothing to minimize. If you are an addict, and you are using marijuana, there are clear negative consequences to the rewarding experience of getting high on pot. But if you look at the classic symptoms of addiction, any pot addict will relate to what the cost of that reward is. An addict will: See substance use begin to take a central role in life. Deny claims from friends/family that changes are happening. Continue to use despite negative consequences Lose control, needing increasingly larger amounts. Spend more time thinking about using. Spend more time and money acquiring more marijuana. Get irritable or agitated if they run out of pot. So the argument that cannabis use has little consequence is debatable, but not for the addict. On the ground floor, Edgewood s clinical team sees plenty of patients who are trying to deal with their withdrawal and recovery from marijuana dependence. Dr. Mel Vincent, Director of Psychiatric Services, agrees that in the big picture, being addicted to marijuana may not carry the same damaging consequences as heroin, crack or alcohol addiction, but addiction to pot is not benign either. Well, it s less problematic, obviously. The problems with chronic pot users, peripherally, are certainly less than alcohol. But if they re coming here to Edgewood, they re still running into problems, right? NOTE: Cannabis withdrawal has been proposed for inclusion in the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (often seen as the bible of the American Psychiatric Association). Wilson M. Compton, M.D., a member of the DSM-5 task force says the addition of cannabis withdrawal as a diagnosis in DSM-5 comes as a result of the fact that marijuana is so commonly abused. 8 EDGEWOOD News

9 FEW BELIEVE THEY RE ADDICTED A physician s thoughts on cannabis dependence Dr. Charles Whelton, M.D., FRCP (C) Edgewood Psychiatrist An estimated 160 million people around the world use cannabis, and about 10% of cannabis users will become addicted to it. About half of daily users will develop dependence. Most of my clients have used cannabis in one form or another. However, few of them would ever believe they were addicted to it. Crack, sure. Heroin, absolutely. Alcohol, maybe. But not pot. It s just a habit. I can go without it, I ve done it many times. I just take it to sleep, I don t need it. It just calms me down. It s socially acceptable, man. Come on, it s practically legal. It s my medicine, I ve got a permit. I ll stop the crack, but don t expect me to stop using pot. You can t get addicted to pot, doc. This brings to mind the rhetoric of another lobby group. Guns don t kill people, people kill people. It s our right to bear arms and to defend our homes. You want my gun, you ll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands (no offense intended, Charlton). Let s leave aside the fact that Valium is a medicine. Oxycontin is a medicine. Medicines can be addictive. Let s not go into the evidence linking pot use and schizophrenia. Or the studies that suggest heavy use of the drug among teenagers may lead to an IQ drop. Let me just point out that marijuana is a drug you can get addicted to. Maybe not one of the big guns like crack cocaine and heroin. But little guns shoot bullets too. Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the world. An estimated 160 million people around the world use cannabis, and about 10% of cannabis users will become addicted to it. About half of daily users will develop dependence. More and more people are seeking help for cannabis dependence. The problem is that often, treatment doesn t work. Cannabis is in fact powerfully addictive, based on the relapse rates. Relapses are often due to the withdrawal symptoms, which can last for weeks or even months. People can t handle the withdrawal symptoms and begin using again to relieve these. They re hooked. A new study on a cannabis withdrawal scale tells us cannabis withdrawal symptoms include: sleep disturbance, angry outbursts, irritability, physical tension, anxiety, restlessness, loss of appetite these are just some of them. One symptom, ranked fifth in the distress ranking of withdrawal symptoms, was life felt like an uphill struggle. Of course you re going to want to use again if life is an uphill struggle without it. But what if life really isn t an uphill struggle for most of us. What if smoking pot does that to you? Maybe that s what the ads should say. Start smoking pot and before long life will seem like an uphill struggle without it. And how long before dependence follows? Little guns shoot bullets too, and the result is the same. EDGEWOOD News 9

10 teens, genes & cannabis... genetic variation linked to... psychosis after exposure to cannabis during teenage years. by Lis Muise Young, and some not-so-young, advocates of smoking pot argue if governments and police would stop harassing them everyone could just chill and carry on with this harmless activity. The argument might have held water in the 1960 s but that was then... this is now. Over the past decades, genetic engineering of the marijuana plant by growers has produced a plant with greatly elevated levels of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient responsible for the buzz. The gene factor, however, is not limited exclusively to the plant. A gene that we humans carry, called COMT, oversees an enzyme responsible for breaking down dopamine, a brain chemical that is involved with schizophrenia. The COMT gene has two variants. One comes in a form referred to as MET, the other is called VAL. Research indicates that the combination of those genetic variants, coupled with other contributing factors can dramatically affect mental health. Results of large studies exploring the adverse health effects of non-medical cannabis use suggest that our own human genetic variation is linked to the potential of developing psychosis after exposure to cannabis during the teenage years. Individuals carrying two copies of the VAL form have a higher risk of developing schizophrenic-type disorders if they use cannabis during adolescence. Those with the MET variant remain unaffected. It s no secret that the developing adolescent brain is different from that of an adult. As we mature, our adolescent brains go through a kind of neural pruning, a necessary process of streamlining the brain so it can work more efficiently. Scientists believe that any substance that interferes or impedes this process can produce long lasting and potentially devastating psychological effects. Mental illness isn t caused by marijuana. But using marijuana in adolescence can negatively contribute to existing risk factors such as: mental illness in the family, a personality predisposed to psychosis, and childhood trauma. Even where you live can factor in; statistically, those living in cities have a higher rate of schizophrenia. The amount of drug used, the age of the individual at first use and individual genetic variability can all influence the relationship between marijuana and possible future adult psychosis. Source: Marijuana Abuse Research Report Series, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication Number EDGEWOOD News

11 Accountability is a hallmark of the Edgewood culture. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities It s one thing to be told you re effective at what you do. It s another thing to have a team of professionals assess you and put it in writing. Edgewood Treatment Centre has received a three year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities to continue its work helping chemically dependent patients and their families. CARF International is a private, nonprofit organization financed by fees from accreditation surveys, workshops and conferences, sales of publications and grants from public entities. Since it began in 1966, CARF standards have evolved There s this consistent high standard of care that has been checked and verified. and been refined with the active support and involvement of providers, consumers, and purchasers of service. For over 18 years, Edgewood has steadily built its reputation as one of North America s top residential treatment centers which offers patients a complete spectrum of treatment services: 24 hour on-site nursing/medical care, two full-time psychiatrists and a full-time medical doctor specializing in addictions medicine and full detox services. In addition, it offers extended care programming and housing, and a wide array of family, after care and outpatient programs. A team of CARF surveyors arrived at Edgewood in late September 2012 to comb through the books and files, interview staff and patients, and see for themselves how treatment was being provided at Edgewood. The areas that caught the eye of the survey team were in Case Management and Services Coordination; Detoxification; and Inpatient Treatment. In a 22-page report assessing Edgewood s provision of multidisciplinary services in Nanaimo, the survey team was clearly impressed. Accountability is a hallmark of the Edgewood culture, the surveyors wrote. Edgewood staff members have developed mutually accountable relationships that are founded in patient care and ensuring that all resources are directed to facilitating recovery. Staff interactions combine warmth and professionalism. Edgewood patients receive holistic and comprehensive services in an environment that is warm and inviting and an atmosphere designed to promote healing and contemplation. Patients speak of the dedication of the staff and how Edgewood services are life saving. External stakeholders describe Edgewood as consultive above and beyond the norm and as providing services that are unparalleled in Canada. Since 2000, Edgewood has successfully received the highest level of accreditation. Getting another three year accreditation is a big deal, says Elizabeth Loudon, Edgewood s clinical director. It says to me we ve upheld a certain level, a standard of excellence, but our centre consistently does this. When an outside entity like CARF comes in and says that to us, that s amazing. It says to people trying to get into Edgewood for treatment that there s this consistent high standardization of care that has been checked and verified. The executive director of Edgewood, Lorne Hildebrand, agrees. I think the CARF standard means less to us than it does to the people out there who are thinking about where they should send their loved one. We love the feedback from CARF, but really it is not for us here. This is for the people out there who can now know that somebody has looked at our facility and the program we offer, and applied a set of standards that ensure quality care. It s so important for the people out there who need to have trust. The families who call in to us are in so much stress. They need to know that it s not just us saying all this great stuff about us, but somebody independent of Edgewood. Besides its main centre in Nanaimo, Edgewood offers outpatient services in Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle. EDGEWOOD News 11

12 Fitness Matters in your grill... eating the same way you did when you were up for a week on a bender is a pretty solid way of triggering yourself back into old behaviours. So you just sobered up and are trying to get this whole life thing figured out. Meetings are in place, you ve found a sponsor, you re connecting with some of the people in your recovery community, but there is just something missing. Could it be that Kraft Dinner that you are having for the fourth night in a row? You ve probably heard, If you do what you have always done you will get what you have always got. Eating the same way you did when you were up for a week on a bender is a pretty solid way of triggering yourself back into old behaviours. In early recovery your body has often been dehydrated and deprived of nutrients, and will be craving a variety of things to make up for the deficit. For many people this creates a scary problem: how do I learn how to cook? Don t panic. Like just about everything else, it is not nearly as hard as it looks from the outside. Take a few minutes to check out YouTube, search out some recipes, and maybe call some friends who seem like they have it going on in this area. Like many areas of your recovery the secret here is all in how you approach it. Your gourmet ideas will fall flat a few times and that is okay. They are supposed to. Get curious, have some fun with it, and don t be afraid to play around with new ideas. Counsellor Bill Caldwell s weekly Bill s Grill sessions show patients how to plan and prepare healthy meals. TAKING SHAPE Before going through the stages of beginning a new fitness program for either health and/or weight loss benefits, it is beneficial to review which outcomes you wish to achieve. We are a people that love to set resolutions at the beginning of a new year. The sad reality is that the majority of us will fail to achieve them. How many swear they re going to lose weight for the umpteenth year in a row? Or say that this is the year they will get healthy only to stop going to the gym after one month? Unfortunately, after a few years of this, setting resolutions can become Success is knowing where you want to go and having a plan to get there. something to avoid. After all, why would you consistently set yourself up for failure? But what if I told you there was a better way? What if you could set yourself up with a better chance of success? The trick is, you ve just got to be SMART about it. Cheryl Wilson is Edgewood s BCRPA Certified Fitness Leader, a qualified Weight Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Third Age, Yoga Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. Set SMART goals: Specific: the who, what, when, where and how of your goal. Measurable: you ve got to be able to measure your goal in some way. Otherwise how will you know if you ve reached it? Set some criteria by which the goal can be measured. Attainable: if you really want to set yourself up for success, the goal should be something you can feasibly attain (i.e. winning the lottery so you can quit that job you hate is probably not a good goal). Realistic: something that you are willing and able to work toward. This doesn t mean you can t set the bar high sometimes just fully believing something can be accomplished can make it realistic. Timely: your goal should have a specific time line; a date by which you want to achieve it. This will motivate you to get started. 12 EDGEWOOD News

13 Body and Soul in the spirit Addiction robs people of their wholeness, of their ability to live their life congruently and enrich their spirituality. In the world of addiction the drug of choice becomes the higher power, the primary relationship and the voice that is most heard above all the rest. Spirituality is lost in the struggle to survive daily in a world of selfishness, egoism and chaos. Addicts are not conscious of how their drug of choice has diminished their self-worth and added to their feelings of emptiness. They live a life of lies surrounded by feelings of shame and guilt. These feelings of shame block them from connecting to a healthy higher power, from living their life congruently and realizing their wholeness. They fail to nourish their spiritual growth. When addicts begin their journey of recovery, they discover, with the help of others, how to be self-nurturing. They learn how to empty themselves of all the stuffed feelings and life experiences that have added to their feelings of shame, which fed their addiction and left them living in a world of loneliness, suffering and isolation. The yearning for intimacy with the self begins with asking the question, Who am I? As they work their program, they learn how to make healthy connections with others. Hope replaces hopelessness, a sense of peace is felt within and the spiritual experience takes place as a constant, nourishing one s spirituality. Within these experiences addicts begins to ponder and ask themselves questions such as: What are my beliefs? What do I value? What are my truths? Are my behaviours actions of humility? Recovery is the rebirth of the presence of love inside one s heart enhancing one s spirituality. Debra Kine, Edgewood Counsellor/Chaplain THE WALKING MEDITATION For thousands of years labyrinths have been used as contemplative and spiritual tools. Patients at Edgewood get to experience the labyrinth during their stay. With the recent expansion on the Edgewood site, an outdoor labyrinth has been constructed, offering participants its healing attributes in a natural setting. Each year, Edgewood offers several weekend retreats focusing on meditation and the labyrinth. Based on the practice of walking meditation as a path to connection of mind, body and soul, the retreats are kept to a relatively small number of participants, providing a warm atmosphere of intimacy and comfort. The retreats include teachings on the labyrinth, guided meditation, labyrinth walks and quiet reflection. The threeday retreats also include two nights accommodation at the new Residence at Edgewood, dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as lunches, healthy snacks and beverages. Evening sessions include Big Book study and fellowship. The retreats tend to fill up quickly; the April 2013 retreat is already full. The next retreat is scheduled for November. For more information, call Edgewood at , or or marketing@edgewood.ca. EDGEWOOD News 13

14 The family & addiction Zeroing in on helping the whole system of relationships family, friends, even workplace relationships who need to recover from unhealthy interactions and relationships. BY dale macintyre Supervisor, Edgewood Family Programs If you do a Google search of treatment centre websites, you ll notice that virtually every program insists that addiction is a family disease. But if you look closer at these websites you ll see that they offer very little treatment for this family disease. Most treatment centres don t pay much attention to the relationships that have been affected, even devastated, by the interactions and behaviours that are at the root of addiction as a family disease. Most treatment centres focus all their energies on the identified patient the addict while the family anxiously waits at home for their loved-one s return, all their sick, addicted, relational patterns intact. Not so at Edgewood. I m proud to have been part of a team that treats the relational issues of addiction seriously. At Edgewood our clinical practice zeroes in on helping the whole system of relationships family, friends, even workplace relationships - recover from their unhealthy interactions and relationships. We believe strongly that if the members of an emotional system (the family) don t work on their own recovery while their loved-one is in treatment, the newly-sober addict will return home to an alcoholic family, virtually every member of which will still feel compelled to control, enable and blame. Helping family members understand this will always be a work in progress, but our clinical and admissions teams are tenacious helping family members see and understand this is at the forefront of our clinical approach. Edgewood accomplishes the difficult task of treating families in all kinds of ways: intensive treatment processes like InSite, educational and support programs like Bounce Back and information presentations like Family Education. I take special pride in hearing InSite alumni talk about their six-days in the program as life-changing and when I get letters from kids who ve been through Bounce Back write: Hi Dale, I was wondering if I could volunteer to help the next group. I also like the less structured exit conferences that take place with the family when a patient completes Extended Care. I m grateful beyond words for the opportunities I ve been given at Edgewood for the wonderful colleagues I ve had the honour to work with and learn from and most of all for the people who ve trusted us enough to put their lives and relationships in our hands. It takes a lot of courage to face this disease and do something about it. Thanks. I m retiring from my work at Edgewood, and I m taking what I ve learned here into new, and still undecided adventures. I hope we ll bump into one another somewhere along the way. 14 EDGEWOOD News

15 OPINION - Jeff Vircoe Sobriety & Pot Don t Mix As a relative old timer in recovery (nearly 25 years), I am frequently surprised to hear people refer to themselves as sober when I know they smoke pot. I just don t understand. For me, it s always been a battle to stay open-minded about any definition of sobriety that includes sparking up a big fatty now and then. You see, I once lost 18 months of sobriety. I d quit the booze and dope. But one day I decided that, if I just didn t drink and only smoked dope, I d be fine. I mean, I d never gotten in trouble from smoking weed before, had I? You know where this train is heading. Turns out my dealer had more for sale than just pot. Pills, powders and a host of other mind blowers. While living in relapse (which is what pot smoking is), I was soon defenseless to decline the other goodies. I fooled few during my relapse. But no matter how much I smoked, I couldn t fool myself. I knew I was full on avoiding me. Running away. Again. That s what I do. Seven months later I skittered back into the meeting rooms. Sat in the back rows. Sketchy, afraid, desperate, guilty. So lost. But I changed my sobriety date and I got honest. Smoking up had always been my way of escaping. My way of doing things my way. It disconnected me from you, hooked me up with the people of the lie. It led to more drugs. The truth is, before I d picked up again I was sad. Lonely. Grieving my old life. I wasn t practicing the program. I was living in the problem. I was not willing to accept the truth of what the great psychologist Carl Jung had told Rowland H. in the early 1930 s. Jung advised Rowland, a hopeless alcoholic, that the only chance he had to recover from the hell of his disease was to seek out and have a vital spiritual experience or transformation. Rowland found that experience in the Oxford Group. Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, also found it there. Wilson and Smith soon left the Oxford Group and took their boat-rockin, rabble-rousin Alkies with them, but they were armed with a plan for all addicts to achieve that vital spiritual transformation: The 12 Steps. I am convinced getting high on pot is more about me being unwilling to face personal issues than it is about the debatable low-level consequences of that drug of choice. And I know I m surely not sober if I m smoking pot. EDGEWOOD EVENTS cake nights at edgewood The fourth Tuesday of every month Edgewood alumni come back to celebrate a night of joy, gratitude and hope. Inpatient and InSite alumni and their families are invited to join us at 7:00 pm to celebrate their success in recovery. insite WEEKS AT EDGEWOOD ~ UPCOMING A 6-day therapeutic, residential program will help you achieve wholeness and the authentic life you seek. Discussion, group therapy, lectures, film and guest speakers cover a full range of topics including: relationships, intimacy, boundaries and more. RECOVERY insite ~ edgewood vancouver A 5-day therapeutic process to help you achieve the life of wholeness and authenticity you seek. Group therapy, lectures, film and guest speakers cover a full range of topics including: relationships, intimacy issues, healthy boundaries and more. Contact: EDGEWOOD VANCOUVER explore the labyrinth ~ The Walking Meditation This 3-day residential retreat includes teachings on the labyrinth, guided meditation, labyrinth walks and quiet reflection. Cost: $ (+ tax) Incls. 2 nights accommodation+ all meals. Call for fall dates! grand OPENING THE RESIDENCE open to the public! Join us on April 26th for the official opening of our new residential facility on the Edgewood campus. Short presentations followed by light refreshments. INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM ~ VANCOUVER A 6-week program that addresses the needs of those who may suspect they have a problem with substance abuse but do not require the inpatient services of an addiction treatment facility. 6 Week Session (Mon./Tues./Wed. eves. 6:00-8:30 pm) BOUNCE BACK ~ Children s Educational program For children ages 7-12 of addicted parents. This fun, 4-day educational program creates a safe, supportive environment where children can explore and express their feelings freely. Features games, role play, videos, books, art, songs and group discussions. fun run ~ support the edgewood foundation OPen to the public. Third annual Fun Run to raise addiction awareness. All proceeds to the Edgewood Foundation sponsorship program for those unable to afford treatment. For information call Day intensive addiction training for Physicians A unique and practical patient-based program introducing physicians to current addictions medicine theory and practice. Observe group therapy sessions and practice,with supervision, interview/assessment skills. CONFERENCE 2013: healing & treating trauma, addiction and related disorders 3-Day conference coming this fall! For information or to register visit: or call MARCH 26 APRIL 23 MAY 28 APRIL 1-6 APRIL APR. 29-MAY4 MAY April 8-12 EDGEWOOD VANCOUVER bc April EDGEWOOD NANAIMO full April 26 EDGEWOOD NANAIMO bc April 29th EDGEWOOD VANCOUVER bc march MAY 9-12 EDGEWOOD NANAIMO bc june 21 Westwood lake NANAIMO bc fall Date to be announced DEC. 4-6 RICHMOND bc For more information about these and other EDGEWOOD programs Call EDGEWOOD News 15

16 PRIZES! BBQ! SILENT AUCTION! FUN! Edgewood Foundation 3rd Annual 6k or 10k Run/Walk for Addiction Awareness Help us raise awareness about addiction and its effects, join us in the 3rd Annual Twilight Run for Addiction Friday, June 21, 2013 Westwood Lake, Nanaimo, BC Check in: 6:00 pm Race Start: 7:00 pm F O U N D ATI O N Together We Can Make A Difference! Entry fee: $30.00 (first 200 registrants receive a FREE T-shirt & Water bottle) TO DONATE OR VOLUNTEER Call: or Toll Free Race Director: Colleen Ward - colleen@edgewood.ca