Treatment of addiction

1. St Mary’s and Arch Angel Michael Coptic Orthodox church Treatment of addiction Servant’s meeting Sep 2013

2. All things are lawful to me but I will not be brought under the power of any 1 Corinthian 6:12.

3. Information we learned last time • Addiction has detrimental effect on the person and family. • Addicted person suffers brain changes mostly affecting behavior centers and chemicals involved in drive and happiness. • Addicted person never struggles to continue using, on the other hand struggles to stop. • Addicts are mostly functional: school, Marriage, work… • Addiction is treatable and there is hope.

4. In your service you might encounter • A student that is addicted to play station, cigarettes, ETOH, drugs. • Family is asking you for help, what would you do? • A family member of your students is plagued with addiction thatis destroying the whole family and it does. • What would you do? • Do you think you would help? If you learn how and what is out there to help?

5. Who can diagnose addiction? Psychiatrist, psychologist, addiction counselor . CRNP, LSW, LISW , LLC, PLLC, BBC , ABC …. Sunday school servants in St Mary’s church. Most important we need to adhere to diagnostic criteria so we don’t get biased. DUI doesn't equal addiction. Hitting wife doesn’t equal addiction either even if she is your sister or dear friend!

6. When you get involved If you keep asking them to stop it won’t work…. • (Patient’s are trying to quite the habit more so than staying in it). • So if you try health interventions it usually doesn’t work but won’t hurt to try, you get a T. • But God rewards are always there.

7. If you get to know that someone has addiction problem: • 1) You shouldn’t tell anyone until the person is ready for that and approves it except if someone's life is endangered. • 2) Look inside yourself; if you feel that the addict is getting what he deserves and he brought it on himself; you need to stay outside of it.( remember counter transference). • 3) Just listening to an addict or to family member = supportive psychotherapy.

8. Let’s talk about the behavior of the disease: • The most studied of all is Alcohol so we can use the treatment steps for guidance: • Are we looking for cure? • Nooooooooooooooooo. • Recovery then : Remissions and relapses.

9. The lost sheep • Can he/she be an addict • Or a family member? • Does this apply only to sinners? • If you help that person ( especially that is the most difficult of all). • How will God feels about this?

10. You can give hope. By guiding to • Detoxification. • Rehab ( inpatient or outpatient). • Talk about AA. • Increase support circle to the addict. • What do you think if you are the only person kind to an addict ( the only person in his life) to the point that he start listening to you, doesn’t want to use not to upset you and start the path of recovery because of you.

11. The Very 1st step is motivational interview • This is the step that is considered an eye opener. • We are dealing with a Godly ego: meaning? • I am in control, I can stop at anytime, I am doing it to spend time with friends, I am doing it because it helps me to focus at school….

12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGhj06-sM2Y Now you are ready to get an idea about one of the treatments that are out there you can sent people to easily. There are groups similar to most addictions if not all.

13. Alcoholic Anonymous • Every body is anonymous “ I am so and so I am an Alcoholic” 1st name Basis. • There is an AA meeting in every city every hour of the day. • No Authority figures, no therapist, no donations. • The most senior member can be making coffee or sweeping the floor same like in our church. • Money comes from members buying brochures to pay for rent and hot line phone bills.

14. Rely on 2 foundations • 1) Group psychotherapy , that is mostly supportive , if patient can’t rely to anything said then he is not ready yet. • Here you can help a family by getting the person ready by talking more about the damage that has happened already. • 2) Sponsorship: anyone that is sober can be a sponsor. • Preferably same gender. • Will be called 24/7/365. like a priest • Quality of a servant that felt how good is Jesus and his sole purpose of serving is to get people closer to Jesus.

15. The Prodigal Son • Hit Rock bottom when he felt hungry , hopeless and helpless. • The only thing in his mind is: will his father accept him as a servant? • A broken alcoholic is in the same situation. • St Augustine of Hippo Prayer “Lord make me pure but not yet”.

17. In AA • People are all in the same ship. • No religious affiliations in AA , surprisingly they close the meetings with the Lord’s prayer. • They meet anywhere, churches, houses, clubs. • Recommend to a new comer to attend meetings daily for 90 days.( remember the 90 days recovery program success). • Frequently reading AA books and magazines

18. Recovery is in 1st day • Recovery in all aspects: physical, emotional and spiritual. • Waking up in own bed. • Driving to places and actually arriving to destiny. • Smoking without possibility of burning the house down. • No one is offering help out of pity anymore. • To start the 12 steps 1st or wait to get sober and start the 12 steps? The chicken or the egg .

19. Remember that damage is allover their lives: • Across the years an addict person had hurt lots of people and was hurt as well. • You can help in this as well ( family members that you serve, you can work on helping addict to glue together what they had broken) • He is the laughing stock of the community • This makes others secure around him. • In AA forgiveness is present and available. • Remember that God forgive our sins and in AA patient will find forgiveness, acceptance and a way to repent.

20. Addicts had a clash with God • Before treatment addicts look to God from an immature image : God needs to fulfill my desires (So their prayers were never answered.) • While in habit an addict feels that he is the God in his life and the habit is the nearest thing to his heart. • Living in sadness because of lack of hope in salvation is the maximum stress anyone can bear. • Try to use paradox with patients If we haven’t eaten the apple , virgin Mary wouldn’t be the mother of God.

21. The 12 steps program • A Path of recovery. • Some of the steps are exactly equal to confession in the Orthodox faith. • Some of the steps are exactly equal when we bow our heads in front of our priests to get the blessings. • Some of the steps are comparative to accepting baptism and confirmation, the prodigal son returns, St Moses the great coming closer to God and feeling His presence .

22. Step One = We admit • That we were powerless over ETOH and our lives had become unmanageable. This is the surgeon’s incision. • I am a worn and no man (psalm 22:6) • For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.. For the good that I would , I do not do; but the evil I would not , that I practice. ROMANS 7:18 and 19. • Eloi, Eloi; Lama sabachthani Mark 15:34

23. Denial is the worst enemy • What is common between denial and lying? • They are both present frequently in Alcoholics. • What is different, one is conscious and one is unconscious. • Denial means that patient will continue playing God. • I have made terrible mistakes not crimes. I am here trying to correct my mistakes. Psalm 63:1 God; you are my God; early Will I seek you , my soul thirst for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

24. Step 2= a greater power could restore us to sanity. • Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found. • Mark 8:29 Jesus asked his disciples who do men say that I am , Peter answered you are Christ. • Jesus incarnation was through a process of emptying himself • Kenonis in Greek, by emptying Himself he made Himself available to us. No we are comforted that God will understand us because He knows how is it to be a man. • Same idea Alcoholic empting his ego: I am not God there is God somewhere. I will feel comfort in his bosom.

25. Step II is asking for help • I believe , Lord help my unbelief. Mark 9:24 • Exactly like the 4 men caring the paralyzed man they had no clue that they will meat the Lord. • St Moses the great he went to Valley of Natroun not knowing that he will encounter. • Zacchaeus going on top of the tree he had no idea if he will be meeting with Jesus. • Peter walking on the water, when he started drowning he is asking for help.

26. Step III surrendering to God • Made a decision to turn our will and our lives to God • Proverb 3:5 Trust in the lord from all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. • Father into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke 23:46 • In Gods prayer: thy will be done. • Jesus praying in The Garden before Crucifixion John 6:36.

27. This is a step of transformation • As an Orthodox Christian we go through this step of transformation through repentance. • Start at the sense that we have done wrong. • Followed by The Holly Spirit in us makes us feel bad about it. • Then finally trying to do something to go back to our stage of closeness to the Lord. • And surrendering our lives to him. • James 4:7 submit yourself to God.

28. Step III • Is the step that the individual is asked to dethrone his Ego • This means that he is putting all his life in Gods Hands. • In divine Liturgy the Anaphora, the offering, what is offered is surrender to God. • Isaac Surrender to his dad’s will and Abraham surrender to God.

29. Step 4 • Make a searching and fearless moral inventory • Mathew 23-26 first clean the inside of the cup that the outside may be clean also. • Luke 12:3 whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light • Careful about resentments towards people that hurt you ( bitterness) as it is the most destructive feelings, they are overlooked only to come back and hunt down the patient. • Similar if we have lack of hope.

30. Step 5= admit • For an Orthodox person step 4 is the preparation before confession. Step 5 is the act of confession. • Confess to God, ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrong. • James 5:16 confess your trespasses to one another. Remember : Alcoholics are very good liars.

31. Step 6 • We are now entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of Character. • Psalm 37:7 rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. • For an Orthodox is the stage of waiting for God to act . • Addict needs yet to explore that. • Raise oh Lord , talk God your maid is listening.

32. Step 7 • Humbly ask God to remove our short comings. • 1Peter 5:6 humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. • Mathew 7:7 ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find knock and it will be opened to you. • For an Orthodox : take from me the spirit of sloth, of lust , for power and idle chatter. • Still within the sacrament of confession.

33. Steps 8 and 9 • Make a list of all the people you had harmed, become willing to make amends to them all. • Mathew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers. • Mathew 5:44 Love your enemies • Honesty is not the best policy but is the only one. • Very Similar to Zacchaeus when he informed the Lord about returning money to people 4 folds.

34. Step 9 • Make direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so will injure them or others.

35. Step 10 Keeping clean • Continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong PROMPTLY admit it. • Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation Mark 14:38 The lords prayers Forgive us our sins Luke 11:4 Sometimes we need to see the extremes to look for a change like St Mary of Egypt. Continuous: prayer, meditations and reading.

36. Step 11 • Sought through prayers and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God , praying only for knowledge of his will for us and to carry that out, • 1 John 5:14 now this is the confidence we have in him that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. • Abstinence for an addict is a miracle he wants to keep it and needs the tools to do that. • For an Orthodox it is the opportunity to evaluate what you are doing in your prayer’s life.

37. Step 12 = spreading the good news • Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principals with all our affairs. • Mark 5:19 {go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has compassion on you}. • Matthew 25:40 {Assuredly I say to you inasmuch as you did to one of the least of these My brethren you did it to me}.

38. Glory be to God Forever.