KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine

Sfj	Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine Let me give my opinion of recovery methods and looking for magic answers. Regarding supplements and herbs and pills and amino acids etc. They may help to a very small extent. A healthy diet is much better than a handful of pills any day. Well over ninety per cent of the “health food supplements” that people take are either worthless or harmful. Even the amino acids such as L-tyrosine and others in the same family do not have enough verifiable medical evidence to support indicated use as a standard cure or healing mechanism for meth addiction. When we see published results of double-blind, peer reviewed research, and conclusions supported by clinical trials, then, we can dance to another drummer. But until then, I seriously doubt if one per cent of the users will benefit. And even that one per cent may see a very small benefit. Again, a healthy diet is much better. Anti-depressants seem to work for some people. I’ve heard some “authorities” say that anti-depressants can help with meth withdrawal induced depression, up to forty-per cent. It is quite possible that some people get help from the placebo effect, but if that’s what works, that’s fine. But let’s be honest about what gets the credit - the pill or the belief. Experimenting with different SSRI’s, Wellbutrin, and other anti-depressants is very common among psychiatrists. It is not uncommon for a doctor to prescribe three or four or more different drugs in an attempt to find one that works. 12-step programs, such as CMA are very effective for some people. But 12-step programs are neither treatment nor therapy nor are they qualified to give any medical, psychiatric, or professional advice of any kind. 12-step programs claim to be spiritual programs. Religion works for some people. When it doesn’t work, the religious practitioners say that the person lacked faith or obedience to the Word of God. It is virtually impossible to argue with or convince a religious zealot of anything different. Although, that could be a good thing. Mother's Against Meth Treatment programs such as intensive outpatient programs can be helpful for many people. A good treatment program or rehab, such as S.T.O.P. will have trained staff, competent counselors, plentiful resources such as referrals for concurrent problems, psychological and psychiatric doctors on staff and liaison between other service providing agencies. Too many programs today are under-funded, staffed by untrained and uncertified counselors and unable to meet reasonable expectations of ethical professionalism. In-patient programs are usually not better than outpatient, but provide housing and a strict environment for people with little or no ability to take care of themselves. Private counselors, therapists, psychologists, and medical doctors can provide a degree of personalized care that may be absent in other venues. Private treatment is often more costly and client or patient doesn’t get as much time with the provider as with other plans. Family support can often be very promising. In most cases however, family s are not trained in dealing with the severe emotional and psychological damage caused by meth addiction. Family s have often been hurt themselves and consequently have too much difficulty to act as an unattached and objective source of support. There are thousands more ways of overcoming meth addiction. This website, KCI, is one of them. My site
Replies...
mary mary1	Re: Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine A healthy diet is almost impossible to come by, considering how food is manufactured, grown, matured by force, force fed, grown in contaminated soil, etc. Supplements are just that - supplementation to a diet that is not fulfilled.
click away	Re: Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine What kind of rehab did you go to sfj? It seems from readin this list, that nothing is recommended. I like the suggestions on your site. But I was just curious what kind of rehab you did?
nano banano	Re: Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine Sfj! Always like to read the interesting stuff you post! I may have asked you this same thing a year ago....I was away from this site for a while....so, here goes again, because my memory is shot! Do you have any experience with the "Rational Recovery" approach? I know on their website they kind of bash AA programs, but aside from that, I wonder if this approach might work for some. What do you think of it and what kind of addicts might benefit from this when nothing else worked? My guess is there are some who have trouble with speaking in public, or have social anxiety.....who may benefit from this approach......Hey, whatever works, I figure!
Sfj	Re: Overcoming Addiction to Methamphetamine Like I said, There are a zillion ways of getting clean from meth and I was trying to introduce some of the more popular and effective ones. I’ve been to some of the alternatives to 12-step, namely, SMART Recovery In San Francisco and New Leaf The SMART RECOVERY method is based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, the work of Dr. Albert Ellis. I went to about a dozen meetings and I’m sure they might be good for some people. The popularity doesn’t indicate that however. There are only two meetings a week in San Francisco and no more than a dozen attended each meeting. So in my opinion, if it worked that well, it would attract more people. Raitonal Recovery, the one you mentioned, is one I have heard of, but haven’t experienced in person. I have read other reports about Jack Trimpey and they weren’t good. I’m sure you can find more than enough info by doing a web search. He says, “If you can quit on your own, you aren't an addict or an "alcoholic". And “Stay away from recovery groups of all kinds; you can’t possibly recover there. They’ll never let you go, and you’ll be “in recovery” forever.” I really find it difficult to agree with that. If a person is that smart, that cognitively well-adjusted, he probably wouldn’t have become chemically dependent in the first place. Those alternative methods provide a very reasonable and logical approach to recovery. That may, at first seem to be ideal. But not really. Addiction is not a logical phenomena. It is emotional. Ignoring the emotions might be fine for Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek, but the rest of us are often too frazzled in our feelings to be that cognitively superior. I needed human understanding, compassion, and something that would reach my soul, my spirit, and my gut level emotional problems. That is not to say that one should ignore alternate possibilities. For a small handful, they may work. The rest of us need hard core, tried and true methods of recovery. Let me add this, people attending 12-step meetings are never "required" to be public speakers. No one is forced or coerced to participate in discussions. Remaining totally silent is quite acceptable.