Recovery Works!

(Banner displayed at Recovery Walk)

Photo by Theresa A. Seeley

On Saturday, September 26, 2009, Inside Addiction joined thousands at the 10th annual Recovery Walk in Hartford, CT. This event was sponsored by CCAR (The Conneticut Community for Addiction Recovery) and the A&E Recovery Project.

(A glimpse of the Recovery Walk.) Photo by Theresa A. Seeley

Every day millions of Americans in long term recovery lead normal and productive lives. Thousands turned out in support showing recovery works- sharing their experience, strength and hope with Inside Addiction.

Watch for an upcoming episode at youtube.com/InsideAddiction of first hand testimonials from recovering addicts showing recovery works---one day at a time!

To share your story with us, email us at info@insideaddiction.org

Underage and Under Their Influence

(Above: Recovering alcoholic Nora S. pictured with her daughter, Niki, at the taping of Underage and Under the Influence.)

8 million children in the United States live in a household where either one of both of their parents suffer from addiction. 1 in 10 kids live in a household where at least one parent suffers from alcoholism and/or drug addiction. Over 25 million Americans suffer from addiction. Far too often the other victims of this disease are forgotten even though they suffer as much if not more than the addict themselves. Alcoholism and drug addiction effects families, the sons, daughters, nephews, and nieces every day. In light of the recent occurance on the Taconic Parkway, finally the spotlight is being shed and awareness is being raised about this disease and all of the people that it effects.

Be sure to check out www.youtube.com/insideaddiction for our upcoming episode, Underage and Under Their Influence. Just as 8 million kids live in a household with a parent who suffers from alcoholism and/or drug addiction, so can those same children grow up in that same household with a parent in recovery.

How My Summer Vacations Have Changed

I used to mow my lawn with a mixed drink at each end of a row mowed. Wow! I can't believe I couldn't walk more than 15 feet in one direction w/o taking a swig. I remember one year my solution to mowing the lawn was to lower the blade as low as it could go and that solved my problem. I didn't have to mow the lawn for the rest of the year because the grass got so burnt.

Now I enjoy planting flowers and trimming the landscaping around the yard.

I woke up this morning at 5:30AM. Yes- woke up and not just walked or stumbled in from a bar. And I awoke not to go down to the bathroom and puke. I've even made the Sunday service at church! Wow! I'm no longer praying to the porcelin Gods.

I went to the county fair and walked through the animal barns, enjoyed the 4H booth, and ate some cotton candy instead of visiting the beer tent!

I took my mom out to lunch on her birthday instead of summers passed where I avoided her calls when she was worried from not hearing from me but I was too drunk to answer the phone--- that's if I could even find it.

I visited the Bronx Zoo with my daughter 2 weeks ago and enjoyed the day sober looking at animals as opposed to hanging out with animals in a bar until closing time.

I have taken a liking to iced coffees instead of drinking coffee to sober up and to be able to drive. Honestly that never really mattered. There was never enough to sober me up.

I spent a few days last week cleaning out my closet and found shoes I never knew I'd purchased. My good taste never left me even when all I could taste was beer or the after taste of vomit on my breath in the past.

I've enjoyed reading many books so far this summer and have stopped being worried about reading my name on the front page or the police blotter of the paper.

Yes, how I spend my summer vacations has truly changed. I have truly changed. The weather today is beautiful. It's sunny outside and so am I inside. Life is good in recovery, life is great!

by Theresa Seeley

Spring Ahead

As the weather breaks and the clocks have moved forward, so do we. We have four new upcoming episodes. We will explore the powers of prevention as well as treatment options. We will also address occupational hazards as we go inside the addictions of health care professionals. Did you know that 1 in 10 health care professionals and 1 in 6 nurses suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction?

Also, I'll go back to rehab- not because of a relapse but to pay homage to those people who saved my life and the lives of so many from the disease of addiction.

Remember two things: always take time to smell the roses and that we have a choice- to complain that roses have thorns or be thankful that thorns have roses.

No Matter Where We Go There We Are

We recently reached new destinations as we now have readers and viewers across the country and around the world- Finland, Canada, South Africa, China, and beyond.

I continue to be amazed by a fellowship like no other that can be compared to nothing I have ever experienced. We receive emails from men, women, and children of all ages as well as from all nationalities all having one thing in common- recovery from addiction.

As we look forward to a vacation in April we are truly blessed because we know no matter where we go, there we are and there will be others in recovery. From Finland to Florida, California to the Carolinas, and Albany to Africa, we stand united with support of each other. Thank you for your continued support!

Happy New Year!

Now that the holidays are over it's time to get back to business. This week we will be going back into the studios to tape our first show for 2009. No ifs, ands, or butts about it, we address the hardest addiction of all to quit- tobacco. We will be joined in the studio by guests from Seton Health and get an insight to this addiction, of which 85% of individuals who smoke want to quit.

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in our country. Besides nicotine, there are over 4,000 additional substances in tobacco smoke that affect one's body. The success rate of quitting smoking without help is only 5-6%. It is equal in addictive qualities to heroine and cocaine.

We will address issues of how nicotine effects the body as well current nicotine replacement treatments. Here's to a happy, healthy 2009 one day at a time.

1 Year Sober: 10/19/2008

(Pictured above & below: Me, exactly one year ago today...the last day...)

Today I celebrate 1 year sober! It seems surreal to me.

I never thought this would be a disease that would effect me. It did and it is powerful. I hit my bottom on October 18, 2007. I knew that day would come so I kept doing what I did best- drinking and hiding it. Or at least I thought I was hiding it. Little did I know that the people around me knew.

I knew it was bad when I would wrap my arms around a garbage can at work on my class periods off. I knew it was bad when I smashed my car. I knew it was bad. Period. I just didn't care. Now I do. Now I want to make a difference.

On that life changing morning, October 19, 2007, Dean had me take a picture of myself from my camera phone while I was driving to an AA meeting so I would always remember what I looked like. I often look at those pictures to remind myself of that other life. Those pictures are ugly but important to me. I have included them on this blog so if you feel the need to drink, look at what it did to me. And that was only on the outside...

Today is a good day...