AdministratorMichaela

The Sunday round up, 7th March 2010

I have spent much of this morning lurking around my flat in a deerstalker hat, magnifying glass in hand,my trusty hound (not of the Baskervilles, he’s mine) by my side searching for my missing muse. I had it last week, I may well have had it the week before, but today my muse has gone AWOL.

But hang on a minute, as I scan through last week’s blogs I see a clue emerging. Far from leaving me for a better paid (or paid) job on a glossy magazine my muse has been, well, knicked. Now I have all of you gathered in front of the screen together I will set the evidence in front of you all. Yes, I realise this is more Poirot than Sherlock but give a museless girl a break.

My first suspect is Androcles who, under the guise of bringing much needed culture to the site (a slur that has been noted sir, we had Forrest Gump last week, what more do you want?), encouraged many to wax-lyrical. Including a certain Mark Gilman, who waxed twice – very suspicious.

Or could it be Jac who along with her merry band of choristers (a cunning disguise or my names not Hercule) has been spreading musical muse in rehabs across the UK? And then there is Ann Marie bringing us Lady Heroin – her second poetic entry I notice – and even one of our newest bloggers, Kato inciting people to commit rhyme!

Now as this is a first offence for many of you – although Mr.G is straying close to the three times and your out rule – I will turn a blind eye. But any repeat of this behaviour will be dealt with severely.

From muse to musings, and many of us have been ruminating on just what Recovery means in practice – and in particular for those who work with, and for, people on their Recovery journey – which may in itself be a point of debate. But I digress,

However, if I were of a Fox Mulderish persuasion (rather than the cool level headed Scully-type) I would be suspicious that a number of people from areas as far flung and diverse as Australia, North Wales,Tameside, somewhere foresty and someone with intermittment broadband all just happened to blog on roughly the same subject. Spooky.

David found an “excellent description” of the role of the treatment professional which highlights the challenge of assessing what represents growth and what represents a difficulty that requires intervention. While Matthew looked at new roles in recovery support, introduced (to me anyway) the term ‘peer specialist’ and asked how we go about creating recovery enhancing environments.

Peter suggests the need for a change in perceptions (extra-sensory – stop it!) and attitude, Melody sparks a sparky discussion on a potentially sensitive subject and Geph is party to both sides of a conversation. Ollie is also wondering whether something might be missing. In this case it is a slice of the Recovery cake for those in shared care.

And some of our community would like to interrogate you on your experiences. Allen is investigating heroin and tolerance and Alison123 is looking for individuals to aid and abet her research on methadone maintenance. Meanwhile Cliffy is mystified by the ‘science’ of drugs.

Carl wondered a while back whether the loss of the family silver might be a professional job (!) but Tom Hovarth assures us that SMART will not be kidnapped.

Now, if my muse’s unexplained absence and missing slices of cake weren’t enough to convince you that something fishy is going on then how do you explain the fact that the word Recovery seems to be largely absent from the recent report on young people’s drug and alcohol treatment and does it have a decent alibi? Perhaps it was hanging around on Wired In at the time along with mutual aid groups, which also appear to be lost in action in the recent NTA document on powder cocaine. PeaPod is bemused and our commentators wonder how the data stacks up.

Gareth (he of the cat in the washing machine – a criminal act if ever I saw one) finds someone has syphoned the moisture from Welsh Assembly consultation paper on Integrated Care Pathways and raises concerns about information sharing.

But just when you thought that taking without owners consent had become pervasive, John shows us a creative way to provide support that is missing and the Scottish Drug Recovery Consortium has gone live. Inspiring many of us to relocate our tenuous links to Scotland!

Mark finds trust in NA which opens up a path that may lead him back into the DIP – but in a different capacity and Halyz is picking up knowledge and strength as she steps out on the long road to recovery. And I really feel I gained a great deal from a couple of sentences from A long road: part 3, “Instead of getting a bag I bought a cardigan at seven pounds and put three quid in an AIDS charity box. Wearing my ribbon with pride – with pride also that I didn’t give in.”

Losing and gaining. Tough balance there. Loss has been a theme on Wired In recently and the impact of losing a loved one is something I feel I am learning a great deal about. So my thanks again to all of you who have shared your feelings through your blogs and comments. It does make a difference.

Keith considers the role that events in Perry’s childhood may have played in his problems with drugs and alcohol but at the same time shows us the great love he had, and has, for his son. Sue marks the end of the month with some difficult emotions and resolves to make plans for some changes in her life. Like many of us on a recovery journey, Sue finds herself stuck, while at the same time recognising the need to slow down.

To say that sounds familiar could seem insensitive as each person’s journey is different, but I am sure that many of us can relate to the feeling of going nowhere fast and it is only when we look back we can see how far we have come.

I will leave you to your Sunday with news of events. Don’t forget that there is a briefing at the Basement Project on 10th March and then on 7th May the UKRF conference in Tameside. The UKRF will be updating you on the programme very soon but I have to say I am pretty excited. Do book now to avoid disappointment by e-mailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as places are going like hot cakes.

And while you are at it remember, remember the 25th of September. Be there,or most definitely be square.

Until the next time, over to Paps for a thought for the week: “Surely it can’t be that difficult to say something positive about somebody. I mean, how much do words actually cost?”

And as the old geezer in ‘Hill Street Blues’ says, “Hey, be careful out there….”

p.s. onwards and upwards!

3 comments - First published on: 07/03/2010

The Sunday round-up, 28th February 2010

Having admired the delicate beauty of a fragile spray of newly emerged snow-drops today (before Sprocket – my puppy – squished them in a flurry of paws, followed by an over-excited rottweiler in hot pursuit who mashed them to oblivion) I felt the breath of spring on my face. Alongside the less fragrant breath of said rottweiler who abandoned puppy-worrying in favour of attempting an intimate act with my leg.

So in the spirit of all things new and leaping-lamb-like I have renamed this blog. Now it may not seem like much to you but change is afoot and this is my humble reflection of the amazing things that are still to come. And I really think they will, you know.

Now is it just me or is our community really buzzing? Like an irate wasp in a jam-jar we are honing our stingy bits and getting ready to go out there and zap the world with Recovery. Now we just need to work together to put a bit more pressure on that jam-jar lid and we’re away. That was a bit ‘Finding Nemo’ wasn’t it? But you get the picture.

It is an unwritten rule among those that edit websites that those in this position shall not show favouritism in any shape or form. To mention that I think that the UK Recovery Federation conference is likely to be a landmark event would represent gross bias – and therefore I will not mention it. I will also not mention that the incomparable Phil Valentine, our very own magnificent Professor Clark and the superlative Mark Gilman will be speaking.

Don’t forget to book – spaces are going fast (and that is not another plug). The UKRF hope (and it is still a hope at the moment) to be able to get some funds for people who would struggle to find money for travel or accommodation. If you are in this position please do get in touch.

Action, action, action. That is the clarion call from some of you this week. Tony questions whether there is a bit too much a-doing about nothing and Scott feels that more needs to be done to afford Recovery “the respect it needs and deserves.” I agree wholeheartedly but the doing is in the doing – if you see what I mean. Probably not, as even I am not sure what that variation of ‘the proof is in the pudding’ is all about myself!

Other than to say that Recovery is as much about us taking responsibility for ourselves, as it is about treatment workers reflecting on whether they are promoting ‘learned helplessness’. Thanks Kuladharini for an very incisive blog.

So to nick a slogan off a well known sports brand, just do it. Blog, meet, talk, shout, discuss, debate, write, support, lobby, tell your story, help a friend, set up a group, be out about your addiction, bore others with Recovery and most of all WALK on 25th September 2010 in Glasgow. There will be more details on the UK Recovery walk this week including how to register, to sponsor and opportunities to volunteer.

Now my sense of national pride was dented this week by the publication of the Home Office’s Cross-Government Drugs Research Strategy.

Peapod could weep, I stifled a sob and Geph, well, Geph said (slightly edited comment), “The Cross-Government Drugs Research Strategy – a beautifully presented chocolate box. Contents? One wizened peanut that once saw some chocolate from 50 yards through leaded glass. Ppssshhaww!” Follow that….

The more lachrymose among us, lamenting an opportunity lost in the UK, could only wipe our sniffles and, with tear-stained eyes, look with admiration (and a strong desire for emulation) at the white paper published by the Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) Subcommittee of the Drug and Alcohol Coalition in Pennsylvania. Entitled Recovery-Oriented System of Care: A Recovery Community Perspective it is, as David says, that good. For an excerpt of the principles of a ROSC see David’s subsequent blog.

Staying geographical we arrive back in Blighty where PeaPod has mixed emotions as he ponders Scotland’s wonders and its woes. And we are not talking the comparison between the sublime ‘Letter from America’ (“Take a looooooooooooooooooook, at the rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrail-traaaaaaaaaaaack) and ‘Donald, where’s yer troosers’. No, we are not. Tommy’s blog on waiting times for methadone highlights a fair few of the not so good bits while John gives us a snippet of wonder.

David McCartney runs a health check on mutual aid in the UK and finds it bouncing with vitality and, if you sum all this up, it does seem to point to the conclusion that PeaPod comes to. Namely to “let recovering/recovered people lead the way’ and ‘catalyse the growth of communities of recovery.” Think he may well have a point.

Chris shares his reading on self medication hypotheses. I was particularly struck by the concept of addiction as a way of replacing a dysphoria that individuals do not understand with a drug-induced dysphoria that they do understand. While Chris focuses on working with veterans and with PTSD it seems true that self-medication is the ‘cure’ of choice for many conditions. At least until it stops working.

Reading this, and then later in the week Keith’s story about his son Perry, and in particular Our son: part two, brought home the reality of the link between trauma and addiction and how often sexual abuse in childhood is a factor. I know Keith is finding writing about Perry quite tough so I am sure that you will lend him all the support that you can.

It sounds a terrible thing to say given the circumstances that have brought them here, but I am really glad to see more families and loved ones becoming part of this community. We have a great deal to learn from you and have the deepest respect for your courage.

Susan is reaching some more landmarks on her own recovery journey, each presenting different challenges. In driving she wonders if she made the right choices (a theme in all the blogs about loss) and in one month later shows us the emotional roller-coaster of grief and the struggles of trying to let go.

I’m sure you share my admiration for the way that she is dealing with the way she was informed of Michael’s death and the meeting with her colleague that gave an opportunity for healing. But it’s still tough, and some days like Saturdays are tougher than others.

Ann Marie is moving forwards apace, as her work with Loved Ones Unite shows, and her thoughts in if only and the amazingly written Mr Heroin are a reminder that it is still a struggle. I think it must be hard to be seen to be moving on and we need to bear in mind Elizabeth’s words from last week, “Time they say heals but the passing of years is not a real healer; it does however get you used to the fact that your loved one has left you forever and you have to live with that cruel fact.”

And we also mustn’t forget the pain of those who have had to live with those they hold dear struggling in active addiction, and to celebrate with them the joy when Recovery comes to town. I was really moved by Linda’s blog about her daughter, Polly. Especially when she says, “My daughter has, and still is working hard, and I am so proud of her. It just shows you there is light beyond the tunnel.”

Strange isn’t it? How we assume that when we stop putting huge amounts of crap into our bodies that we will live in a bubble of wellness for ever and ever. For goodness sake, we’ve been through hell, how can we possibly be as susceptible as everyone else? Well I hate to do this to you, but as Momma Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Unfortunately, Gareth gets a cold (which throws up some unbidden thoughts) and Alan, 12 years sober, gets gout.

Sometimes it’s tough without the vagaries of illness as Des copes with a topsy-turvy day and Claire recognises that stress doesn’t help.

Do you remember that Sunsilk advert? The one where you saw a woman tossing her hair around in a park – something I often do of a weekend – with two male voice-overs saying, “Is she,……..or isn’t she?”. Apologies to our younger community members for this trip down memory lane, but it has fame as a really crap advert. Anyway, for some reason whenever we return to the concept of addiction as a disease, is it……..or isn’t it? I think of hairspray.

But enough about me. David McCartney makes the point that, whether or not we “sign up to the disease model of addiction or not, there are plenty of advantages to understanding what the science is telling us” and Kerry explains how understanding addiction as an illness enabled her to take responsibility for her recovery.

Matthew runs a critical eye over the silly season that treatment plans and commissioning can invoke, and wonders if some behaviours are not all that they should be. He then sets us a bit of a poser around honesty vs professionalism and where the boundaries are. Martin’s question is why oriented practice is being implemented in some areas but not across across the country as a whole.

Geph finds joy in an elliptical conversation and GuyinGHo finds his beans somewhat steamed by a run in with spiritual arrogance. Finally an excellent piece of advice from Verve from her in-depth blog on co-dependency, “Don’t take someone else’s addiction personally, being involved with an addict hurts.”

And in honour of change, which is as good as a rest after all, I will leave my usual onwards and upwards on the bench and instead say:

Run, Forrest, Run!

7 comments - First published on: 28/02/2010

Weekly round up and a fond farewell to blog of the week, 21st February 2010

Time, it’s a funny old thing isn’t it? Not funny ha ha but funny weird. Maybe it is sitting down to the same task at roughly the same time each week (an Editor’s version of Groundhog Day) that makes me more conscious of the minutes, hours and days passing. At the moment time is on fast forward for me, and the gaps between weekly round ups have shrunk to a couple of blinks. The exception to this is when waiting for a bus when time is less Lynford Christie-ess and more like a snail on mogadon. Especially if it’s cold.

But I have been struck this week (not literally) by how different time can be at different stages and places in your life.

For Susan time was the enemy this week. From Valentines Day, missing you to Monday night time not only meant having to deal with the reality of a funeral and what that involves, but with the ravages of time on her son’s body. Despite Susan’s best efforts to stop the clock, Tuesday became Wednesday and it was time to leave.

Then the funeral was over and it was Thursday, the day after. I don’t know about you but I found it hard to know what to do in the face of such pain and courage. A light at the end of the tunnel was that the community was, and will be here, when Susan needs it and I feel incredibly proud to be part of such a supportive group of people. Thank you all for all your comments and your messages.

I have to be honest and say that I can find it hard to know what to say in response to blogs about loss and bereavement. Michaela lost for words – unbelievable but true! I am sure that I can’t be the only one to stare at the screen, walk around a bit, change TV channels, write and delete, write and delete, put the kettle on, write and delete. And still feel I have written something utterly crap when I send it off.

So I would really like to thank both Elizabeth and Ian for giving some advice which was incredibly helpful. Both of them, and Ann Marie, are great examples of how tragedy can be turned into something positive and I am sure that this gives hope to others in similar situations. And time? As Elizabeth says, “Time they say heals but the passing of years is not a real healer; it does however get you used to the fact that your loved one has left you forever and you have to live with that cruel fact.”

I hope we have done our best as a community this week to show what we are all about and I really think we have. There are next steps and a future and Wired In needs to be a part of that. This could be supporting those who have lost loved ones on their own recovery journey or making sure that messages get out there beyond Wired In as David did. Devoting Daily Dose “to people who have lost loved ones to drugs and alcohol, the people we have lost, and to all those people who are helping families, friends and carers of those people affected by substance use problems” and by answering Verve’s call to support those other sons and daughters that are still with us.

And then there are moments when we don’t just want time to stand still, but to go backwards. To have a chance to do all the things we should have done. Paul would ring Michael back, Linda’s father would not have died alone. But we can’t and maybe, in time, we will find as Charlie says, “The worst day of my life at the time tuned out to be the best day of my life and each day now is a gift to be grateful for.” I hope so.

And recovery, recovery takes time. This may not be good news for those of us who suffer from ‘Iwantnowism’ and have been known to shout at the microwave to hurry up and get on with it. Now I know patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait. We feel able to say, with a reasonable amount of certainty, to Claire that her freaky dreams will go and to Mark that he will get used to his new life – just give it time.

But when it comes to Wired In there is patience and there is, well, a feeling that for some reason you have not been invited to the party. As PeaPod notes, there is a riddle afoot (well he doesn’t say afoot, I added that bit) and despite shouting “Rumplestiltskin” at the top of my voice nothing much seems to happen.

What is odd is that communities are so important – and a virtual community like Wired In is no less real for being on-line. In fact I believe its very ‘virtualness’ has a lot of positives. What should work in the real world doesn’t always quite gel, see GuyinGHo’s blog snowbound. I won’t bang on about the many and varied virtues of our community as we all know what they are. Except to say that even a packet of liquorice allsorts looks dull next to us. Perhaps we should employ the Glee approach and add a few show tunes….

From riddles to questions. Scott wants to know whether people ultimately recover and given that NDTMS/TOP are, well, not that good really, starts an interesting debate on what and how to measure in order to judge recovery outcomes. Why we can’t just use a ruler I don’t know. Wynford asks why, when it comes to those in the public eye, alcohol misuse is ‘just a bit of fun’.

Is it,or isn’t it a choice? Addiction I mean. Yes, it’s back, that eternal chestnut. Peter thinks it is very important that it is, some agree, others disagree. In order to resolve this conundrum, and in recognition of the current economic meltdown, I suggest redeploying ‘a’ and ‘choice’ to more needy sentences. Thus leaving the question, “Is addiction?”. To which the answer is “Yes”. Simples.

Light bulbs and miracles. These are happening all over the shop it seems. Grace’s filaments start glowing at the thought of a recovery education pack while Kerry’s moment of illumination shines a light on the possibilities of social enterprises. Martin’s wine turns to water with the admissions of the Pope and they are walking on the wet stuff down in Ollie’s neck of the woods. And, again according to Ollie, miracles happen in the NHS. Now either the water has reverted back to wine or some pretty special things are happening in Wirral.

Martin experiences a minor miracle with a service working with and for the service user. And vents a bit of frustration as to the state of the NTAtion. And Jason shows just what people in recovery can acheive when given the opportunity.

And our metaphors and analogies have scented Spring in the air and are blooming throughout Wired In. Speaking of this, have you noticed that Gordon et al have blatantly stolen ‘Road to Recovery?’. Heard Peter Mandelson talking about this today and almost fell off my chair. Then I realised he was on about the economy, yawn!

Last week the round up was focused on all things road-like and Chris adds to the genre by pitting man against machine. His conclusion is that it is better to be a car (unless perhaps it is a Skoda, or a Toyota!). Tony proves you can’t make an omelette without cracking eggs (or bad yolks) and warns us of the perils of double humped back bridges.

Time, the right time? Is there such a thing? Well it feels that it might be it for the addiction field to move out of its own little solar system into the galaxy that is recovery. We have seen this change on Wired In. While addiction remains a central issue, we are seeing it in the context of wider issues like mental health and childhood sexual abuse. So now is the right time to look wider and think wider. As jk notes, change is happening across all health fields and the common link is recovery and wellbeing. A point echoed by Verve who says, “We need to keep up our courage, and overcome the isolation and conflicts between ourselves and other disadvantaged groups in society so we can trust each other and work together.”

Linda soldiers on through the ups and downs of life, Andrew takes a jump into the unknown and Matthew is determined to return the black dog to its rightful owner. Tony’s picture reveals its hidden meanings and Chris is undertaking intervention interactions.

And now for the personal ads:
Carl seeks sizzle for his appearance at the SMART recovery conference
Kev is looking for friendly service user forums to learn from
Geph is seeking peer led recovery groups in Shropshire
and the UK Recovery Walk is still desperately seeking an individual to help with financial management. There will be more on the UK Recovery Walk 2010 next week.

Congratulations to Wynford Ellis Owen for being selected to receive Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship. This will enable him to visit a number of new recovery community centres in the US and we look forward to hearing about his experiences.

Now the time has come for the ta da da da dada da’s to fall silent, the blog of the week is following Portsmouth FC into the annals of history. Why oh why – I hear you shout? Well because of dodgy tax returns. Oh, you mean blog of the week. Well, I have found it harder and harder to put some blogs above others as they are all so good. The fact that the numbers of blogs has increased hugely is also an (X) factor as is the breadth of subjects covered.

So constant reader, over to you. Do we want an award system? And if so what? There you are, deftly shoved off my to do list and on to yours. Multi-skilled job this editing lark. See you next week.

Onwards and upwards

Michaela

5 comments - First published on: 21/02/2010

Messages for Susan

As many of you may be aware today Susan says goodbye to her son Michael. I would ask all of you in the Wired In community to think of Susan and Michael today and to add messages of support below. Thank you.

25 comments - First published on: 17/02/2010