Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - (Page 54) Resource Optimization Center (TBI-ROC) members poetically said, “I will always be an alcoholic, but I will not always be a drunk.” The belief that there is no cure for alcoholism resonated loud and clear. This was a day-to-day battle that would be won with perseverance and support from other members in A.A. Sharing is the key to the program. You can be in the program 26 days, months, or years, but the basics never change. There is an implicit recognition that recovery from alcohol addiction depends upon the ability to share feelings and weaknesses with others, especially those who have been successful in achieving sobriety. No one has a better understanding of this disease than someone who has been afflicted by it. A.A. encourages members to ask someone within A.A. to be his or her “sponsor,” someone who can answer questions and confidentially support the person on a regular basis, in addition to the support received in group meetings. As recovering alcoholics themselves, sponsors can offer immense empathy for the persons they sponsor. verance to heal themselves and one another. Everyone, addicts and non-addicts alike, has “inner demons” and the lesson of the Twelve Steps and group support is that nothing is healed alone. Individual Therapy Another form of treatment that veterans who suffer from PostTraumatic Stress Disorder should consider, coupled with A.A. if necessary, is individual psychotherapy. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is understood to be caused by a traumatic or lifethreatening experience. Traumatic experience can result in diagnoses such as adjustment disorder, mood disorder, attention deficit disorder (ADD), alcoholism, and substance abuse. A traumatic experience impacts the survivor for life. As a result of one or more traumatic experiences, a healthy individual can develop maladaptive behaviors. Trauma is an experience that produces thoughts, emotions and behaviors that were not present before the trauma occurred. The same external event will have different effects on different individuals. Trauma is experienced externally but the actual trauma is internalized. Certain individuals are more resilient than others due to social support, a strong sense of self, how they perceived the experience, etc. It is impossible to predict how each person will respond to the same traumatic event. Trauma impacts the brain when a person experiences a traumatic event as overwhelming or life threatening. If the individual doesn’t experience it as traumatic they may not develop post-traumatic stress disorder. In other instances, individuals claim they were not shaken by a particularly traumatic event and it is denial speaking. Denial may fool the conscious mind but the truth manifests itself through the brain and body. The symptoms will emerge in some form. Effective treatment is at the heart of the recovery process. Therapy is a huge challenge, but facing it and conquering it is all the more sweet. Therapy will help give trauma survivors new coping skills. The primary goal of the therapist is to impact three areas related to the individual: thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. First, a therapist works on reframing a survivor’s thoughts about the trauma in an accurate and healthy way. Second, a therapist works with deconditioning a survivor’s affective (emotional) responses to the trauma. Third, while the survivor speaks of the traumatic event, they must be encouraged to learn new responses to the stress of the experience, thus helping to eliminate maladaptive behaviors such as excessive drinking or drug abuse. A survivor’s thoughts or perceptions regarding their traumatic experience are both the problem and solution. A therapist needs to decondition anxiety, fear, and other heightened emotions that exist in a traumatized individual. Putting the survivor in touch with his/her bodily responses to feelings associated with trauma is part of the treatment process. Trauma is associated with increased heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, etc. Being more aware of these sensations, an individual is guided As a result of one or more traumatic experiences, a healthy individual can develop maladaptive behaviors. Trauma is an experience that produces thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that were not present before the trauma occurred. Through A.A., alcoholics recover their “self” and their connection to a Higher Power. They realize that they are not alone since they are a part of a larger group or community of those who have suffered from the same addiction. They learn to take care of themselves and to make a commitment to a group that rebuilds their sense of self and their sense of being connected to a beneficent source. They become centered on this power instead of on alcohol or drugs. The power that is unseen becomes their strength. Before, they turned to alcohol to feel “better.” Now they have a Higher Power within the group and within themselves. They heal the shame that they had acquired through their maladaptive behavior. All of the members were on the path to building a solid self-identity. All were at different stages on that journey, but the destination was the same. They seemed to find this small room in the back of a church a safe place to not only expose their feelings, but to feel validated. It is interesting that addicts usually find one another when they are acting out their destructive behavior, but it takes addicts in recovery to pull one another off the path to destruction. It was beautiful to see people share their trials, fears, and victories over the battle with addiction. They truly were courageous in their efforts to heal themselves and one another. Non- addicts have a lot to learn from A.A. members’ courage, openness, and perse- 54 August 2009 • EP MAGAZINE/www.eparent.com http://www.eparent.com Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Exceptional Parent - August 2009 Exceptional Parent - August 2009 Contents Ancora Imparo What's Happening Further Reading New Products 2009 Disability Awareness Night Schedule 2009 Models of Excellence in the Healthcare Profession Preterm Birth: How It Affected My Family Treatment of Neurosensory Disorders Improves Psychological Well-Being in Children Federal Program Encourages Health Service Innovations on Developmental Disabilities Close Encounters of the Medical Kind Sitting on top of the World: One Physician's Journey to Success Raising a Noonan Syndrome Child When We Found Out Our Daughter Had CMT August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month! Newborn Screening Saves Babies, One Foot at a Time Another Day in the Life of the National Children's Study Evidence Based Humanity Must Be Part of the Equation Incontinence Education Series Part 7 Emergency Preparedness Series Part 4 On the Road to Recovery - Self-Deiscovery: The Crown Jewel of Psychotherapy Asperger Syndrome and the Difficulties of Diagnosing and Treating Related Conditions EP Bookstore Special Needs Alliance Specialcare AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry Organizational Spotlight Living with a Disability Exceptional Parent - August 2009 Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Exceptional Parent - August 2009 (Page Cover1) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Exceptional Parent - August 2009 (Page Cover2) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Exceptional Parent - August 2009 (Page 1) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Contents (Page 2) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Contents (Page 4) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Contents (Page 5) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Ancora Imparo (Page 6) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Ancora Imparo (Page 7) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Ancora Imparo (Page 8) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Ancora Imparo (Page 9) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - What's Happening (Page 10) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - What's Happening (Page 11) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Further Reading (Page 12) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Further Reading (Page 13) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - New Products (Page 14) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - New Products (Page 15) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - New Products (Page 16) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - 2009 Disability Awareness Night Schedule (Page 17) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - 2009 Models of Excellence in the Healthcare Profession (Page 18) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - 2009 Models of Excellence in the Healthcare Profession (Page 19) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Preterm Birth: How It Affected My Family (Page 20) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Preterm Birth: How It Affected My Family (Page 21) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Treatment of Neurosensory Disorders Improves Psychological Well-Being in Children (Page 22) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Treatment of Neurosensory Disorders Improves Psychological Well-Being in Children (Page 23) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Treatment of Neurosensory Disorders Improves Psychological Well-Being in Children (Page 24) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Treatment of Neurosensory Disorders Improves Psychological Well-Being in Children (Page 25) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Federal Program Encourages Health Service Innovations on Developmental Disabilities (Page 26) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Federal Program Encourages Health Service Innovations on Developmental Disabilities (Page 27) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Close Encounters of the Medical Kind (Page 28) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Close Encounters of the Medical Kind (Page 29) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Close Encounters of the Medical Kind (Page 30) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Close Encounters of the Medical Kind (Page 31) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Sitting on top of the World: One Physician's Journey to Success (Page 32) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Sitting on top of the World: One Physician's Journey to Success (Page 33) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Raising a Noonan Syndrome Child (Page 34) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Raising a Noonan Syndrome Child (Page 35) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - When We Found Out Our Daughter Had CMT (Page 36) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - When We Found Out Our Daughter Had CMT (Page 37) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month! (Page 38) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Newborn Screening Saves Babies, One Foot at a Time (Page 39) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Another Day in the Life of the National Children's Study (Page 40) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Another Day in the Life of the National Children's Study (Page 41) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Another Day in the Life of the National Children's Study (Page 42) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Another Day in the Life of the National Children's Study (Page 43) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Evidence Based Humanity Must Be Part of the Equation (Page 44) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Evidence Based Humanity Must Be Part of the Equation (Page 45) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Incontinence Education Series Part 7 (Page 46) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Incontinence Education Series Part 7 (Page 47) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Incontinence Education Series Part 7 (Page 48) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Emergency Preparedness Series Part 4 (Page 49) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Emergency Preparedness Series Part 4 (Page 50) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Emergency Preparedness Series Part 4 (Page 51) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - On the Road to Recovery - Self-Deiscovery: The Crown Jewel of Psychotherapy (Page 52) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - On the Road to Recovery - Self-Deiscovery: The Crown Jewel of Psychotherapy (Page 53) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - On the Road to Recovery - Self-Deiscovery: The Crown Jewel of Psychotherapy (Page 54) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - On the Road to Recovery - Self-Deiscovery: The Crown Jewel of Psychotherapy (Page 55) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Asperger Syndrome and the Difficulties of Diagnosing and Treating Related Conditions (Page 56) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Asperger Syndrome and the Difficulties of Diagnosing and Treating Related Conditions (Page 57) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Asperger Syndrome and the Difficulties of Diagnosing and Treating Related Conditions (Page 58) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Asperger Syndrome and the Difficulties of Diagnosing and Treating Related Conditions (Page 59) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - EP Bookstore (Page 60) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - EP Bookstore (Page 61) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Special Needs Alliance (Page 62) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Special Needs Alliance (Page 63) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Specialcare (Page 64) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Specialcare (Page 65) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Specialcare (Page 66) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Specialcare (Page 67) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (Page 68) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (Page 69) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - AADMD - American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (Page 70) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Organizational Spotlight (Page 71) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Organizational Spotlight (Page 72) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Organizational Spotlight (Page 73) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Living with a Disability (Page 74) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Living with a Disability (Page Cover3) Exceptional Parent - August 2009 - Living with a Disability (Page Cover4) http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201009 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201008 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201007 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201006 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201005 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201004 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201003 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/201002 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/2010rg http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200912 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200911 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200910 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200909 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200908 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200907 http://www.eparentdigital.com/nxtbooks/exceptionalparent/200906 http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
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