AMERICAN PIONEERS 12 step fundamentalists

In 1995, the Greater Toronto Area Intergroup (G.T.A.I.) of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) removed the "Muckers" Group from their list of approved A.A. groups because their particular approach to Twelve Step recovery.1 Furthermore, A.A. ejected two members from elected positions in...

According to a 52 year old recovered alcoholic named Jim who helped start the Toronto-based group in early 1995, the Muckers rely on intense study of the 57-year -old book Alcoholics Anonymous, known to A.A. adherents as the Big Book, and the Twelve Step approach outlined in the first 103 pages. Nevertheless, the group has become embroiled in a dispute with A.A. and several other self-help...

In order to get the most from Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested that people:Become involved in service. Helping other people can benefit the individual even more than the recipient because it strengthens their recovery.Collect the phone numbers of other members. These can be life saving if the individual feels vulnerable and needs to talk to somebody who understands.Speak...

Scientists have been unable to find an exact cause of ADHD. It is thought to be due to a several different causes. Some of these are listed below:It has been found that those with ADHD can have abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for many executive functions involving behavior.People with the condition can have...

Attention Deficit Disorder ExplainedAttention deficit disorder is a condition that is usually diagnosed in childhood. It involves problems with inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The child can have one or all of these symptoms. It is classified as a developmental disorder because it can retard the normal development of children. Symptoms will usually become noticeable...

Attention Deficit Disorder Can Lead to Addiction There are many reasons why people might fall into addiction. They may be using alcohol or drugs as a means to escape difficulties in their life or as a means to self-medicate a mental or physical health condition. Those who have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder as a child have a tendency to develop an addiction problem...

Those people who are new to recovery often battle with loneliness. They know that it is unwise to have further contact with their drinking or drugging friends so this can devastate their social network. By joining a fellowship it allows the individual to build a new network of friends who share similar goals and aspirations. Belonging to a fellowship where the focus is on addiction...

 This type of support comes from family, friends, work colleagues, or peers. This network of people provides important functions such as: A resource for advice and information. If people had to figure everything out for themselves it would make life almost impossible. Instead they rely on other people for information and this will often come from their social support group. Emotional...

Those who belong to a fellowship like AA can benefit from a lot of support. Some of these individuals will go to meetings most days and have contact with members outside of the group. There are also those who have hardly any contact with others in recovery, yet still manage to build a successful life away from addiction. While it does seem possible to survive without it, such support...

Learning to recognize emotions is another skill that many people struggle with. This is a common reason for why people will comfort eat – they mistake feelings of tiredness or boredom with hunger. The individual learns to recognize their emotions by closely examining how they are feeling. There are usually physical sensations in the body that can help people identify the emotion they...

Learning to listen is another important skill for anyone who wants to develop emotional intelligence. Those who are a bit self obsessed will only pretend to be listening to the other person – in reality when they are not talking they may be planning what they will say next. Listening involves being fully focused on the other person’s words. It also means giving this other person the...

The ability to deal with conflict is a vital life skill. The fact that humans have competing needs and desires means that at least some conflict is unavoidable. If the individual is unskilled with dealing with such challenges they may find that life is full of arguments and bad feelings. By learning to effectively and confidently deal with conflict the individual ensures a far smoother...

There is more to communication than words. It is possible to learn a great deal about other people by their body language – otherwise known as non verbal communication. A failure to understand body language may mean that the individual is missing out on vital information in their communications. It might also mean that they are sending out the wrong signal through their own body...

Once the individual recognizes that they are suffering from stress they need to deal with this. There are many options for how they can do this. Some people find that relaxation techniques are useful, but talking to other people, exercising, and spending time in nature can also be a great hel...

Some people experience stress so frequently that they are unable to even recognize it. This is worrying because it means that the individual could be suffering the consequences of chronic stress without them realizing it. The symptoms of stress can include:The individual is unable to think clearly – they can describe this as having a fuzzy brain.Frequent episodes of upset...

Empathy can be defined as the ability to identify and understand another person’s situation. It differs from sympathy in that it involves tying to understand things from the other person’s perspective. Sympathy is more about feeling sorry for the other person, and this can involve little...

It is suggested that emotional intelligence involves a number of different skills including:The individual is able to control their impulses, behaviors, and feelings. This is referred to as the ability to self manage.Those people who are emotionally intelligent are able to understand the emotions and needs of other people. This is referred to as social awareness.The...

 A typical problem for people who fall into addiction is that they have difficulties dealing with their emotions. In fact there is a common overlap between substance abuse and Alexithymia – this is a condition where an individual is unable to express their emotions in words. Alexithymia...

Giving up an addiction is an important first step, but it is not usually enough to ensure future happiness for the individual. This is because there will usually be a reason for why the person fell into substance abuse in the first place and that reason is likely to be still there. One...

Emotional intimacy is a double edged sword; it brings joy, but it can also make you clingy. In the past few blogs we’ve been dealing with people who haveproblems trusting and truly opening themselves to intimacy. Good sex and warm romance makes us happy, but for some it’s a trigger leading to strange fears, a need for control and even, sometimes, rage. Problems...

The emotional state of the brain can explain why different individuals do not respond the same way to similar injuries, say scientists. Some recover fully while others remain in constant pain. Brain scan studies showed for the first time how chronic pain emerges as a result of an emotional response to an injury. The process involves interaction between two brain regions, the frontal...