The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 10

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 10 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

In the great J.R. R. Tolkien story of The Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, is given the task of destroying the One Ring that brings enormous, invincible power to anyone who wears it. A Dark Lord, Sauron, who originally forged it, is trying to re-capture it to complete his takeover of the known world, called Middle Earth in the story.  It is in the Council of Elrond where it is decided that the One Ring must be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom and it is Frodo who accepts the mission.  The other attendees of the Council, princes of different parts of Middle Earth, form a Fellowship pledging themselves to protect Frodo in his mission. The central story of Tolkien’s trilogy, then, is the working of the Fellowship of the Ring, through enormous struggles, to facilitate Frodo’s completion of this task.

The story can easily be read as the One Ring being the curse of alcoholism and addiction. While there is no one sufferer of such a disease in the story, Frodo and the Fellowship supporting him pursue a series of journeys very much like our own in the pursuit of Sobriety.  They encounter incredible hardships and battles trying to gain the ultimate advantage over the evil of the disease.

The powers of the One Ring are strong and at various times they almost tempt Frodo and members of the Fellowship to fall under its spell and relinquish the Journey.  As the story builds, its power to corrupt builds as well and the agony of the Journey resonates more and more loudly with the ideas of addiction recovery.  But Frodo, with the support of the Fellowship, as our Fellowship supports us, is successful and peace returns to Middle Earth, the ending conveying a wonderful sense of serenity for all, a sense of serenity not unlike the feelings that surround us when we begin to bask in the glow of Recovery.

The closing scenes of the final episode in the Trilogy convey the sense of serenity and joy that has returned to Middle Earth…echoing the serenity, strength, and hope that can overwhelm us as we feel that glow…

The Council on Recovery Receives Google Ad Grants Award

 

Google Logo

The Council on Recovery is a recipient of a Google Ad Grants award. The Google Ad Grants program supports registered nonprofit organizations that share Google’s philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. Google Ad Grants is an in-kind advertising program that awards free online advertising to nonprofits via Google AdWords.

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey – Part 9

 

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 9 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

The incidence of war in the human experience is enormous; it has been estimated that, in the 5,600 years of recorded human history, there have been 14,300 definable wars.  In our modern times, the wars of WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and their aftermaths occupy much of the period of the last 100 years. Wars affect everyone, not just the participants, but their families and larger communities as well, in many subtle and powerful ways. Continue reading “The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey – Part 9” →

Drug-Impaired Driving: Report Reveals Shocking Stats on Growing Problem

Drug-Impaired Driving Report

Drug-impaired driving has become an increasingly critical issue for states and state highway safety offices. According to a newly updated report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in 2015, drugs were present in 43% of the fatally-injured drivers, more frequently than alcohol was present. Increasing use of marijuana as a result of decriminalization in many states has contributed to the spike in drug-impaired driving and more than 80 commonly prescribed drugs have been linked to traffic fatalities across the nation.

Continue reading “Drug-Impaired Driving: Report Reveals Shocking Stats on Growing Problem” →

The Lifelong Quest for Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 8

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 8 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

In the ancient mythopoetic story of the Odyssey, Odysseus is desperately trying to find his way home after a 10-year war, to the Island of Ithaca where he is King. The armies of the great city states of Greece had been locked in a struggle to conquer the impregnable City of Troy on the extreme west coast of modern day Turkey. Odysseus was one of the leaders of the Greeks, the one who devised the plan to penetrate Troy through the gift of a giant horse secretly filled with soldiers, the Trojan Horse.  The behavior of the Greeks once inside the City and the slaughter of the Trojan population angered the gods.  The Journey home of all the Greek leaders was fraught with calamity, but none so severe as Odysseus.’

Odysseus encounters all sorts of disasters on his tortuous Journey home, much of it accompanied by the bad behavior of his men and him.  After nine years on the Journey, having lost everything, all his ships, all his men, all his possessions, he is washed up on the island of Scheria, naked, exhausted and broken.  He is taken in by the people of this land, and in a fit of surrender, he tells his whole long story.  It is in this telling that he finally gains the support and insight to complete his Journey home and, once back in Ithaca, to ultimately regain his rightful place as King.

The story is another classic hero’s journey, filled with all the elements of similar epics. Odysseus’ arrival home results in some additional conflicts with others on Ithaca seeking to rule.  With the help of the goddess Athena, a peace is declared by all the conflict parties accepting a sacred oath to restrain from any further violence forever.  This ending is dealt with rather briefly in the actual story, but the journey of Odysseus, in the torments and trials he must overcome, very much parallel our own Journeys to Sobriety.

He can only finally find forbearance and release from his tragic journey after he loses everything, surrenders and tells his story.  Having done so, and following the dictums of his hosts on Scheria, he can find his way home and achieve a sense of peace for himself and his people. For all of us, it is in telling our story, truthfully and with energetic rigor, that we can finally make progress on the elusive quest of Sobriety…and, in having done so, we can finally find peace and a rightful place for ourselves in the world.

Logout is the Hardest Button to Click

Are you consistently refreshing your Facebook or Instagram feed? Upon waking, do you check your social media apps before getting out of bedSocialMedia? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may be addicted to social media. You are not alone.  Or are you? Social media can make you feel connected with other individuals, yet it can also lead to isolation from the real world, personal interactions and connections.

The impact of being obsessed with cell phones and the world inside of social media is steadily increasing. People have begun to describe their need for presence on social media to be worse than craving a cigarette or alcoholic beverage. Shockingly, the average person between ages of 15 and 29 spends between two and three hours of their day on social media accounts.

What Does Social Media Addiction Look Like?

Daily use of social media in itself is not enough to be called an addiction. Many users can refrain from use when their attention is needed elsewhere. At what point does social media use become a process addiction? Like any other addiction, it occurs when the drug of choice (in this case social media), becomes more important than anything else and begins to interfere with personal relationships, education or the work environment.

Are any of these feelings familiar to you?

  • Anxiety or depression surrounding times when social media cannot be accessed
  • Anger or irritability when use of social media is interrupted
  • Using social media during situations in which such use could be considered rude (i.e. during dinner or a meeting)
  • Continued use of social media after being warned by parents or boss about its effect on studies or job duties
  • Use leading to detrimental loss of personal relationships
  • Unable to refrain from use in dangerous situations such as driving
  • Avoiding social situations or hobbies which you enjoy in order to be active on social media
  • Desire to use social media is so strong loss of sleep occurs

Help is Available

If a loved one has suggested you are on social media too often, arguments over use occur, or you feel you have lost the ability to enjoy life outside the realms of social networks, you may have a true addiction. Once the addiction is recognized, although it is not easy, people may be able to quit “cold turkey”. However when struggling with a process addiction, it may be valuable to seek the help of a therapist or counselor to find the root cause of the issue and establish a treatment plan. At the end of the day, the goal in overcoming social media addiction is to live and enjoy life to the fullest with those around you!

The Council on Recovery is often the starting place for individuals seeking outpatient rehab and counseling, as well as help for their family members. Call 713.942.4100 or visit www.councilonrecovery.org

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/carianneking/2015-06-26/social-media-addiction-statistics-infographic

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-media-addiction-peak_us_56ab9360e4b0010e80e9c71e