Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Straight, Inc. and Derivatives => Topic started by: Anonymous on November 03, 2004, 01:31:00 PM
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i am a graduate of AARC. I recently started using again. Nothing bad has happend to me and i dont feel like if i continue on this path i will not die. The thing that bothers me is the thoughts that go through my head. i have a huge battle everyday about what will happen if people find out im using again. I still see AARC people and i pretned to be sober around them. I have to pretend to my parents to because i dont want to loose them in my life. ever since i graduated my life has been so dull. i cant hang out with my old freinds any more because i feel guilty but i cant hang out with AAtc people because i dont really like them either. now all i feel is really lonely. my life was going alright before i got sent to aarc and now i have to start my whole life all over again. i feel like i have been robed of my personality. i feel depressed because i dont know what is right and wrong for me anymore. i used to be fun and exciting now i just feel like a bore. i dont really have any friend or social skills anymore either.
i wish i had never been sent there so that i wouldnt fell so lost right now. i now lots of you that support aarc are thinking that i feel this way because ive been using again. but i dont think thats true. ive only drank a few times and used a couple so its not like im doin it compulsivley. its not my main focus and im not high all the time. but i do feel like shit all the time. i feel like i have to live a double life because of aarc and because i want to be happy but i just dont know how to do it anymore.
im not angry with aarc because i did meet some good people there but i do feel sad for what i feel i am missing in life because aarc took something from me that i can never get back. my sense of idividuality and personality is gone.
its just so sad i think because ive seen it happen to so many people.
i never thought of sucide before until now. its the first thing i think of when i get up and the last thing i think of before i go to sleep. i never felt this way before aarc.
is there anyone out there that can help, i feel like im going crazy and i feel so alone.
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No, I think you're probably just going sane.
Reading your words reminds me very much of the way I felt when I was about 15. My family had been involved with The Seed (a very early Synanon based program from which Straight, Kids and eventually AARC came) for nearly 10 years. I was well into adolescence, with all the attending anxieties, pressures and desires and just reached a breaking point. I could no longer pretend that my mother's approval (based nearly entirely on Program philosophy) was enough.
But I didn't dare let on that I actually wanted friendship and a place w/ my (allegedly drug addled) peers. So I ran, believing that I could strike out on my own and just never let myself be found till the magical day of my 18th birthday.
If I had it to do over again, I would have talked w/ some of the more reasonable adults in my life and sought a more sensible solution. I found out later that some of my extended family knew how sad and lonely I was and were already talking about how they might help me.
That would be my best advice to you. Spend some time thinking about who in your life you can trust and confide in and see if they have any guidance for you. Don't make any really drastic moves. Just, maybe, see if you can find a way to ease out from under the influence of AARC and your parents gradually; enough to satisfy your emotional needs without losing them entirely.
If you want to get together in any exclusive situation and have people love you, fine- but to hang all this desperate sociology on the idea of The Cloud-Guy who has The Big Book, who knows if you've been bad or good- and CARES about any of it- to hang it all on that, folks, is the chimpanzee part of the brain working.
--Frank Zappa, American musician
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Welcome to life! Life is hard, in fact, much of life is suffering. I don't blame you or fault you for using - the natural state of the drug addict is to use. I can think of nothing harder for an adolescent than being sober. It is strange though that the AARC graduates that I see who have been going to meetings are having a blast. they go out, and do some of the wierdest shit I have ever heard of. I am far beyond my life in treatment, and yes, it took a while to get adjusted to the real world. I needed to seek out sober people who had what I wanted - good careers, family life, fun, and I gravitated towards them, and they helped me. Using again has crossed my mind many times, especially when times are tough. But I have a support network of people in recovery who help me through those tough times. I wish you luck.
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On 2004-11-03 13:42:00, Anonymous wrote:
"Welcome to life! Life is hard, in fact, much of life is suffering. I don't blame you or fault you for using - the natural state of the drug addict is to use. I can think of nothing harder for an adolescent than being sober. It is strange though that the AARC graduates that I see who have been going to meetings are having a blast. they go out, and do some of the wierdest shit I have ever heard of. I am far beyond my life in treatment, and yes, it took a while to get adjusted to the real world. I needed to seek out sober people who had what I wanted - good careers, family life, fun, and I gravitated towards them, and they helped me. Using again has crossed my mind many times, especially when times are tough. But I have a support network of people in recovery who help me through those tough times. I wish you luck."
I don't think this poster has anything to offer you that will help. I think you will gain a lot more from listening to Antigen who is one of the wisest survivors of abusive treatment that I have seen. What's wrong with the the quote here is the assumptions that it is based on as well as the moralizing undertones. It sounds to me as though you are depressed and reaching out for help. But also your programming is making you feel guilty about a) your feelings of depression and b) what you may be identifying as a seemingly irresistable urge to "use". Well, I do not know what you want to "use" but I also would not jump to a conclusion that your desire to "use" means you are an addict either. My daughter has never been to any treatment facility like AARC, has "used" a variety of drugs, has since earned a degree in psychology and is working with young people in downtown Vancouver who have problems similar to yours or probably even worse. She has successfully counselled kids who have misused such drugs as crystal meth and has given evidence in court supporting someone who was "using" an illegal substance. She is a staunch advocate for "harm reduction" and it works. If you want to register, you can send me a private message and I will provide my daughter's e-mail and maybe you can talk to her.
If you don't want to take that risk, that's fine. However, I would encourage you to listen to Antigen's messages. Maybe read some of her other four thousand odd posts on this board. she has lots she is giving, every day. Good luck!
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Anonymous - Thank you for posting. I'd like to say that for someone who is going crazy, your post is very sensible and diplomatic. I'd also like to say that I have no idea if you are an addict or an alcoholic, or could be, or was. You're the only person here who knows that, so what you chose to put in your body is up to you.
Even though you may have only dabbled in a way that may not have caused you harm, you're now realistically living with a secret that would most likely change the way that most people in your life feel about you. You've done something that you've just spent a long time learning is the ultimate evil. Why wouldn't you feel crazy?
It's a horrible thought that you should loose your parents because of this. I think that Antigen's advice to you is valuable for this subject. Can you tell your parents that adjusting back to life outside of AARC is hard and you need them to stay connected with you?
As for feeling like a bore, that something is missing, having no social skills.... I can completely understand this and have spent many years trying to fully overcome it. When you said that something was missing, it took me a long time to understand that the hardest part about overcoming AARC for me was regaining the passion for life again, along with regaining my strength in never caring what people had thought about me, and always having faith that what was in my heart was the right thing. That had been taken and felt impossible to rebuild.
In AARC I was taught that anger is a defect. Lust is a defect. To disagree, question, or debate is "fighting". To day dream, be creative, or relax was an "escape mechanism". Also almost everything I'd enjoyed was no longer allowed incase I have too much fun and then am "escaping". Connecting was "cliquing". We were only allowed to feel "hurt", "powerless", or "serene". That doesn't leave a lot of the human brain left, does it? Something feels missing? Maybe it's the rest of you.
It also took a while to learn how to have silence, when anything other than being in raps, 1 on 1's, or on a feild trip was "in your head". And learning how to deal with feelings without having to call someone up and "spill" to them can be a rough hurdle. Spilling and confessing all the time made it hard for me to understand when it was okay for me just to handle something on my own, rationally.
As for social skills... They'll come. My first 2 tips if you haven't learned them already: STOP HUGGING! And when someone asks you how you are today, all that they want to here is "Fine. Yourself?"
I know that you are probably sick of the idea of therapists, but what if you found someone who understood what you went through? Most therapists/psychologists will. If I didn't have someone there to talk to when I got out, I don't know what I would have done. My friends were overwhelmed when I tried to explain it to them. They were overwhelmed already by how much I'd changed, they didn't understand any of it. I needed to talk about everything that had happened and that was happening then to someone who could keep my confidentiality and remind me of what "normal" was. If you can't find free services, I'm sure that your family would pay for therapy if you told them that you needed some non aarc support.
I'm sorry this is a really long post! I hope that some of it is useful. Sadly, there are so many graduates feeling the same as you, probably located near you. You're not alone. There are also many graduates who have overcome it. On that note, the fact is that whether you had used or not, if you drifted away from AARC someone would start a rumor about you using so that nobody else would continue to assocaite with an outsider.
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Hamilton, isn't you diagnosis of depression a little premature? But I guess anyone who thinks replacing ritalin with meth is a good idea doesn't mind practicing psychology or medecine without a liscence. By the way, the best "harm reduction" strategy for addiction is to not use drugs. Duh.
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Could somebody hand me my magic wand so I can make all of the drugs dissapear and cure everyone of addiction? Oh that's right I don't have one. Guess all of the junkies will just have to continue to run down neighborhoods by having no safe indoor place to inject and continue to spread Hep and HIV. Until we have a magic wand to make all of the drugs dissapear that's what will happen.
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If the ultimate goal of harm reduction tools like needle exchange and safe injection sites is not to encourage addicts to get off the drugs through recovery and treatment, then they merely prolong the inevitable - deteriorating health, mental illness and death. But oh yeah treatment and recovery doesn't work. Wait a minute! It did for me! Magic wand? No way. Hard work, therapy and 12 step meetings. Result? healthy, happy, parent, spouse, professional career. Every addict can use a hand up, it is a miserable existence, blaming everyone else for their problems.
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On 2004-11-04 07:10:00, Anonymous wrote:
"Hamilton, isn't you diagnosis of depression a little premature? But I guess anyone who thinks replacing ritalin with meth is a good idea doesn't mind practicing psychology or medecine without a liscence. By the way, the best "harm reduction" strategy for addiction is to not use drugs. Duh."
You've constructed a straw man from my argument. First, I did not offer a "diagnosis" I thought she "might" be depressed and suggested somebody that the poster might want to talk to for help. Having suffered from chronic depression myself, I felt that she/he was saying something I could identify with.
I see AARC as the most extreme manifestation of the prohibitionist temperance movement which appears to be experiencing a particularly strong comeback in N. America. It's pretty obvous to me that the US particularly has always been terrified, dealing with issues of teenagers. The drug war is related to that. Sex drugs and rock & roll are to be feared. Demean and scare kids enough and they will stay away. And you do that by outright lying and exagerrating the dangers.
So perhaps what I should be emphasizing more is the importance of honesty. What I have tried to do in mentioning my daughter is to say that, "look, she experimented with drugs, we did not panic, we were not catastophic, it was not the end of the world, we did not harangue her or suggest that she would be pregnantdead or injail, and she has moved on, it was in many ways a positive experience for her and she has gone on to help people who have real problems with drugs to overcome those problems."
But the methods of AARC do not work to help people overcome their problems, for it is always a problem for you if you must abstain for fear of losing control.
So, the best way to deal with drugs is to "just say no" ?
And the best way to avoid pregnacy is to refuse to have sex? Well "duh" that's the real no-brainer
And where the hell did you get the idea that I advocated replacing Ritalin with Meth? That's the most ridiculous misinterpretation of what I have had to say yet.
Good for you though, you continue to attempt to demean and destroy someone who is trying to recover from AARC's draconian treatment. Only dopes do dope, right?
Nice to know that you are misrepresenting what is said on this forum to the prisoners of the lost AARC.
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"prisoners of the lost AARC"
Hamilton my friend, I think you have coined a tragically accurate phrase for this northern STRAIGHT/KIDS progenitor. While you seem to be currently picked upon by the confused, I want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank you for your interest in AARC and for providing words of wisdom to those that have come here in search of such. Thanks also to you for being the voice of the voiceless and for having the interest of those incarcerated in AARC at heart.
:tup: :tup: :tup:
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There will always be a large portion of Canada that can not "recover". They will not have insurance to put them through treatment or into hospitals. There will also always be big time dealers and you can keep fighting the war on drugs but drugs will always be there especially with the HA's having so much control over the country. So what good does it do to turn your back on the junkies who won't "recover"? Not only is it bad for that person but the entire comunity affected by a large drug population gets hurt. Calgary isn't seeing the problem the same way that Vancouver's Lower East Side has.
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On 2004-11-04 11:18:00, Anonymous wrote:
"If the ultimate goal of harm reduction tools like needle exchange and safe injection sites is not to encourage addicts to get off the drugs through recovery and treatment, then they merely prolong the inevitable - deteriorating health, mental illness and death. But oh yeah treatment and recovery doesn't work.
What 'works' is whatever you think will work. If you're determined to drop a habit and you're convinced that you will (with or without the AA chips, graduation, or other talisman) then you will.
Some people are not there yet and others never will be. It's better to be hooked on clean, inexpensive opiates and be able to get on with your life than to be tied inextricably to the street dealer, unsafe injection practices and exposure to legal consequences; better for the user, better for the community, better for law enforcement, judiciary and corrections.
What they've found in Sweden, and which has been so successful that they're replicating it all over Europe, is that once an addict can seperate themselves from the underworld, they have a reasonable chance to succeed. Once they're stable, employed and out of trouble, they stand a far better chance of succeeding should they voluntarily withdraw from their drug. If they don't choose to withdraw, they can function as well as anybody on prescribed opiates.
Now, of course I'm talking about actual hardened addicts who have been shooting street shit into their veins for years while you're talking about teenagers who have been misidentified as addicts under the rediculous 'diagnostic' criteria used by AARC.
But, as regards needle exchange, the facts are the facts. Not only is it better for everyone all round if addicts can get clean needles, even if they stop right there. Needle exchange programs also bring these ppl into contact w/ medical professionals who can offer real, viable alternatives to dependence on street drugs instead of your magical-thinking-based immediate abstinance only theories.
Whoever kindles the flames of intolerance in America is lighting a fire underneath his own home.
--Harold E. Stassen, 1947
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On 2004-11-05 13:22:00, Antigen wrote:
"
Now, of course I'm talking about actual hardened addicts who have been shooting street shit into their veins for years while you're talking about teenagers who have been misidentified as addicts under the rediculous 'diagnostic' criteria used by AARC.
That's funny, I never saw you on my intake and assessment Ginger. Sounds to me like you are comparing your own experience, which occurred in a different place, years before AARC was opened. As far as "hardened addicts", I never shot up, but I did enough jail time, hurt enough people, robbed and stole to drink and smoke up. I was done. The help I got from AARC while in treatment was incredible. My sister and both my parents also got a tremendous amount of benefit. I did want to stop using drugs and drinking, and when I made the choice, AARC helped me. For never having been there, you sure make a lot of generalizations. AARC has been going for over 12 years - where is the evidence it has harmed anyone? It sure did me a lot of good.
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DOES YOUR CHILD NEED AARC? - PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
o Yes o No 1. Do you find their explanations for irresponsible behaviour or decreasing performance to be unbelievable or implausible?
o Yes o No 2. Are they frequently dishonest?
o Yes o No 3. Has their personality changed (i.e., are there inappropriate mood swings, hostility, giddiness or irritability?)
o Yes o No 4. Has anyone expressed concern about their alcohol/drug use?
o Yes o No 5. Are they less responsible re chores, schoolwork or being on time?
o Yes o No 6. Have you found obvious signs of drug/alcohol use such as bottles, drugs, or paraphernalia?
o Yes o No 7. Have they lied about their use of alcohol or drugs?
o Yes o No 8. Have their grades dropped or is there decreased interest in school activities?
o Yes o No 9. Do they have unexplained periods of depression, anxiety or difficulty with sleep?
o Yes o No 10. Have they become withdrawn and uncommunicative?
o Yes o No 11. Do they spend a lot of time alone?
o Yes o No 12. Do they show a lack of motivation or an apathetic attitude?
o Yes o No 13. Have you noticed alcohol or pills missing from your home?
o Yes o No 14. Are you missing money, credit cards or valuables that could be converted into cash?
o Yes o No 15. Do they seem to have difficulty remembering things?
o Yes o No 16. Is there a change in their personal hygiene, dress habits or sleeping and eating habits?
o Yes o No 17. Do you ever notice physical indicators of drug/alcohol abuse (i.e., red eyes, dilated pupils, and slurred speech)?
o Yes o No 18. Have you observed irrational or explosive behaviour?
o Yes o No 19. Are they increasingly secretive about their whereabouts?
o Yes o No 20. Are there signs of medical or emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, ulcers, or gastritis?
o Yes o No 21. Is there evidence they are involved with the occult?
o Yes o No 22. Has their peer group changed to include friends that are involved in drinking, using drugs and partying?
o Yes o No 23. Do they become belligerent, angry or defensive when others express concern about their drug use?
o Yes o No 24. Are they irresponsible drivers?
If you have answered ?Yes? to:
...
http://www.aarc.ab.ca/addiction.htm#Pos ... 0addiction (http://www.aarc.ab.ca/addiction.htm#Possible%20indicators%20of%20adolescent%20addiction)
Yup, same as it ever was...Were the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once forbidden as a medicine, and the potato as an article of food. Government is just as infallible,[sic] too, when it fixes systems in physics. Galileo was sent to the Inquisition for affirming that the earth was a sphere.... It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia
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DOES YOUR CHILD NEED AARC? - PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
THE GINGER WARBIS SOLUTION
o Yes o No 1. Do you find their explanations for irresponsible behaviour or decreasing performance to be unbelievable or implausible?
IT's Just a phase - lies have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 2. Are they frequently dishonest?
IT's Just a phase - lies have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 3. Has their personality changed (i.e., are there inappropriate mood swings, hostility, giddiness or irritability?)
IT's Just a phase - personality changes have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 4. Has anyone expressed concern about their alcohol/drug use?
IT's Just a phase - alcohol and drugs have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 5. Are they less responsible re chores, schoolwork or being on time?
IT's Just a phase - lack of personal responsibility has nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 6. Have you found obvious signs of drug/alcohol use such as bottles, drugs, or paraphernalia?
IT's Just a phase - ignore the paraphenalia
o Yes o No 7. Have they lied about their use of alcohol or drugs?
IT's Just a phase - lies have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 8. Have their grades dropped or is there decreased interest in school activities?
IT's Just a phase - poor prformance have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 9. Do they have unexplained periods of depression, anxiety or difficulty with sleep?
IT's Just a phase - depression, anxiety or sleeping problems have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 10. Have they become withdrawn and uncommunicative?
IT's Just a phase - withdrawing and lack of communication have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 11. Do they spend a lot of time alone?
IT's Just a phase - isolation is healthy
o Yes o No 12. Do they show a lack of motivation or an apathetic attitude?
IT's Just a phase - perfectly normal
o Yes o No 13. Have you noticed alcohol or pills missing from your home?
IT's Just a phase - theft of intoxicants are fine
o Yes o No 14. Are you missing money, credit cards or valuables that could be converted into cash?
IT's Just a phase - theft is just good clean fun!
o Yes o No 15. Do they seem to have difficulty remembering things?
IT's Just a phase - perhaps early alzheimer's
o Yes o No 16. Is there a change in their personal hygiene, dress habits or sleeping and eating habits?
IT's Just a phase - kids are just dirty little rascals
o Yes o No 17. Do you ever notice physical indicators of drug/alcohol abuse (i.e., red eyes, dilated pupils, and slurred speech)?
IT's Just a phase - probably just a stroke
o Yes o No 18. Have you observed irrational or explosive behaviour?
IT's Just a phase - perhaps some anger management
o Yes o No 19. Are they increasingly secretive about their whereabouts?
IT's Just a phase - my 13 year old should be able to go where he likes, I am just being a nag
o Yes o No 20. Are there signs of medical or emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, ulcers, or gastritis?
IT's Just a phase - he'll grow out of it, or end up in jail where he will get good medical attention, or die and not be such a bother. If I'm really lucky, he'll end up on the streets in Vancouver where they have great harm reduction, and can treat his sceptic arm.
o Yes o No 21. Is there evidence they are involved with the occult?
IT's Just a phase - organizations that teach that selfishness is good have nothing to do with addiction
o Yes o No 22. Has their peer group changed to include friends that are involved in drinking, using drugs and partying?
IT's Just a phase - good! Other people to point at and say my kid is not that bad!
o Yes o No 23. Do they become belligerent, angry or defensive when others express concern about their drug use?
IT's Just a phase - defensiveness around drug use is good - they will learn to become a good lawyer if they can stay out of jail long enough.
o Yes o No 24. Are they irresponsible drivers?
IT's Just a phase - add some booze and drugs!
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Any of these supposed indications of substance abuse can be indications of many different things. Some of them, like new friends, need for privacy and mood swings, are a natural, normal part of adolescence. Others, like anger toward parents and others' opinions of them, can be indications that the parents or others are way off base.
All of these questions are worthless as diagnostic criteria because they're all subjective and based on what the parents think.
But, according to AARC (and, Newton and Barker, etc) the only explanation for a kid who's parents are frightened of their becoming addicts is that they are, indeed, addicts. And the only solution is AARC (or the Program under whatever corporate name)
That's just too simplistic for anyone who wasn't raised in an aboriginal village under the authority of a witch doctor to really accept. Sorry, life's not that simple.
My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.
-- Ashleigh Brilliant
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These signs can be indications of other things, but what is a parent supposed to do? Wait and see? My assessment in AARC took 4 hours. I was in on assessments that took an entire day, and sometimes weeks. Some clents are referred after assessments in jail, the psych ward and by private therapists. Parents are the first line of observation. No one is asking them to make a diagnosis!
You talk about what AARC is doing without first hand knowledge. How would you assess if a child is addicted?
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Yeah, it took them a good 4 hours to break me down and get me to sign, too. I didn't believe the 'two week evaluation' lie, but I did believe they could get a 2 year court order and that I could get out faster than that by one way or another.
I would determine addiction in a child or adult by observing physical withdrawal symptoms. And I would suggest treatment by a licensed medical professional who would come up w/ a plan for withdrawal or maintainance. Also, lots of accurate education about the drug to which they're addicted and the withdrawal methods and drugs from a variety of sources.
But locking someone down w/ a bunch of zealots who think teenagers who try different fashions, make new friends and need privacy like a toddler needs their binker are all addicts and who 'treat' this alleged addiction through shaming and isolation is just .... medieval.Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.
Anonymity Anonymous (http://fornits.com/anonanon)
Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
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On 2004-11-07 08:40:00, Antigen wrote:
"Yeah, it took them a good 4 hours to break me down and get me to sign, too. I didn't believe the 'two week evaluation' lie, but I did believe they could get a 2 year court order and that I could get out faster than that by one way or another.
I would determine addiction in a child or adult by observing physical withdrawal symptoms. And I would suggest treatment by a licensed medical professional who would come up w/ a plan for withdrawal or maintainance. Also, lots of accurate education about the drug to which they're addicted and the withdrawal methods and drugs from a variety of sources.
But locking someone down w/ a bunch of zealots who think teenagers who try different fashions, make new friends and need privacy like a toddler needs their binker are all addicts and who 'treat' this alleged addiction through shaming and isolation is just .... medieval.<
Let me add to that, dear Anonymous AARC supporter.
In Alberta:
1. If they threatened you with a 2 year court order be aware that you cannot get a court order to lock someone under the age of eighteen up for ANY reason without:
a) Proceedings under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (formerly the YOA)
or
b)Proceedings under the Child Youth & Family Enhancement Act (formerly the Child Welfare Act)
and EVEN THEN you MUST be advised of your right to counsel and you MUST be taken before the judge who will conduct a hearing before giving such an order.
2. Under the Criminal Law, you are unlikely to be locked up for that length of time without a trial or a lengthy assessment by the Forensic Assessment people unless you've committed a really heinous crime. Drug "addiction" if such it is, is not treated that way by the courts.
3. Under Child Welfare Law, the procedure for Secure Treatment is to first get a 24 hr. Secure Treatment Certificate, then back to court with a PSYCHIATRIST'S report and an order can be got for 30 days which used to be extended to a MAXIMUM of 90 days. In all of these proceedings you have to be provided with a lawyer either on your application to Legal Aid or with one appointed by the Court
4. Under the new Child, Family & Youth Enhancement Act the MOST you can be in Secure Treatment, WITH a court order is 30 DAYS.
5. If you are being kept under lock and key without your consent (and who would consent if they had been informed of the above facts?) you are being kept unlawfully.
6. If you are being kept confined without a Court Order and you have consented because you were told you did not have any rights, you may have been unlawfully confined, and you should seek a lawyer for advice at the first opportunity.
7. If you have been kept confined against your will and you have Status under the Child Family & Youth Enhancement Act or the Child Welfare Act, you should contact your Child Welfare worker and request that you be taken to Legal Aid as you want to have a lawyer. If your Child Welfare worker tells you that you do not need a lawyer, she(he) is lying.
8. If you run and are 15 or under, the police will return you to your Guardian, and I understand from an AARC grad that the police have been known to return kids to AARC. If you were to find yourself in that position, you should ask the police officer to allow you to speak to a lawyer. If he refuses, keep a note of his name, rank and serial number for future reference.
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On 2004-11-07 08:40:00, Antigen wrote:
"Yeah, it took them a good 4 hours to break me down and get me to sign, too. I didn't believe the 'two week evaluation' lie, but I did believe they could get a 2 year court order and that I could get out faster than that by one way or another.
"break me down?" I was begging for help! If they were to send me home, my next step was the depositing of a local drug dealer in a large hole in a secluded place! No - one court ordered, coerced, threatened me or made me do anything against my will. I was offered treatment, and that night went to Dr. Vause's house were I had dinner with his family. I chose not to go home to the house I rented and the life that was killing me. 12 years later I am grateful I did make the first mature, responsible decision in years.
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Then you're the exception to the rule. Most of these kids, like the one who started this thread, don't need any kind of intervention to begin with. And nobody needs shaming and isolation. Give yourself a little credit here. You decided to clean yourself up. You chose AARC as the magical talisman to help you do that. You probably would have had a much easier time of it if you had had real therapy instead.
So you're one tough sob, congratulations. But your salvation doesn't excuse the harm done to innocent others. Sorry. Glad you're ok now, but you're not that special.
God did not reward men for being honest, generous and brave, but for the act of faith. Without faith, all the so-called virtues were sins. and the men who practiced these virtues, without faith, deserved to suffer eternal pain.
--
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Anonymous AARC supporter said:
"break me down?" I was begging for help! If they were to send me home, my next step was the depositing of a local drug dealer in a large hole in a secluded place! No - one court ordered, coerced, threatened me or made me do anything against my will. I was offered treatment, and that night went to Dr. Vause's house were I had dinner with his family. I chose not to go home to the house I rented and the life that was killing me. 12 years later I am grateful I did make the first mature, responsible decision in years."
That's fine, if your stay in AARC was voluntary and continued to be voluntary.
But what is the concern on this site is that the methodology and "breaking down" of individuals is cult-like and an abrogation of free will.
Put another way, the question is whether or not you are free to leave at any time. If you are not, or if you are threatened with any sort of consequence if you do leave means you are imprisoned.
It is of particular interest as to how old you were when you first went into AARC, also, when you talk of home, where were your parents? What was their role? What were they like? Why had you gotten into drugs in the first place? What's your explanation of why your behaviour was so out of control? How did your parents react to your use of drugs? What drugs did you use? Why did you graduate from one drug to another while others didn't?
It's amazing to me how people can set something up as "the answer" to things where "the problem" or "the question" has never been properly defined.
American literature is replete with examples of how different groups have "the answer". Think of it this way.
"X" is the answer where "X" may be ---
Christ, George Bush, Mahatma Ghandi, The Democrats, The Liberals, Socialism, behaviour modification, AARC, ELAN, Kids of North Jersy, The Mormon Church, The Angel Moroney, "DR." Vause.
Until you can convince me what your problem was, or what the question was, I fail to be convinced that AARC is a legitimate "answer" to anything.
You can do nothing to explain why AARC methodology worked with you until you can explain what was really going on with you prior to your involvement. And even then I question. It's amazing how easily some people can be convinced they are "spiraling out of control" when in fact they are suffering typical adolescent turmoil. Sure, a small proportion do, and in extreme cases coercion is necessary. But that coercion must at all times be with the full and complete respect for the rights of that individual, due process and the rule of Law. No-one should be tricked into consenting to something they don't fully understand
Would you really have killed a drug dealer?
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That's fine, if your stay in AARC was voluntary and continued to be voluntary.
But what is the concern on this site is that the methodology and "breaking down" of individuals is cult-like and an abrogation of free will.
Put another way, the question is whether or not you are free to leave at any time. If you are not, or if you are threatened with any sort of consequence if you do leave means you are imprisoned.
It is of particular interest as to how old you were when you first went into AARC, also, when you talk of home, where were your parents? What was their role? What were they like? Why had you gotten into drugs in the first place? What's your explanation of why your behaviour was so out of control? How did your parents react to your use of drugs? What drugs did you use? Why did you graduate from one drug to another while others didn't?
Would you really have killed a drug dealer? "
My parents had given me the choice of treatment at a government facility when I was 16. They discovered I was dealing drugs from their home. My mother, father and step-father were all psychologists. They mother and step-father are extremely caring, generous and intelligent people. They provided a good home. My older brother got me using drugs and drinking when I was quite young.I was very sneaky as a kid, and when I started smoking dope regularly at age 12 my parents had no idea. My grades were excellent, I could hold a conversation with anyone. I stole money, broke into cars and homes, and started selling dope at age 14. I used cannabis, LSD, cocaine, opiates, perscription drugs, alcohol, mushrooms. When I was 16 I was investigated for kidnapping and extorsion of a customer who ripped me off. I was charged and convicted at 17 for assault with a weapon, B&E to commit assault and weapons offences. At 20 I was convicted of 9 drugs and weapons offences. My crime of choice besides dealing drugs was home invasion to steal marijuana crops. Moving to harder drugs was a simple choice - softer ones were not as potent, and harder ones were readily available.I was 21 when I entered AARC. I had been through individual and family counselling before leaving home. I conned and manupulated counsellors and police easily.
Shortly before entering AARC, my crime partner and I had targeted a supplier to my main connection. We knew his residence, his patterns and roughly how much money and drugs he would have. Because he knew me reasonably well, I was not going to take thge risk of living him alive.
I was free to leave AARC at any time. Instead, I chose to stay, went back to living with my parent after an almost 6 year absence, regained their respect, became a good citizen and have a nice family and career of my own. I could certainly have used help as early as 12 years old, and was lucky to get it at 21.
I hope that answers your questions.
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hey
i recently started useing again as well my mother and her side of the family still think im sober i no its hard becouse you might b scared about what ur mom and ddad may think about u. I hate lying but i dont nol wut else to do. Aldo i am doing alright 2 even though i am useing. i think maybe they jus try to scare us into not useing. i dont know much but i do no i no wut your going through cuz ui am 2.
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I don't come here much, but this is probably the best thread I've come across. I don't feel that bashing AARC will help us to feel better, but this site can be a good source of support for some people.
I 'relapsed' a year after I graduated and i know exactly how scared and lonely some of you feel. My parents kicked me out and I lived in homeless shelters for a couple of months until they decided that they were ok with me drinking again.
I know that I'm not an addict, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people who go through AARC aren't. Every year that goes by, I become more and more sure that A.A. is not where I belong. With that said, I also believe that some people who go into AARC are addicts. A lot of people on this site fight about whether AARC saves or destroys kids' lives, but that probably depends on whether or not you truly needed a year and a half of intensive rehabilitation.
I don't think that AARC destroyed my life, but I definitely don't think it saved it. Nobody has to agree with me-- I just want those graduates who posted here to know that they are not the first (and probably not the last) AARC grads who think that they might be able to live happy and productive lives without A.A.
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hey guys keep up the great work. this is the funniest stuff that i hve read in a long time. should think about doing stand up. antigen has got to be the funniest...love reading your posts. by the way i would be another exception to the norm so know there are two...oh no could there be more...then what of your arguements...maybe even the majority are as you class exceptions...but we will see...look forward to the reply should be great for a late night laugh!!!!!!!
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Denial is the first symptom :rofl:
Revelation indeed had no weight with me.
--Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father, author, and inventor
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Hi have been sitting here reading these posts over for awhile. there very interesting. first off yes the so called AARC people do have tendancy to belittle the so called aarc surviver people and the aarc survivor people are really good at pointing out the littleist mistake and smallist amount of anamosity that was made or directed at them. i stumbled on to this site well searching for research on a paper i am doing on drug addiction. i found it very disturbing we have to groups of people attaching each other over the internet. one says one thing then the other another thing and next thing you know theres a whole bunch of pages of peoples opinions. The fact is that Drug Addiction does excist and alchoholism is a recognized disease by the C.D.C. dont belive me go check out there website its on there. If some people were hurt By the AARC i feel bad for you i really do and i hope that you have taken steps to get perfesional help if you feel thats what you need but there are also some people on here that seem to have been helped and if we belive the AARC survivor group then we would have to belive the AARC group and they say there life is good. so i belive that eny one who sees this sight should check it out for them selves i called The AARC and there secratary talked to me for a few minutes and they also directed me to there website which was also very informative. so go check it out for your self because as far as i can see there are to sides mad at each other and not one of the sides is being compleatly honest. The only thing that scares me here is that some one who does need help will see this and website and be scared off from the AARC which as it sounds like could help some people. So investigate it your self and draw your own conclution keeping in mind that there are some people who have felt wronged adn hurt by it but also meny who have felt helped and cared about.
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so i am the one who started this thread. i feel good about the responses i have recieved although i still feel lonely alot of the time. i am still hiding the fact that i am drinking from family and the people that i know from AARC. i want nothing more than to be honest about about everything, but is is deffinitly not an option. i fear that i will have to lie about this for ever. the trouble comes when this lie comes out. i will loose my family that is my biggest fear. but if i didnt have to lie about drinking in the first place, then i wouldnt have anything to hide and nothing to fear. unfortuntaly this is not the case.
everything in my life is going smoothly. i am doing very well in school i get honours as a matter of fact. i live on my own, have a job, have some people in my life too.
but because of AARC i feel that one day this is all going to be taken away from if i continue to drink. i cant get the thoughts of AARC out of my head. again, it feels pretty crazy.
i just feel this huge battle all the time. does it ever stop?
will i have to hide my secret for ever?
i dont evjoy hanging out with the sober people from AARC but i am made to feel that is a very wrong thing to do. i have fun with other people ,but i still feel torn.
so i think ive done enough talking in circles here, so thanks for letting me share. :???: :???: :???:
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I drink every day. I don't feel guilty about it. It's not a sin. I know that if I have more than two drinks in a 24 hr period, I will damage my liver over time and that I can also damage brain cells. That's called neuro-toxicity. Occasionally I do have more than two drinks and as a result I will then take a "holiday" for the next day or two. I do not drive after drinking.
What I do not understand is that you seem to think that you are abusing. Perhaps I can understand better if you tell us what it is about your drinking that makes you feel that you are doing something wrong. What makes you think you are losing control?
Are you really losing control?
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Good to see you respond.
If you are not an addict or alcoholic (like I said before, I don't know you so I won't make any judgements) then what will probably happen with your life is this scenario: As the years go by and you adjust to "normal" society again you'll shed all of the things that AARC taught you. You won't feel like an outsider looking in all the time. You won't feel passionate about sobriety OR alcoholism, because neither of those things apply to you. If your family understands that AARC is not benefiting you and you have moved on in your life from it, then they will over time also forget about AARC's ways, especially after they see you consecuitively thriving without it. There will inevitably be a time period however where they worry that you are not spending enough time with AARC people or at meetings etc. That's when you need to show them the non AARC people who are strength in your life, and the positive ways that you are spending your time.
In the meantime you are very much in recovery, because you're deffinately recovering from a traumatic event. Fill your apartment with the things and people who make you happy. Do you feel overwhelmed easily? If you're still dealing with depression then you probably do. Most of us do after AARC. AARC people handle this by constantly "spilling". Others can go off the deepend without help. If you need to take baby steps, take baby steps. Cut out anything that is unecessary stress.
I'd just like to say something that I was thinking about recently. When I was in AARC I spent a lot of time during raps, or before falling asleep at night, thinking about all of the wonderful things I would be doing if I weren't there. A lot of those fantasies were simply waking up in my own apartment and enjoying coffee while looking out the window, or sleeping in, or anything that involved having time to NOT be rushed and just enjoy the moment. The other night I was front row at a concert for a band who's CD was not AARC approved and taken away from me until graduation (it diddn't have drug refferences, they'd just never heard of the band. I cried to a peer about it at the .... aww!). I thought at the time about how great it was that lately I've been able to enjoy all of the things I dreamed about back then. For a while I lost all of those little things that I loved to do. So my question to you and every other AARC survivor, are you taking advantage of your freedom? Do you remember how wonderful it is to have it, like the way you felt the day after you graduated when you slept in and called all of your friends?
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Yes Velvet, I am definitely enjoying my freedom. It's true sometimes you can forget what it was like. Occassionally I read through old journals from when I was in aarc and it reminds me of how my mind wasn't my own and makes me so grateful for the freedom within my own mind...
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"Yeah, it took them a good 4 hours to break me down and get me to sign, too. I didn't believe the 'two week evaluation' lie, but I did believe they could get a 2 year court order and that I could get out faster than that by one way or another.
I would determine addiction in a child or adult by observing physical withdrawal symptoms. And I would suggest treatment by a licensed medical professional who would come up w/ a plan for withdrawal or maintainance. Also, lots of accurate education about the drug to which they're addicted and the withdrawal methods and drugs from a variety of sources.
But locking someone down w/ a bunch of zealots who think teenagers who try different fashions, make new friends and need privacy like a toddler needs their binker are all addicts and who 'treat' this alleged addiction through shaming and isolation is just .... medieval."
-Antigen
Antigen- I gotta say, the more I read what you write, even when I disagree with you, I'm impressed by how well you do it. :smile: I think you're right on this one. The official symptoms, at least here in the US, can easily be construed as the normal angst and awkwardness of growing up IN the US. I was tested and re-tested growing up. They made all sorts of guesses about my problems as a 13 year old. But the problem with observing something is that you tend to change it by observing it. I was no exception. For the original author of this thread I can only add my opinion.
I'm sorry you feel bad. It sounds like you're carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders. I bet you're not that dull. Maybe you should pursue what interests you. You may not relate to the people you used to know, but by doing what interests you you will find new people who share those interests. You may be at a point where you're moving beyond them and haven't replaced them yet.
I have a wide variety of interests and hobbies. I pursue them and I talk about them and other people respond. I've discovered some of the most interesting people in the world just through my interest in fine tobacco.
Enjoy-Polarbear
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http://www.aarc.ab.ca/ (http://www.aarc.ab.ca/)
MOST of these "symptoms" are normal teenage behavior but if you see FOUR of these in your child you MUST need AARC. :roll: :roll:
http://www.aarc.ab.ca/ (http://www.aarc.ab.ca/)
Our mission is to successfully treat adolescents and their families suffering from the disease of alcoholism and/or drug addiction, through a cost-effective, research-based, clinically validated treatment model, and to provide current, relevant information and perspectives on adolescent chemical dependency to as many individuals and institutions as possible throughout our community.
research based, clinically validated treatment model[/b]???????? I'd like to see those stats!!!!!!
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:o
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http://www.aarc.ab.ca/
MOST of these "symptoms" are normal teenage behavior but if you see FOUR of these in your child you MUST need AARC. :roll: :roll:
http://www.aarc.ab.ca/ (http://www.aarc.ab.ca/)
Our mission is to successfully treat adolescents and their families suffering from the disease of alcoholism and/or drug addiction, through a cost-effective, research-based, clinically validated treatment model, and to provide current, relevant information and perspectives on adolescent chemical dependency to as many individuals and institutions as possible throughout our community.
research based, clinically validated treatment model[/b]???????? I'd like to see those stats!!!!!!
Our mission is to convince as many parents as possible that they child is ADDICTED and will DIE unless they receive my special brand of "treatment". Never mind I received my training from a convicted child abuser who now owes millions of $$$ in judgements to victims. Never mind that I have a phony degree from the same diploma mill as my fellow bullshit artist, Miller Newton. Never mind that we use the same treatment methods taht got Newton's programs shut donw for abuse. Every single one.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
:roll: