| REFLECTIONS
I just returned from a family reunion at Grand Lake, Colorado. Having been there previously many times, I was saddened to see the very stark increase in the ravages of the beetle infestation of the beautiful forests of majestic pine trees that drape the mountains in that area. Now huge tracts of these trees, hundreds and hundreds of thousands, no doubt millions, of them are dead and dying. The beautiful mountains painted in shades of green are now a drooping, dusty brown. A national park ranger told me there is no human remedy - that at some time, probably soon, there will be a massive fire. I sat on the peaceful banks of the headwaters of the Colorado River and thought about that ranger's prophecy. It in some way is the picture of the human condition. We all have been invaded by sin and the death it brings. Most people seem blissfully unaware of the impending disaster, or, to use a psychological term, they are in total denial. This mirrors the illusion that we had for many years when enjoying the pine forests and were unable to see that there was anything destructive going on below the bark surface to those magnificent creations of God. The very good news is that for those who have accepted a relationship with Jesus Christ, while there is no human remedy for the corruption of sin, there is a salvation that is super-human or supernatural. There is a river that flows through the devastation.
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Our thanks to Phil Swihart, Ph.D., Director of Counseling Services and Community Relations at Focus on the Family, for this devotional thought. Look for a devotional thought each month from our friends at Focus on the Family. | |
Hope for the Addicted
by Alex Kwee, Psy.D.
One of the features of good emotional health is equilibrium or balance. An emotionally healthy person does have times of disequilibrium, but he or she has the awareness and ability to self-correct to regain balance. For example, some who are prone to overwork may learn to set non-negotiable boundaries around work. They make sure they have the time for family relationships, church, and hobbies that round out and bring fullness to their lives. For these people, life is governed by a capacity for healthy self-regulation.
Others experience greater difficulty maintaining their equilibrium; life for them leans towards immoderation and excess. At the extreme, they are addicts, not in the conventional sense of people who abuse alcohol and drugs (although they may engage in these behaviors as well), but in the broader sense of having their sense of self defined by the extremes of consumptive experience, whether in sex, gambling, eating, or even seemingly good things like relationships and religion.
Process addictions are organized around patterns of behavior that are used to manage moods and provide self-soothing. Sometimes called behavioral addictions, they differ from the substance addictions in that it is the experience with a behavior, rather than the ingestion of a substance, that does the job of providing short-lived relief from the unpleasant emotions that the addict wishes to escape. Over time, the addict engages in the experience at the expense of other important aspects of life. The experience becomes the organizing and controlling principle of life. I think of my sexually addicted clients whose lives fall around the pattern of escaping their problems by fantasizing about sex, then compromising their values to obtain sex, then dealing with the consequences of their mistakes only to repeat the cycle all over again.
What is the way out? At Meier Clinics, we have misgivings about the common notion that addiction is a disease, because this implies that the solution is solely a medical one. While we have no doubt that there is a biological substrate to addiction, we also believe that addiction is embedded in other non-biological factors in a person's life. These factors may include family relationships, social and emotional skills, economic opportunity, a sense of meaning and purpose, and the feeling that one has the power to direct the course of his or her life. This view of addiction, which is supported by a considerable body of research, lends itself to our treatment philosophy. Beyond offering excellent psychiatric care for patients struggling with addiction, we treat each patient holistically, caring for the mind, body, and soul. We empower our patients to become more effective and meaningfully embedded in life by equipping them with the skills that will outlast their time in treatment. This approach just makes sense from what the research is showing about addiction, and our experience indicates that it does work.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance addiction, sexual addiction, or other form of behavioral compulsivity, there is hope. In your journey of healing, consider specialized addiction tracks available through counseling centers and hospitals. We have an addictions track at the Wheaton, IL, Day Program and plan to have similar tracks available at other Meier Clinics Day Programs around the nation in the near future.
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Alex Kwee, Psy.D., is the Director of the Sexual Health Program for the Meier Clinics of Illinois. Dr. Kwee has presented nationally on the topic of Christians and sexual health, and he has published articles in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity, and Sex Addiction and Compulsivity: Journal of Treatment and Prevention. |
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"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
By Sandy Newport, Editor
Do you know this Depression era song that was made famous by Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee? The lyrics told the story of a former businessman who built railroads, wore suits, and had been sucessful until the Depression. He, like many other men, women and children, was suddenly homeless and hungry, and pleading for just a dime to make it through another day.
The Depression was one of the darkest periods in the history of the United States. The nation was both rocked and energized by the social, political, and economic crisis of the 1930's. It would cause many citizens to question the historic belief that individuals and families were responsible for their own success and care. People turned to the government, local organizations and churches, neighbors, and even strangers to help them survive. People began helping one another in ways they never had before.
Thankfully, our country built its way back out of those depression days and is considered the wealthiest nation in the world with a mean wealth of $144,000 per person in 2000 (1). Are you one of those who are at or above the mean wealth? Or are you like me and make considerably less than that, thinking. . ."I'm certainly not wealthy." If that's you, consider these facts (2):
· About 790 million people in the world are chronically undernourished.
· 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water.
· 2.2 million children die each year because they do not receive immunizations.
· Of the 2.2 billion children in the world, one billion live in poverty.
· Half of the world, nearly 3 billion people, live on less than two dollars a day.
If you're like me, you suddenly are feeling well off. You aren't wondering where your next meal will come from, you have water to drink, you don't worry about dying from disease, and you certainly spend more than $2 a day.
Although the United Status has rebounded from those Depression days, we have the widest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized nation(2). There are thousands, like the "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" gentleman, who are struggling due to circumstances outside of their control. The question is, can you spare a "dime" to help someone else out
God tells us in 1 John 3:18 to ". . .let us not love with words but with actions and in truth." Since 1976, we at Meier Clinics have been sharing love in action and truth by providing quality mental health care based on biblical principles. We have consistently given around $1 million in charitable care each year since earning our non-profit status. But, that $1 million isn't going as far as it used to. We are having to turn people away who are needing care because we can't meet our expenses.
We are asking you, our readers, to help your "brother" today by making a donation so those who need a "dime" can get the help they need. Please prayerfully consider a tax-deductible gift to Meier Clinics Foundation. You can easily make a gift by calling 1-800-848-8872, mailing to MCF, 2100 Manchester Road, Suite 1510, Wheaton, IL 60187-4561 or via our website at www.meierclinics.org.
When you make a donation, you won't get a thank-you gift in the mail, your name won't be sold to any other charity, and you won't get any monthly solicitation requests from us. What you will get is the joy and satisfaction of knowing that every penny you gave went directly to help someone receive counseling care and hope for a bright future. Thank you.
"Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
1 John 3:16
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(1) The World Distribution of Household Wealth, Dept. of Economics, University of Western Ontario, 12/2006.
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