Inexcess

Tara, Intuitive Recovery, Alcohol & Drug Addiction

Tony — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:49:38 +0000

An inspirational journey from Tara, a former school teacher of 13 years who in her own words ‘lost everything’ and ended up in prison with only one intention on release, to end it all. She tried most things in her search for happiness but booze and cocaine took her to a dark and chaotic place. ‘I felt like a piece of a jigsaw that didn’t fit’. Her frank and honest appraisal of herself is humorous at times but her experiences are a dramatic reminder of how addiction shows no discrimination.

Life today for Tara though is not about what she lost but what she found, herself. She’s discovering a new way of living and is a recent graduate of Intuitive Recovery.

Inexcess, the story so far

Tony — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:04:24 +0000

Inexcess is two years old. Can you believe it? It’s been an extraordinary journey. It began with the idea that the power of television and the internet could help more people to find recovery.

From humble beginnings with a handful of people producing TV from my conservatory we grew and evolved until we were producing live studio shows and outside broadcasts and have now produced more than 200 hours of TV.

But the most important thing has been connecting with the people who have turned their lives around, those who helped them, and those concerned for a loved one, looking for help. We’ve met the most inspiring people, carers, counsellors and therapists; authors, experts and government ministers, we’ve even met the odd Harvard Professor, self-help guru and the occasional rock star. So many people have helped us and travelled with us on this journey, thanks to all of you. It’s been amazing. And we’ve only just begun.

These are the defining moments that tell the ‘the Inexcess story’ and the people we met on the way, the inspirations, the emotional moments and some of the fun we’ve had along the way. Over the next month we will be broadcasting the full versions of the landmarks featured in these highlights. I hope you enjoy our journey.

George Williams

Founder, Inexcess Television

Action on Addiction Candle Light Vigil 2010

Tony — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:15:06 +0000

Inexcess is proud to host the Action on Addiction candle light vigil 2010. Held at the Liverpool Metropolitan cathedral the event is to remember the many lives lost to addiction over the years and to send the message Recovery is out there.

Hosted by Sharp Liverpool the evening comprised of poetry readings from Genie in the Gutter, live music by the Raucous Caucus Recovery Chorus, Hello Buoys and Mary HD.

“We can recover and we do recover”

Growing into Recovery Part 2

Tony — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:32:35 +0000

We return to the Summergrove allotment, where residents are helped by local allotment holders Sue and Geoff to grow their own fruit and veg. Gardening and team work has proved to be a successful therapy which helps to bring families back together at Summergrove.

Camino Recovery

Tony — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:43:44 +0000

Family involvement improves long term recovery

George talks to Don Lavender of Camino Recovery about its 12 step programmes, and the particular success of its family therapy. Involving the family in confronting addiction and mental health problems has been shown to substantially increase the probability of getting well and sustaining recovery. Family therapy also helps family members to overcome the fear that they were the cause of the problem, and strengthen the bond of mutual support.

The Camino Recovery Centre is an intimate and homely 8-bed facility, based near Malaga in Southern Spain, which specialises in the treatment of addiction, including alcohol, drugs, food, gambling and sex.

Camino treats addictions, as well as associated conditions, known as ‘dual diagnosis’, such as trauma, depression and anxiety, offering medically supervised detoxification, and residential primary care based on the Minnesota Model 12-Step approach, plus eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, equine assisted psychotherapy and family therapy. The centre also offers 30 to 60day secondary care, weekly aftercare and one-to-one counselling and psychotherapy.

The treatments aim to prepare individual to return to the world and maintain long-term sobriety, peace of mind and quality of life. Group therapy, underpinned by a 12-Step programme, forms the core of the programme because group therapy allows more issues to be covered in a short space of time; and reliable studies have shown that the 12-Step approach is the most effective pathway for the largest number of people.

Grant, Walsingham House, Abstinence Based Residential Rehab, Drugs

Tony — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:15:53 +0000

Grant started using solvents at nine, alcohol at 12 and by 13 in youth custody was snorting powders, white brown yellow and pink, whatever was available, at 17 it was cocaine, then heroin, and eventually using every day.

After a protracted rock bottom, extended by his own denial, Grant realised what he was doing just to hide from the hurt of a messed up childhood, and finally found help through Walsingham House in coming to terms with both.

Recovery for the Brain

Tony — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:20:56 +0000

Exploding the myth that alcohol and drugs destroy brain cells, Peter McCann, founder of Castle Craig Hospital talks about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and how it can rejuvenate dormant brain cells to reverse the effects of addiction.

Relatively unknown in the UK, Hyperbaric chambers have been used in many other countries, notably Russia, for the last twenty years in treating alcoholism. By absorbing Oxygen at eight times normal pressure patients can be detoxed in half the time of conventional treatments, and the therapy also stimulates stem cell production which helps to repair all the major organs damaged by the toxicity of alcohol and drugs.

Dr Robin Lawrence, the Illness of Alcoholism

Tony — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:42:59 +0000

We caught up with our old friend Dr Robin Lawrence at the Soberlink launch, where he spoke about the illness of alcoholism, its psychological symptoms and how our brains process threats and the alcohol we use to deal with them as a replacement for the ancient ‘fight or flight’ response.

Explaining the curious relationship between the pleasure centres of the brain stimulated by alcohol and the Mesolimbic system that detects threats; alcohol, the friend that initially helps us overcome the small social phobias ultimately becomes the bigger problem when increased consumption actually causes anxiety and depression.

Robin talks passionately about abstinence based programmes as a key psychological component of recovery and the power of self-help groups in addressing the fear and isolation brought on by the condemnation and shame still associated with addiction.

Karen - Walsingham House, Abstinence Based Residential Rehab, Alcohol

Tony — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:18:45 +0000

Karen talks about how alcohol progressively took over her life, from social drinker through depression drinker to unmanageable drinker; from fully functioning partner mother and employee to isolated, aimless and despondent person who at the bottom lost her relationship children and her job.

Finally finding help at Walsingham House she has overcome her addiction to find hope and see the potential in life.

UKESAD 2010 - Intervention, Ken Seeley

Tony — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:30:34 +0000

George talks to Ken Seeley about intervention and its success in the USA, and how the technique helps individuals to confront their addictions by involving their families and helping to find the right treatment. Ken is CEO of Intervention 911, author of ‘Face it and fix it’ and regularly appears on US TV series A&E Intervention.