Exploring the Real Culprits in Food Addiction – Its Not Broccoli!

We will examine: the biological nature of food addiction with a discussion of the familial underpinnings; why an individual’s eating problems (overeating, undereating or eating and purging) are an addiction; how these behaviors are brain based (as evidenced by new brain imaging technologies). Discussions will include how blood sugar operates in the body and how/what to eat so that blood sugar levels are normalized, which then normalizes energy, mood, sleep, digestion, weight and brain chemistry.

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Marilyn, we are so proud of you and all your hard work!

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Thank God, It’s Friday!!
Today is Good, It’s Friday!!

How about – Thank God I’m Free! Free? Free from what you may ask.
Free from work for the week?
Free from getting up at 6am every day (unless you have children, and then that never ends!)
How about – Thank God I’m Free From From Addiction!

If you are truly living a sober life – than you have acheived true recovery and you are free from your addiction.

Think of recovery as a work week.
Monday is the crappiest of all days – think of that as rock bottom, the day that you finally realize that you need help. You go to a meeting, you stop using, you go to a rehab center

By Wednesday, you keep building your sober support, you keep going to meetings, you just keep going –

By Friday – oh that wonderful Friday! Where you are FREE from your addiction!

So, if you are still struggling with the pains of addiction, with the pain of relapse, with the daily struggles that come from temptation and the urge to keep using – don’t worry for one day soon you will be celebrating a WONDERFUL TGIF. One that doesn’t last one day a week – one that lasts every single day!

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At Realization Center, we believe in True Recovery!!

An IMPORTANT Part of True Recovery is “find that parenting is an attainable skills, not a mish-mash of confusing feelings and responsibilities …”

The best gift people in recovery can give to their mothers, to their children … is the gift of you being sober! A card and flowers won’t hurt, but knowing that their mother/ their child is sober will mean SO much more.

If you are feeling any mish-mash feelings – please call your sponsor, go to a meeting, call us.

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To find out more details go to the following Link: https://www.for-ny.org/events.php?id=24

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The meeting range from Ninjas in Recovery (AA) to First Things First (SCA) to Marijuana Anonymous (MA) and are held Monday through Saturday.

Please check under “On-Site 12 Step Mtgs.” for a complete list of meetings, days and times.

Any questions, or if you are interested in hosting a 12 step meeting, please call us.

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Jason, this will help others who are struggling with their identity.

Realization Center has been an advocate for the LGBTQ population to aide in living a sober lifestyle since 1984. This includes specialty lesbian and all male gay groups, co-ed LGBTQ groups and specialty self-help meetings. We aid the clients with resolving interpersonal conflict with self and others related to homophobia, managing stressors of discrimination, family conflict, mental health issues, daily life stressors, and self-discovery. Here at Realization Center, we coordinate services with the Harvey Milk School, Callen-Lorde Health Center, and the LGBTQ Center. The LGBT program includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), HIV/AIDS support, trauma, seeking safety, and sex addiction groups.

We engage in community outreach providing training and educational services to groups such at the Harvey Milk School and the Department of Probation on how substance abuse impacts the LGBTQ community and how to interact with this community in a healthy and respectful manner.

We also participate in training and educational seminars to continue to cultivate an environment in which quality, affirmative LGBT client care is the norm.

Jason, Realization Center is behind you 100%!!

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If you have any unused or expired medication that you would like to dispose of please bring it to (list will be updated periodically as we get information):

Saturday, April 27th
Manhattan:
7th Precinct (19 1/2 Pitt Street – Lower East Side)
10th Precinct (230 West 20th Street – Chelsea)
13th Precinct (230 East 21st Street – Stuyvestant Town)
20th Precinct (120 West 82nd Street)
25th Precinct (120 East 119th Street)
Lenox Hill Hospital (100 East 77th Street – Lobby)

Bronx:
42nd Precinct (830 Washington Avenue – Morrisania)
45th Precinct (2877 Barkley Avenue – Schuylerville)
46th Precinct (2120 Ryer Avenue – Fordham)
48th Precinct (450 Cross Bronx Expressway – Fordham)

Brooklyn:
61st Precinct (2575 Coney Island Avenue – Homecrest)
68th Precinct (333 65th Street – Bay Ridge) between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
78 Precinct (65 Sixth Avenue – Flatbush)
84th Precinct (301 Gold Street)
90th Precinct (211 Union Avenue – Williamsburg)

Queens:
100th Precinct (92-24 Rockaway Beach Blvd – Far Rockaway)
112th Precinct (68-04 Austin Street – Forest Hills)
Forest Hills Hospital (102-01 66th Road)
St. John University/ College Of Pharmacy (ROTC Reserve Building – 168-10 Goethals Avenue – Jamaica)

Staten Island:
120 Precinct (78 Richmond Terrace – St. George)
Richmond University Medical Center (335 Bard Avenue)
Staten Island University Hospital – North (475 Seaview Avenue – Lobby)

New Jersey:
Bayonne Police Department (630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NY 07002)
Bogota Police Department (375 Larch Avenue, Bogota, NJ 07603)
Carlstadt Police Department (Stop & Shop – 675 Patterson Avenue, Carlstadt, NJ 07072)
Clifton Police Department (900 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07013
Edgewater Police Department (55 River Road, Edgewater, NJ 07020)
Essex County Sheriff’s Office (Partol Headquarters – 115 Clifton Avenue, Newark, NJ 07104
Fairview Police Department (370 Fairview Avenue, Fairview, NJ 07022)
Fort Lee Police Department (1327 16th Street, Fort Lee, NJ 07024)
Hasbrouck Heights Police Department (320 Boulevard, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604)
Hudson County Sheriff’s Office (257 Cornelison Avenue, Jersey City, NY 07302)
Kearny Police Department (237 Laurel Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032)
Lyndhurst Police Department (Lyndhurst Shopping Plaza – 425 Valley Brook Ave., Lyndhurst, NJ 07071)
North Arlington Police Department (H&B Pharmacy – 98 Ridge Road, North Arlington, NJ 07031)
Nutley Police Department (228 Chestnut Street, Nutley, NJ 07110)
Ridgefield Police Department (234 Main Street, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660)

For those of you who cannot make it on Saturday, there will be boxes to drop off these items in front of the following precincts tomorrow (Friday, April 25th):
Brooklyn:
90th Precinct (211 Union Avenue)
66th Precinct (5822 16th Avenue)
71st Precinct (421 Empire Blvd)

For a complete and accurate list, please check out – https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/NTBI/NTBI-PUB.pub;jsessionid=B4ACFFADA274BC78CFA47D0F34C016A7?_flowExecutionKey=_cA1DD46FE-003C-0591-5D05-19B980663A5A_kF027DDF5-3AC2-B767-0453-C27760E5D2D6

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The tragic events of the Boston marathon bombing and the continuing effort to restore safety to the city of Boston this past week can be triggers for some people, even if you aren’t directly affected.

We urge all in recovery to please call us, call your sponsor or go to a meeting if you are feeling the urge to use.

We have several meetings at the Center this week. Check out our 12 step meeting section on this site for a complete listing of all the meetings at the Center.

Together, we will get through this and be stronger.

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The month of April is the 27th Annual Alcohol Awareness Month sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). In recognition of this year’s focus on alcohol use by young people, OASAS hosted three regional conferences targeting the prevention of underage drinking.

Held in Albany, New York City, and Rochester in March and April, these training sessions emphasized a multisystem collaboration to fight underage drinking in New York State. OASAS’ partners in prevention include the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), the New York State Police, the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Guard, as well as community coalitions and prevention providers.

“We encourage parents to talk to their children about underage drinking,” said Commissioner González-Sánchez, “However, these messages have little power if they are not reinforced by the culture around them. We have to make it difficult for teenagers to get their hands on alcohol. The laws against underage drinking have to be visibly enforced to deter teenagers from drinking, and that is what environmental prevention is all about.”

The dangers of underage drinking include a host of health and social risks. For example, 19 percent of all traffic fatalities in New York State involve drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 who have been drinking.

In addition, teenagers, with their still-developing brains, are more sensitive to the addictive properties of alcohol than adults. According to the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, if young people put off using any addictive substance until they are age 21 or older, they have a 1 in 25 chance of developing a substance use disorder. When they begin using before 18, the odds are much grimmer: 1 in 4. Every year that that young people delay the onset of use until they reach their mid-20s, the better off they are.

“During Alcohol Awareness Month, we recognize the damaging effects of alcohol, but also the success of prevention, treatment, and recovery,” said Commissioner González-Sánchez. “People need to be aware that alcohol dependence is a chronic disease that can be treated, just like we treat other chronic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension.”

In 2012, an estimated 1.2 million people needed treatment for alcohol dependence in New York State. OASAS oversees one of the nation’s largest addiction services systems dedicated to Prevention, Treatment and Recovery, with nearly 1,650 programs serving over 100,000 New Yorkers on any given day.

OASAS encourages you to use Alcohol Awareness Month to educate yourself and your loved ones about the dangers of drinking too much. A new State website Talk2Prevent.com is designed to help adults talk to teenagers about alcohol. A hotline is available for people to anonymously report underage drinking and the people enabling it: 1-866-UNDER-21.

And for all New Yorkers struggling with an addiction—or whose loved ones are struggling—help and hope are available. The state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day a week HOPEline, 1-877-8-HOPENY, is staffed by trained clinicians who are ready to answer questions, offer treatment referrals, and provide other vital resources to facilitate that first step into recovery.

For more information, please visit www.oasas.ny.gov

Follow OASAS: www.twitter.com/nysoasas / facebook profile: NYS OASAS / www.youtube.com/nysoasas / www.flickr.com/photos/nysoasas

http://www.oasas.ny.gov/pio/press/20130408AAmonth.cfm

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