Straight stuff on addictions

They were sick and tired of seeing people suffer; family, friends, classmates, boyfriends and girlfriends.  They were tired of the stigma associated with drug addiction and tired of the lack of awareness around them about the heroin epidemic.  They decided to combat their feelings of helplessness and do what they could to have some impact on the issue.  They work with, as their founding member states, THE UNAWARE.  They sponsor community awareness events and are soon debuting a school program.  We’re excited to have a few of the “Take a Stand Crew” this week.  Please join us.

Most people wouldn’t consider an alcoholic or drug addict a good candidate for enlightenment.  How is it then that recovering alcoholics and addicts find a “spiritual program”, a “power greater than themselves and are able, with the guidance of that new found power to recover.  It seems nothing short of miraculous that people with this devastating disease are able to swim up from the depths of despair to a life not only alcohol and drug free but compassionate and meaningful.  Join us this week to hear Chuck O and Chris S as they share their personal stories of spiritual growth.

Sometimes we try to forget about the painful things that happen and what could be more painful than losing a child? But Carolyn and her other daughter Shelly won't forget. They are activists, advocating for THE IGNORED; the depressed, addicted, self-injurers and the suicidal.  Her daughter Dani overdsoed on prescription medication.  She fell through all the protective safety nets in the system; she fell through the cracks.  Overprescribed, addicted, multiply treated, her condition not clearly understood by professionals who should have known, her autopsy report read, "Natural causes".   Please join us this week to hear Carolyn and Dani's story. Let's not forget.

Clearly, everybody’s story is different and twelve step programs have wide and open arms.  Our guest tonight started her recovery in Adult Children’s groups, graduated to AA and later added Sufism, her current spiritual practice.  Her family had struggled with addiction and several members of her family found some measure of recovery although both her brothers eventually succumbed to the disease.  Joy now lives happily in a spiritual community with her husband.  Her journey is full of sadness, joy, recovery and devotion.  Join us this Sunday night.  You won’t want to miss this story.

OK Let's face it.  The odds aren't good for a young person to stay sober....right?  Well, the odds aren't really that good for anybody to stay sober so if we waited for the odds to be good there'd be no sober people at all.   There are, however, some things that people can do that will increase their chances.  Like any other potentially terminal disease, chemical dependency will take you out if left untreated.  Our guest Brady C. will share with us some of the things that he's learned; some of his experiences, relationships and hurdles as a young person in sobriety.   Join us this week to hear Brady; an exceptioonal young man with a real message of hope.

She had no intention of staying sober for more than a year.  It had been sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll and in her head, that wasn’t going to change permanently.  Her EAP and a king-sized intervention landed her in treatment.  Now she faced the shame and the stigma associated with being a female drunk; her internal shame about her Mother role, the promiscuity, and being a pariah in her own family. She found a way to live happy and sober.  She says she “Came, Came to, then Came to Believe.”

Most of his ups and down in life were in sobriety.  He got sober at 17 and is still that way 28+ years later.  For people that think young people haven’t done enough personal damage to need to get sober (these are the “I spilled more than you drank”, types) or for those that think young people have to relapse at least six times to “get it”, listen up.  Chris S. has a story of hope and recovery that professionals, parents and young people need to hear.  Join us this Sunday night to hear Chris S.

Pot wasn’t much of an issue; neither were pills. Boyfriends were largely to blame, she thought.  When he started selling and later using heroin she joined him blaming him for her use.  Later when he started using heroin IV she angrily felt like he was leaving her out and joined him….for years.  He died of an overdose and she began the journey to get well.  Multiple treatments and many bumps in the road later she’s sober and happy.

All you have to do is read the paper or listen to the news to know that there’s a heroin problem in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago; but like most people we feel that as bad as it is, it won’t happen to us.  But it happened to Ken and his family.  It happened to his daughter earlier this year and it launched Ken into the desire or maybe the need to get the message out to other parents who think that it couldn’t happen to them.  Please join us this week in welcoming Ken Chiakas.

Isn’t drinking just part of what a hardworking, hard driving attorney does?  Isn’t a little relief after a difficult case; a hard day in court just what we do? Maybe for some but for Mike it left the territory of “normal”, “hard drinking” and “relief” and into the territory of trouble, family upheaval and powerlessness.  Mike is a long-time recovering person with a admirable resume including a leading role in the lawyers assistance program.  Join us this week to hear Mike C.

Sobriety is more than the containment of a compulsion; it’s a fundamental shift in consciousness.  Is change a prerequisite of sobriety? It has been said that “the same man will drink again”.  Is change a random event, a willful management of behavior, a miracle or something else?  Is change an event or a process?  These are some of the topics that we’ll explore with our guest this week, suitcoat Johnny or suitcoat for short.

Steve Ferrone has lived a couple of lives; an entertainer from an early age, he was opening for The Who at age twelve and has been a sought after drummer his whole career.  He's done stints with bands as diverse as progressive jazz guys like Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express to well known rockers like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Steve's value runs much deeper however than music or fame.  He made some significant changes in his life in the early nineties and it those changes and their impact on his life today that we want to address in this week's show.  Please join us this week in welcoming Steve Ferrone.

April Fisher has been in the DUI business for enough years to know the “ins and outs” of the process.  All kinds of folks get DUIs and most don’t know what they’re stepping into.  They don’t know the rules and they don’t understand the treatment process.  Most know only that they have been stopped and charged with driving while intoxicated but have little idea of the costs, the steps to completion or the long term consequences.  Most had forgotten that driving is a privilege not a right.  Join us this week for an in-depth discussion of the DUI process.

In this show we plan a departure from our standard pattern to highlight Sophie Swire and her International efforts to empower women in places where this is not the norm.  We feel lucky to have Sophie in our studio this week to give us some glimpses into other cultures and other ways of life.  We sometimes take for granted the freedoms we have.  In the countries where Sophie and her co-workers operate codependency isn’t something one can recover from its more something that is culturally demanded.  Join us this week for a look into another world.

Surrounded by Alcoholism as a kid she was predisposed but how could this happen to a nice girl like Karen?  A good marriage, great kids and wanting for little…was it a mid-life crisis or a mid-life CRISIS? She fought a lengthy and costly battle with alcohol for ten long years and finally surrendered and accepted the truth.  She changed drinks, changed towns and did everything to avoid it but in the end, staring out the kitchen window alone and afraid at 1 AM she knew.  She’s been through much in sobriety but has made recovery her priority.  Today she’s a happy survivor.