| OCR Text |
Show Page Ten - The Springville Herald - December 20. 2000 --tf'" ?s t ( V v. itHecBiaeiics of addiotion by Clark Carr President Narconon International Whether or not a person is genetically, biochemically, or otheivise predisposed to alcoholism alcohol-ism of other drug addiction is a controversy that has been debated lor years within the scientific, medical and chemical dependency communities. One school of thought advocates advo-cates the "disease concept." which embraces the notion thai addiction is an inherited disease and that the individual is permanently perma-nently ill at a genetic level, even il he or she experiences long periods of sobriety. Another philosophy argues that addiction is a dual problem consisting of a physical and mental dependency on chemicals, compounded by a pre-existing mental disorder (i.e. clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or some other mental such illness). This viewpoint puts forward that the mental disorder needs to be treated first as the primary cause of the addiction. A third philosophy subscribes to the idea that chemical dependency depen-dency leads to "chemical imbalances"' imbal-ances"' in the neurological system. sys-tem. ' '. I tie fact remains that although there may be research data supporting1 sup-porting1 all of these concepts, none of these theories are absolute. abso-lute. Based on surveys of thousands thou-sands of alcohol and other drug rehabil itat ion program graduates, we have a national recovery rate average of between 16 and 20. The message is clear that we have a. lot more to learn if we are to raise the national recovery rate Reading improves When Bob Elbert moved to Oakley, Utah, a little over a year ago, he was already blind in his right eye. A worsening glaucoma condition would soon make him blind in his left eye, too. He believed his deteriorating eyesight was due to exposure to atomic radiative years earlier at the Lawrence Radiation Lab in California Cali-fornia and the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear test sites in Nevada. Elbert had survived every kind of eye operation available, but his condition continued to grow worse. His glasses were as thick as the bottom of Coke bottles. His driver's license was about to expire, with no hope of renewing it. He had given up trying to read because whenever he looked at a word on the page, he could see the right half of the word, but not the left half. That's when Bob's friend and business associate, Jerry Clegg, gave him a book on tape, "The Storm Testament," by Mapleton author Lee Nelson. "After listening to the tape, I was so enthralled by the events in ihe story," Bob recalls, "that I just had to pick up the book, even though I didn't think I could read it." "I took it with me on a flight to a business meeting in Houston," Hous-ton," he remembers. "The stewardess stew-ardess on the plane, recognizing the cover of the book, told me her husband couldn't put it down cither." Even though Bob had to read every line at least twice, he said he was pulled into the story with such force that he couldn't put the book down. Upon reaching Houston, instead of going out on the town with his business associates. Bob continued to read in his hotel room. "I propped up some pillows, pil-lows, turned on the reading light and struggled with that book most of the night. I had never done that before." In the next few months, Elbert read four more "Storm Testament" Testa-ment" volumes, then Nelson's biographical novels on Porter Rockwell, Ute chief Walkara, Butch Cassidy, Black Hawk, and Utah's infamous grizzly bear, Old Ephraim. In time Elbert realized he no longer had to read lines twice! He was seeing whole words instead of half words! In Elbert's next routine eye exam with Dr. Alan Crandall, glaucoma specialist at the University Univer-sity of Utah, the doctor was amazed that the pressure on Elbert's optic nerve had actually lessened, and the formerly deteriorating deteri-orating glaucoma condition was reversing itself. Crandall explained the turnaround, turn-around, citing eye specialists in Japan and China who claim that exercising eye muscles can be beneficial in glaucoma treat to a more acceptable, desirable level. In addition to the above three viewpoints of addiction, there is a fourth school of thought which has proven to be more accurate. It has to do with the life evele of addiction. This data is universally applicable to addiction, no matter which hypothesis is used to explain ex-plain the phenomenon of chemical chemi-cal dependency. The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, a discomfort discom-fort or some form of emotional or physical pain a person is experiencing. The person finds this very difficult to deal with. Here is an individual who, like most people in our society, is basically good. He has encountered encoun-tered a. problem or discomfort that he does not have the ability to resolve. This could include a problem such as difficulty "fitting in" as a child or teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure, identity problems or divorce as an adult. It could also include physical discomfort, such as a broken arm, a bad back or inability to sleep. The person experiencing the discomfort has a real problem. He feels this problem is a major life situation that is persisting and he can see no immediate resolution resolu-tion or relief from it. We have all experienced such things in our lives to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between which one of us becomes an addict and which one does not depends on whether or not, at the time of this traumatic experience, we are subjected to pro-drug or alcohol influences via some sort of significant peer pressure. The ments, "After seeing Bob's condition reverse itself through persistent fz 7 -s ' ' s $ , j I ".ft ' Bob Elbert of Oak'ey, Utah holds some of the books by Maple-ton Maple-ton author Lee Nelson that he claims helped reverse a worsening glaucoma condition that was making him blind. Glaucoma specialist, Dr. Alan Crandall, at the University of Utah, agrees. J-!-. rK 'tWJj i l 99 St w Wish ing you boundless joy during this special season. We appreciate your generosity and thank you for making tnis a most wonderful year. 717 North Main - Springville 489-3456 pamkillmg or emotion-dulling effects of drugs r alcohol become be-come an acceptable solution to the discomfort because the person using alcohol or other drugs experiences relict from the negative nega-tive feeling associated with his or her problem. As scxtii as the addict experiences experi-ences relief from the discomfort, he inadvertently attaches "value" to the drug or drink. It helped him feel better. Even though the relief is only temporary, drug or drink is adopted as a solution to the problem. This assigned "value" "val-ue" is the only reason the person ever uses drugs or drinks a second, sec-ond, third or more times. From this point forward, it is just a matter of time before the alcohol-drinking alcohol-drinking or drug-using person loses the ability to control the alcohol or drug use. No matter at what state of "self-control" the person may feel he is at, once he or she has started start-ed using alcohol or other drugs regularly for their "relief value," he is somewhere on the road called "addiction." Addiction is not the destination. Addiction is the whole road. Narconon is a drug rehabilitation rehabilita-tion and prevention program used by a worldwide network of nonprofit non-profit or charitable centers. Narconon Nar-conon International offers this scries on "The Life Cycle and Mechanics of Addiction" to help concerned citizens better understand under-stand the subject. There are drug rehabilitation centers using the Narconon program worldwide. There is a drug prevention center in I .os Angeles. For further information call (323) 962-2404. eyesight reading of Lee Nelson's books," Crandall said, "1 am tempted to prescribe "The Storm Testament" i 1 1 COPIES PLUS PMNT1NO 1 3f T sJ , , Sage Creek Elementary congratulates the following students who were outstanding students stu-dents in November. They were chosen for their good examples in trust worthy behavior and being a good family member. They are, front row, from left: Travis Pope, Jessica Robbins, Trever Veech, Brittani Christensen, Travis Davies, Jacob Piatt, McKaylu Curtis and Phil- Scooter injuries very high Those speedy, lightweight scooters may be the hottest gift for youngsters this holiday season, sea-son, but the National SAFE KIDS Campaign wants every parent and child to understand the potential for serious injury that exists when children ride these . scooters without the proper protective pro-tective gear. The latest statistics reveal an alarming trend-one that is of growing concern to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. According Accord-ing to the U.S. Consumer Product Prod-uct Safety Commission, more than 26.000 scooter-related injuries inju-ries requiring emergency room treatment have been reported this year. Nearly 85 percent of these injuries are to children ages 14 and under. According to the Toy Manufacturers Manu-facturers of America, scooters topped the list of best-selling toys in September. Sales are expected to reach between 2 and 5 million this year. Safety gear is relatively affordable af-fordable and can be purchased for as little as $35, less than half the cost of an averaqc scooter. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign Cam-paign encourages youngsters to wear the same type of safety gear on scooters that they wear while in-line skating. In addition. SAFE to all my patients." After receiving the first favorable favor-able prognosis on his eye condition condi-tion in years, Elbert hurried down to the Department of Motor Vehicles office where he successfully success-fully renewed his driver's license, with restrictions. Later, Elbert called his favorite favor-ite author to explain what had happened. "I just want to thank you for writing the books that saved my eyesight," he said. "All these years I felt guilty about people who stayed up all night reading my books," Nelson responded. "I thought they were hurting their eyes. It is nice to know this is not the case." Ik. Back, left to right: Ella Wilson, Richard Wilson, Jim Wilson, Irene Draney. Front: Lucille Johnson, Vera Taggart, Connie Curtis and Shelly Hergenreden. KIDS recommends the following guidelines: - Children should always wear appropriate safety gear, including a helmet, wrist guards and elbow and knee, pads when riding a scooter. - Be sure protective gear fits properly and does not interfere with the rider's movement, vision or hearing. - Children ages 8 and under should not use scooters without close adult supervision. - Before using a scooter, the rider or parent should check it thoroughly for hazards such as loose, broken or cracked parts; Best $5 Buck Gift in Town! Unique & Special Gifts for: Neighbors Co-workers & Scrooges ylO? Fresh Bread for already Gift Wrapped! Christmas Bread & Cookies White & Wheat 9 Grain Christmas Stollen Bread Bakery fi- Cafe . , . . i ; iW Y. Y)VTt j . . . . --" r'x, . ..4 fV HtOT H U if from the Staff at. Springville Floral 207 East 400 South 489-5647 ,Fty'A 1 . Kir fill lip Dangerfield. Middle: Kristin Tuft, Rebecca Pendleton, Danielle Calder, Kami Hill, Cassandra Cassan-dra Robinson, Rachelle Pope, Samatha Barney and Roy Sandate. Back: Kyle McMullin, Ronnie Ron-nie Dickison, Danielle Francis, Kyle Krebs, Veronica Medina, Joy Prior and Caleb Prior. Missing from the picture is Marissa Pope, Melissa Osborn and Matt Knowles. sharp edges on metal boards; slippery top surfaces; and wheels with nicks and cracks. - Ride scooters on smooth, paved surfaces free from traffic. Avoid riding on streets or surfaces surfac-es wiih water, sand, gravel or dirt. - Don't ride scooters at night. - Never hitch a ride from a car, bus, truck, bicycle, etc. and limit usage of the scooter to one person at a time. - Exercise caution when riding a scooter downhill. If a steep hill is encountered, step off the scooter scoot-er and walk to the bottom of the hill. Friends Boss's 115 last 100 South Springville 489-5591 n 'POOR |
