Marin Drug Recovery Updates

Paul Pribuss was recently featured in an article in the Marin IJ newspaper. The coverage focused on his work with substance abuse, couples and his volunteer participation at San Quentin state prison. To read the whole article and view the photos open the attached link

http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_11276719

The state of the economy is unpredictable at best and for the typical addict this becomes a recipe for relapse. In my personnel and well as professional experience I find the two main causes of relapse to be Matters of the Heart and equally important Matters of the Pocket. What specifically does this include? The “heart matters” comprise loss and pain associated with our primary interpersonal relationships as well as that of close family and social members. “Pocket Issues” refer to situations involving money, plain and simple. Surprisingly, the issue of money often includes success as well as failure.

In today’s economy there are many triggers, which will take our sobriety and recovery to task. We are all aware of someone who has been laid off or fired. We all have experience with people who have lost 30% -50% of their portfolio. We all know someone who has lost an extensive amount of their business. Could that some one be you?

So many of us place a great deal of value in our work, our income and our net worth. These are the standards by which the world judges us and provides us with a means to survive. Work and career is what gives many of us a reason to get up every morning, a sense of purpose and a reason to exist. It is our means of contributing to life and a method of leaving some mark on the world. Loss of these attributes elicits fear, hurt, disgrace, embarrassment, humiliation, and an inability to function in life. If these are realized our life is compromised and the associated pain seems too much to endure. The best answer could easily be “to use”.