Pets Addiction Therapy and Recovery

I thought I would provide a little update on the new addition to our family, Pounce. Pounce is a beautiful cat that we recently adopted from the Humane Society. She has been living with us for a short time now and seems happy in her new home.

Pounce is the cat that my younger daughter has wanted for a long time. We already have Buddy, a shepherd mix dog and have always had dogs but she convinced us finally that a cat was in order. Pounce's "home" is my daughter's room. That is where her food and litter box are and where she sleeps. She likes to sleep up high on the top bunk of my daughter's bed. She is not too sure about Buddy though and so far avoids him and the places where he likes to be. Pounce has seven toes on each of her front feet so they look like big white mittens. She loves to play, loves tummy rubs and purrs often. Fortunately she doesn't seem to want to scratch the furniture.

In this picture you can sort of get a look at her adorable big front paws.

Buddy and Pounce provide good therapy for me.



Thought of the day

If you love animals you probably will enjoy the Pixar film Bolt. Bolt tells the story of a dog who believes he is a super hero and the relationship he develops with the worldy wise and cynical cat, Mittens.

The Examined Life and Recovery from Addiction

Yesterday I wrote about the examined life and about recovery, how self examination, self awareness is needed and that this has been noted by philosophers who lived over 2,000 years ago. Jacob Needleman, a professor at San Francisco State University has written a marvelous book, Why Can't We Be Good, which very forcefully makes the point that despite our best efforts we consistently fail to live up to the standards of right and wrong that we all know to be true. He argues that this consistent failure of all of us leads to genuine harm and destructive actions to others, much of which we are unaware. In his search for some solution to this problem he ends up with the idea that only continued self examination, self awareness of our faults, weaknesses, and motivations can allow us to change. He also makes the point that with this self awareness we are then open to a power greater than ourselves which can then allow us to better live lives of integrity and goodness.

I believe that Needleman is right. I believe all of us have this difficulty regardless of addiction to chemical substances or not. Self examination and self awareness of the need for a power greater than ouselves is a requirement for us to be the kind of people who can bring more good than harm out of our time here on earth.

Thought for the day

"For what I am doing, I do not understand, for I am not practicing what I would like to do but I an doing the very thing I hate. For the good that I want, I do not do, but practice the very evil that I do not want. Who will set me free?".

St. Paul

The Examined Life and Recovery Socrates on Addiction

Lately I have been interested in ancient philosophy and have been struck by how much the old philosophers have to teach us about recovery. My interest in this came about because of self defense. My older daughter is a graduate student in Philosophy and I love to argue with her about a variety of topics. She is a great person to argue with as all our arguments are friendly and usually result in my learning new things. My big problem though is that she is a lot smarter than me and her knowledge is much greater! I realize how woefully ignorant I am on a lot of subjects so have been reading the ancient Greek philosophers to catch up and to not always be on the losing side of our discussions.

"The unexamined life is not worth living" says Socrates and I have been thinking about what that means. I am coming to see that one of the reasons for self examination is so that we don't continue to engage in actions which are, unwittingly at times, harmful to those we love. We often don't do the good things we want to do but continue to engage in addictive or compulsive behaviors which hurt the ones we most care about. This is one of the joys of working at Cottonwood. On a daily basis I get to work with men and women who are doing the very difficult task of self examination to better their lives. It is a privilege to be a part of someone's journey in self knowledge and self discovery.

Thought for the day

" It is our choices , Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities".

Albus Dumbledore

The Phenomenon of The Shack

The book The Shack by WM. Paul Young has become somewhat of a phenomenon lately. The subtitle is Where Tragedy Meets Eternity. It tells of one man's struggle with the age old question; how can the idea of a loving God be reconciled with the reality of evil and tragic loss?

I won't give any of the story away but the hero, Mack, suffers a tremendous loss and has an out of the ordinary encounter with God. The book is unapologetically Christian.Through the story WM. Paul Young provides us with his view of not only a response to the question of evil and suffering but his vision of the very nature of God and the universe. Through unusual imagery he makes this topic not only fresh but entertaining and humorous at times as well.

The Shack provides for the Christian reader a new way of looking at familiar issues and for the non-Christian can provide a very good exposition of what Christianity is all about. I highly recommend anyone to take a look at this unique book.

Thought for the day

"I love the one's I am angry with just as much as much as those I'm not".

"Papa" from The Shack

The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy, part 2

I said in my last post that I would briefly discuss some aspects of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). We don't do ECT at Cottonwood but I had told the story of someone we referred for the treatment that had called back to let me know it had helped her.

ECT remains the most effective treatment for severe depression. It helps when medication and psychotherapy have failed and that is when it is used today. ECT is not provided in the way it was in the past and is nothing like what a lot of people envision it.

ECT is usually provided in the surgical recovery room of a hospital. There is the psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist, and a trained ECT nurse. The patient is monitored by leads that measure heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level and brain waves. The patient is given intravenously a short acting anesthetic. A muscle relaxant is given so that the patient's body has no movement during the seizure. The anesthesiologist then hyperoxygenates the patient and the psychiatrist applies an electrical stimulus to the head that induces a brain seizure that last for about one minute and is monitored by the EEG which measures the brain waves. The patient wakes up shortly afterwards and after a half hour or so staying in the recovery room then goes home. It usually takes 6-8 different sessions of this procedure give every other day to achieve a full antidepressant effect.

Like any treatment ECT has it's risks and side effects but is usually effective and is a good treatment to have for depression when nothing else works. It should remain available to those whose sufferings cannot otherwise be alleviated. I welcome any comments or questions on this often misunderstood treatment. For anyone interested in more information about this I recommend the book Shock; The Healing Power of ECT by Kitty Dukakis who has been an ECT patient.

Thought for the day

"I'm trading my sorrow. I'm trading my shame. I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord. I'm trading my sickness. I'm trading my pain. I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord".

The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

I received a phone message the other day that was very gratifying to hear and once again showed the amazing healing power of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). The message came from a former Cottonwood patient and said "I am well. I had the ECT. It saved my life".

This message was from a patient whom I will call "Maria". Maria is 43 year old married Hispanic woman from San Diego who came to Cottonwood after months of unsuccessful treatment on an outpatient basis for severe agitated depression. The family was at wit's end. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat. She was totally unable to function, paced constantly, and would say repeatedly that her life was over. She had no will to live and someone needed to attend her at all times. We treated her with a combination of medications and therapy but to little avail. Medication reduced her anxiety and made it possible for her to eat and sleep normally but she remained fixed and firm in the belief that her life was over and that nothing could be done to help her.

When medication and therapy fails ECT is the treatment of choice. It is often effective for severe depression when other treatments do not work. We do not provide ECT at Cottonwood so we refer patients to other facilities that have the capability of providing ECT. Because of so many misperceptions about ECT and how it is performed it is often difficult to persuade the patients and family to opt for this treatment. It was no different for Maria. She had a tough time deciding but eventually agreed to referral for ECT treatment and as in many cases it was successful. Maria is the second person this year whom we have referred for ECT and both have reported to me a successful treatment.

ECT is associated with a lot of negativity in most people's minds. Healing power are not two words that most people readily apply to ECT. But healing power it has. In my next post I will discuss some misperceptions about ECT and describe how it is used today. I welcome any comments or questions on this often maligned and misunderstood treatment. But for now, I am thankful for Maria and her healing.

Thought for the day

" Take pleasure and rest in one thing only: making your way from one communal duty to another, always remembering God".

Arizona Addiction Psychiatrist - Daily Musings

Pounce the Cat

We adopted a cat this past weekend. She is a beautiful one year old with long hair, tortise shell in color and she has 6-7 toes on each paw. I had cats growing up but in my adult life have only had dogs, of which we have one, a handsome shepherd mix named Buddy. Pounce, as my daughter named her is very inquisitive. I had forgotten how curious cats are about everything! She doesn't have the run of the house yet but is enjoying the freedom from her former cage. She seems happy with us and we with her.I am once again amazed that we can have relationships with creatures other than ourselves.

Another thought for the day from my new friend, the 2nd century philosopher emperor

"Receive without conceit; release without a struggle"

Addiction Psychotherapy As Soul Tending

Addiction Psychotherapy As Soul Tending

One of the things about being human is that we all have the opportunity to learn new things every day. I have been learning about where some of our words come from and want to share with you one thing that has made me see what we do in a new light.

I have often thought about what those of us who treat addictions are really doing That is, what is our task? What do we as 'behavioral health providers have to offer? I have decided that I like the idea of us being psychotherapists. Why?

Psychotherapy comes from two Greek words. Psyche means the soul, that part which animates us, the higher part of us that makes us essentially human, our spiritual selves. Therapy comes from the word therapeia which means caring, tending, or serving. So in one sense we psychotherapists are "soul tenders" We assist healing by helping redirect the attention to one's own soul or spirit.

We are to tend to the soul as one tends a garden, nurturing the soul as one nurtures a young plant so that it will grow healthy and strong. But to do that requires me to attend to my own garden on a daily basis.

Thought for the day "If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. Harmed is the person who continues in his self deception and ignorance".

Recovery and the Cottonwood philosophy about treatment

Recently I have been thinking about recovery and the Cottonwood philosophy about treatment. What exactly do we mean by our philosophy? What are we referring to? Philosophy often seems to me to be an ivory tower exercise in thinking which has little relation to our everyday lives. I learned that the word philosophy comes from the Greek words philo (love) and sophia ( wisdom). So to the ancients, philosophy was the love of wisdom, which meant the search for a way of life that had purpose and meaning.

Here at Cottonwood we talk about recovery as wellness. Wellness of mind, body, and spirit which improves not only us but has a positive effect on those important people in our lives. It is a way of life. So our philosophy is wellness, which includes not just treating the addiction but the whole person, a challenge to a new way of living. We didn't invent this. It is a part of the collected wisdom of the ages. So I want to leave you with the thought for the day which comes from Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor philosopher who wrote this nearly 2000 years ago.

" The goal that you hope you will one day arrive at after a long and roundabout journey you are able to possess right now if only you do not deny it to yourself. That is, if you can let go of the past, entrust the future to Providence and redirect your present according to justice and the sacred. To the sacred so that you will welcome what has been given to you, for Nature has brought this to you and you to it, and to justice, in order that you may speak the truth freely and without distortion, and that you may act in accordance with what is lawful and right".

Addiction Psychiatrist - Daily Musings

The Daily Musings of an Arizona Addiction Psychiatrist

Hi and welcome to my part of the Cottonwood de Tucson blog! I am Dr. Jim Seymour, a psychiatrist and Assistant Medical director here at Cottonwood. For reasons still not clear to me (perhaps because I am not all there in the head) I have decided to write here on a daily basis. I do know this though, I love Cottonwood! I love my work, I love the people I work with. And I am honored to work with the many people who come here to do the difficult task of self examination and life changes.

I also love to talk about mental health issues and recovery and will be sharing what little wisdom and knowledge that I have as well as hoping to get comments and questions for discussion of a wide variety of topics. I find that by discussions on these topics I regularly learn new things and new ideas that help me help others who are seeking a good life, one that is good and fulfilling. I hope this blog will be of interest not only to you who happen to be reviewing our site for the first time but also to those of you who would like to return to discuss the daily musings of one who is also trying to grow and live a life worth living.

I will be back tomorrow but until then I will leave you the thought of the day.

"Are my actions appropriate for a communal being? If so, I have my reward"