Host Kurt interviews Tim about his families experience with OCD/hoarding

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Suicide and suicidal behavior are not normal responses to stress; many people have these risk factors, but are not suicidal. Research also shows that the risk for suicide is associated with changes in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin have been found in people with depression, impulsive disorders, and a history of suicide attempts, and in the brains of suicide victims.

Research shows that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14.1Scientists are discovering that changes in the body leading to mental illness may start much earlier, before any symptoms appear.

Host Kurt Swensen talks about relapse prevention planning.

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Host Kurt Swensen talks with Bruce M. about the first 25 of his 100 Spiritual Principles.

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My dear counselor was a fierce advocate in helping people to heal and find healthy ways to pick up the pieces, one by one, day by day and reassemble them into a new life that fits not who you were, but who you really are and desire to become. Doing this, is a process that takes time, courage, faith, and commitment. It won’t always be easy but it is always worth the journey.

Alcoholism may start from an occasional bottle of beer after work or an after dinner drink that develops into a need for more frequent alcohol consumption. A person dealing with a problem or with grief for losing a loved one may turn to alcohol to numb himself from feeling the sorrow. Drinking binges will be more frequent until the time when the person can not exist without giving in to the craving for alcohol.

The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or changing conditions.–Dave E. Smalley

Host Kurt Swensen holds an open forum to talk about addiction & recovery as he takes live instant messenger questions from listeners.

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Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all of us love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour — unceasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.–Henri Nouwen