Triggers are specific memories, behaviors, thoughts and situations that jeopardize recovery - signals you are entering a stage that brings you closer to a relapse. The process is much like riding a roller coaster that loops over itself. Once the roller coaster car gets to a certain spot in the track, a threshold is met, there is no turning back, and it starts the downward loop.

It is very likely you have heard your husband, wife, partner, mother, father, boss, a friend, attorney or even a judge say, "What were you thinking?" The answer is: you weren't thinking.

Reclaiming Virtue is a very ambitious book. I originally conceived of it as part of my own Stage Four recovery work, but I later came to the realization that the book is more like a record of my own struggle over the past 50 years.

I am a psychiatrist thinking about knitting - about dropped stitches, in particular. Knitters know that a dropped stitch weakens the whole cloth, disrupts the garment's integrity and leaves a hole that may not even show until there is a stretch or stress on it. Then, the fabric is likely to begin unraveling from the hole, no matter how carefully the rest is knitted.

I wonder about this in my life. In the fabric of my life, there were many dropped stitches - emotions suppressed, voices blocked, roads not taken, losses not grieved before moving on, trauma endured. Life.

Many magazines today offer practical advice and "how-to" strategies to pursue the man or woman of our dreams. Let's face it: Sexy taglines and catchy subtitles make for good print copy, but they do little to help us build healthy, sound relationships. By projecting our wants, expectations or intentions onto our partners-to-be, we serve only to foreshadow the inevitable relational demise. It is as if we incorporate our obsolescence from the very start.

"How is that possible," you may ask, "when I'm doing all the right things, paying close attention to selecting my partner, and looking at what he or she has to offer the relationship?" While I admit that these words sound counterintuitive, first consider this proposition:

Would you marry yourself or someone like you? Do you like the person you are - and that which you have to offer - enough to marry yourself?

The Meadows is offering a new program called the "Integrated Evaluation." This program combines our groundbreaking Survivors Week workshop with a state-ofthe-art evaluative process.

In addition to attending the workshop, each client meets with a treatment team consisting of a psychiatrist, primary care physician, addition medicine specialist, clinical psychologist, and nutritionist. The evaluation team works collaboratively to ensure that clients receive the most thorough, integrated, and comprehensive evaluation.

I came here five weeks ago.
Messed up and insecure.
Lost in my own world.
What I would find was so unsure.

I knew I had a problem
With cocaine and weed,
But soon my claims grew longer
From all the books I had to read.

My name is Diane Breneman, and I am pleased to announce that I am the new Alumni Coordinator. As an alumnus of The Meadows, I feel this is a very exciting opportunity to connect and be of support to The Meadows' alumni. When I stepped on The Meadows' campus as a patient more than five years ago, I never imagined that I would someday be working here. My stay at The Meadows changed my life and made it possible for me to begin my journey of recovery. On the road of recovery, many opportunities have become available that I never thought possible. I began working at The Meadows, in the marketing department, nearly three years ago. The Alumni Retreats have been the highlights over the years, allowing me to meet many of you. It is a great time to reconnect with graduates and to see how well The Meadows' alums are doing in their recovery. It is also a time to reflect on past years and share in the happy, joyous, and free times that many of us experience in recovery. This year, I took a greater role in planning the Alumni Retreat and recognized my passion for working with graduates of The Meadows. I am pleased to take on this additional role as the new Alumni Coordinator, and I look forward to seeing all of you next year at the retreat. If you need any assistance, you may contact me by telephone or email.

Best wishes to you all.

Diane Breneman,
Alumni Coordinator

This workshop is designed to support the partners of sex addicts, for whom early awareness of the addits' behavior can feel overwhelming. Often there has been a devastating disclosure that leaves the partner feeling deep betrayal. Partners often blame themeselves, question their reality, or wonder how their lives have spiraled to such a place.

We offer a series of programs designed to meet the needs of people new to The Meadows, who have not experienced our primary treatment, and as a source of renewal for our alumni.

Professional lectures, trainings and symposiums.

Free Lecture Series are lectures open to the community. The Meadows sponsors these lectures in various cities throughout the country. Lectures are targeted to graduates of The Meadows but are also open to the recovery community. Speakers include local therapists familiar with The Meadows' model.