Last Call with Dan Murphy

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Last Call
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ad-dic-tion [uh-dik-shuhn] –noun
The state of being enslaved to a behavior or practice that is psychologically and/or physically habit-forming due to a dependency on certain substances: eg., narcotics, alcohol, prescription drugs, nicotine, etc. Cessation of intake of the substance(s) can cause severe withdrawal which often results in emotional, psycholological and/or physical trauma. An obsession of the mind coupled with an allergy of the body.

The primary purpose of the Last Call is to help educate people who are caught up in the throes of addictions. That may be you. Or someone you know and love.

Are you addicted? What if you don't know you are an addict or alcoholic, but everyone else does?

What if you think you don't relate to someone with an addiction. Have you really thought about it? Surely you must know a friend of a friend. We are all affected in myriad ways, and it is costing us dearly. Much of it is preventable.

If you are honest with yourself, I challenge you to call me on the radio show and tell me and my listeners how you have been able to avoid the problem of addictions, when nobody else has been able to. I get to work with many people on a daiy basis, who are ensconced deeply in the disease of addiction. Those and those around them suffer from uimaginable emotional and/or physical pain.

We can help you get off drugs or alcohol. Don't let your head continue to tell you it is hopeless. You are receiving bogus information. Help is available, but you have to want it. If you don't want it, go ahead and continue with your drugging and drinking behavior, but be sure to check back here when you really need some help.

HELP IS AVAILABLE!

More people are addicted to various substances today than ever before in recorded history. America has never known a worse scourge than the chemical dependency so many now face.

Throughout history a certain percentage of mankind has had a problem with substance abuse, dating back to early recorded history. But ancient history doesn't necessarily mean much to someone who has a particular problem at the moment. Most people today are more concerned with what’s going on TODAY! HERE AND NOW!!

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Unfortunately, addiction is not a problem that humanity has managed to leave in the past. The sad truth is, that addictions continue to kill countless people every day. Even sadder, most people in the throes of addiction cannot seem to fully grasp the complete scope of the effects of their behavior.

Addiction is a problem because it pervasively affects all of us directly or indirectly. Contemporary society has become molded in a “quick-fix” mentality, setting up seemingly endless potentials for addiction: If it ails you, take a pill. If you don’t feel good, take a pill. Depressed? Take a pill. Things not going right? Erectile Dysfunction? Take something for it. Various companies utilize TV, radio, the internet, and printed media, spending billions of dollars annually to encourage you to buy their products – products designed to help you self-medicate. Is their strategy working? Look around. Is anyone you know using or abusing drugs or alcohol?

Who can become addicted?

Recent studies bear this out. A person who has no propensity for alcoholism can become alcoholic by continued drinking over a period of time.

Children as young as 9 or 10 years old and younger are experimenting with alcohol, and kids around the same age are trying mauijuana for the first time. The latest research and some of the most diligent studies ever recorded indicate, the proliferation of drugs and alcohol abuse in our society are not slowing down. We must take a different approach if we are to be successful.

Education and prevention are keys to gaining a foothold on the insidious and perplexing problems associated with drug addiction in our communities.
The “War on Drugs" is not working, so it is up to us to continue finding newer and better ways to help those afflicted and put an end to the circumstances that proliferate the stigma that addiction is a moral issue.

Although not all drinking drivers are alcoholics, many are and continue to drink and drive despite multiple arrests and convictions. These repeat offenders are considered hardcore drinking drivers and are more dangerous than someone waving a gun around. More than 17,000 people lose their lives because of drunk drivers each year. You read that correctly – there are over 17,000 deaths every year due to the most preventable violent crime. This base cost in human life does not even factor in the pain and suffering caused to others affected by drunk driving: the injured, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel, tow truck drivers, highway maintenance workers, witness and observers, all of whom are traumatized by the selfish acts of unbelievably irresponsible malefactors on our nation’s streets and highways. How many planes would have to crash to kill 17,000 people before we would demand changes in the system?

A 35 year-old male professional who likes to drink. He has been drinking on a daily basis for several years without any apparent problems. Suddenly, he acquires a DUI, replete with the night in jail, humiliation, attorneys' fees, strained relationships, court appearances, fine, mandatory DUI Program, other costs and inconveniences, and a lot more.

A working single mother of three pre-teens is using methamphetamine to help her work extra hours and maintain her second job. Her teeth are rotting out due to her addiction and she is physically challenged due to exhaustion. She is broke, and occasionally must resort to selling herself to earn money for survival.

A 12-year old introverted boy has much trouble communicating with pretty much everyone. He finds that when he smokes a little pot, he is an entirely different person, one who he can accept and be comfortable with, but also one who can no longer participate in some of the most basic activities required for a safe and balanced lifestyle.

If you have never taken a drink, smoked a joint, sniffed any fumes intentionally, dropped any mind or mood altering pills, or slammed a hype in your arm, this particular subject may escape you.

The purpose of this site is to try to provide some relative logic that can be comprehended by people seeking to change their addictive behavior. No mean feat. However, this change is being attempted by many - by thousands and perhaps millions on a daily basis, by people who are tired of living a lifestyle that is deleterious in many ways and that can only lead to jails or emergency rooms or death. Sadly, many find their ends in such environments. What is most tragic, though, is that it doesn't need to end that way! If only they could see!

Except for cigarettes, every drug on the list is used to enhance mood or attitude in some way. Reality remains the same, but the users' perceptions are altered, sometimes profoundly. If the first association with the substance is a pleasant or euphoric experience, a user may continue to use periodically or regularly, ever seeking the same experience. However, due to the natural heightening of levels of tolerance within the individual, after the first few experiences that level is never achieved. Not ever.

If, for biological, social, psychological, physiological or all of the above reasons the user finds a degree of comfort, the chances are great that he/she will continue to seek the same results, despite the possibility of negative consequences.

Such is the nature of addictions. The consequences only increase in severity over time as a user’s life enters an ever-downward spiral. The causal observer cannot help but to scratch his head in absolute dismay over the apparent lack of logic often displayed by the addict.

As time marches on, it seems there is always more to report when it comes to addictions. We are in the grip of methamphetamine epidemic in this country. It is literally tearing communities apart, yet there are many people who are seemingly unaware of it. Nevertheless, we must continue our fight against addictions, and education and prevention seem our best allies in this battle, as they are the most cost-effective methods and are conducive to forming long-term solutions to this ongoing problem.