Meredith Westfall wrote:
>
> Meredith:
> I was wondering what you meant by "aging" the Artic Char
> Do you mean "kirt" style-drying it out with a fan?
>Yes, I just put it on a rack, Kirt style.


> You also mentioned in a previous post that "talk therapy" doesn't work-
> you seemed lukewarm about the 12-step stuff.  What, in your opinion, is
> optimal?

In response to you and Trish, I did go to ACOA and there are lots of
people in ACOA who can recommend good therapists who deal with getting
the old emotions out. Then I went to a week long residential program
called "Co-Dependency Treatmenet for Adult Children from Dysfunctional
Families at the Caron Foundation in Wernersville, PA (1-800-678-2332).It
was the best decision of my life. Some go there and are not ready for it,
but for me it was the real stimulus to my recovery.  After that I
continued in ACOA for a while and also in group therapy that focused on
the release of anger related to childhood trauma. Trish, it sound like
you have a good therapist. I can only say the detox process takes a long
long long time. The body can only periodically get rid of the toxins from
time to time. I identify with all your pain. I was a schizophrenic and
locked up for four years straight on a violent ward when I was in my
twenties, after that in and out of dozens of hospitals. I was later
diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, and finally as a manic
depressive. I ended up in AA and OA. Now I don't need those programs
because co-dependency is the underlying addiction (to people) and the
other addictions slip away as I recover. I too was never abused
physically, but had no affection as a child, a good? moral upbringing. I
was on drugs for thirty years and I have a friend who is doing the work
of getting out emotions and is at the same time on medication. I think
medication is useful temporarily, but it slows the recovery process.
Eating raw food can speed the detox and seem to make symptoms worse for a
while. BTW I am not a psychiatrist, but a neurophysiologist who worked in
biological psychiatry research for thirty years--when I wasn't locked up
:-)--so I speak about therapy from my own experience, not as a
professional. I've heard Primal Therapy is good too.

My best, Ellie