Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 Source: Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC) Copyright: 2003 Sun Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/987 Author: Carl Barker Note: apparent 150 word limit on LTEs Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) ADDICTION RECOVERY: PROGRAM PROVIDES SAFE PLACE TO FACE PAIN read with interest your editorial ("Why the clinic," Nov. 19) and felt led to respond. I agree we should reach out to help those who have been affected by the inhuman treatment received while [patients of] the Myrtle Beach Pain Management Center. I have two family members [who were patients] there, and I've witnessed the destruction it has and continues to do in their young lives. Drugs, when prescribed by qualified physicians, are necessary; and even then we have to be careful, because any of us can become addicted if [we use them] over a long period of time. Pain isn't always a symptom that something is physically wrong. Pain in many cases is created by things in our lives that have hurt us deeply, things we either bury, deny or are just to afraid to deal with. This type of pain is what many addicts are covering up with these drugs. Until they know there is a safe, loving, caring place where there are others who have been there, done that, they will continue to seek things to cover up pain versus dealing with the root causes, whether it be drugs, alcohol, pornography, relationships, etc. Thank God there are such places right here in Myrtle Beach. A few years ago, Myrtle Beach Community Church began a program called Celebrate Recovery. Celebrate Recovery is a 12-step recovery program [that] follows the same 12 steps from Alcoholics Anonymous; the main difference is that our higher power, without any excuses, is Jesus Christ. The program is not only for addicts; it's for everyone dealing with life's hurts, habits and hang-ups: men/women in recovery for anger, co-dependency, divorce, overeating, control, sexual addictions, abuse. The list goes on and on. I and my wife, Gloria, are grateful that MBCC had a vision and the wisdom to begin this program. It not only has helped us to look at ourselves individually, because that's what it does, but it also encouraged us to share it with others. God placed it on our hearts to begin a Celebrate Recovery in our church at Low Country Community, and each week we see more and more people coming to receive the healing power of Jesus Christ. MBCC not only offers Celebrate Recovery, it goes above and beyond by offering the Leadership Training for those like my wife and me, in order [that] we can take this back to our churches to reach those who are hurting with life's problems. Through MBCC's encouragement and training, there are several Celebrate Recovery programs now in our community, and the goal is to have one every night of the week throughout the Grand Strand so this awesome program is available for those in need. Celebrate Recovery is free, and its leaders are people like you and me who volunteer their time and efforts in order to give back to others what God's given them. It's all about accountability, responsibility and learning to love ourselves in order to reach out and love others. I like to finish with Step One, and I will guarantee if you do it, it will change your life. "We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable." For information, see www.celebrate recovery-se.com or call 236-5645. The writer lives in Myrtle Beach. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin