Smart Recovery

Recovery Through Self-Empowerment:   See https://smartrecovery.org/ 

After becoming aware that you have a problem you have the power to take the steps required to solve it. This involves the logical brain as opposed to the emotional aspect of addiction. SMART provides regular support group meetings where people share their struggles, strengths, and weaknesses in order to help others. SMART also provides many tools to aid in recovery, for example, what I think are the most important, Cost Benefit Analysis (addictions are very expensive), Deny/Delay/Escape (when temptations occur), and Discovering Your Passion. Which is rediscovering yourself, finding joy, and engaging in activities that provide a deep sense of fulfillment and purpose. Keep yourself productive and busy!

SMART Recovery vs. 12-Step Programs
At SMART, there are no list of rules and no reward coins. We believe that each individual finds her or his own path for change. However, for some SMART participants, that path may also include 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and that is okay. Whatever works for you.  

Use of Medications to Treat Addictions and Mental Health
SMART Recovery supports the scientifically informed use of psychological treatment and legally prescribed psychiatric and addiction medication.

Also: See the tab COVID-19 and BHT

BHT PREVENTS AND REVERSES ALCOHOL INDUCED BRAIN DAMAGE:

DOI: 10.1128/aac.8.6.698 

PMCID: PMC429451

PMID: 1211923  [Indexed for MEDLINE]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17067360/    2006

1: Crews F, Nixon K, Kim D, Joseph J, Shukitt-Hale B, Qin L, Zou J. BHT blocks

NF-kappaB activation and ethanol-induced brain damage. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006

Nov;30(11):1938-49. PubMed PMID: 17067360.

Author information: 

(1)Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill, CB 7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. ftcrews@med.unc.edu

BACKGROUND: Binge ethanol administration causes corticolimbic brain damage that

models alcoholic neurodegeneration. The mechanism of binge ethanol-induced

degeneration is unknown, but is not simple glutamate-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) 

excitotoxicity. To test the hypothesis that oxidative stress and inflammation are

mechanisms of binge ethanol-induced brain damage, we administered 4 antioxidants,

e.g., butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), ebselen (Eb), vitamin E (VE), and blueberry

(BB) extract, during binge ethanol treatment and assessed various measures of

neurodegeneration.

METHODS: Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with intragastric ethanol 3 times

per day (8-12 g/kg/d) alone or in combination with antioxidants or isocaloric

diet for 4 days. Animals were killed, and brains were perfused and extracted for 

histochemical silver stain determination of brain damage, markers of

neurogenesis, or other immunohistochemistry. Some animals were used for

determination of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB)-DNA binding by

electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) or for reverse

transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2).

RESULTS: Binge ethanol induced corticolimbic brain damage and reduced

neurogenesis. Treatment with BHT reversed binge induced brain damage and blocked 

ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis in all regions studied. Interestingly, the

other antioxidants studied, e.g., Eb, VE, and BB, did not protect against

binge-induced brain damage. Binge ethanol treatment also caused microglia

activation, increased NF-kappaB-DNA binding and COX2 expression. Butylated

hydroxytoluene reduced binge-induced NF-kappaB-DNA binding and COX2 expression.

CONCLUSIONS: Binge-induced brain damage and activation of NF-kappaB-DNA binding

are blocked by BHT. These studies support a neuroinflammatory mechanism of binge 

ethanol-induced brain damage.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00239.x 

PMID: 17067360  [Indexed for MEDLINE]