Alcohol addict finds cure in God

In between periods of alcoholic binge while in high school till college, Oscar Bamwebaze Bamuhigire tried to stop a vice he started when he was 13. Not until he fully submitted to the guidance of Alcoholic Anonymous and gained a spiritual relationship with God that his drinking stopped. Till now.

Quitting alcohol meant he gained the confidence of his family, gained his self esteem, finished school with a second honours degree in Psychology, started a counseling center for alcoholics, wrote for newspapers, appeared on radio and TV on alcohol and drug addiction talks.

He also wrote The Healing Power of Self Love, a self improvement book already out in circulation.

Reaching this recovered state was not that easy through ten years of an off and on affair with alcohol. Oscar says, “I cannot exchange my worst moments when sober to my best moments when drunk.”

The promise to quit and the temptation to drink for the last time or just for an occasion to celebrate, left harrowing imprints of the story of a ten-year alcoholic who finally stopped his addiction with AA’s guidance and submission to God.

Read more here in Alcoholic who can't resist drinking finds cure in God

Michael Jackson’s addiction traced to 'mental illness'

Drug addiction counselor and author Oscar Bamuhigire, has this to say about Michael Jackson’s drug addiction to pain killers.

"Michael Jackson suffered from one of the worst forms of mental illness, referred to in psychiatry as alienation of the existential self. It was primarily because of this mental illness that he became a drug addict. The root cause of this mental illness, which affects a large number of blacks, making them succumb to addiction and self destruction, is centuries of conditioning as a result of the slave trade and oppression.

These facts are well explained by Oscar Bamuhigire in The Healing Power Of Self Love:

Due to the effects of alienation of the existential self, some blacks have even gone as far as changing their skin color from black to white, in an attempt to deny their “Africanness”. Many African women today apply skin lightening creams, and wear wigs of white women’s hair, in an attempt to deny their “Africanness”. It is considered fashionable by many African women to wear a wig of a white woman’s hair. Many Africans break their backs trying to imitate the accents of Europeans or Americans. These are symptoms of the psychiatric illness which Frantz Fanon aptly labeled ‘Alienation of the existential self ’. It is a severe form of self hatred which often leads to self destruction, physical and mental illness.

Oscar Bamuhigire provides new insights into the nature of addiction. In the field of alcoholism and drug addiction treatment, there have always been questions for which there were no satisfactory answers: Is substance abuse a problem of discipline or a disease? Why is it that most alcoholics/ drug addicts do not seek for, or receive treatment? Why is it that only 5- 10% of alcoholics/ drug addicts respond to treatment? Why do untreated addicts have a better chance at breaking the bond of addiction than addicts who get treated? Why has the incidence of recovery without the help of formal treatment continued to rise? Are the successes of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A) nothing more than spontaneous remission?

Why are some people able to quit their addiction without treatment, while others only get worse after treatment? Why does treatment have a negative effect? Why are some treatment programs more effective than others? Why has the world continued to experience a steady increase in the rate of addiction and self destruction? Why is it that 1 in 2 Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder each year, and 81 Americans commit suicide every day? Why do non-Hispanic blacks bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death, and disability? Why do the most successful treatment programs for addicts have a spiritual component? Why do non white people suffer from a high rate of substance abuse and self destruction? Why does Africa have the highest rate of suicide, poverty, and disease in the world?

In a unique blend of psychology, psychiatry, metaphysics, medicine, orient and western religions, Oscar Bamuhigire provides answers to these and many more questions. In making his revolutionary contribution to the scientific world, he also explains how addicts can enhance their chances of recovery from addiction through the treatment programs of their choice, by utilizing the ancient tools of discipline, lateral thinking, and insight from the life experiences of the world’s greatest leaders.

Even though this book was initially designed to meet the needs of alcoholics and drug addicts in treatment, it may be of great value to people who are struggling with other types of addiction, and those who are faced with major obstacles to their self-realization or self actualization."

Oscar Bamuhigire has more than 12 years of experience as an alcohol and drug addiction counselor. He has a degree in Psychology from Makerere University, and training in the Therapeutic Community model from DAYTOP International, New York, U.S.A (America’s oldest and largest drug treatment program). In 2003, he represented Africa at an international symposium on alcohol and drug addiction held in Rome, the Vatican, organized by the Vatican and the Italian Federation of Therapeutic Communities. During his stay in the Vatican, he personally met Pope John Paul II. He is one of the founders of Serenity Centre, which is Uganda’s only residential treatment center for addicts. He has also worked as an addiction counselor in other countries like Bangladesh and Kenya, authored more than one hundred newspaper articles on addiction treatment, and featured several times on Ugandan Television and radio talk shows. Early in his career, he received a vocational Award from the Rotary Club of Kampala South in recognition of his work with addicts. Oscar Bamuhigire suffered from alcoholism for ten years, but recovered in 1995 after he joined a 12 step group. He currently lives in Uganda, where he works as an addiction counselor in private practice. Contact Oscar Bamuhigire at Tel: 256-0772927955 or email: obamuhigire@yahoo.com. Link to Oscar Bamuhigire's blog here.

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A dose of spirituality keeps 'spirits' away

Yo! Wanna kick drinking or drugs out from your system? Here is an honest to goodness reflection of an alcoholic at age 13 who managed to kick the deadly habit in his 20s. Oscar Bamuhigire knew he had to get alcoholism out from his system otherwise he will not see the morning light just like what happened to his drinking buddies. How did he do it? Follow this link here or here .

Some excerpts in his book:

"With the rare exception of that brand of psychopathological human species, which derives extreme pleasure out of being flogged on a regular basis, the natural tendency of Homo sapiens and other species is to avoid pain/ suffering, and to seek out pleasure. We are biologically programmed to avoid pain as a means of self-preservation. Because of this, we naturally seek out those experiences which bring us pleasure, and refrain from those that cause pain or suffering. We eat, drink, sleep, dress, get married, study, work, get involved in charitable activities, smoke, have sex, steal, lie, commit suicide, pray, indulge in crime, meditate, exercise, and read, among many other activities, so that we may avoid pain and suffering."

Laugh out Loud

A good laugh makes you relieved and happy. Either it is a guffaw, a boisterous or a short laughter. The effect is good and contagious. Not only is it good for one’s health. It also infects everyone within hearing view to share in the laughter which springs from the heart.

Make it a part of your daily life to laugh. At least once a day. Laughter is good for health. And it had been proven so. Research found out that those who laughed watching funny movies increased blood flow by an average of 22 percent.

When someone laughs, the tissue that forms the inner lining of the blood vessels called the endothelium, dilate to increase blood flow. Increased blood flow helps to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

Laugh a little louder each day with new jokes, cartoons, photos and videos from ReadersDigest.com.

A regular dose of laughter drives the woes and troubles away, preps up the day, and makes living cool and easy. Work becomes lighter and greetings go warm and cheerful.

Grab a copy of Reader’s Digest at your favorite book store or mouse through ReadersDigest.com and have that dose of Daily Laughs begin your day.

Or, you may want try have fun with your personal photos. If you have a Facebook page, download this application to your profile page. This is also an opportunity to join a photo contest. Enter the rd.com funny photo contest and join now.

Laughter is good for the heart

Exercise and feel good

Tired? Burned out? Feeling heavy? Feeling sick? Get on the groove and exercise. Before doing your routine in the morning, start the day right by doing those joint loosening exercises. Get on your jogging pants and running shoes and do brisk walking or running before the sun comes up. Brisk walking is a tested exercise which is good for health.

If you speed up distance, you will be burning more calories. You use more muscles with brisk walking strides and arm motions. Appropriate for women and men of all ages, brisk walking burns almost as many calories as running or jogging for the same distance.

Already limbered up, find a place where you feel comfortable and do those head tilting, hand, arm and leg stretching exercises. It may be in spot inside your house where you have enough space to move around your arms and legs, or it may be in the park after brisk walking or jogging. A 30 minute to an hour exercise would be good enough for the mind and the body and start the day right. It would be best if you get on the habit of an exercise schedule everyday Feel energized before you get on that computer or talk to a client.

You may also want to do those leg stretching and stress-removing yoga exercises at the end of the day. You may want to drop by a gym or go to your favorite exercise spot and do some work-outs. Or are you on a freelance job? This work schedule makes you manage your work-outs the regular time you want it. You may opt to make your exercises light and meditative so you may want to go on a yoga body stretching program. Yoga practitioners and teachers can be found in gyms or ask from health and vegetarian buffs.

Exercise does a lot of good things for the mind and the body. Aside from trimming out unwanted bulging fats, exercise helps lower blood cholesterol and control weight and blood sugar. Exercise helps you prevent and control risk illness such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Exercise also improves sex life. It rejuvenates the muscles and lifts the mood traced due to the improvement of blood circulation in the body. What more, exercise leads to good sleep.

It is important to exercise regularly doing activities that raise your heart rate. Start slowly and gradually build up your exercise program. Maintain a weight-loss work out schedule. There is nothing better than a body which feels light and healthy.

LINKS

7 benefits of regular physical activity

Exercise and Physical Fitness

Brisk Walking Benefits

Walking for fitness: How to trim your waistline, improve your health