We all have that friend we all dread to see near a bottle. What can be done to help them?
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AA meeting are always open. Although AA is not affiliated to any programs. they often have members who will know treatment centers here.
http://www.aataiwan.org/english.html3
Like rocket posted, the link has a list of English AA meetings.
AA meetings in general here are very open to all sorts of addiction. Thereās no NA or SA and etc here. so you can go with basically any addiction and be open. Itās free and the people have all been there and wonāt judge you at all.
Please, if you have a problem take advantage of the program. This year alone I had 2 good friends OD and died. My cousin ODed lasted year. And a girl I knew very well froze to death in her car in the middle of winter after being homeless from her drinking holding on to a vodka bottle to her death.
https://www.communitycenter.org.tw/counselingandassessments/
The center is a non profit English speaking counseling organization. It isnāt free but they can help you with payment and apply for some subsidies. They have drug and alcohol counseling with mental health counseling. Usually alcohol and drug and any form of addiction is a symptom of something larger. They have people that can help.
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Narconon is the best famous private treatment facility in Taiwan. However, Iām not 100% sold on their methods in detox. I only know a little bit about them so do some research for yourself. They do help English speakers.
If you have the money, there are better ones in Asia. Taiwan just doesnāt have much treatment. AA is not a bad place to start in recovery. Itās free and thereās guys with years of sobriety that can give you advice and possible treatment options they heard of. The recovery community is small but very close knit here. There are many in recovery in taiwan. No shame in reaching out and finally asking for help.
Narconon is a front for Scientology. Quack science involving high intensity saunas and unproven minerals and nutrients. Been there done that. Seen there facilities in action and even tried to get an old friend into the program many years ago.
Criticizing this program has undoubtedly drawn the attention of āThe Churchā to this website. Make sure your affairs are in order moderators.
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Thanks for clearing that up. I heard about them and using saunas to detox without proper detox drugs. I thought that was scary. You need to taper off of certain things. You canāt just stick them in a sauna to detox and stuff.
Please be careful with any rehabs. There are some truely good ones. But others are just money grabbers and scams that profit off of something really serious. Stay away from ones that use unproven and alternative methods and those high luxuary ones celebrities go to. Treatment is serious and not a retreat to a luxury resort like place. Not that you canāt have both. But Iāve seen to many Hollywood rehabs that baby you. You need therapy and treatment. Not a luxuary massage and sit by the pool.
Indeed. I suspect this friend is bipolar and the alcoholism masks it. A reputable medical facility where a veritable psychological evaluation is first done and treatment offered would be most ideal.
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Is there a drug addiction problem in Taiwan?
yes, of course, just like anywhere in the world. But the problem is that theres not much treatment options and itās still seen as a criminal issue instead of a heath and social issue.
Taiwan and the politicians seem to want to go the way of the US war on drugs which we already saw failed and became so costly on the country.
The rest of the developed world is becoming more and more enlightened on the issue and are moving towards decriminalizing and putting money in treatment and rehabilitation. Get people to become functioning members of society, jail will only make them institutionalize mentally and they will go right back.
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Blockquote
The center is a non profit English speaking counseling organization. It isnāt free but they can help you with payment and apply for some subsidies. They have drug and alcohol counseling with mental health counseling.
I went there over a year ago and was told it was $3600 per hour. The guy went on about government subsidiesā¦
Last thing an addict wants to do when they are crawling their skin, dry-heaving, sweating profusely from going cold turkey for a day or two summon up the courage to go and face their demons is to fill out some paperwork applying for money that they already know they wasted on booze/drugs before āThe Healing Can Beginā.
I walked out and was drunk for the next six months.
Went to one AA meeting, but found the group too pushy as they wanted to sell me a ton of books right after the meeting concluded.
Found serenity on my own.
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Post no longer relevant. Sorry, mods.
What youre talking about is dual diagnosis treatment. They used to treat alcoholism and other mental health issues as separate issues. But new treatment has shown that this is helpful for those that have more underlining issues that contribute and worsen with addiction.
I found a addiction prevention department at songde Taipei hospital. They seem to take NHI but Iām not certain. I donāt know what exactly they do or how much they help or English speaking abilities. But here it is for anyone that is looking to get help
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On a related theme, Venerable Matt Talbotās Liturgical Feast Day is June 19, tomorrow. Any and all kind of help is needed for alcoholism.
Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism. He was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there he began to drink excessively. For 15 yearsāuntil he was almost 30āMatt was an active alcoholic.
One day he decided to take āthe pledgeā for three months, make a general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. There is evidence that Mattās first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Avoiding his former drinking places was hard. He began to pray as intensely as he used to drink. He also tried to pay back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen money while he was drinking.
Most of his life Matt worked as a builderās laborer. He joined the Secular Franciscan Order and began a life of strict penance; he abstained from meat nine months a year. Matt spent hours every night avidly reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. He prayed the rosary conscientiously. Though his job did not make him rich, Matt contributed generously to the missions.
After 1923, his health failed, and Matt was forced to quit work. He died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. Fifty years later, Pope Paul VI gave him the title venerable.
Venerable Matt Talbot is the Patron Saint of:
Alcoholics
Sobriety
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Reviving an old thread - Iāve got a friend who stays drunk. He isnāt working in Taiwan and I think he will not make it if he doesnāt get help. His girlfriend just kicked him out because of his behavior. Any recommendations or success stories out there? Iām afraid for him.
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I have a few friends like that and more than one would be receptive to help if something reasonably available in Taiwan
Some info that friends have shared with me. I think 23 days for 46k is bargain. Thereās no way you could get this kind of help in the US at this price.
Here are two rehab centers :
Substance Abuse Centers ES052016 Reeds Recovery Association Lydia Lin (Counselor), Mr. Huang (staff) substance abuse rehab http://reedsrecovery.org/ (03) 888 7324 reeds@reedsrecovery.org č±č®ēø£åęŗŖéåęø ęåęØ17é°65-1č adults (over 18) C/E 46,000 for 23 days, English service: 76,000 nt
and
Substance Abuse Centers / Hospital ES052016 Taipei City Hospital, Songde Branch Dr. LIN, Shi-ku ęå¼ē©é«åø« ē²¾ē„é«ēćčøé ē® mental health, substance abuse http://webreg.tpech.gov.tw/drview/read.asp?user_id=466; http://webreg.tpech.gov.tw/eng/RegOnline1_1.aspx?ChaId=&tab=&ZCode=K (02)2726-3141 No. 309, Songde Rd, XinYi District. Taipeičŗååøäæ”ē¾©åę¾å¾·č·Æ309č adults C/E
also an outpatient one that is recruiting participants with a subsidy:
http://www.tadd.org.tw/news67.htm
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The sad thing is thereās almost nothing you can do besides making it worse by enabling him when heās on a bender. He needs to decide itās time to get sober. If heās not ready and willingā¦you can send him to the best rehab and nothing will change
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Youāre right about that for sure. Iām just putting the word our amongst friends hoping that the right person can get through to him. Or they may have a better idea. I donāt know if this person can safely detox without medical supervision.