Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current, April 01, 2007, Page 7, Image 7

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    TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Jk Jk.
Underage
Drinking Survey
Results
Ask Raven
Raven will answer your questions
about problems associated with alco­
hol, tobacco, and other drugs. You can
call in your questions to the numbers
below or mail them to:
CEDARR
Following are more results of the
survey called the Tribal Underage
Raven
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
Drinking Community Profile given to
the parents of middle and high school
Dear Raven: Why do so many
people like to use meth? Curious
Dear Curious: Meth has many ad­
dictive qualities. The easiest way to
think about why people get so addicted
so fast is this:
Dopamine is one of the chemicals in
the brain called neurotransmitters, which
are like chemical messengers that take
certain messages to the brain. Dopam­
ine messages have to do with pleasure
and reward - the “feel good” messages.
There are different levels of plea­
sure. Level I is what happens when you
feel really great. We feel that when we
are having fun with friends, watching
a good movie, listening to music we
like, anything that we really enjoy.
Then think about how you feel
when you have done something you
feel really proud of. That is a Level 2
dopamine level.
A Level 3 dopamine level might
happen when you are doing something
really special that you don't get to do
very often. And Level 4 is the best feel­
ing you can imagine having.
The “rush” of dopamine that gives
people that great feeling only lasts four
minutes. It doesn’t mean the good feel­
ings go away in four minutes, but the
dopamine rush only lasts that long.
One use of meth, called a “hit,” causes
a dopamine rush that lasts 10 minutes.
So that helps us to understand why
people get addicted to meth so easily.
Unfortunately for meth users
though, too much dopamine in the
brain can cause serious mental health
problems, including schizophrenia. It
also can stop our natural dopamine
from working so people feel very de­
pressed when they stop using meth.
I hope this information helps. It’s
hard to watch people get addicted.
Remember that addiction is a disease
and even when people have used drugs
for a long time, they can get help, can
quit, and can live a good and healthy life.
Thanks for writing. Raven
.A.
students and to non-parents. Students
Community Efforts
Demonstrating the Ability
to Rebuild and Restore
April 4 • Noon
Meeting location may
change this month, so
please call 541-444-8238
to find out.
themselves also completed them.
Please attend!
We need you!
Surveys were given out in the fall
of 2005 and the spring of 2006. Look
for more survey information in May!
Youth of your community are actively engaged in prevention efforts
□ Middle School
■ High School
□ Adult Non-parent
□ Parent
■ Grand Parent
□ Not Identified
■ Total
TLC Attitudes of Gratitude
by Lynn Whitlow
Happy April Fool's Day! I guess
they have to have a specific day for
those among us who don't practice
being a fool any other time of the year.
How do they do that? I want to
know the secret, ’cause no matter how
diligent I am, I invariably put my foot
in my mouth or do some other dumb
thing every once in a while. Oh well,
at least I'm here to take that risk and
am mighty grateful for that fact.
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh said,
“When you arise in the morning, give
thanks to the morning light for your
life and strength. Give thanks for your
food and the joy of living. If you see
no reason for giving thanks, the fault
lies within yourself.” Powerful truths!
A person named Leigh Hodges
said, “Life begins each morning ... each
morning is the open d(x>r to a new world,
new’ vistas, new aims, new tryings.”
I don't know who this Leigh Hodges
is, whether male or female or anything
else about him or her. except that I
agree with the sentiments expressed.
Here at the TLC, we stress being
grateful for life, for being here now, in
this place and this time. We need to be
filled with gratitude for waking up to­
day, to experience whatever this day
has to offer - be it joyful or painful,
exciting or humdrum. All of those beat
the alternative. At least we have a chance
to change things for the better. I am
grateful that you woke to experience
this day and are here now!
We do have some people to ex­
press gratitude to: The folks over at
Housing who had a hand in making
sure the roof over our outdoor walk­
way was repaired. Thanks to Terry,
Rick, and Rob for the logistics end. and
to Brad and Brandon for the sweat la­
bor. We appreciate you all!
Thank you to Sunshine for her little
surprise presents to the household.
We cannot thank our overnight
volunteers enough. It’s always a secure
feeling knowing someone is "on duty"
at night, to have someone to waken if
there is a problem. Much gratitude to Alice
McCain, Levi Simmons, Stephanie
Rilatos, and Denise Riding In. We can
always use a few more good women
to help these faithful volunteers out.
And last but not least, many thanks
to the A&D staff for being there for resi­
dents in a variety of support capacities.
May you get through the first day
of this month without being pranked
too many times ... laugh a lot if you are.
If you're lucky, it may be your only chance
to make a fool of yourself this year.
This article was written by a nation­
ally syndicated reporter - April Fool!
Call me at 1-800-922-1399, ext.
1238, or 541-444-8238 if you have any
questions about the TLC or would like
to volunteer some time.
Narcotics Anonymous Meetings
Monday - 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Thursday - 8-9 p.m.
Atonement Lutheran Church
St. Peter the Fisherman
2315 N Coast Highway (101)
Lutheran Church
Newport
1226 SW 13th St.
Lincoln City
Tuesday - 7:30-8:30 p.m.
TLC - A&D Building
Friday - 7:30-8:30 p.m.
565 Old River Road
Atonement Lutheran Church
Siletz
2315 N Coast Highway (101)
Newport
Tuesday - 8-9 p.m.
St. Peter the Fisherman
Saturday - 6-7 p.m.
Lutheran Church
Siletz VFW
1226 SW 13,h St.
143 SE Eggbert St.
Lincoln City
Siletz
Toll-Free Help Line - 1-877-233-4287
Siletz Tribal Alcohol & Drug Programs
Prevention, Outpatient Treatment, and
Women’s Transitional
Eugene: 541-484-4234
Salem: 503-390-9494
Portland: 503-238-1512
Siletz: 1-800-600-5599 or
541-444-8286
April 2007
•
Siletz News
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