'My Way Out' Alcohol Recovery Program Introduces New Blog

(PRWEB) September 14, 2006 -- In celebration of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, Capalo Press announces author Roberta Jewell's new alcohol recovery blog. The site will serve as a companion resource to her highly popular program, which she documented last year in the book "My Way Out, One Woman’s Remarkable Journey in Overcoming Her Drinking Problem and How Her Innovative Program Can Help You or Someone You Love." Jewell's integrative approach has been featured in Newsweek Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, wired.com and other publications. She says the blog is an exciting development and a direction she’s been wanting to take.

Jewell began a collaboration three years ago with Dr. Linda Garcia, MD, an internist and addiction specialist, after creating a self-help program to eliminate her own desire for alcohol. The innovative therapy incorporates anti-craving medication like Topamax, Campral or Naltrexone, which are used in conjunction with other strategies. They include a system of self-administered hypnosis, nutritional supplements and a light exercise program. Support is also vital and is available 24 hours a day on a free message board associated with the program.

To date, over 30,000 messages have been posted on the board. Jewell says members develop a powerful camaraderie and compassion for one another. “They are particularly supportive of new visitors just starting out,” she says. “The site has become a lifeline for so many people. It's especially helpful to a contingent of drinkers who have never admitted their problem to others or haven’t found answers in 12-step meetings or inpatient treatment.”

Jewell checks in regularly and says she’s watched the board evolve over the past two years into an active, robust, self-sustaining community. She says her blog is a natural outgrowth of the message board and will give her another venue for sharing information.

The new blog contains Jewell's ruminations about all facets of her program. She also shares insights from patients, medical professionals, and researchers with whom she communicates. She says interest in the program continues to grow as people learn that alcohol dependence is a treatable disease and can be addressed without stigma or shame.

“The approach is relatively new, but the problem certainly isn’t,” says Jewell, who claims nearly 18 million Americans suffer with alcohol dependence. “People are hungry for information about how to eliminate that horrible craving from their lives and ultimately gain control over the addiction.”

Jewell’s blog entries swing from the sublime to the silly: a writing professor admits to her drinking problem; a new iPod breathalyzer accessory is announced; a world leading addiction researcher shares his thoughts; an optical illusion simulates a drunken high.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” says Jewell, who reports feedback has been excellent. “I’m thrilled with the emails I’m getting from people who tell me they enjoy reading it and find the information interesting and helpful.”

Jewell says she hopes to maintain the blog by attracting the support of corporate sponsors. She’s now collecting statistical data for potential advertisers. She says her readers represent a demographic that is “diverse, well educated, and pro-active about getting healthy.”

“It’s incredible, but there are four problem drinkers for every hard core alcoholic,” she says. “These are highly functional people who suffer from a condition for which there’s been no effective therapy. They are absolutely streaming into our website, message board and blog to learn more about these new treatment options.”

For more information about My Way Out, visit the website. The book is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or the publisher's e-store. For a limited time it is also available for free in PDF format at the new blog.

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