There are many places to get help for depression or help for an emotional problem. We have a list here.

If unsure where to go for help, check the Yellow Pages under "mental health," "health," "social services," "suicide prevention," "crisis intervention services," "hotlines," "hospitals," or "physicians" for phone numbers and addresses. In times of crisis, the emergency room doctor at a hospital may be able to provide temporary help for an emotional problem, and will be able to tell you where and how to get further help.

Listed below are the types of people and places that will make a referral to, or provide, diagnostic and treatment services.

• Family doctors
• Mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or mental health counselors
• Health maintenance organizations
• Community mental health centers
• Hospital psychiatry departments and outpatient clinics
• University- or medical school-affiliated programs
• State hospital outpatient clinics
• Family service/social agencies
• Private clinics and facilities
• Employee assistance programs
• Local medical and/or psychiatric societies

NAMI-National Alliance on Mental Illness
3803 N. Fairfax Dr., Ste. 100
Arlington, VA 22203
1-703-524-7600; 1-800-950-NAMI
Website: http://www.nami.org

National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association
730 N. Franklin, Suite 501
Chicago, IL 60601
1-312- 642-0049; 1-800-826-3632
Website: http://www.ndmda.org

National Foundation for Depressive Illness, Inc.
P.O. Box 2257
New York, NY 10016
1-212-268-4260; 1-800-239-1265
Website: http://www.depression.org

National Mental Health Association
1021 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2971
(703) 684-7722; 1-800-969-6642
FAX: 1-703-684-5968
TTY: 1-800-433-5959
Website: http://www.nmha.org

next: Study: Depression From Job Loss Is Long Lasting
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Having weighed in on the antidepressant medication issue, here are some comments I have about getting therapy.

• There's no "magic bullet" in your past which you can uncover and then suddenly be free of depression. Only in Hollywood do people have those kinds of momentous "breakthroughs." More commonly, you will simply figure out more-and-more things over time. It will have a slow, cumulative effect on your life. Progress may seem slow and fitful at times, but eventually it all "flattens out," so that what seemed to be of no help becomes important later.

• Therapy is not just telling a therapist what you think. If that were all it was, it'd be useless. It's a give-and-take, an analytical process. You will go over things thoroughly and spend much of your time looking for ways to change your behavior and/or thinking that could have led to the depression. That is what therapy is all about--making changes.

• As much as you may dread the prospect, yes, therapy can force you to face uncomfortable things about yourself. It's not as bad as you think though, and I know of no decent therapist who will judge you because of anything you've done or that's happened to you. In the end, you'll be glad you talked about uncomfortable subjects. Believe me.

• Therapy has a stigma attached to it, just as with antidepressant medications--perhaps more so. Don't be ashamed of having to see a therapist. From what I've seen, there are lots of mentally-healthy people who'd nevertheless benefit from a little therapy, themselves!

• Both individual and group therapy have their advantages and drawbacks. Individual therapy focuses on you, but offers only one person's (that is, the therapist's) input. Group therapy offers many voices, but time is divided among patients. There may be times when one or the other is best for you. Don't assume that only one or the other will work for you. Things just aren't that cut-and-dried.

next: If You Know Someone Who's Depressed
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Resources on alcoholism, drug addiction and substance abuse treatment.

General inquiries: NIDA Public Information Office, 301-443-1124

Inquiries about NIDA's treatment research activities: Division of Treatment Research and Development (301) 443-6173 (for questions regarding behavioral therapies and medications) or Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research (301) 443-4060 (for questions regarding access to treatment, organization, management, financing, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness).

Website: http://www.nida.nih.gov/

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

CSAT, a part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is responsible for supporting treatment services through block grants and developing knowledge about effective drug treatment, disseminating the findings to the field, and promoting their adoption. CSAT also operates the National Treatment Referral 24-hour Hotline (1-800-662-HELP) which offers informa-tion and referral to people seeking treatment programs and other assistance. CSAT publications are available through the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information (1-800-729-6686). Additional information about CSAT can be found on their website at http://csat.samhsa.gov/.

Selected NIDA Educational Resources on Drug Addiction Treatment

The following are available from the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), or the Government Printing Office (GPO). To order, refer to the NCADI (1-800-729-6686), NTIS (1-800-553-6847), or GPO (202-512-1800) number provided with the resource description.

Manuals and Clinical Reports

Measuring and Improving Cost, Cost-Effectiveness, and Cost-Benefit for Substance Abuse Treatment Programs (1999). Offers substance abuse treatment program managers tools with which to calculate the costs of their programs and investigate the relationship between those costs and treatment outcomes. NCADI # BKD340. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/IMPCOST/IMPCOSTIndex.html.

A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach: Treating Cocaine Addiction (1998). This is the first in NIDA's "Therapy Manuals for Drug Addiction" series. Describes cognitive-behavioral therapy, a short-term focused approach to helping cocaine-addicted individuals become abstinent from cocaine and other drugs. NCADI # BKD254. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/TXManuals/CBT/CBT1.html.

A Community Reinforcement Plus Vouchers Approach: Treating Cocaine Addiction (1998). This is the second in NIDA's "Therapy Manuals for Drug Addiction" series. This treatment integrates a community reinforcement approach with an incentive program that uses vouchers. NCADI # BKD255. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/TXManuals/CRA/CRA1.html.

An Individual Drug Counseling Approach to Treat Cocaine Addiction: The Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study Model (1999). This is the third in NIDA's "Therapy Manuals for Drug Addiction" series. Describes specific cognitive-behavioral models that can be implemented in a wide range of differing drug abuse treatment settings. NCADI # BKD337. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/TXManuals/IDCA/IDCA1.html.

Mental Health Assessment and Diagnosis of Substance Abusers: Clinical Report Series (1994). Provides detailed descriptions of psychiatric disorders that can occur among drug-abusing clients. NCADI # BKD148.

Relapse Prevention: Clinical Report Series (1994). Discusses several major issues to relapse prevention. Provides an overview of factors and experiences that can lead to relapse. Reviews general strategies for preventing relapses, and describes four specific approaches in detail. Outlines administrative issues related to implementing a relapse prevention program. NCADI # BKD147.

Addiction Severity Index Package (1993). Provides a structured clinical interview designed to collect information about substance use and functioning in life areas from adult clients seeking drug abuse treatment. Includes a handbook for program administrators, a resource manual, two videotapes, and a training facilitator's manual. NTIS # AVA19615VNB2KUS. $150.

Program Evaluation Package (1993). A practical resource for treatment program administrators and key staff. Includes an overview and case study manual, a guide for evaluation, a resource guide, and a pamphlet. NTIS # 95-167268/BDL. $86.50.

Relapse Prevention Package (1993). Examines two effective relapse prevention models, the Recovery Training and Self-Help (RTSH) program and the Cue Extinction model. NTIS # 95-167250/BDL. $189; GPO # 017-024-01555-5. $57. (Sold by GPO as a set of 7 books)

Research Monographs

Beyond the Therapeutic Alliance: Keeping the Drug-Dependent Individual in Treatment (Research Monograph 165) (1997). Reviews current treatment research on the best ways to retain patients in drug abuse treatment. NTIS # 97-181606. $47; GPO # 017-024-01608-0. $17. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph165/download165.html.

Treatment of Drug-Exposed Women and Children: Advances in Research Methodology (Research Monograph 166) (1997). Presents experiences, products, and procedures of NIDA-supported Treatment Research Demonstration Program projects. NCADI # M166; NTIS # 96-179106. $75; GPO # 017-01592-0. $13. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph166/download.html.

Treatment of Drug-Dependent Individuals With Comorbid Mental Disorders (Research Monograph 172) (1997). Promotes effective treatment by reporting state-of-the-art treatment research on individuals with comorbid mental and addictive disorders and research on HIV-related issues among people with comorbid conditions. NCADI # M172; NTIS # 97-181580. $41; GPO # 017-024-01605. $10. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph172/download172.html

Medications Development for the Treatment of Cocaine Dependence: Issues in Clinical Efficacy Trials (Research Monograph 175) (1998). A state-of-the-art handbook for clinical investigators, pharmaceutical scientists, and treatment researchers. NCADI # M175. Available online at http://www.nida.nih.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph175/download175.html

Videos

Adolescent Treatment Approaches (1991). Emphasizes the importance of pinpointing and addressing individual problem areas, such as sexual abuse, peer pressure, and family involvement in treatment. Running time: 25 min. NCADI # VHS40. $12.50.

NIDA Technology Transfer Series: Assessment (1991). Shows how to use a number of diagnostic instruments as well as how to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the plan during various phases of the patient's treatment. Running time: 22 min. NCADI # VHS38. $12.50.

Drug Abuse Treatment in Prison: A New Way Out (1995). Portrays two comprehensive drug abuse treatment approaches that have been effective with men and women in State and Federal Prisons. Running time: 23 min. NCADI # VHS72. $12.50.

Dual Diagnosis (1993). Focuses on the problem of mental illness in drug-abusing and drug-addicted populations, and examines various approaches useful for treating dual-diagnosed clients. Running time: 27 min. NCADI # VHS58. $12.50.

LAAM: Another Option for Maintenance Treatment of Opiate Addiction (1995). Shows how LAAM can be used to meet the opiate treatment needs of individual clients from the provider and patient perspectives. Running time: 16 min. NCADI # VHS73. $12.50.

Methadone: Where We Are (1993). Examines issues such as the use and effectiveness of methadone as a treatment, biological effects of methadone, the role of the counselor in treatment, and societal attitudes toward methadone treatment and patients. Running time: 24 min. NCADI # VHS59. $12.50.

Relapse Prevention (1991). Helps practitioners understand the common phenomenon of relapse to drug use among patients in treatment. Running time: 24 min. NCADI # VHS37. $12.50.

Treatment Issues for Women (1991). Assists treatment counselors help female patients to explore relationships with their children, with men, and with other women. Running time: 22 min. NCADI # VHS39. $12.50.

Treatment Solutions (1999). Describes the latest developments in treatment research and emphasizes the benefits of drug abuse treatment, not only to the patient, but also to the greater community. Running time: 19 min. NCADI # DD110. $12.50.

Program Evaluation Package (1993). A practical resource for treatment program administrators and key staff. Includes an overview and case study manual, a guide for evaluation, a resource guide, and a pamphlet. NTIS # 95-167268/BDL. $86.50.

Relapse Prevention Package (1993). Examines two effective relapse prevention models, the Recovery Training and Self-Help (RTSH) program and the Cue Extinction model. NTIS # 95-167250. $189; GPO # 017-024-01555-5. $57. (Sold by GPO as a set of 7 books)

Other Federal Resources

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI). NIDA publications and treatment materials along with publications from other Federal agencies are available from this information source. Staff provide assistance in English and Spanish, and have TDD capability. Phone: 1-800-729-6686. Website: http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ). As the research agency of the Department of Justice, NIJ supports research, evaluation, and demonstration programs relating to drug abuse in the contexts of crime and the criminal justice system. For information, including a wealth of publications, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service by telephone (1-800-851-3420 or 1-301-519-5500) or on the World Wide Web (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij).

Source: National Institute of Drug Abuse, "Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide."

next: Raw Psychology: Drinking, Drugging and How I Got Sober
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• Watch the video on Transformations of Aggression

Prone to magical thinking, the narcissist is deeply convinced of the transcendental meaning of his life. He fervently believes in his own uniqueness and "mission". He constantly searches for clues regarding the hidden - though inevitable - meaning of his personal life. The narcissist is forever a "public persona", even when alone, in the confines of his bedroom. His every move, his every act, his every decision and every scribbling is of momentous consequence. The narcissist often documents his life with vigil, for the benefit of future biographers. His every utterance and shred of correspondence are carefully orchestrated as befitting a historical figure of import.

This grandiose background leads to an exaggerated sense of entitlement. The narcissist feels that he is worthy of special and immediate treatment by the most qualified. His time is too precious to be wasted by bureaucratic trifles, misunderstandings, underlings, and social conventions. His mission is urgent. Other people are expected both to share the narcissist's self-assessment - and to behave accordingly: to accommodate his needs, instantly comply with his wishes, and succumb to his whims.

But the world does not always accommodate, comply, and succumb. It often resists the wishes of the narcissist, mocks his comportment, or, worst of all, ignores him. The narcissist reacts to this with a cycle of frustration and aggression.

Still, it is not always possible to express naked aggression. It may be dangerous, or counterproductive, or plain silly. Even the narcissist cannot attack his boss, or a policeman, or the neighbourhood bully with impunity. So, the narcissist's aggression wears many forms. The narcissist suddenly becomes brutally "honest", or bitingly "humorous", or smotheringly "helpful", or sexually "experimental", or socially "reclusive", or behaviourally "different", or find yet another way to express his scathing and repressed hostility.

The narcissist's favourite sadistic cocktail is brutal honesty coupled with "helpful advice" and "concern" for the welfare of the person attacked. The narcissist blurts out - often unprovoked - hurtful observations. These statements are invariably couched in a socially impeccable context..

For instance, "Do you know you have a bad breath? You will be much more popular if you treated it", "You are really too fat, you should take care of yourself, you are not young, you know, who knows what this is doing to your heart", "These clothes do not complement you. Let me give you the name of my tailor...", "You are behaving very strangely lately, I think that talk therapy combined with medication may do wonders", and so on.

The misanthropic and schizoid narcissist at once becomes sociable and friendly when he spots an opportunity to hurt or to avenge. He then resorts to humour - black, thwarted, poignant, biting, sharpened and agonizing. Thinly disguises barbs follow thinly disguised threats cloaked in "jokes" or "humorous anecdotes".

Another favourite trick is to harp on the insecurities, fears, weaknesses, and deficiencies of the target of aggression. If married to a jealous spouse, the narcissist emphasizes his newfound promiscuity and need to experiment sexually. If his business partner has been traumatized by a previous insolvency, the narcissist berates him for being too cautious or insufficiently entrepreneurial while forcing the partnership to assume outlandish and speculative business risks. If co-habiting with a gregarious mate, the narcissist acts the recluse, the hermit, the social misfit, or the misunderstood visionary - thus forcing the partner to give up her social life.

The narcissist is seething with enmity and venom. He is a receptacle of unbridled hatred, animosity, and hostility. When he can, the narcissist often turns to physical violence. But the non-physical manifestations of his pent-up bile are even more terrifying, more all-pervasive, and more lasting. Beware of narcissists bearing gifts. They are bound to explode in your faces, or poison you. The narcissist hates you wholeheartedly and thoroughly simply because you are. Remembering this has a survival value.

next: Chronos and Narcissus

Narcissists are accustomed to loss. Their obnoxious personality and intolerable behaviours makes them lose friends and spouses, mates and colleagues, jobs and family. Their peripatetic nature, their constant mobility and instability causes them to lose everything else: their place of residence, their property, their businesses, their country, and their language.

There is always a locus of loss in the narcissist's life. He may be faithful to his wife and a model family man - but then he is likely to change jobs frequently and renege on his financial and social obligations. Or, he may be a brilliant achiever - scientist, doctor, CEO, actor, pastor, politician, journalist - with a steady, long term and successful career - but a lousy homemaker, thrice divorced, unfaithful, unstable, always on the lookout for better narcissistic supply.

The narcissist is aware of his propensity to lose everything that could have been of value, meaning, and significance in his life. If he is inclined to magical thinking and alloplastic defences, he blames life, or fate, or country, or his boss, or his nearest and dearest for his uninterrupted string of losses. Otherwise, he attributes it to people's inability to cope with his outstanding talents, towering intellect, or rare abilities. His losses, he convinces himself, are the outcomes of pettiness, pusillanimity, envy, malice, and ignorance. It would have turned out the same way even had he behaved differently, he consoles himself.

In time, the narcissist develops defence mechanisms against the inevitable pain and hurt he incurs with every loss and defeat. He ensconces himself in an ever thicker skin, an impenetrable shell, a make belief environment in which his sense of in-bred superiority and entitlement is preserved. He appears indifferent to the most harrowing and agonizing experiences, not human in his unperturbed composure, emotionally detached and cold, inaccessible, and invulnerable. Deep inside, he, indeed, feels nothing.

Four years ago, I had to surrender my collections to my creditors (who then proceeded to loot them egregiously). Over ten years, I have painstakingly recorded thousands of movies, purchased thousands of books, vinyl records, CD's and CD-ROM's. The only copies of many of my manuscripts - hundreds of finished articles, five completed textbooks, poems - were lost as were all my press clippings. It was a great labour of love. But, when I gave all that away, I felt relief. I dream about my lost universe of culture and creativity from time to time. But that is it.

Losing my wife - with whom I spent nine years of my life - was devastating. I felt denuded and annulled. But once the divorce was over, I forgot about her completely. I deleted her memory so thoroughly that I very rarely think and never dream about her. I am never sad. I never stop to think "what if", to derive lessons, to obtain closure. I am not pretending, nor am I putting effort into this selective amnesia. It happened serendipitously, like a valve shut tight. I feel proud of this ability of mine to un-be.

The narcissist cruises through his life as a tourist would through an exotic island. He observes events and people, his own experiences and loved ones - as a spectator would a movie that at times is mildly exciting and at others mildly boring. He is never fully there, entirely present, irreversibly committed. He is constantly with one hand on his emotional escape hatch, ready to bail out, to absent himself, to re-invent his life in another place, with other people. The narcissist is a coward, terrified of his true self and protective of the deceit that is his new existence. He feels no pain. He feels no love. He feels no life.

next: Transformations of Aggression

Find out how online affairs are leading to more divorces and hurting left-behind partners.

Has the Internet turned your relationship inside-out? Does it seem that your partner's entire personality has changed since discovering the Internet? Does your Internet-obsessed partner suddenly demand privacy when using the Internet, ignore once routinely performed household chores, come late to bed every night and never has time for sex? Is your partner less interested in your relationship? Then Internet addiction has hit your relationship and a possible cyber-affair may be brewing.

When a husband or wife turns to the computer for intimacy and sex - sometimes even ending a long marriage to run off with their Internet lover - the cyberwidow left behind must confront rejection, abandonment, anger, and confusion about what happened and why.

Online Affairs Leading to More Divorces

Online affairs account for a growing number of divorce cases and it is the most frequently treated problem at the Center for Online Addiction. Partners engaged in an online affair go through several personality changes and often rationalize that an online affair isn't really cheating. They believe it is a harmless flirtation because it doesn't involve any "physical touching". However, the emotional pain and devastation to a once warm and loving relationship is just the same.

Partners in Crisis

Partners who learn of an online affair feel betrayed, hurt, jealous, and angry at the discovery. They have long suspected that something is wrong because of the computer. Their loved one suddenly demands privacy at the computer, moving it to a private den or secluded basement, and ignores the relationship while spending hours in front of the computer. They show a declining interest in their relationship and suddenly seem preoccupied with new online activities. If confronted, their partners react with defensiveness or anger, and a once loving and sensitive wife becomes cold and withdrawn, and a formerly jovial husband turns quiet and serious.

A Growing Trend

In the last decade, Dr. Kimberly Young has counseled hundreds of couples devastated by the long-term affects of an online affair. Online affairs can impact stable marriages as the partner engaged in the affair often idealizes these new online relationships. They imagine a better life, they picture running off with a new online lover, and they romanticize this person who seems to understand them in a way no one else has, leaving a devastated spouse struggling to understand how their husband or wife could fall in love with someone that they have never met.

You can order our exclusive booklet: Infidelity Online: An Effective Guide for Rebuilding your Relationship after a Cyberaffair. Click on the link for details.

Caught in the NET addresses those feelings and illustrates how the quick and easy connections made through the safety of the computer screen undermine intimate relationships at home. Readers learn the basic warning signs that may indicate their spouse has engaged in a cyberaffair, and a step-by-step- plan outlines how to approach the spouse who has strayed.

Please contact our Virtual Clinic if you already know that your partner has an addiction problem or is engaged in a cyberaffair. Click here to order Caught in the Net

If you are a family therapist, please refer to our Seminars to arrange a full-day training workshop on the evaluation and treatment of compulsive Internet use and how it impacts marriages and families.

next: Kids and Computers - Internet Addiction and Media Violence
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Pointers for parents of children with add and/or learning disabilities

1. Take the time to listen to your children as much as you can (really try to get their "Message").
2. Love them by touching them, hugging them, tickling them, wrestling with them (they need lots of physical contact).
3. Look for and encourage their strengths, interests, and abilities. Help them to use these as compensations for any limitations or disabilities.
4. Reward them with praise, good words, smiles, and pat on the back as often as you can.
5. Accept them for what they are and for their human potential for growth and development. Be realistic in your expectations and demands.
6. Involve them in establishing rules and regulations, schedules, and family activities.
7. Tell them when they misbehave and explain how you feel about their behavior; then have them propose other more acceptable ways of behaving.
8. Help them to correct their errors and mistakes by showing or demonstrating what they should do. Don't nag!
9. Give them reasonable chores and a regular family work responsibility whenever possible.
10. Give them an allowance as early as possible and then help them plan to spend within it.
11. Provide toys, games, motor activities and opportunities that will stimulate them in their development.
12. Read enjoyable stories to them and with them. Encourage them to ask questions, discuss stories, tell the story, and to reread stories.
13. Further their ability to concentrate by reducing distracting aspects of their environment as much as possible (provide them with a place to work, study and play).
14. Don't get hung up on traditional school grades! It is important that they progress at their own rates and be rewarded for doing so.
15. Take them to libraries and encourage them to select and check out books of interest. Have them share their books with you. Provide stimulating books and reading material around the house.
16. Help them to develop self-esteem and to compete with self rather than with others.
17. Insist that they cooperate socially by playing, helping, and serving others in the family and the community.
18. Serve as a model to them by reading and discussing material of personal interest. Share with them some of the things you are reading and doing.
19. Don't hesitate to consult with teachers or other specialists whenever you feel it to be necessary in order to better understand what might be done to help your child learn.

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Unrecognised Dyslexia and the Route to Offending

A study completed for the British Dyslexia Association has found that there are many links between undiagnosed dyslexia and the criminal justice system. This could also have some major implications for those with ADD/ADHD so we have decided to add the report of this study to the ADD/ADHD Research Pages here so that people can possibly investigate a bit further.

To read the full study Click Here

Also whilst checking through various UK Government Sites I found a really useful document called "An Inclusive Learning Handbook for Prisons and Young Offender Institutions" which has some very interesting sections concerning ADHD, including YO Institutes Teaching ADHD Guidelines.

To read this Click Here

Foreword In recent years a number of projects and studies has identified a link between dyslexia and offending. A much higher incidence of dyslexia, usually between 30% and 50% have been found amongst offenders compared with and incidence of 10% in the general population. Yet appropriate educational support of dyslexic offenders remains the exception rather than the rule.

As a result, the BDA recently established work with offenders as a key strategic theme and were delighted to be able to work alongside Bradford Youth Offending Team to examine the issue with young offenders. The establishment of the Youth Justice Board and YOTs and the added commitment to supporting the education of young offenders gives us a real opportunity to improve support for dyslexic offenders and reduce offending.

The BDA has gained from its partnership with Bradford YOT and developed a valuable insight to support the work of the YOT. Now we move forward to disseminate and further develop this work, this report is key to doing that.

Finally, I would like to thank the staff at Bradford YOT and many of their partner agencies, including Education Bradford, for their support with this work. I would also like to thank JJ Charitable Trust and Tudor Trust, whose funding made this project possible.

Steve Alexander, Chief Executive, British Dyslexia Association

Executive Summary

There is evidence of a "route to offending" among certain young people, which starts with difficulties in the classroom, moves through low self-esteem, poor behaviour and school exclusion, and ends in offending.

Children and young people with dyslexia are more likely fall onto this route, because of the difficulties they face with learning.

The broad aim of this project is to examine the processes of the Youth Justice system and highlight the issues associated with dyslexia amongst young offenders. Whilst it was expected that the incidence of dyslexia amongst the sample of young people screened would be high, the real value of this work would be in the recommendations that would be made to identify and support dyslexic young offenders within the system.

The project found that there were particular 'hot spots' in the system at which knowledge of a young person's dyslexia was critical to the best action being taken. These included the support given by an Appropriate Adult, Presentence Reports and the use of ASSET. Also, a particularly difficult problem to solve is that so many young offenders are not formally excluded form school but do not attend. This leaves the funding for their education locked in the school system, while voluntary income is used to develop projects to engage them positively in the community.

A sample of 34 young offenders was screened for dyslexia and 19 were categorized as dyslexic, an incidence of 56%.

The incidence of dyslexia appeared to increase with the severity of the offending. Reading ages were generally much lower than chronological ages and informal contact with the sample highlighted low self-esteem. Of the 19 young people in the dyslexic group, 7 had a statement of Special Educational Need, but they all related to behavioural problems, not dyslexia.

The project offered a number of interventions in addition to the screening. These included ICT based literacy support for individuals, training for staff at the YOT and partner agencies that work with the YOT.

This project adds weight to evidence that suggests that there is a much higher incidence of dyslexia amongst offenders. Appropriate screening, assessment and intervention will help these young people to build selfesteem and break out of the cycle of re-offending.

The BDA calls on all Youth Offending Teams to study its findings and implement the recommendations made.

At age 20, I was not even old enough to drink, but got arrested for drunk driving. At 21, after a change in colleges, my grades suffered as alcohol became more of a priority. I recall feeling extremely anxious and out of place at this new school. I felt like everyone was looking at me and talking about me. I was so nervous all the time that an acute sense of paranoia had set in. To this day, I do not know if people really were talking about me or if I was just hearing it in my head.

I always had a stiff mannerism when walking, but now this got much worse and quite noticeable. When I walked, I had a gait with a very tight tension because the constant detoxing from alcohol made me stiff with anxiety. On many days, I needed a drink to feel just okay. The amount of alcohol that would get a normal college kid drunk, just made me feel like I was on level ground. I had one arrest for drunken driving from the year before and got another arrest this year. I didn't go to court for my hearing because of a hangover and I was still feeling quite loaded. Now I was on the run from the law with a warrant out for my arrest. I really needed to drink now.

There was just no stopping me. I drank now because of the stress that the problems from prior drinking had caused me. I got another arrest, but this one was in another state which did not affect my driving record in my home state. That makes three DUIs by age 22. I ended up getting arrested for the one outstanding DUI warrant in my home state. I was caught because I would stand on the train tracks and wait for trains that moved about 70 mph to almost hit me then jump out of the way. I don't know if I wanted to die or I was just into it for a drunken thrill.

One time, the police got word of this and I got caught. Of course, I also had the warrants for DUI charges. I had to go to jail. I was the youngest guy in the psychiatric ward of the prison. It was an indescribable hell. I was not only in prison, but I was among the insane criminals of the psychiatric netherworld that they called the "M2 ward." Only one who has been to jail knows the feeling of pure hopelessness with 100% lack of freedom and privacy. One who has been to jail never sees life quite the same way again, even if nothing particularly bad happened to him in prison.

After a few days of that, my court hearing came up. I had to go to 26 days of inpatient treatment at an alcohol rehabilitation center or 26 more days of prison. I ended up going to rehabs, but continued to drink. It seemed now that I simply couldn't stop even though I really wanted to quit drinking altogether. I made solemn oaths to quit drinking alcohol for good, only to pick up the first drink once again.

I had to go to court with lawyers to plead my case to a lesser charge. All this stress made the alcohol problem multiply. Around the same time that all of this was happening, I had moved in with my girlfriend in Center City, Philadelphia. Being away from my parents' home, I could now drink openly and have a reserve in the refrigerator. I began morning drinking, drinking before work, and drinking to get to bed. My insomnia was awful.

I had to drop out of college and work full-time. I could drink on my job because I worked in a small store where I was the only one there most of the time. I took on the late night shift so I could isolate myself in my drunkenness. I tried going to psychiatrists in the past and their medications did not help. I denied that I had been drinking as much as I was to my doctors. I remember their warnings about alcohol-related anxiety and depression. They said to get alcohol out of my system first, and then to work on my other problems. I did not want to hear that. I wanted a magic pill to cure me. After all, I knew I could not quit getting drunk. I had already tried that.

At this point in time, I felt like I needed alcohol to think properly. Without the booze, my mind was a racing mess. I couldn't relax or concentrate on anything. Alcohol had become part of my mentality. Alcohol had become my mind.

next: Chapter 4: Pickled in Alcohol
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Chapter 69 of the book Self-Help Stuff That Works

by Adam Khan:

IN THE REMOTE JUNGLES of Southeast Asia on the Malay Peninsula, aboriginal tribes were studied in the 1930s and '40s. Two of the tribes - the Negritos and the Temiar - were very similar. They both paid a lot of attention to their dreams.

The Negritos' attitude was passive. They felt they were the victims of evil forces. If they had a bad dream about a tree, for example, from that point on they would be afraid of the tree and its evil spirit.

But the Temiar taught their children that aggression in dreams was good. The child should not turn away from dream monsters, but attack them. They were taught that if they run away, the monsters or evil spirits will plague them until they turn and fight.

The two tribes were similar in many ways, but this one difference made the Temiar psychologically healthy, according to Kilton Stewart and Pat Noone, a psychologist and an anthropologist who studied them, and it made the Negritos psychologically unhealthy.

In any situation, you can have the attitude of reaching, of trying to accomplish what you want, or by default you will become a victim, the effect of circumstances and other people's goals. If you aren't actively trying to cause an effect you want, you will be forced by the aggression of others to respond, to react, to be the effect of their initiations. It isn't the perfect design by my standards, but that is the way it works out, whether we like it or not.

So make it a practice to think about what you want, what you think would be good, and then try to make that happen. You'll run into resistance sometimes. That's okay. No need to resist the resistance. It's just someone else trying to make something happen too (or trying to prevent themselves from being a victim). Don't get caught up in it. Keep in mind what you want and continue taking steps toward it.

In other words, become less passive and more aggressive in your attitude. Aggression can be a good thing. If it's aggression without anger or judgement, it can create a lot of good in the world. In fact, it has already.

Think about what you want and try to make it happen.

We all fall victim to our circumstances and our biology and our upbringing now and then. But it doesn't have to be that way as often.
You Create Yourself

Comfort and luxury are not the chief requirements of life. Here's what you need to really feel great.
A Lasting State of Feeling Great

Comptetion doesn't have to be an ugly affair. In fact, from at least one perspective, it is the finest force for good in the world.
The Spirit of the Games

Achieving goals is sometimes difficult. When you feel discouraged, check this chapter out. There are three things you can do to make the achievement of your goals more likely.
Do You Want to Give Up?

next: Forbidden Fruits