Mike Pond Reflection

#1 The first takeaway is not specifically about Mike Pond and his experience but about myself. My attitude and preconceived ideas about the detox and rehab experience drastically changed. Thanks to Mike Pond’s willingness to share all the details of his period of suffering, turmoil and battles of addiction, my attitude shifted. Consequently, I found that at the end of the book my understanding pertaining to what an addict goes through in their efforts to quit was also changed. I feel the book has increased my capacity to be more empathic, nonjudgmental and sensitive to the hardships of the alcoholic and/or addict. I do not and will not have all the answers. However, I may be able to better build the client/counselor relationship of trust and

This is evidenced in chapter 7. He was talked into going to detox for the first time by his family and some individuals from his local Alcoholics Anonymous. Then it was with the help from his physician. It was not his whole-hearted desire or decision at that time. In some individuals, this may have been enough. But in Ponds case he had to go through much of his addiction to alcohol, make a decision on his own and have the support and medical attention from all angles that he needed. Until this was all in alignment, things did not change for him. He kept going back to his addiction know matter how damaging it was to him, what he recalled from his experiences with his father when he was a child or how badly he was hurting his family, friends and career (pg.

He almost appeared to be obsessed with this. Maybe it is what gave him the sliver of hope that he could one day be normal and addiction-free. Additionally, I was confused about the way the hospital allowed him to keep his job and give medications. Even after he came to work wasted and had no memory of the incident they tried to help him keep the job (pg. 109). I suppose in my mind I thought he would be better off in a job that was not so stressful and in which others would not be stressed that he was going to do something wrong. And, he did do something wrong. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that he still wanted to be in an environment in which they all knew he was an alcoholic, didn’t trust or want him to be there and seemed like they wanted him to fail. That being said, he seemed to have a special knack and ability to connect with the patients on the adolescent unit. He was good at this and may be this was another thing that gave him