Letter to the Editor

Self-reliance works best

To the editor:

My name is Thomas Hamilton. I served three years in federal prison for manufacturing meth. I was addicted to meth for nearly 10 years. I sold it, used it, made it, cheated people to get it, lied to attain it, lost a business over it, and destroyed family ties because of it. I left a girl pregnant with my son over it.

In prison I went through a rehab that teaches "rational self-counseling." It has been determined by the feds to be the best form of rehab. It differs from 12 step in that it teaches you the thinking patterns that led to the addiction. RSC teaches the addict to rely on themselves and doesn't push the "higher power" necessity or the absolute dependency on a group setting.

I just wanted to say that places like the Vision House are great in that they help to get people unaddicted, but there are dangers associated with a strictly faith-based, group-reliant rehab. Many times addicted people will focus all of their energy into the faith part and leave themselves no other options. If the addict all of the sudden decides that the "faith part" is letting him or her down, they are likely to relapse without much warning. Any person who is trying to make a lifestyle change needs to keep their mind open to several options and not rely totally in their faith in God, and to learn how to trust in themselves to do the right things.

THOMAS HAMILTON, Jackson, Mo.