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Thanks Julia Crozier Australian Innovation Research Centre University of Tasmania Private Bag 108, Hobart 7001, Tasmania Phone: +61 3 6226 7339 ________________________________________ From: Discussion list for those practising BNIM [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of jo kirkpatrick [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, 30 June 2011 5:17 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: New Member Dear Susan and other BNIMs Thanks for the welcome. I am sorry to take so long to reply but I dropped everything and drove to Leysdown in Kent for a few days, and I just got back. I couldn't resist the family's demands to spend a long weekend at the coast after so much rotten weather. I would love to read some of your work. I believe that the work on racism and feminism have done a great deal to improve the lives of racial minorities and women. I am hoping that I can help to inspire society to change its attitude to addicts, in particular to addicts who are not criminals and who had little or no choice but use drugs. Self-medicators for example, people with mental and physical health issues often resort to taking illegal recreational drugs or over-the-counter medications, to which many become addicted. People are often afraid or unwilling to seek professional help because of the stigma and many addicts tell me that even their life-partners and grown-up offspring have never found out or been told about their addiction. There are many addicts who have never committed any crimes, apart from possession. I know several addicts who have been supplied by UK, National Health Service Addiction Clinics [or in the 1960s by private doctors] since their first time, who are still addicted. I even know of people who got addicted in their teens [one was 12] who are still addicted over forty years later. One woman told me that at 16 she prefered being a 'heroin addict' to being fat. Other addicts I have spoken to became addicted because they were victims of child abuse, had PTSD, or serious eating disorders and one even had OCD. I have also found that almost everyone has at least one addiction from granny rocking to a baby sucking its thumb, although these process addictions/obssessive compulsive behaviours are not always harmful, in moderation some are beneficial like exercise and fun like sex. and it is surprising how many supposedly harmless substances can be abused. Chocolate is a common one, so is sugar and salt and these can be as life-threatening as drugs, tobacco and alcohol. It is time society stopped treating all addicts as if they are violent criminals who start the day by mugging a pensioner and spend their afternoons shop-lifting. Many are honest, intelligent, decent people and few ever had any choice. Best wishes Jo ________________________________ From: Susan Stevens <[log in to unmask]> To: jo kirkpatrick <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Fri, 24 June, 2011 7:56:01 Subject: Re: New Member Welcome, and best of luck with the studies! (I did my psych undergrad with the OU - loved it!) Any questions/discussion points, fire away - someone will usually come up with something. (I'm a counselling psychologist, and I've just finished - I hope at last really finished - my DPsych, on race/racism, using a narrative method) All good wishes, Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: jo kirkpatrick<mailto:[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 11:35 PM Subject: New Member Hi BNIM Members I live in Dulwich in South East London and am a journalist for a medical journal. I am also a Open University Psychology graduate studying qualitative research methods. I plan to do a PhD on addiction narrative. I am particularly interested in ethnography, the therapeutic effects of writing, storytelling especially life narratives and identity construction. Best wishes Jo Kirkpatrick