New approach to addiction

By LEE WARD / THE INDEPENDENT

ASHLAND August 22, 2008 09:01 am

— Cathy Napier’s life has been full of suffering, her own and that of others. “I watched my brother George die of cirrhosis as a result of alcoholism,” the Ashland native, who became a counselor, said.
“The mental health field was not as advanced as it is today. I feel that my brother was suffering from Bipolar, which enabled him to self-medicate with alcohol.”
Napier said her mother’s family was Cherokee Indian and she has found that research has shown Native Americans are “loaded genetically” with the predisposed gene for alcoholism.
The suffering wasn’t limited to Napier’s brother.
“I too am a recovering alcoholic and have been alcohol free for 30 years,” she said, adding various other family members have died from the effects of alcoholism, including a cousin who died in a car accident that was alcohol related.
All these losses drove her to become a counselor.
“It has just made sense for me to spend my life helping those with mental illness and chemical dependency,” she said.
Book about addiction
In her book “Swinging Doors of Addiction,” Napier and co-author Sandy Mullen reveal a discovery they made during years of working together at the eating disorder unit at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Texas, where Napier retired as clinical director for the chemical dependency program and Mullen retired as a nurse who was the clinical director of the eating disorder unit.
“We were seeing patients who were struggling with numerous addictions, each addiction relying on another addiction to maintain,” she said. “Sandy and I were seeing eating disorder patients, who we sent home healthy, coming back over and over again worse off medically and mentally then when they left treatment. We discovered that the secret they all were keeping was their addiction or addictions to various chemicals that was aiding and abetting the eating disorder.”
Eventually, the two had enough data to determine that an eating disorder nearly always has a chemical for the disease to survive and enough information for a book to help those who suffer from all types of additions.
“The book has a family component that will help the families through these difficult times as well,” she said.
The conversational style of the book and the workbook-type format aims to help those struggling with a dual addiction of disordered eating and chemical dependency, describing how each addition supports the other. Napier said the book is being used in the juvenile justice system in New Mexico for work with young mothers in jail because of drugs.
Spiritual approach
The book also has a spiritual aspect, making use of the 12-step approach of Alcoholics Anonymous.
“‘Swinging Door of Addiction’ encourages the client to get to know themselves and provides a question guide to help them basically do their own therapy,” Napier said.
The book is different from most, she said, because it includes a step-by-step protocol to getting well from all addictions, with a foreword written by fellow Ashlander and longtime friend Naomi Judd, a perfect choice, Napier said, who has degrees from Dallas Baptist University, Texas Christian University and did postgraduate studies at Rutgers University.
“I had asked Naomi Judd to write the Foreword for “Swinging Door,” because she has two very famous daughters who have openly discussed their issues with recovery,” she said, pointing out that Judd has written about Wynonna’s eating disorder and Ashley, who has suffered with depression. “Naomi and I have remained close through the years and worked together on a couple of projects in the past few years. She has been and remains a dear friend.”
She said she still visits Ashland at least once a year. “I stil have good friends and relatives in Ashland,” she said. “I will always consider it home.”

“Swinging Door of Addiction” by Ashland native Cathy Napier, right, is available on Amazon.com, Gurze catalog, Border’s bookstore and the Web site swingingdoorofaddiction.com.

Napier will be at Empire Books in Pullman Square for a booksigning at 3 p.m. Oct. 18.
LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.

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