the ModeraXL Team
A ModeraXL Moment with...
Teri Stanke
Vice-President, ModeraXL
"Life is good now," says Teri Stanke. And she has good reason for being able to make that claim.
Teri Stanke serves as Vice-President of ModeraXL, working out of the company headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada.
From an administrative standpoint, Teri is certified by the American College of Addiction and Compulsive Disorders.
From a human standpoint, she is more than certified. All of the experiences with drugs and alcohol abuse in Teri Stanke's life have led her to where she is so perfectly positioned to make a difference today.
This is her story...
I was born an alcoholic. I knew something was wrong with me from birth. I was extremely shy, fearful of everybody and everything to the point I didn't learn to walk until I was two years old.
I was often made fun of by others. Even as a toddler, kids danced around me because I couldn't walk, and people making fun of me continued on throughout my life. This lowered my self-esteem, turning me into someone with very, very low self-worth.
Looking back, I had all of the characteristics of an addict. I never felt normal. I never felt like I fit in. And then I attracted events which reinforced those. My family moved to a very affluent neighborhood with one of the nation's best education systems. All my friends were smart and pretty but I didn't think I was.
It started with wine
Teri started with wine, but wine wasn't nearly strong enough. She then moved on to drinking straight vodka. All along, she was also using cocaine.
When I picked up drinking and drugs at 18, I finally felt normal. Alcohol made all of my inferiorities and inhibitions go away. When I drank, that's all I focused on for 25 years.
During addiction, your brain goes into something called the phenomenon of cravings. You spend about 95% of your waking hours craving your substance of choice. It literally becomes an obsession. I can say I was in the phenomenon of cravings for 25 years.
I finally hit a bottom when I was fired from my job. I stayed in my home and drank myself almost to death.
I entered the Betty Ford Center with a very high liver enzyme. A normal enzyme is 14 and I went in with an 854. I was admitted to the 30-day inpatient program and was then urged to stay for an extended residential day treatment program. I did not think I needed it and chose instead to go home....big mistake.
I got worse and worse and went back to Betty Ford 40 days later. I stayed 107 days and persevered more than most of their patients do (I was told) as I got into sooo much trouble even in residential day treatment. I learned there that what I did was not important to them. Why I did something and what I felt was most mattered.
Something finally clicked with me (and I began to pray a lot). I changed and it happened quickly. Anyhow, when I "got" recovery, I really got recovery. This has come easy to me....all aspects. I have a fantastic life today.
Clean and sober
Clean and sober now for nearly five years, Teri Stanke is able to see both sides of substance abuse and the addicted brain.
Addiction is a disease that kicks in when you take it away. You need doctors. If you have an addicted brain, or an alcoholic brain, once you start drinking you just don't have the ability to stop. It's not at all that I didn't want to stop. I did. I definitely did. But once you're actively into an addiction, it takes over control over everything. You simply can't stop until the consequences get bad enough.
So, for loved ones of an addict, know that once the addict ingests their drink or their drug, the disease takes over. They are now in their addiction and lose control over their thoughts and actions. You really cannot blame them for anything they do once they have ingested alcohol or drugs. They don't know where the addiction will take them this time around. They lose control. However, you CAN blame them for picking up that first drink or drug. They do have a choice. Once they have ingested, they again, lose that choice. This is a difficult process for the loved ones. You have to learn to separate the person from the disease of addiction. It's even hard for me to do that now. Sometimes I still find myself judging people who are using.
ModeraXL and Teri
Even though she herself didn't get sober on ModeraXL, Teri excitedly jumped at the chance to become involved with it.
"When the people behind this product showed me what they had in ModeraXL, I immediately said ‘I want to be involved!' We know if we help people first, we'll have a business that survives or succeeds.
As far as ModeraXL goes, if somebody can get ModeraXL to their brain they can stop ingesting drugs or alcohol. It can definitely help them. If you are having a craving of alcohol, drugs, or smoking, ModeraXL helps. It can speed up your return to mental clarity. The fog in your brain clears faster. You can start the recovery process quicker.
I learned at Betty Ford that something good happens in your brain on your 37th day of being clean, that's why longer term treatment is so common now. ModeraXL can get you through that point
Most addicts only have about 80% of the normal dopamine level. So, we don't feel good. We have to find other ways to feel good, so we turn to drugs and alcohol. On my own, I never felt good. I was shameful of everything. ModeraXL will raise your dopamine level so you feel good. You don't need to drink or take drugs.
All about glucose
Here's a very interesting point that extends way beyond "food for thought." Teri makes sure she eats on a regular basis. She shares this information from conversations with one of the ModeraXL Team experts, Christina Veselak. It‘s about the importance of maintaining proper glucose level in your body.
"Addicts get feelings that flood your body. They're what cause so many relapses. Roughly 85% of people that relapse and return into a treatment center have missed at least one meal if not two. They lost blood sugar which caused a major drop in their body's glucose level. Their body and brain were running on pure adrenalin. If you ask them, they're often surprised. They don't know why they used again. They don't know what caused the relapse. Their brain simply ran out of glucose but they didn't know it. Their brain wasn't really functioning and returned to an old craving.
Final thoughts
Teri Stanke shares one other piece of advice for what it's worth. It may not be for you but it sure worked for her.
"When you get your job back and get your life back, remember where you came from. Consider finding a spiritual program that fits you.
You get sober and feel good again; maybe you get your job back, and buy a nice car. Still, there is going to come a time when you're going to encounter situations where you have to go somewhere and certain people are going to be there and you get this feeling like "Oh no! You feel fear, jealousy, envy, or anger. You will wear it the whole day.
Those things don't go away. Nothing is going to take away those feelings that you get in life. To me, that's where God comes in. And if nothing else you have to ask for strength to get thru the day. I say, ‘Let me walk through whatever with grace and dignity.' Unless you're in some kind of support program you're not going to be able to do that."
Now, Teri Stanke walks through the days and nights of her life's journey with a dedication to staying on track, and helping all those who have left similar footprints.
I'm a real big fan of creating my own existence and manifesting. That's what happened when ModeraXL was brought into my existence.
I love A.A. meetings but don't want to live my whole life in those rooms. I believe I can help people in other ways and a great chance to do that was put right in front of me with ModeraXL. I know what it's like to be where addicts are, and I know what it like to free from it.
There is nothing better than seeing someone get out of their addiction. Nothing better."
