Leslie Glass's Blog, page 369

Mom’s Top 5 Recovery Changes

Recovery changes you more than you know. This Mother’s Day and every day my love goes out to all moms impacted by substance use. I know what you’re going through. Watching children or other loved ones turn into people you don’t know is hard. Having them be at risk for death because of drugs/alcohol is hard. Trying everything in your power to stop the downward cycle is more than hard. Feeling helpless and alone even though you know others are having similar experiences is the hardest. Moms tell me that they hurt when friends tell them how great their children are doing, and all they want is for their children to survive. We moms of addiction feel alone. Moms who are in recovery for their own drug and alcohol use also suffer in so many ways, including loss of self-esteem and the love of their families. Our prayers and love go out to these moms in recovery, too. Everyone who goes into recovery is a miracle, me included.

Five Recovery Changes I needed To Make

This is the kind of mom I was before recovery. Being a mom is really hard work, and it’s even harder when you work to earn a living and then have to take care of the family’s domestic life and needs when you get home. So easy going I wasn’t.

I was controlling

Parents dealing with substance use can be very bossy and controlling. I don’t think I was so very controlling until there was something I felt I had to fix.

I didn’t listen

I thought I knew better and was right about everythig, so I couldn’t hear anything that didn’t agree with my point of view.

I was self-righteous

Many people I love don’t have stop buttons when it comes to drugs and alcohol. I saw myself as the more righteous and right as a director of what they should do because I do have a stop button in that department.

I was angry

For so many reasons. I felt I was a good person so why was this happening to me? I was a good mother why were my loved ones at risk and why wouldn’t they listen to me, who could make it all better if only they did what I told them to?

I was hurt

Why wasn’t I trusted and loved and given the authority my loved ones needed?

I was highly reactive

Pretty much everything set me off onto a rant or tirade about all the above.

Recovery Changes Your Perspective

As you can see, all of my feelings were centered around what other people around me were doing to make my life horrible, and I was frustrated because I (who was so perfect in every way) couldn’t fix it. I didn’t know that I didn’t cause the disease, I can’t cure it, and I can’t control it. I also didn’t know my own behavior was part of the problem.  Substance Use Disorder (Addiction) is a family disease, and everyone plays a part. Mom (or dad) trying to manage and control the situation will not find recovery even if a loved one stops using.

Recovery Was Self-Discovery

Recovery for me began when my loved ones started getting better and didn’t need me so much any more. I had to change. For me, recovery was self-discovery. It happened like this. I went to an Al-anon meeting. I didn’t want to. I didn’t think I needed it. I didn’t like the people, or where the meetings were held. I didn’t understand the 12-step language and didn’t want to learn it. I think it’s safe to say that everything about the 12 steps was contrary to my take-action, can-do nature. Many other parents have told me they went to a meeting or two, heard something they didn’t like and never went back. That is too bad because there is a great deal you will hear in 12 step programs you don’t like. That doesn’t mean the program can’t teach you what you need to know to be better yourself. And there’s another benefit. Your loved ones need to be able to trust in your changes the same way you have to trust them.

Recovery Changes Meant Taking Action

I started to like Al-anon and chose a group that better suited me. It took a little experimentation. I also went to An AA Meeting and picked up a chip. There’s a comedy character who isn’t an alcoholic who went to AA meetings to meet a man. I went to an AA meeting to hear from people who have to stop doing something they love to stay alive. Several of my loved ones had to stop doing something to stay alive. One loved one moved from AA to Al-Anon. AA teaches you how to stay alive. Al-Anon teaches you how to live. I went the other way from Al-Anon to AA and stopped drinking for family recovery support. I admit ten years on I don’t go to meetings very often anymore, but two 12 step programs made lasting recovery changes.

The Gift Of Sobriety

Being sober for ten years has taught me how deeply ingrained alcohol is in our culture. How advertising makes us think we need it, and how even our closest friends can cease being friends because we’re sober now or have a recovering family. There is still a lot of stigma associated with sobriety and 12-step programs. I’m here to say that recovery is the only illness on earth for which recovery makes you better than you were before. We’re as normal as families dealing with any physical illness.

Recovery Changes Relationships

I practice the 12 Steps because I want better relationships, and the principles do work. You judge people less and listen more. You don’t take everything personally and find reasons to react negatively. You focus more on what you’re doing and less on what other people are doing to you. You know for sure you’re not in control and that’s a good thing. 12 steps seem normal to me now. I know, understand, and respect the language. I needed more than a therapist. To recover I had to learn program that helped my loved ones.

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Student Mental Health Is Suffering As Universities Burst At The Seams

Ever since tuition fees rose to £9,000 in 2012, UK universities have seen a fall in real-terms funding. To plug the gap, oversubscribed institutions sought to rapidly expand when the government lifted the student numbers cap. There is startling confirmation of this in recent figures: between 2011 and 2016, Aston University grew by 80%, Coventry University by 53% and Surrey by 50%.

I felt lonely and isolated when I studied on an overcrowded degree course, and my lecturers were unable to support me

But this is a short-sighted decision that risks growing tensions between the university and its local community and damaging student wellbeing. Universities have more to lose than they are perhaps prepared to accept.

Why are students faking attendance? They feel cheated by the system
Bristol city council has recently begun conversations about curbing the growth of the city’s two primary universities. University expansion is problematic because councils lose out on tax revenue from student houses, since students don’t pay council tax. And residents resent the developers who buy up the housing stock, pushing out local tenants in favour of students.

Students suffer from unchecked expansion, too, and campuses are struggling to respond to increasing demand for mental health support services. Studies show increasing loneliness and isolation among the UK’s undergraduate population. For me, the words loneliness and isolation capture my recent undergraduate experience more than any others in the English language. It is possible that my overcrowded degree course contributed to these feelings.

 

On graduation day, I could recall the names of only a handful of people I’d shared seminars with, our relationships only as deep as a two-minute fortnightly conversation as the previous class filtered out of our room. At best I knew the first name of less than a sixth of our year group. And despite the 10 compulsory modules we’d shared, and the exam halls we’d populated together, I couldn’t recall seeing before the faces crossing the stage at graduation. In a swollen cohort it’s easy to feel anonymous.

Relationships with my coursemates were at best cursory, and with my lecturers, distant. When I walked through the corridors of my department and smiled to passing lecturers or former tutors, their glazed expressions indicated that they too were faced by an endless sea of unrecognisable faces.

I was ill during my three years at university, with recurrent bouts of severe depression and generalised anxiety disorder. My attendance dipped, and the anonymity of being one name in tens of thousands made it easy to fall under the radar. Despite missing over half of my seminars, it wasn’t until my final term that a tutor got in touch for the first time to check if things were OK.

I do not blame the tutors who can’t spot struggling students in their classrooms. The increasing volume of students places greater pressure on academics and makes it impossible for them to build meaningful relationships. When my parent’s generation talks about university, many paint it as the days of their lives, and fondly recount trips to the pub with lecturers. Today’s students are more likely to wonder whether their professor could pick them out of a line-up.

What do students want most? To be treated with respect

University is a challenging time for many students, a period of instability, change and stress in which it’s easy to feel unsupported. This is compounded for students on social sciences or humanities courses, which have few course hours. Students are left bereft of routine or structure, and feel disconnected from the institutions that stamp their degree certificates. University becomes a room you sit in for a couple of hours a week, the remaining hours probably spent cramming alone in a library if you can find a seat, and in your bedroom if you can’t.

With the absence of anything to keep you connected, it is easier for depression to pull you under. You might think that after graduating I would have run a mile from my university, but I’ve gone on to carry out research on the student experience, focusing on mental health and wellbeing. The one thing I’ve learned is that if universities are going to take student mental health seriously, the place to start is by tackling their unchecked growth.

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Awareness Is The First Step To Promote Mental Health In The Workplace

From The Globe and Mail: Do you know when someone is having a bad day? Do you notice their facial expressions, body language, even tone of voice and words? Would you know how to determine if they may be experiencing more than stress, perhaps a mental health crisis?

Mental health in the workplace is Canada is real. Each week, 500,000 individuals are unable to work due to a mental health issue. In the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, which generates 20 per cent of Canada’s GDP, half the work force has experienced a mental health challenge. As mental health increasingly becomes a priority for local, provincial and federal governments, more organizations are starting to act to prevent mental injuries and to support mental health in the workplace.

Organizations can impact mental health by putting an effort into awareness and training that assists in early detection, prevention and support of mental illness.

CivicAction has determined in its MindsMatter research that mental health awareness and training are the right first steps to take toward curbing the risk for mental injury and promoting mental health.

Awareness

Organizations need to provide clear, open communication from the top on why mental health matters. Pat Capponi, a long-time mental health and poverty advocate in Toronto, provides the following coaching to erode stigma: “When senior executives talk more openly on mental health, share their own experiences, and reinforce the benefits of prevention, early detection and treatment, it can help those experiencing mental health issues to ask for help rather than hide what they are going through out of shame and fear of reprisals.”

Mental health training helps to create a culture where employees feel supported and safe to ask for mental health help when needed. At CGI, a global IT consulting company, President of Canada Operations Mark Boyajian says, “At CGI, we believe that information gives employees more control over their health. It provides them with the information to tap into our mental health support systems that can provide employees the coping strategies that can prevent serious mental illness.”

Organizations that foster better awareness through a mix of formal communication strategies and campaigns that focus on lowering stigma and educating employees on available mental health resources via the workplace has been found to be effective in reducing mental health issues and assisting organizations in achieving better business outcomes.

Accountability

Every organization needs to determine for itself the value of promoting mental health awareness and training. It takes more than words to create campaigns that educate employees about mental health. They need pathways to find assistance such as employee and family assistance programs, benefits and paramedical plans, and community mental health resources. It takes constant follow-through and commitment. This is not a one-and-done conversation; it needs to become a part of the organization’s values and commitments.

“Increased sensitivity, awareness of resources and shared conversations bring real benefits to the bottom line, and more importantly, reassure those who may be struggling that they are valued and seen,” says Ms. Capponi.

Mr. Boyajian adds, “Being empathetic to ones employees’ mental health is a sign of great leadership. Their commitment to being educated on and aware of mental health symptoms will not only positively impact individual employees, but will make a lasting impression on entire teams.”

Action

Commit to increasing awareness and education on mental health and to providing managers and staff training – Inform your employees that mental health is important and what support is available. Start your awareness and training journey off right by simply telling your employees that mental health is a priority for you. Resources like MindsMatter and the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s National Standard provide insights on how to achieve your vision. This first step takes commitment and courage, and is a powerful first step that will mean a lot to your employees.

Ask employees what types of activities/programs interest them the most individually—Engage your work force through surveys, focus groups, polls or other means, to discover their needs and risks and how you can support them. Ask questions around what health issues they’d want included in a workplace mental health program and what activities interest them most. It’s not likely you can deliver everything, but you can go in with a starting game plan and work from there.

Provide training for managers and staff – Investing in training for managers and staff will pay off, as mental health training for managers can in some cases result in a 20 per cent reduction in mental health disability-related costs. Training can come in many different formats, from webinars to conferences to in-class settings that expand employees’ knowledge and skills to enhance mental health support. The benefits of training are beyond just awareness and education on mental health. This kind of training can help prevent mental illness and increase engagement and productivity.

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Which Drugs Pose The Biggest Threat To Public Health Globally?

From Medical News Today: A new report compiling data provided by the some of the most recent and reliable sources worldwide aims to answer the big question: which substances and stimulants pose the biggest threat to health and well-being on a global level? The review was put together by specialists from prominent institutions worldwide, spanning six countries and three continents: Australia, Europe, and North America.

Its first author is Amy Peacock, who works with the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, as well as with the School of Medicine at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, which is also in Australia.

The authors sourced their information mainly through records held by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use are major global risk factors for disability and premature loss of life,” the researchers write in the report’s introduction.

“Estimating the prevalence of use and associated burden of disease and mortality at the country, regional, and global level is critical in quantifying the extent and severity of the burden arising from substance use.”

These are the reasons why the team decided to publicize an up-to-date collection of available statistics — as complete as possible — about the issue of substance use and abuse, and its economic and medical burden around the world.

The report has now been published in the journal Addiction.

Alcohol, tobacco use ‘far more prevalent’

Citing the Global Burden of Disease study from 2015, the researchers note that tobacco use has led to 170.9 million disability-adjusted life-years worldwide. Second in line comes alcohol consumption, to which 95 million disability-adjusted life-years are attributed.

No less worryingly, illicit drug consumption has caused individuals around the globe to claim 27.8 million disability-adjusted life-years.

Based on the data available to them, the authors note, “Alcohol use and tobacco smoking are far more prevalent than illicit substance use, globally and in most regions.”

About 1 in 5 adults worldwide will have engaged in heavy alcohol consumption on at least one occasion in the past month, which may increase the risk of sustaining injuries.

Also, an estimated 15.2 percent of adults smoke on a daily basis. People who frequently smoke, the researchers warn, are at an increased risk of developing 12 different forms of cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, to name but a few related health outcomes.

The data also suggest that the “use of illicit drugs [is] far less common” than the use of alcohol and tobacco worldwide; estimates indicate that “fewer than 1 in 20 people” reported an instance of cannabis use over the past year.

Even fewer people are thought to engage in amphetamine, opioid, or cocaine use. Nevertheless, some regions — including the United States, Canada, and Australasia — have very high rates of illicit drug abuse that warrant concern.

The authors of the report note that Australasia came up as the region with “the highest prevalence of amphetamine dependence,” amounting to 491.5 per 100,000 people. Australasian populations also appeared to use other drugs, such as cannabis, opioids, and cocaine, more frequently.

Europeans score high on heavy drinking

The authors also note that, in stark contrast with the populations of other continents, people across Central, Eastern, and Western Europe tend to indulge much more in alcohol consumption.

Per capita, Central Europeans drink 11.61 liters of alcohol per person, Eastern Europeans drink 11.98 liters per person, and Western Europeans consume 11.09 liters.

Europe was also discovered to contain the highest number of people who smoke tobacco, with 24.2 percent of Eastern Europeans, 23.7 percent of Central Europeans, and 20.9 percent of Western Europeans admitting to this habit.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, countries in North Africa and the Middle East reported the lowest rates of alcohol consumption, as well as the lowest percentage of heavy drinking.

However, the authors caution that the findings detailed in their report may not be complete, seeing that many regions — especially Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia — have incomplete or missing data about substance use and its impact on the population’s health and well-being.

They therefore advise that in the future, public health organizations should develop and apply more rigorous methods of collecting relevant data and make them available to researchers and public policy-makers.

Still, “Regular compilations of global data on geographic variations in prevalence of substance use and disease burden, such as this, may encourage the improvements in data and methods required to produce better future estimates,” they conclude.

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12 Tips On Sleep In Early Recovery

Can’t sleep? Odds are, you’re not alone. Sleeping problems are very common in the early days, weeks and even months of recovery due to the post-acute withdrawal process. Your body must reestablish regular sleep cycles in the absence of alcohol and drugs. Most of these problems usually resolve themselves without medical treatment, but here are 12 tips help the process along.

12 Sleeping Tips For Early Recovery

Create a good sleeping environment, e.g., bed comfort, quietness, darkness, comfortable temperature, and ventilation.
Consider a white noise generator if there is a problem with noise in the environment.
Set a consistent time period for going to bed and getting up, including weekends.
Avoid daytime naps.
Eliminate or reduce caffeine intake (particularly after 3 pm).
Get exercise early in the day, but avoid exercise in the evening.
Keep a journal by your bed, noting patterns, troublesome thoughts, dreams, etc. Discuss troublesome dreams with your counselor, sponsor or others in recovery.
Learn and utilized relaxation techniques, e.g., progressive relaxation, visualization, breathing exercises; use recovery prayers and self-talk (slogans) to help you fall asleep.
Minimize activities other than sleeping in your bed, e.g., eating, working, watching television, reading, etc.

Avoid large, late meals. Instead, have a light snack before bedtime. A small turkey sandwich, warm milk, a banana, a cup of hot chamomile tea often cause drowsiness.

Create a consistent bedtime routine and stick with it.
If you can’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing in low light until you feel sleepy.

Your sleep requirements may change in the transition from addiction to recovery; this adjustment period may take several weeks/months to re-stabilize. Avoid self-medication with prescribed and over-the-counter sleep aids unless this is supervised by a physician trained in addiction medicine.

It’s also important to note that dreams and nightmares involving scenes of alcohol and/or drug intoxication are common in early recovery. When possible, have your addiction professionals monitor your sleep issues during this time. These patterns can indicate an early recovery adjustment or offer clues to vulnerability for relapse.

If Sleep Problems Persist

Talk to your doctor about any of the following problems since you stopped your alcohol and drug use:

Difficulty falling asleep
Awakening and having difficulty getting back to sleep
Poor sleep environment
Racing thoughts that disrupt ability to sleep
Lack of feeling refreshed after sleep
Tiredness and drowsiness during the day
Falling asleep during the day
Disturbing dreams
Excessive hours of sleeping

Content originally published by William White. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. 

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All The Facts About America’s Opioid Addiction

America’s opioid addiction has been developing for more than two decades. In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies began pushing for doctors to prescribe opioids for pain relief by promoting misleading information about the safety and efficacy of the drug. Since then, Americans have gone on to consume more opioid drugs than anywhere else on the globe.

In fact, overdose deaths killed more people in 2016 (the last year for which detailed statistics are available) than the number of people who died in the Vietnam War. More than 42,000 of those deaths were caused by opioid drugs. Surprisingly, more people died that year from opioids than the number of people who died in motor vehicle accidents, more than the number of women who died from breast cancer, and more than the number of people who died by guns. The crisis is so bad that life expectancy in the U.S. has actually decreased.

Part of the problem is that opioid prescriptions are written and handed out significantly more in the U.S. than in other countries. In fact, the Washington Post reports that for every million U.S. residents, 50,000 doses of prescribed opioids are taken each day.

What Opioid Addiction Looks Like in America

An opioid addiction typically starts with a prescription pain reliever. In fact, some of the most commonly prescribed opioid medications are some of the most commonly abused. These include:

Abstral
Actiq
Darvon
Dilaudid
Demerol
Duragesic
Fentanyl
Hydrocodone
Lazanda
Lonsys
Lorcet
Lortab
Methadone
Morphine
Norco
Oxycodone
OxyCotin
Palladone
Percocet
Percodan
Roxicodone
Roxybond
Subsys
Tramadol
Troxyca ER
Tylenol 3
Tylox
Vicodin
Xartemis XR
Xtampza ER

Opioid Addiction Has Increased in All Age Groups

While opioid abuse has increased among nearly all age groups, the biggest jump in opioid overdose deaths is in the 55 to 64 age group. In fact, the number of people who die from opioid overdose in this group has jumped from an average of about 4 deaths per 100,000 residents to nearly 22 deaths per 100,000 residents.

While nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths involve women and men between the ages of 25 to 44, many of whom are parents, opioids are also one of the most commonly abused drugs by high schoolers, falling in line with use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco.

5 Teens Die Every Day 119 Are Taken To ER 22 Admitted For Treatment

It is important to note, however, that the majority of teens and young adults are not stealing these pills from the medicine cabinet at home – most received these pills from their doctors. Opioid use among this age group is particularly dangerous as young people are more vulnerable to becoming addicted. And 18 to 25-year-olds tend to abuse opioids more than any other age group.

Unfortunately, at least five young adults die every day from overdose, and for every death, 119 more are taken to emergency departments for help, and 22 more are admitted for treatment. Yet, only about a quarter of the young people who seek help will get the treatment they need to recover successfully.

Addiction & Dependency

The scope of the problem is enormous. In 2016 alone:

1 million people suffered opioid use disorder
1 million misused their prescription opioids for the first time
5 million people misused prescription opioids
42,249 died from an opioid overdose.

The most common reason for opioid abuse? To relieve pain. Other common reasons for prescription abuse include:

Getting high and feeling good
Relieving tension and relaxing
Helping with sleep
Wanting to feel better emotionally
Being hooked and feeling like you have to have it
Experimenting with the drug
Enhancing the effects of other drugs

Who is to Blame For Opioid Addiction

Opioid manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and doctors all hold some responsibility for the current crisis.

Physicians – research has shown that when doctors overprescribe opioids, their patients are nearly 30 percent more likely to become long-term users. How bad is the problem? A physician in Pennsylvania prescribed 3,000 patients about 2.7 million units of opioids in one year. A physician in West Virginia prescribed 272 patients some 22,000 Oxycodone pills in one day.

Pharmacies – a pharmacy in a small West Virginia town with a population of less than 400 shipped in over 9 million units of opioids in two years. Checks and balances are in place so that drug distributors should have questioned why this pharmacy ordered so many pills and the manufacturer should have questioned why its suppliers were shipping so many to one pharmacy.

Manufacturers – from 1996 to 2001 Purdue Pharma alone held over 40 pain management symposia that hosted thousands of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, then it doubled the size of its sales force, and passed out coupons for 30-day OxyContin supplies that physicians could offer their patients. How well did their scheme work? Prescriptions for the popular pain reliever jumped from 670 thousand to over 6 million.

Opioid Litigation

A large number of states, cities, and local jurisdictions are filing lawsuits against the makers of prescription opioid medications and their supply chains. These lawsuits accuse drug makers of overplaying the benefits of the drugs while downplaying the risks, including the heightened risk of addiction. The plaintiffs in these cases accuse drug makers of incentivizing doctors to prescribe the drugs despite knowing how high the risk of addiction and engaging in deceptive marketing practices that led doctors and their patients to believe the drugs were safe and effective. For example, one pharmaceutical company allegedly went so far as to suggest there was no dosage that was too high and that if a patient displayed the symptoms of addiction, it meant they needed a dose increase.

Other lawsuits are being filed against distributors and pharmacies for putting a massive amount of these drugs into the hands of patients even though they knew or should have known the drugs would be diverted. These groups are accused of violating federal laws that require distributors and pharmacies to monitor orders and shipments and to notify authorities when suspicious orders are placed or shipped.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by state and county governments seeking compensation for the costs of the epidemic including for the costs of drug treatment programs, Narcan, emergency medical care and transportation, law enforcement response and investigations, prosecutions, incarcerations, and the costs of property damage and repairs.

Individuals are also filing personal injury lawsuits against opioid drug makers seeking justice and financial compensation for damages. There are caveats, however:

you do not have a history of addiction, and
you have received one or more valid prescriptions for opioid medication, and
you suffered a major life set back because you became addicted to your prescription, and
you entered rehabilitation or an in-patient treatment center to get your life back under control.

Families of those who died from their prescription opioid addiction are also filing lawsuits. While the caveats are mostly the same as for individual filers, the victim’s cause of death must be from prescription opioids, and toxicology reports must confirm this.

Reach Out Recovery supports providing reliable resources for those seeking legal help but is not remunerated for any ads that might appear on its platform.

Treatment Options

Research has shown that medication-assisted treatment coupled with behavioral counseling is an effective treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder. However, only about one-third of patients who suffer opioid dependence receive MAT and less than one-half of all privately funded treatment programs offer it.

Yet, medications have been proven to increase recovery success. The FDA has approved several drugs to help individuals and families beat their opioid addictions. These drugs include:

Zubsolv – naloxone and buprenorphine combination drug. It is a tablet that dissolves under the tongue.
Probuphone – buprenorphine implant that provides a constant low dose for six months (four one-inch rods are implanted under the skin of the forearm).
Lofexidine Hydrochloride – non-narcotic, non-addictive medication that stimulates receptors in the central nervous system to lessen the symptoms of withdrawal.
Methadone – suppresses withdrawal symptoms and reduces cravings.
Buprenorphine (Subutex) or buprenorphine plus naloxone(Suboxone) – activates opioid receptors to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Sublocade – buprenorphine extended release once-monthly
CAM2038 – Long acting weekly/monthly injectable that can be administered from Day 1 of treatment (currently waiting for FDA approval).
Naltrexone (Vivitrol) blocks the effects of opioids in the brain after detoxification.

Treatment Plans

The American Society of Addiction Medicine’s Criteria for Treatment is divided into six dimensions and is used to develop treatment services and define the level of care. The six dimensions include:

reviewing past and current substance abuse and withdrawal experiences
exploring health history and physical condition
exploring current cognitive, emotional, and behavioral issues
analyzing interest and readiness to change
exploring each person’s unique experienced with relapse or continued use
explores the individual’s living and recovery situation as well as the people, places, and things by which they are surrounded

These dimensions are used to define the individual’s benchmarks for their continuum of care which may involve: intervention, intensive outpatient or clinically managed inpatient services as well as medically monitored intensive inpatient services.

Research shows that of the 22.5 million people in the U.S. who need treatment for drug use, only about 4.2 million will receive treatment within the same year, and of those, only 2.6 will receive treatment through a specialty treatment program. Yet, statistics show that specialty treatment programs are the most effective for individuals with opioid use disorder.

Reach Out Recovery Is Here for You

Finding the information and support you need to recover from opioid abuse or addiction successfully can be very challenging. While there’s lots of information on the internet, you could spend days trying to search for what you need.

Reach Out Recovery is dedicated to addiction education, prevention, healthy living guidance, and recovery.  ROR reaches nearly half a million people weekly and is the most comprehensive recovery portal, providing support for emotional well-being, and hope for the 120 million people directly impacted by addiction. ROR is the only nonprofit media organization to create a digital platform for reliable addiction information, recovery news, and support and we are here for you. Always.

 

 

Sources for this article:

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/07/584034397/alabama-targets-oxycontin-maker-purdue-pharma-in-opioid-suit
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3210/ShortReport-3210.html


http://www.cnhinews.com/cnhi/article_f71536c0-88f8-11e7-b354-abe8bbbe6b91.html


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/opioid-overdoses-kill-people-u-s-car-accidents-article-1.3713354
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/12/28/opioid-abuse-in-america-is-so-bad-its-lowering-our-life-expectancy-why-hasnt-the-epidemic-hit-other-countries/?utm_term=.6f928177093c
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioids-prescription-painkiller-safety-addiction-risk/


https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/overdose.html
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http://www.businessinsider.com/opioid-use-linked-single-doctors-prescribing-habits-2017-2
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1610524
https://www.ncadd.org/blogs/in-the-news/are-teens-with-opioid-addiction-getting-the-treatment-they-need


https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/7/7/15925488/opioid-epidemic-deaths-2016
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/7/15724054/opioid-companies-epidemic-lawsuits
www.pennlive.com/news/2017/12/pa_doctor_prescribes_3_million.html


http://www.kyforward.com/beshear-files-lawsuit-third-opioid-distributor-funneling-prescription-painkillers-state/


https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/opioid-overdose-deaths-by-age-group/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
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https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-approaches-drug-addiction

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What Is A Living Amends?

When I first came to recovery, I was certain steps 8 and 9 would be a breeze. After all, I hadn’t hurt anyone (Step 8), so I didn’t need to make any amends (Step 9). I was wrong. So wrong. In fact, every day I make a living amends to my husband, son, Mom, and brother Ricky. Here’s how it works for me. 

The List Of Wrongs

In Step 4, I took a “fearless and moral” inventory of my past. I made a list of everything I resented. I thought this was the part where I got to dump all of my anger on the people who abused me. It wasn’t. Instead, my inventory was an:

Examination of the part I played in past hurts
Unearthing of patterns where I repeated volunteered myself for abuse and manipulation
Analysis of my motives – almost all of my decisions were based on fear – I tried to control everyone around me to feel safe

Turns out, I was a bossy control freak who was terrified of everything. I was pushy and overbearing. I had all the answers, and I shared them with everyone. When they didn’t follow my advice, I let them know – repeatedly. When they had the nerve to do things their own way, I reminded them that I had first suggested a better plan. Yikes.

Three Ways I Make A Living Amends

My husband and son bore the brunt of my controlling behavior, so these days I work really hard at letting them do things their way using these three tactics.

1. I Keep My Mouth Shut

When my husband misses a turn because he’s in the wrong lane, I say nothing. When he runs out of medicine because he didn’t call the doctor for a refill, I trust he has the intelligence to solve his own problem. And I keep my mouth shut. When he handles a situation at work “the wrong way” I keep my opinion to myself.

For my son, I also took a big step back. He’s a teenager, so I try to let him function at that age level. I taught him how to do his own laundry. When he runs out of clean clothes, I don’t lecture or offer solutions. I let him decide if he wants to do laundry at midnight or wear dirty clothes. I no longer interrogate him about his day at school, so I can give my wise advice on how to handle difficult peers. If he doesn’t want to do his homework, I say nothing. It’s none of my business. I’m not his teacher, and I’m sure she’s skilled at handling that type of problem.

I applied the same hands off, lips sealed policy to my Mom and my brother Ricky. They are enmeshed in a toxic, symbiotic relationship. Instead of yin and yang, they are dependent and codependent.

My living amends to Ricky is simple. I don’t call him to see how his meeting went this week or what step he’s on. Nor do I play the peacemaker between him and our Mother. I let him live his life, and I live mine. If he specifically asks for my opinion, which he doesn’t, I will give it.

My Mom, on the other hand, loves to complain about Ricky’s behavior. Sometimes I can listen supportively for a short period of time. When she takes a breath, I ask if she wants my opinion. If she does, I say it once. If not, I change the subject. Over the years, in small bits and pieces, I have been able to share small pearls of my Al-anon wisdom.

2. I Give Them A PANDA

Another tool I love to use is a PANDA apology. Nicole Gehl over at Your Tango explains that PANDA stands for:

P: Promise it will never happen again
A: Admit you were at fault
N: No excuses
D. Describe how you would handle the situation next time
A. Act on your promise

After years of being bossy and overbearing, my basic apologies meant little. My living amends represents the last A in PANDA. I am determined to let my loved ones be independent. They don’t always see my hands off approach as sincere kindness, but my motives are pure. I’m doing what I think is best for all of us.

3. If I Must Say It, I Only Say It Once

Ninety percent of the time, I keep my mouth shut, but I am my son’s mother. I have a responsibility to parent him and speak out for his best interests. Likewise, my marriage is a partnership with my husband. I have an equal voice. Sometimes, my opinion is required. Early in my recovery, I learned neither my son nor my husband was listening to anything I said. So I said it again and again and again. Thus, I was a nagger.

Today, I know my words have value whether they pay attention or not. When it matters, I say something once. If they didn’t pay attention, I do my best to let them suffer the consequence. If they take my words for granted, sometimes, I take a break from talking. I don’t punish them with silence (although I did do that in the past). I write out really important things. They usually hear those messages loud and clear.

All of these tools have slowly brought more peace to my home. One final thought: watching my loved ones suffer any type of pain is a trigger for me. I want to rush in and save them. Sometimes, I need to take a time out in my bedroom with my door shut. This gives them freedom to do what they think is best, and I get to keep my serenity.

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How To Get Help When You Can’t Afford Rehab

Getting treatment for addiction can be difficult and overwhelming. Rehabs are often far away and expensive. Don’t panic. There’s help in every zip code if you know where to look and what to ask for.  Here’s a good place to start.

1. Get A Diagnosis

It’s time to rip the band-aid off and see what you are dealing with. Denial helps no one. The first step in getting better is evaluating the illness. An addiction physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or specialist in addiction can do a medical assessment to define the nature and severity of the addiction. If you live in a rural area, you might have to start with a general family practice physician. Look for physicians, counselors, and therapists who:

Are a licensed treatment provider
Can assess your needs AND help you follow through with a treatment plan

In all types of counseling and treatment programs, you should work with licensed treatment providers such as addiction physicians, and other medical personnel, as well as social workers, counselors, and other professionals to assess your treatment needs and help you follow through with a treatment plan.

You should also have mental health diagnosis to determine if there a co-occurring mental illness that compounds the addiction issue.

After your assessment, an addiction physician, psychiatrist or psychologist will be to examine your:

Use
Triggers for your use
Coping skills
Relapse prevention skills
Other recovery needs.

A therapist, also known as a counselor or psychologist, can help you address other problems such as:

Mental health concerns like depression or anxiety
Difficulty in completing your daily tasks,
Core issues such as family-of-origin problems
Grief
Abandonment and losses
History of abuse and trauma, etc.

2. Chose The Kind Of Care You Want, Need & Can Afford

You will be recommended to a level of treatment, but often your finances dictate what you can afford. The levels of treatment (going from the least intensive to the most intensive) include: support groups, outpatient, intensive outpatient, inpatient or residential treatment, and detox. Other help may include: support groups such as 12 step meetings, Medication Assisted treatment, and a longer term program for aftercare.

Support Groups And 12-Step Meetings

If you are able to cope with your SUD without needing a professional such as a counselor or you need ongoing help while in treatment and after treatment, you may find that various types of support groups may offer you the help you need. AA and NA are the most recognized 12-step groups, but there are numerous other groups such as Secular Sobriety, 16 Steps for Empowerment, and Dual Recovery Anonymous. Al-Anon is the 12 step group for family members, and can be useful for those in recovery as well.

Outpatient Counseling

This type of counseling is for someone who has a SUD, but also may be in the early stages of the illness, has a lot of support for recovery, or it may be used as follow-up counseling after a more intensive treatment.  With this therapy, you will probably be seen by a therapist only once a week or every-other-week for an hour, depending on your progress.

Intensive Outpatient (IOP)

IOP is where you attend a program 3-5 times per week for a few hours each day, for a few months, but you stay at home. Your will attend therapy groups, educational groups where you learn about addictions, recovery, and coping skills, and you should be seen by a physician, as well as therapists and counselors.

Residential/Inpatient Treatment

These two types of treatment are the most intensive as you live at a facility (residential) or a hospital-type setting (inpatient). Sometimes the length of stay is around two weeks, but more long-term facilities may have individuals stay up to 3-12 months. These treatments are for people who are late stage in their addictions, have little support, numerous problematic issues, and who may not have been able to stay clean and sober with less-intensive treatment.

3. Where To Get Help

There are numerous types of treatment. If your doctor is involved from the start, he or she can help you find other providers.  Hospitals in many cities have addiction and mental health departments, and patients in a variety of different inpatient and out patient programs. Community Mental Health Centers may not focus on addiction treatment but are often able to treat the behavioral issues that accompany substance use and the family. Residential treatment centers, of which there are about eight thousand in the US, have many different kinds of programs, and levels of care, and there are also sober living communities that help those in recovery step down from more intensive treatment.

Two things to remember:

Be your own advocate. If the treatment prescribed doesn’t work for you, use your voice. Ask for help. Ask for a second opinion or other options. Take a friend along to doctor’s appointments. Your friend can help clarify what was said and be a voice of reason.
There are many paths to recovery. If the first one doesn’t work, try another path. You can always find resources near you at www.recoveryguidance.com.

 

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Top 5 Gifts For Mom

What do moms really want? They want peace, joy and happiness for YOU. Mother’s Day is a chance to give a little bit back to the women who inspire you. This year, we paired what Moms really want with picks from our ROR Shop. Clearly, we’re biased.

Infertility & Codependency Wreck Mother’s Day

For years I struggled with infertility and grew to hate Mother’s Day. For many people, Mother’s Day isn’t a happy brunch with a sappy card. It’s sadness, regret, division, resentment, worry, and grief. Those are my people. Here’s why I hate Mother’s day.

Years ago, a few well-meaning men from my small rural church said, “Everyone wants flowers, right? Let’s get our women-folk a geranium to say thanks for their year of hard-work.”

For seven years, I struggled with infertility. Some years, I was denied a flower. “They’re only for the moms.” Other years, it was an awkward parting gift, “Uh…Betty Lou wasn’t here today, so you can have hers.” When I saw those stupid flowers for all the moms, I wanted to uproot the table and start throwing plants at the clueless men who bought them. Finally, I quit going to church on Mother’s Day.

Co-dependency Makes Everything Worse

This memory left deep emotional wounds. When I look back, I see how my co-dependency intensified and extended my suffering. I took everything personally and I refused to accept the reality that I couldn’t have a baby the way I wanted.

I Didn’t Have Control

Co-dependents thrive on controlling the situation because control gives the illusion of safety. I had NO control over my infertility. Infertility treatments include lots of hormones. Some drugs were given as shots. Doctors determined on which days the treatments started, and one treatment coincided with my vacation. I gave myself shots in the airport bathroom. In addition I was amped up on a hormone cocktail. All this reminded me I could not control how I would become a mother. I was on an emotional rollercoaster.

I Didn’t Have A Voice

In recovery I have learned to speak up when I have something to say. When I was hurt by my small rural church’s good intentions, I didn’t have the courage to speak up. I felt like a victim. Before infertility, church was my refuge, but my heartache distorted the messages. With my codependent ears, all I heard I was to keep praying, keep believing, and keep quiet. Don’t make waves. Don’t speak up, argue or complain.

I Didn’t Have A Support System

My infertility was a heavily guarded secret. I was embarrassed to be infertile. On a Friday afternoon before Mother’s Day, I had my first of four infertility surgeries. I swore my boss to secrecy and told none of my coworkers. I didn’t tell my grandparents. Mostly, I didn’t want to answer questions or give updates. Plus, I couldn’t speak about it without bawling. This was another example of my co-dependency. I isolated myself from any potential support system. Co-dependency taught me to rely on myself. I put up walls to stay safe and quit trusting others. I expected disappointment and told myself, “No one cares.” At the time, I thought this eased my pain. Instead it magnified it. I was alone with my desperation to have a baby.

Adoption And Recovery Brings Healing

I am still processing the deep wounds left by my years of infertility. Mother’s Day continues to trigger me even though my husband and I eventually adopted. Today, I am blessed to have a child. He healed many of my infertility wounds, but I still hate Mother’s Day. I still struggle to accept all the pain and suffering I went through trying to get pregnant, only to be told that was not an option. I know there are other women like myself who avoid the card aisle once a year. My recovery has taught me the slogan, “Easy Does It.” I spend the day home with my husband and son and they enjoy spoiling me with gift and flowers. I still don’t go to church.

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