February 21, 2023

Bridging the Gap: Mental Health and Physical Health

Historically, mental health and addiction treatment has been viewed as something completely different from standard health care.  When someone has physical pain, we encourage them to see a doctor, to get medication and the treatment they need so that they can begin to heal.  However, we often don’t know how to react when someone discloses emotional pain or addictive behavior.  

There seems to be a disconnect in our understanding of the source of mental illness and physical illness. The brain is a complex and powerful organ but it often goes unexamined when trying to help someone who expresses feelings of depression, anxiety, and other ailments that are neurologically based.

In truth, mental illness and physical illness are just illnesses.  They both affect us in similar ways and have been found to have effective treatments.  Recent developments in technology and science have allowed researchers to better understand the biochemistry and inner workings of the brain and have even allowed them to map out certain processes in the brain.

These advances allow treatment for mental illness and addiction to be on par with traditional medical practices.  By merging the two, the cultural view shifts, and mental health is perceived as essential to physical health. There’s no “one size fits all” treatment. Treatment options can include:

  1. Psychotherapy.
  2. Medication.
  3. Hospitalization.
  4. Support Group.
  5. Complementary & Alternative Medicine.
  6. Self Help Plan.
  7. Peer Support.

Dr. John V. Campo, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ohio State University explains “Psychiatric drugs haven’t improved for decades. So researchers are scouring the brain for leads.  Proven regimens for treating common mental disorders and addictions are aiding the ‘cure’ rate and boosting public acceptance that such care works."

"Modern practices have the potential to improve public health and, perhaps equally important, engage families more actively in the care of individuals suffering from mental disorders and addictions."

Dr. John V. Campo

As research and development expand, and cultural attitudes evolve, more effective treatment options will be available for those in need. Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental health condition isn't always easy, but identifying a problem early can help lead to the best outcome.

January 17, 2018

Opioid Epidemic in the U.S. on the Rise

According to the latest Pew Research study, nearly half of all Americans have a family member or close friend struggling with a Substance Use Disorder, or SUD. Addiction strikes hard, and it is blind to race, age, or political affiliation. Among every demographic, death by overdose is on the rise, affecting over 7.4 million Americans, with the opioid epidemic at the center of it all.

The facts:

  • Heroin-related overdose deaths have increased by 600% from 2002 to 2015.
  • Of 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016:
    • Over 20,000 were caused by synthetic opioids.
    • Over 15,000 were related to heroin.
    • Over 14,000 were related to natural and semi-synthetic opioids (such as hydrocodone and buprenorphine)
  • Drug abuse and SUDs are estimated to cost society $442 billion annually.

While the causes of this massive opioid epidemic are complex, the solutions are clear. According to the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health, the most effective interventions are carried out on a community level. Cross-sector community coalitions can assess and respond to specific local needs. Additionally, the report calls for integration of a full spectrum of treatment modalities to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans in the years to come.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/26/nearly-half-of-americans-have-a-family-member-or-close-friend-whos-been-addicted-to-drugs/

June 9, 2017

Drug Use Statistics by State

The term "opioid epidemic” is in the news almost hourly. We hear tragic stories of lives destroyed by addiction. Some states are notorious for a specific type of drug use- think Montana with meth, or California with cocaine. But a recent WalletHub report published the drug use statistics on every state, ranked by “overall drug problem”, drug use and addiction, law enforcement and drug health issues and rehab. 

Where does your state rank? The answers may surprise you. 

Source: WalletHub

Here are the top 10 states in terms of the overall drug problem:

  1. District of Columbia
  2. Vermont
  3. Colorado
  4. Delaware
  5. Rhode Island
  6. Oregon
  7. Connecticut
  8. Arizona
  9. Massachusetts
  10. Michigan

Colorado also ranked #1 in teen AND adult drug users, while Alabama made a name for themselves as having the most opioid prescriptions per 100 citizens. West Virginia has the most overdose deaths per capita, and South Dakota has the most drug arrests per capita.

 

If you were surprised (like we were!), there's more to learn and more to do.

May 23, 2017

5 Misconceptions About Recovery

Even in today's society, many people have misconceptions about recovery. Here are some common myths to be aware of:

  1. Addiction is a choice.

We must remember that each individual in recovery or suffering from addiction starts consuming drugs or pills for different reasons. Some even start taking them for legitimate medical conditions prescribed by a doctor. After a continuation of the consumptions of pills or drugs, their agency decreases and their need for the substance increases. Soon they will use the substance just to feel ‘normal’.

 

  1. I put down my cigarettes one day and never picked them up again, so my loved one should be able to do the same with the drugs.

Wouldn’t that be nice to so easily put away something your body and mind crave? I can’t put down my carton of ice cream and neither can some addicts put down a mind-altering addictive drug. The minority of those who consume drugs, alcohol and cigarettes can easily stop and never touch them again. The minority.

 

  1. Drug addicts are selfish people that care only about themselves.

Nothing could be farther from the truth because those individuals have no intention of hurting others. Drug use creates damages and alterations to the brain ‘that disrupt the normal production and activity of neurotransmitters in the brain and in some cases will change the structure of the brain and the thought processes.’

 

  1. Sobriety and recovery are reached after graduating from a treatment center.

Graduation from treatment doesn’t mean a full recovery. Not only do addicts have to worry about staying sober, but they must completely change their lifestyle and learn new things. They still have to fight their addiction every day and that is a longer road than just six to twelve weeks.

 

  1. Once an addict creates a normal life with a family and a job they will no longer need to use drugs.

We need to remember that using drugs is a constant battle for an addict; one in which they need to avoid in many different situations. Access to money, stress, certain people, etc. can become triggers to those who are addicted to drugs. Whether freshly sober or ten years later this battle rages on in varying degrees.

 

Avoiding misconceptions about recovery can help those in recovery as well as the people around them to respond with love and compassion. Knowledge can help us to recovery and heal.

 

May 10, 2017

A War Vs. A Cure: How the War on Drugs Got it Wrong

In 1971, President Nixon declared a war on drugs. Estimates on the cost of this war range from $1-2.5 trillion in the last 46 years. Despite this, drug use disorders have lured people into jail cells and caskets at an ever increasing rate. After nearly five decades, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the “war on drugs” has been a complete failure. 

Additionally, the war on drugs has made it impossible for the United States to fund needle-exchange programs on a federal level. As early as 1998, the Department of Health and Human Services conclusively stated that needle-sharing programs are associated with decreased incidence of HIV and hepatitis C that is attributable to IV drug use.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health likewise endorsed this intervention in the 1990s, followed by the American Medical Association in 2000. We lag miserably behind countries like Canada, Brazil, and the UK in this regard, meanwhile, our rates of HIV and Hepatitis C continue to climb.

The drug enforcement approach to substance abuse has exacerbated the issue in several ways. Addiction in jail is like bacteria in Petri dishes- the conditions are ideal for the proliferation of the disease.

The Journal of Addiction Science and Clinical Practice Criminalized reported in 2012 that "in prisoners released in Washington State, overdose mortality rates were 12-fold higher than what would be expected in similar demographic groups in the general population.” Similar statistics can be sited across the board. Addicts finish their sentences with more connections in the drug world, dismal opportunities for employment, and a label and often don’t know where else to turn.

 Research shows that shame is one of the primary psychosocial contributors to addiction. It’s sobering to think of the shame distributed by the war on drugs. Policies intended to eradicate drug use in the United States have instead created a war on addicts. The stigma of addiction is beginning to dissolve, but it’s going to take more than billboards to reverse five decades of government endorsed alienation. 

With all of these issues glaringly obvious, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has called for a new approach to the substance use epidemic: a health approach. Some key elements of this approach include:

  1. Critical reviews of drug policies by experts in social work, public health, medicine, drug treatment, law enforcement and even former and current drug users. APHA urges that policies by altered in such a way that drug treatment and harm reduction programs can be expanded. 
  2. Increased federal funding for effective treatment modalities that are currently in place. 
  3. Deprioritizing funding of drug enforcement entities that are non-health related, such that individuals are cared for by health interventions rather than criminal justice. 
  4. Encouraging resources of the Affordable Care act to be redirected to include addiction rehabilitation. 
  5. Eliminating federal and state criminal penalties for personal drug use and possession, barring circumstances that endanger the lives of others. 

These changes in policy would cause a dramatic shift in our response to drug use and abuse on a governmental, cultural, and even on an interpersonal level. 

Often, policies and statistics can make us forget the narratives that make up the story of the addiction epidemic. Beneath the surface of the court rulings and census reports are lives ruined and lives lost. There are tears, failure, relapse, funerals, and broken families. By encouraging changes in policy, we can turn a war on addicts into a war on addiction.

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Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.