A Hard Question That Keeps Coming Up

I have done a few posts where I focused on something you ask a lot when you have faced the rough road of loving someone through recovery or mental health issues. Especially if you lost that person. That question is why? There is another question that keeps showing up that can be harder on you, How?

WOW, that is a very short, very weighty question. HOW? How did my loved one end up addicted? There could be many factors. Many of which are way beyond my knowledge and abilities, but today I want to touch on one.

I am sure my wife and my son have asked “How” as well. This wasn’t “supposed” to happen. People’s lives shouldn’t be so overwhelmed with pain that they fall onto or seek a way to cope and numb the hurt, and then realize “I can’t Stop”. As I write that I am reminded of the day our beautiful daughter overdosed, again, in our home. The EMS told me that in the ambulance she begged, “Please help me, I don’t want to do this anymore, I can’t stop.” I hoped that was a turning point, knowing what I know now I realize it was. Unbelievably the next day my daughter overdosed at work. My wife and I were completely broken as we sat by her bedside in the ER. Feeling the coldness of many around us who had seen us before as we sat by our broken daughter under their penetrating gaze. Some, not all, must have felt, it’s her own fault. It’s hard to get it when “you” have never said “I can’t stop!” I have! “The Danger of Being Alone” speaks about the trauma that crushed us all that night in the ER.

My daughter once wrote this in a FB post: “This article has helped me understand other’s views on the topic of addiction. studies have shown that 50-60% of addiction is due to genetics. although everyone has the potential to become addicted, some people are more predisposed to becoming addicted more than those who’s family have no history of addiction. in some studies it shows that children of addicts are 8 times more likely to develop an addiction bc of their genes. that’s not to say that people without the predisposition to addiction are safe from becoming addicted , addiction can happen to anyone no matter their genetics or how they may have been raised. that also doesn’t mean that all people who are predisposed to addiction become addicted. some families with addiction in it skip generations or in my life for example skip siblings as thankfully my twin is not addicted while i am. while doing a drug is a choice , becoming addicted to it (even though there very well could be a desire to quit but not being able to do so) is why it’s called a disease. today one of the highest causes of death in people under the age of 50 is due to opiate overdoses. many people with this disease called addiction , including myself , have said at least once (for me at least i said this hundreds of times) i don’t want to do this anymore’ and may very well be tired of and disgusted of doing the drug but physically and mentally cannot stop. repeating this cycle of saying ‘i’m going to stop using’ and the very next day or even hours later doing that drug. while choosing to do drugs is a choice becoming addicted isn’t , it’s part of how the brain is hard wired. nobody does a drug for the first time and says ‘wow, one day i hope i become a drug addict.’ that’s certainly something i never wanted to happen to me but it did. my name is lala and i’m a heroin addict. today i am 18 days sober , although i still have a very long journey ahead of me i’m taking it one day at a time. i couldn’t have gotten sober without the help of my amazing family and awesome friends who are basically family. thanks for always being there to support me no matter if it’s 3am or 1pm i know i can always count on them🍍💕”

THIS AIN” T YOUR DADDY’S OLDSMOBILE

A big reason why addiction is different today is that the drugs our kids use today are literally “Super Drugs”. For example, if you smoked pot or did heroin the chances are that the pot had roughly 10% THC, today it is possible to attain pot that is upwards of 50% THC. Today’s Heroin can be over 30% pure (30 years ago you would rarely find anything beyond 10%). This does not factor in the world’s number one killer drug, Fentanyl, and any of its synthetic derivatives. The processes and tools now available to the clandestine chemists of the underworld have gotten better, and the cost is the people we love.

THE BRAIN IS HIJACKED

Scientists know that drugs can alter important areas of the brain that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug use that marks addiction. Brain areas affected by drug use include:

The basal ganglia, which play an important role in positive forms of motivation, including the pleasurable effects of healthy activities like eating, socializing, and sex, and are also involved in the formation of habits and routines. These areas form a key part of the brain’s “reward circuit.” Drugs over-activate this circuit, producing the euphoria of the drug high. But with repeated exposure, the circuit adapts to the presence of the drug, diminishing its sensitivity and making it hard to feel pleasure from anything besides the drug. It’s what keeps the addicted chasing what they can’t have.

The extended amygdala plays a role in stressful feelings like anxiety, irritability, and unease, which characterize withdrawal after the drug high fades and thus motivates the person to seek the drug again. This circuit becomes increasingly sensitive with increased drug use. Over time, a person with substance use disorder uses drugs to get temporary relief from this discomfort rather than to get high. Lauren said it this way: “I don’t even use drugs anymore to get high dad, I am just trying to feel normal.”

The prefrontal cortex powers the ability to think, plan, solve problems, make decisions, and exert self-control over impulses. This is also the last part of the brain to mature, making teens most vulnerable. Shifting balance between this circuit and the circuits of the basal ganglia and extended amygdala make a person with a substance use disorder seek the drug compulsively with a reduced ability to control their impulse.

Some drugs like opioids also disrupt other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. This interference explains why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death.

IS THERE HOPE FOR RECOVERY

Yes, this picture of the density of dopamine transporters in the brain illustrates the brain’s remarkable ability to recover, after a long abstinence from drugs—in this case, methamphetamine.

Different types of medications may be useful at different stages of treatment to help a patient stop abusing drugs, stay in treatment, and avoid a lapse.

• Treating withdrawal. When patients first stop using drugs, they can experience various physical and emotional symptoms, including restlessness or sleeplessness, as well as depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Certain treatment medications and devices reduce these symptoms, which makes it easier to stop the drug use.
• Staying in treatment. Some treatment medications and mobile applications are used to help the brain adapt gradually to the absence of the drug. These treatments act slowly to help prevent drug cravings and have a calming effect on body systems. They can help patients focus on counseling and other psychotherapies related to their drug treatment.
• Preventing relapse. Science has taught us that stress cues linked to the drug use (such as people, places, things, and moods), and contact with drugs are the most common triggers for relapse. Scientists have been developing therapies to interfere with these triggers to help patients stay in recovery.

Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another lapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer.

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy seeks to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope with the situations in which they’re most likely to use drugs.
• Contingency management uses positive reinforcement such as providing rewards or privileges for remaining drug-free, for attending and participating in counseling sessions, or for taking treatment medications as prescribed.
• Motivational enhancement therapy uses strategies to make the most of people’s readiness to change their behavior and enter treatment.
• Family therapy helps people (especially young people) with drug use problems, as well as their families, address influences on drug use patterns and improve overall family functioning.
• Twelve-step facilitation (TSF) is an individual therapy typically delivered in 12 weekly sessions to prepare people to become engaged in 12-step mutual support programs. 12-step programs, like Alcoholic Anonymous, are not medical treatments, but provide social and complementary support to those treatments. TSF follows the 12-step themes of acceptance, surrender, and active involvement in recovery.

To learn more specific help and details check out this very informative article “How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction”

CONNECTION TRUMPS ALL

In my personal life, my faith was the primary factor in reaching recovery. It helped me realize I was not alone and could lean on someone greater than myself. The other connection that a recovering addict needs is you, someone that cares. Someone that will still be there even after their most recent mess up. Be there after they have scrap of the fall out of another disappointment. Someone who will say “I will help if I can. The post “Leave Me Alone” talks more about the power of connection!

This weeks feature image is by Brooke Shaden, “The Thoughts That Trap Us”. Recovery is possible, do not be held prisoner by your thoughts.