The effective treatment of adolescents with substance abuse and behavioral disorders requires an approach that includes attention to every aspect of a young person’s life. We see every individual as a whole being. In addition to fully understanding the emotional, developmental, physical, psychological, familial, social and cultural factors, there must be appropriate resources in place to address these issues. Need help? Contact Us Today! (866) 889-3665
Yesterday I took a trip with the rest of the Visions kids to a homeless shelter called the Midnight Mission. While I was there I had a life-changing experience. After I left I felt like I made a difference in the world. I was serving beans, and there were easily over 400 people. There were kids, adults, and families. While I was serving, the people were very kind and loving. They were thankful. I started to run out of beans and I realized that the first 100-150 people got beans, zucchini, and a hard sandwich. After I had served all the beans, over 250 more people didn’t get any beans. I sat and I observed the less fortunate, remembering that I was hungry and had a nice dinner waiting for me in the car. Not only did I have a nice dinner but we were going to take a trip to Starbucks afterward. So, as I remembered what I had, I started to cry. I had this feeling that I have never had before, and I cannot explain what it was. I stood looking at the people and saw that there was no more food for them, and I started to really feel the pain; I cried. Then I went and took a timeout. One of the kitchen staff at the Midnight Mission asked me if one of the homeless said something mean to me. I couldn’t help but feel even more upset and sad because the people were so nice and far from mean. I could not express the love and pain I felt for these people. I watched as they fought over more food. I heard their voices yell for more food and all I could feel was sorrow. I have never felt a want to help others, but today I wanted to give everything I had to them. I watched as we drove down Skid Row and saw them on the cold sidewalk, sleeping on rock, their stomachs growling. I had a warm hot coffee sitting in my hands, warm in clothes, wearing shoes, and being around the ones I loved. I hated how I took for granted the people at Visions, but when I got to see how these people have no one, I didn’t want to go home. All I wanted to do was stay close with all the people that I had met at Visions. Coming to the Midnight Mission was the best thing I could have ever asked for. I got a culture shock and the best feeling I could ever ask for. I guess you could say that the feeling I felt looking at them at first was helplessness, because after I ran out of beans I could do nothing more and I wish I could have. But that feeling changed as I realized that these are strong people. These people are struggling for their lives and are making it through. One of the residents here told me that he didn’t feel bad for these people, that they did it to themselves or get treatment for their mental health issues. They didn’t have a chance. Their addiction got so out of hand that they ended up like that. I can tell you that if the kids here didn’t have the chance to come to treatment and learn about the disease of addiction and co-occurring disorders, they would be in the same f@#king position. So, for someone to say that to me was heart breaking. I could not believe and even explain what was really happening to these people. This was also a good time for me to learn that not everyone believes what I believe. I believe that these homeless people didn’t have a chance to have a better life. But that resident doesn’t, so I cannot sit and waste the time I did have with the homeless telling him how he was wrong. That was a big for me to just let that go. I knew in my heart that I helped and I gave them a smile. I helped someone out for once. I truly helped someone out without any reward, and I wish I could go all over the world and make a difference in someone’s life. There was this one man that particularly touched me. He was in line, and I said to him, “Hi sir how was your Christmas?” His reply back to me was, “It was as good as it could ever be.” A homeless person who had no nice Christmas dinner, no presents, no home, no and family to spend it with could be grateful. I think that I got more than what was necessary on my Christmas, but I didn’t feel that on Christmas. I realized this about a week later. It was amazing to me that someone less fortunate can be humble and not complain. It bothers me that my conceited attitude is what I have always turned to, and because I always act like I am the shit, that’s how I am looked at as a person. But I am not that person. I am a loving and kind person. I just have a hard time showing it. And yes, it may take a couple more times of Midnight Mission and more volunteer work for me to really understand that I have it good. I have everything I could ever want. Not only that, but I should be grateful that I have a chance to be helped with my addiction as a teen. If the homeless, who suffer every day can get clean all on their own, I have great hope for myself and other kids at Visions. It takes a lot of courage and strength to get through treatment, even with loving and open people and all the luxuries. It’s amazing that these people got clean with nothing but themselves and meetings. That must have been so hard. So hard that I can only look up to them. I have everything I could ever need. I have a great family. I cannot explain the gratitude I felt yesterday. I can only continue to help and love these people as human beings and not something different. They are not different. They are struggling and so is everyone. I thank God and Visions so much! I could not have had nor needed anything better than what I had that day. I will never ever forget my day at the Midnight Mission.
Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM was found dead in his New York City apartment of a suspected drug overdose. Drug paraphernalia was found near his body. Celebrity disc jockey Goldstein, who narrowly escaped death in a plane crash nearly a year ago, had at one point attempted suicide to escape addiction, but entered treatment and maintained sobriety for ten years. Prescription drugs were found throughout his apartment and a crack pipe was reportedly found near his body.
Goldstein was a good friend to many people and many recovering addicts are coming forward to recognize how much he helped them in their sobriety. It is truly sad to know that addiction resurfaced and took a person that helped so many people. In his last Twitter post, Goldstein quoted a Grandmaster Flash song: “New York, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems.”
This weekend, as we celebrated our nation’s freedom, I chose to celebrate my own personal freedom as well- freedom from active addiction to drugs and alcohol. Adolescent Addiction continues to plague our country, and to get a second chance at life is definitely a cause to celebrate. As a teen, I struggled with drug and alcohol dependence. I didn’t think I could ever function without using drugs and alcohol. The problem was that I had ceased to function while using. My parents intervened and sent me to adolescent drug treatment. I was angry, scared, and confused, but a part of me was also hopeful. I heard from other recovering addicts and alcoholics that they had managed to find recovery from their addiction, so maybe I could too.
It has been a challenging journey, full of painful changes and growth, and wonderful achievements and successes too. If I had to describe my teen addiction in Fourth of July terms, it would be like this: My addiction was like England, taxing me without representation. I was paying a heavy price without seeing any benefits. Treatment was like the Revolutionary War. I had to fight a tough battle, but I eventually came out the victor. In order to maintain my more perfect union with myself now, I must remain vigilant and follow the same procedure that I laid out in the foundation of my recovery. I go to young peoples's AA meetings like they taught me to do in drug treatment. I use the tools I was taught, like journaling and reaching out to my support group. This weekend, when my peer group is drinking and partying, I will have a blast with my sober friends, celebrating our Independence from a life of addiction.
If your teen is seeking freedom, let this be the beginning. Contact Visions today for adolescent drug treatment.
Making the decision to send your teen to treatment can be a difficult one, but there are some signs and symptoms of addiction or addictive behaviors that should act as red flags:
Increased preoccupation with the substance or behavior, in which isolation and other negative consequences occur
Inability to meet responsibilities at school, work, or home. Drop in grades, missing work or school, behavior problems at home
She uses substance or engages in behavior even though it is dangerous, or in dangerous situations (ie: driving under the influence)
As preoccupation with substance or behavior increases, interest in activities that used to give them pleasure subsides
Tries to stop using and can’t, regardless of consequences. Engages in behavior even after consequences. Escalation of behavior problems may indicate loss of control
Life has become centered around using substance or behavior
A young person struggling with substance abuse or other addictive behaviors can feel completely out of control and hopeless. They may be resistant to treatment, or to the idea that they can change, which often leads to more negative behaviors. Addiction does not get better on its own. Adolescent treatment with gender specific groups for girls and boys provides a safe place for teens to begin the process of recovery. A sheltered environment allows for the child to work through difficult issues without the outside stresses of their often chaotic lives. Gender specific groups gives the teen time and space to heal, and better tools to deal with their emotions.
If you think your teen is struggling with substance abuse or other destructive addictive behaviors and would like a program with gender specific adolescent treatment groups and meetings please contact us today. Help exists.
Rapper DMX will be checking into Dr. Drew’s 3rd season of Celebrity Rehab. The troubled rapper has been plagued by numerous drug-related run-ins with the law. Celebrity Rehab chronicles celebrities attempts at achieving long-term sobriety. Dr. Drew has long been an advocate of residential treatment and 12-step based programs, bringing his latest efforts at Pasadena Recovery Center to the public through his shows, Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Residential treatment is an excellent choice for anyone struggling with addiction. Many parents may worry about sending their teens to treatment, but I am so glad that my parents and I made the difficult choice. The time I spent at Visions, away from my life in Los Angeles allowed me to focus 100% on my recovery, without the distractions and temptations that I faced at home and at my school. It was like I got to put my life on hold and face what was really going on.
At first, I thought that the suggested 45 days in treatment was going to be the longest time ever. I had no idea how I would live without face book for that long, much less not using drugs! I am so glad I went. Having the chaos of my everyday life taken away from me ended up being an incredible relief. I could calm down and focus on me. Through a highly structured program, I was able to learn new coping skills and ways to deal with my feelings. I began to make friends and saw that I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling. The other residents and I formed bonds of support. At the AA and NA meetings they took us to, I began to see that a life of sobriety was entirely possible- and actually enticing! With the support of my counselors and treatment staff, I began to work on my core issues- the things that kept me using. It wasn’t always easy, but the result is who I am today, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Upon entering treatment an overwhelming sense of relief flooded my body. The realization that I wasn’t crazy; I am not the one solitary nut job in the world that doctors can’t help. I am an alcoholic/addict. “Psychologists usually define substance abuse as continued use of a substance after several episodes in which use of the substance has negatively affected an individual’s work, education and social relationships. (Wood, et al.)” The more I learned about alcoholism/addiction the more I identified. The more I identified the better I felt, I learned more about myself. I learned that mainly being concerned with myself and operating in self-pity most the time was worsening my situation (Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous).
I had previously been diagnosed with ADHD at age seven at a clinique in Newport Beach and again at age 15. I was put on Adderall at age 15 and my grades improved. I never learned or read much about ADHD as I was in the mindset that Adderall was my solution. I began to abuse the Adderall when I started abusing Marijuana and in treatment they suggested not to take a stimulant as they have a high risk of abuse. When I had six months sober I tried to go back to school. I started taking a few classes at a community college. Before long I felt like I was in over my head. I felt like I was nothing without Adderall, it was the key to accessing my brain and my self-esteem plummeted with every class I took. After several failed attempts at taking classes I decided to take some time off of school.
Unfortunately there is not one simple solitary cause for teen drug abuse. As we know addiction is a Bio-Psych-Social disease and all of these components (Biological, Psychological and Social) play a part in addiction. Some teens are more vulnerable than others. Having a relative that is an addict, battling with depression and hanging out with a crowd that uses drugs are all examples of factors that contribute to one’s vulnerability to addiction. Other factors that place teens at more risk than others include:
-lack of parental supervision
-poor communication or relations between teens and their parents
Food addiction affects over 18 million Americans.Anorexia and bulimia are the most commonly known food addictions, but food addiction also includes compulsive overeating and binge dieting. Food can closely resemble a drug in many ways. Some brain imaging studies have even found that food affects the brain’s dopamine system in the same ways that drugs and alcohol does. People may also experience physical or emotional withdrawal from breaking food addictions in much of the same way as drug addiction. Sugar and caffeine can also offer a similar “pick-me up” as stimulants. Food addicts will often use drugs to soothe social situations or to “unwind”. This is probably where the term “comfort food” comes from. Some questions to ask yourself if you are concerned you mat have food addiction include:
Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn’t?
Do you think about your food or weight constantly?
Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
Do you binge and then “get rid of the binge” through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
Do you eat large quantities of food at one time?
Is your weight problem due to your “nibbling” all day long?
Do you eat to escape your feelings?
Do you eat when your not hungry?
Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve it and eat it later?
Do you eat in secret?
Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
Have you ever stolen other people’s food?
Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have “enough”?
Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control you weight?
Do you obsessively calculate the calories you’ve burned against the calories you’ve eaten?
Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you’ve eaten?
Are you waiting for your life to begin “when you lose the weight”?
Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may have, or are in danger of developing, a food addiction or eating disorder. In the most severe cases you may need to seek help in the form of a mental health professional or addiction treatment center.
I do not think that one addict can honestly say that they have not dealt with denial in some way, shape or form. For that matter I think that every human being has probably found themselves in some form of denial at some point in time. However, addicts take denial to an extreme where it endangers their and their families and friends mental health and stability. For the addict it may even result in death.
Denial can be defined as a refusal to acknowledge or accept reality or what is true. Addicts use denial as a defense mechanism and in many cases denial runs so deep that the addict is unaware that they are using it. I have heard that denial is the acronym for “don’t even notice I am lying”. In addictions people will use denial because they do not want to feel helpless or out of control. They will also use denial for fear of losing the drink or drug which is usually their best solution to life’s problems. Step 1 of the twelve steps states that “We admit we are powerless over our addiction and our lives had become unmanageable”. As you can see step one directly deals with breaking through denial. Step 1 calls for addicts to admit that they have a problem with substances and because of that problem their lives have become chaotic and unpleasant. Denial includes such behaviors as projection, rationalization, intellectualization, minimization, suppression, withdrawing, and using geographic escapes. Denial shows up as the primary psychological symptom of addiction, they go hand in hand with one another. This makes sense considering that someone would use no defense if there were in fact nothing to defend. There are two types of denial that we see in addicts, the first appears as a way to not address the problem while using, the second comes when we deny or ignore things that we know are true while in recovery. This commonly includes examples such as “I can hang out with my using friends, I just won’t use.”, or “I can drink alcohol, drugs were my problem.” Or even “It takes more self control to have one glass of wine rather than abstain from everything all the time.”. We can bust the voice of denial by telling others our thoughts and listening to their reaction, if more than a couple people do not think that it is a good idea, it probably isn’t. They say that sharing our thoughts out loud takes the power out of them. We can also call our sponsor, go to a meeting or pray for clarity and guidance.
One of the concepts that prove the most difficult for people to grasp is the concept of addiction/alcoholism being a disease. It has always been somewhat difficult for me personally to fully concede to. When I first learned about addiction I was 13 years old and my mom started going to Alcoholics Anonymous. When she told me that alcoholism is a disease, being the angry teenager that I was, I believe I responded by letting her know that I thought that it was a cop-out and people should learn how to man up (or woman up in this case) and take responsibility for their behaviors. Through working at Visions and going through the process to become a chemical dependency counselor I have learned a lot about the disease concept and it has become an easier concept to wrap my head around.
These days technology continues to advance and science continues to make more discoveries. Now insurance companies recognize addiction as a disease and will compensate individuals for their treatment. The American Medical and Psychiatric Associations also now recognize addiction as a disease. This is just some of the evidence that helped me succumb to the idea that addiction/alcoholism is a disease.
Among these scientific discoveries is one that is helping to spread the disease concept of addiction as a more globally acceptable idea. November 11, 2008 scientists discovered a gene that shows one’s vulnerability to cocaine addiction. The study was initially done on mice and later on humans. Rainer Spanagel, a professor of psychopharmacology at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, led the study. They noted that out of 670 cocaine addicts, 25 percent were more likely to carry the gene variant than people who did not use the drug. They also concluded that cocaine addiction can be passed down in families just like other mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. It was noted that cocaine addiction is 70 percent genetic.
Neuroplasticity: A new perspective in neuroscience
I recently had the opportunity to attend a special neuroscience lecture at UCLA. The focus of this lecture involved an exciting and developing mind-brain science called Neuroplasticity. This new science offers a look at the potential we as individuals have to influence the functioning of our physical brain through awareness and mindful choices.
According to the old scientific paradigm in neuroscience, the human brain is much like the hardware of a computer. It is viewed as a material system hardwired with biologically predetermined neural circuitry or pathways that produce our behavior. This old thinking in neuroscience also asserts that whatever one might call the immaterial consciousness or "mind"—and all its manifestations, such as awareness and choice—is produced by, and ultimately reduced to the physical brain. The critics of this kind of older neuroscience have labeled such a conception as "monism", "reductionism" and "materialism."
Neuroplasticity as a new kind of neuroscience does not suggest that the mind and the brain are completely separate entities, and it is true that certain behaviors and experiences can be explained in large measure by the physical brain. For example, individuals may have genetic, biologically predisposed brain chemistry which can increase the likelihood of mental disorders or addiction. Rather, what this new science suggests is that there is a kind interactional dualism between the mind and the brain. The brain and its functioning can certainly affect the mind and what we experience. However, pioneering research done at UCLA using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans has shown that when we focus our attention on positive, constructive ideas and behaviors, a "re-wiring" effect happens in the physical brain. During this re-wiring effect, brain tissue that was previously dedicated to other maladaptive tasks is incorporated in new wholesome endeavors
The UCLA research shows that re-focusing our attention onto constructive tasks and healthy behaviors can have dramatic effects. Neuroplasticity has important implications for those suffering from addiction and substance abuse as it suggests that an individual's commitment to recovery and the 12-Steps can have a profound impact on the physical brain. In working a 12-step program for adolescents or aadults and attending meetings, recovering individuals are in a very real sense shaping their brains in the direction of recovery.
I woke up at the usual time this morning, 5:30 am. Next I did what I do every morning and probably what a lot of people do across the world. I lit up my first camel of the day. It is something I have done for as long as I can remember, SMOKE!!! The strange thing is I don’t even really enjoy it anymore; it has become a pattern, a habit. However if I don’t light one up there is an overwhelming feeling of anxiety that hits like a tidal wave. About six months ago I tried to quit, well sort of, I never really had too much commitment. The reason I was trying was because the people around me were worried. Strange though the more they worried and complained about my smoking the more I wanted it. Kind of reminds me of when I was using drugs/alcohol. My mind thinks in the same addictive manner when it comes to everything; tell me I shouldn’t due it, tell me its bad for me and it makes me want it more. It’s insane, that same thinking, I’ll show you I’ll hurt me. Fortunately I am in recovery now and have almost five years clean and sober; so why can’t I quit smoking? I just crushed out a camel and writing this blog discussing smoking makes me want another; hold on gotta get one be right back. Ahhh, much better, but not really, it is just the same old pattern. Oh the dilemma that one goes through in trying to quit. It is time to give it another go. So what is the point of this blog? It is an introduction into my world and my ride with a camel; its time to get off the ride. If anyone reads this or wants to try to quit, maybe we could try together. Each week I will be adding an entry of the crazy making my mind goes through in quitting smoking. Respond to these blogs if you share the same type of feelings or frustrations around quitting. If you think its stupid or I am weak for not being able to quit, well you can respond with that also. Strange I psyched myself out so to keep me honest next week on Wed. October 8, 2008 it will be my first day of not smoking. I will share with you all the happy, joyous feelings I am having at that moment, just kidding, I will be pissed off but I will try, how about you? See you in a week!!! Brian Wildason
My sister and are were thick as thieves growing up… and eventually started using drugs together and literally began thieving together. This went on for years and eventually we stopped getting along once I fell in love with Heroin and she fell in love with Methamphetamine – somehow, we just weren’t compatible anymore. Go figure.
Well, by the grace of god, I stumbled into the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous and have stayed clean since Dec. 2002. My sister kept using. Once I found out that there was another way to live, free from the chains of active addiction and away from the horrors that a using addict feels trapped by, I wanted her to know all about how happy I was. I wanted her to know that every emotion I felt was 10 times better when I experienced it clean (even the not-so-nice feelings). I wanted her to know that meetings and the 12-steps weren’t as lame as TV or movies had made them seem. I wanted her to know it actually took a lot more effort to get and use and find ways and means to get more drugs than it did to just stay clean and go with the flow of nature (totally appealing to the lazy addict). I wanted her to know that through the help of a sponsor and stepwork, I was actually beginning to accept myself, and work to improve in my areas of weakness. I wanted her to know everything beautiful I had experienced. Most of all, I wanted her to know that if I could do it, she could do it.
So I tried to tell her, but she didn’t care. I was devastated. Here I was, showing her a way out, that she didn’t have to live like that anymore and she just didn’t care! My vision of the two of us skipping off to meetings together in the sunset was smashed! My NA sponsor told me I was powerless over other people (places, things), in addition to being powerless over my addiction (step 1), which I found very irritating. She said the only things I had power to do were being a living example of the program of NA in action and pray for her. Sigh.
I’ve been praying for years. Five years, nine months and eleven days of prayer that my sister finds her path, whatever it may be (I eventually realized that god’s will might not look the same as my vision of what her process should be… ugh). At the end of every NA meeting, we have a moment of silence for the addict who still suffers, inside or outside the walls (meaning clean or still using). My sister’s name is the first name that I think of; it always will be. She means everything to me.
…On Saturday I visited my sister at her Drug Rehab. She just got a sponsor in Narcotics Anonymous J and now has over 90 days clean. She introduces me to her rehab buddies as “This is my sister, she has 5 years clean,” with pride in her voice. Tears come to my eyes as I write this; I can’t express how much gratitude I have that she has found her way to the beginning of her process and I’m so honored to be able to be a part of it.
Many of us don’t think of self-mutilation as an addiction. We think of drugs, alcohol, gambling and even sex as addictions, but rarely do we classify cutting, burning or other self-harm acts as an addiction. Many people turn to self-mutilation as a consequence of simply inadequate coping skills, the same reason that many turn to drugs. Nearly 2 million people identify themselves as “self-injurers” in the United States alone. Self-injury is defined as a deliberate injury to one’s body that causes tissue damage or marks on the skin as a way to deal with overwhelming feelings or situations. Self-harm is usually not done with the intention of suicide, yet in some cases death does occur. There are many different ways in which people self-harm, they include: cutting, branding, picking at skin or wounds, hair pulling, hitting, excessive piercing or tattooing and even drinking harmful chemicals. At first people usually stumble upon self-harm due to hearing about it and think that it may help them cope with unbearable feelings that they don’t know how to other wise express. People will continue to self-harm if it proves as a successful way of relieving uncomfortable emotions. Endorphins, which are the “feel-good” chemicals in your brain are released during self-harm and are natural pain killers. People recognize the relief self-harm grants them as well as the feeling that they get from the release of endorphins and thus the behavior turns into an addiction. Once the behavior passes into that of an addiction, even though the person may be feeling shame or remorse they find it increasingly difficult to stop.
People who self-harm exhibit some similar traits. Having a limited social support system may contribute as well as growing up in a family where expressions of emotions are discouraged. Many self-injurers usually are also dealing with substance abuse issues, eating disorders, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are many ways that a loved one can contribute to getting someone help. Some examples of ways that a loved one can help a self-injurer include: encourage expressions of emotions, offering a listening empathetic ear, offering to share enjoyable activities and offering support in the way of a therapist of professional. It is also very important to shy away from judgment or shame as it may trigger the self-injurer to want to harm themselves more due to low self-esteem and a feeling of worthlessness.
Insanity Once there was a man who went to the doctor because both of his ears were badly burned. When the doctor asked him what happened, he replied that he liked to have a drink or 10 when he got home from work. Last night he was sitting his easy chair watching TV, sipping his drink, while his wife ironed his shirts nearby. The phone rang and he picked up the iron, thinking it was the phone. The doctor then asked why his other ear was burned. The man responded, “The son-of-a-bitch called back!”
The mind of the adolescent addict is amazing. The compulsion to engage in addictive behavior is so great that they will risk injury, jail, emotional torment, and even death. All rationality flies out the door, until what was down is up, what’s wrong is right, and what’s bad is good. We’re all a bit insane, living in an insane world, but such thinking is PURE INSANITY. Einstein was onto something when he said that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results.” It seems that for the adolescent addict, living in a mad world provides a convenient reason to be insane. So how do you switch your thinking pattern if you are in the throws of addiction? The answer is simple: You have to do the opposite of what you were doing. Though it sounds simple, it’s a hard thing to change your behavior when you’ve been doing the same thing for a long time. When you wake up in the morning and don’t want to go to work or school, you go anyway. When you want to lie to someone, you tell the truth. When you want to steal something, you pay for it instead. After a while, this “contrary action” becomes a natural reaction, and insanity dissolves into serenity for the adolescent addict.
Addiction can be described a progressive disease. Most times we don’t recognize when our use turns into abuse which turns into full fledge addiction.
We usually start out in the “Experimental stage” which includes short-term use, not repetitive, motivated by wanting a new experience. An example of this is a teenager trying something with a friend. This would include anything less than ten uses. “Ritual” use includes using at special occasions such as weddings or birthdays. “Social” use pertains to voluntary use in-group settings, such as at a party. This includes using more than ten times. “Situational” use is patterned, stress relieving use, motivated by achieving a particular feeling, such as using every Saturday night. “Intensified” use is when we use because it is necessary to cope, changes in relationships occur, there are some negative consequences and using every day.
The DSM-IV is the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is a handbook, published by the American Psychiatric Association, which is used by mental health care professionals that lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them. The DSM-IV is used all around the world by clinicians, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, researchers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers. Some criteria from the DSM-IV that may qualify someone for the disease of addiction are as follows: - You reduce or completely blow off your social, school of recreational activities. - You increase your time and energy spent on using or getting substances to use. - You have tolerance; it takes more than it used to in order to feel an effect. - You have symptoms of withdrawal (i.e. hangovers, irritability, sleeping after binges, “crashing”) - You have unsuccessful or persistent efforts to cut down or control your using, or you have consequences of using. - You use longer than you intended to of you use for a longer period of time than you intended to. - You continue to use even though you know it causes physical of psychological problems or despite knowing that it aggravates a physical of psychological problem. - You continue to use despite legal consequences. - You continue to use despite poor performance/consequences at school or work. You can have the disease of addiction with or without physiological (physical/body) dependence. This means that even if your body isn’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, you may still have the psychological dependence.
Experts can describe addiction as a bio-psycho-social problem. It can be caused by any combo of heredity/genetics, psych makeup and environment. You have to use drugs in order to be an addict; the stage can be “set” by one’s family, the stress levels going up, and many different aspects of how drugs and alcohol were used and viewed in the family origin. Bio stands for the biological aspects of addiction which means that addiction runs in family lineage. It can also describe the effects that chemicals have on the brain by altering the brain chemistry. It is believed that 20% of children of addicts become addicts themselves. Psycho stands for the psychological aspects of addiction. Personality or character traits can make certain people more venerable to addiction. Psychological factors are based on instincts that are mostly hardwired in early childhood. The traits that can cause one to be the most susceptible to addiction are low self-esteem and insufficient emotional management skills. Social stands for the social aspects of addiction. The social aspects include anything from peer pressure, to media to economic conditions. It can also include the nature of the family system and its impact on the development of a healthy view on life.
As a father of a 10 year old, I know the time will come when my son will “need” a cell phone. What once was a convenience has now become a necessity. I’ll gladly pay his bill as long as he uses his phone wisely. If he goes over his minutes (which will be limited), he will have to pay the charges.
I bring this up because I have heard horror stories about kids abusing their cell phone privileges. In fact, many kids and adults as well, are addicted to phone messaging. The main culprit is text messaging. With texting you can send messages without talking, so you do not disturb anyone around you. People become addicted to this convenient way of communicating with their friends, and like all addictions, it ends up messing up their lives. Important responsibilities are traded for messaging. Bills go unpaid, appointments are missed, and one’s priorities become generally turned upside-down.
I recently heard of a teenager who racked up a $500.00 bill due to excessive texting. Besides the financial toll, texting can lead to tendonitis in the thumbs and fingers. Students use their phones to cheat on tests, and many lose sleep because they are up all night chatting with friends. Perhaps the scariest thing about texting is that it is causing the English language to deteriorate. Many teachers report that texting abbreviations and jargon are showing up in formal academic writing. I’m not against texting, but like most things, there has to be a limit. We can’t allow text messaging to be the downfall of civilization.
The thought has entered my mind that an addict might not be constantly thinking about drugs, but rather in a certain moment they feel that they cannot live without it. You see, everyone has that one thing that they are addicted to. Whether it is work, gambling, shopping, pornography, sports, women, or merely superstition that controls them, everybody has something that they feel they either can't or won't live without. Almost everyday someone goes through a moment in time where they are a slave to a certain will or desire. For me it has never been drugs, but that doesn't mean that I don't have an addict's mentality sometimes. True, these slaves of mine will probably never land me in jail, cost massive amounts of money, or end with me in a pine box, but they could cost me in moral values, hinder my walk with Christ, or even take up my time. I do believe that the problems that we have now are the problems that we will have in our 50's. For some reason, I have never seen being a drug addict as just a problem. It has always been a foreign language to me until now. Working with these kids has opened my eyes to the plain and simple fact that they just have a problem, the same as me, you and everyone else on this planet.
Celebrity rehab isnt only the first tv series to expose famous people and their drug abuse habits... it's the first show to exhibit a real rehab experience period. In some ways, this is a good thing that VH1 is doing. It shows that celebrities are getting sober, and it shows how real and hard this program is. Unlike Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan who have been to treatment time and time again and keep relapsing and faling into old behavior, these ceebrities seem like they have a real passion for geting sober and staying sober. The seem to want sobriety and seem to be doing for themselves, rather than for their image. Of course the process is difficult, and at times they seem as though they want to give up, but as a sober alcoholic and drug addict I remember those times too. We work through the pain, and come out victorious. Dr. Drew Pinksy (aka Dr. Drew from Loveline) has placed these celebrities at his facility in Pasadena and all clients have agreed to tape their recovery process for the world to see. This may serve as a inspiration to other addicts and alcoholics out there. If these celebrities can do it, in Hollywood no less, then for sure they can too!
I quit smoking cigarettes after inhaling them for 14 years. I miss them every day and I probably think of them every other minute at the moment. It is a challenge and one that I didn’t even anticipate making. One day I basically hit my bottom with cigarettes. My body felt like it was starting to shut down. I would get headaches everyday from smoking, which then made my body tense, which then gave me no motivation or oxygen circulation, which then the list goes on and on. The bottom line is, every part of my being was starting to get affected by this disease of addiction.
Working at a teen treatment center that deals with addiction has been a blessing for me. I am aware that any addiction has an underlying psychological motivation. For me, to let go of cigarettes is painful for it feels as if I am letting go of the love of my life. I understand this sounds silly and yet this is what the young adults at teen treatment centers with drug and alcohol addiction feel as well. It is strange. It is strange to love something so harmful towards us. It’s strange to be ok with poisoning ourselves for so long and then one day decide that it’s not ok to do that anymore. The thing is I would never stop smoking if my body could handle it. And yet as a responsible adult I have to be aware of the choices I make in life. I am not even angry that I have to stop, I am only extremely sad that I can no longer continue.
Often when new in al-anon, a twelve step program for friends and family members of alcoholics, mothers and fathers of alcoholics feel unable to relate to everyone sharing their stories about spouses. The concepts seem foreign and unable to apply to a parental relationship. Detachment is one of the concepts that parents balk most at. Thinking of “detaching” from their child seems unloving and irresponsible. Detachment is neither kind or unkind, it does not imply judgment. Detachment is simply separating ourselves from the undesirable effects of another person’s addiction. It is not letting ourselves get dragged every which way by the mere behaviors, or lack there of, of our loved one. It is setting healthy boundaries for ourselves so that we may begin to enjoy our lives regardless of the trial and tribulations that the alcoholic is going through. We try not to control or fix things that aren’t ours to fix. We didn’t cause the addiction, we can’t control the addiction and we certainly can’t cure it.
This does not necessarily mean physical detachment but it allows parents to pause, take a step back and observe the situation at hand realistically and objectively. We can still love the person without liking the behavior. For most of us dealing with an alcoholic in our lives is too much for us to handle that is why we look to al-anon Detachment allows us to let go of our obsession with the alcoholic’s behavior and begin to focus on some thing that we have control over which is our own lives.
Learning how to have fun in sobriety is probably one of the most important things I’ve had to learn over the last 32 months. I started drinking as a pre-teen at age 12 and as nobody ever intervened I quickly progressed into using every other drug available. My drinking and using continued for 15 years until I got sober at age 27. As you can imagine, every idea that I had of what fun was involved drinking and using.
Based on my experience, when teens begin drinking and using at such a young age, we don’t develop a strong sense of what we like (or like to do). Everything that I did as a teenager (and well into adulthood) involved drinking alcohol and using drugs, so in getting sober, one of the most frightening thoughts (for me) was that I would never have fun again. As it turns out, that thought couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
Thankfully, the drug treatment program that I went through incorporated “mandatory fun” as part of the program. We had to go out with the group every week to learn how to have fun in sobriety…to learn that fun is possible without the use of mind altering substances…and necessary. Not having had any healthy or positive hobbies up to that point, it took some time (and trial and error) for me to learn how to have fun and what things I like to do. Interestingly enough, there were some hobbies that I had developed as a teenager (such as writing and photography) that I still enjoyed, it just became a matter of learning to enjoy them in a sober state. There are many things that I’ve since learned that I like (which I never would have imagined liking before).
Looking back into my active addiction as a teenager, the less I remembered about any given day or night is how I determined the amount of fun I had (the less I remembered, the more fun I must have had….obviously!) My ideas about fun now, in sobriety, are much different. I enjoy being present for each moment. The fun of everything is here in the moment!
When I entered drug rehab I was under the impression that addiction meant addiction to drugs or alcohol, I never could have imagined the way that the disease manifests in our lives.
In studying about the disease concept you learn that the disease of addiction is not about a particular substance, it centers in our thinking. Substances that addicts can fix on can include anything from drugs and alcohol to shopping, exercise, relationships or food, basically anything that an addict uses in order to not feel feelings and not focus on oneself.
Alcoholics Anonymous founded what they described as a “spiritual malady” or a “two fold disease: allergy of the body and obsession of the mind”. This was later coined the disease concept. A disease can be defined as a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment. This parallels the conditions of the disease of alcoholism and how it is a BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL disease. This means that alcoholism can be caused by heredity/ genetics (BIO), psych make-up (PSYCHO) and the environment is which one is raised (SOCIAL). The disease is treatable, but if not treated it results in jails, institutions and death.
What is addiction? What is its purpose? How am I, as a non-addict qualified to talk about it? These were some of the questions I struggled with when I first started my employment here at Visions Adolescent Treatment Center. I was first hired as a Program Aide almost two years ago. As days and months passed by, I started realizing that addiction not only applies to drug and alcohol addiction but to all areas of life. Addiction in my view, applies to any unhealthy behavior that consumes ones life and leaves the soul ill-equipped to confront its true desire and goals. Is it not that any mental obsession, a psychological compulsion or any physiological or historical disarray that has not been confronted can qualify as an addiction?
It is difficult to comprehend this disease, for there are no true physical evidences that can pinpoint its terrible effects. And yet, everyday I witness the struggle amongst the adolescents that walk through Visions Adolescent Treatment Center. These young adults have, at times spent most of their lives being addicts and not knowing that it is affecting their dreams. For most of them, they have no idea what their dreams are even made of. Upon entering this treatment center, they are faced with answering questions that puts into perspective their unhealthy belief system. This is one of the most heart-breaking and rewarding parts of this job. It is a challenge to watch these kids break down and cry and slowly try to put themselves back together. The only thing one can do is be there for them and guide them through their true self-discovery.
I have now the title of an educator at Visions. This position entails the responsibility of inspiring the residents to include their education as part of that foundation that they are rebuilding. It is difficult at times. Amongst the insurmountable assortments of character defects and psychological behaviors that they are facing, the last thing on their mind seems to be education. And yet, somehow I have to install in them the understanding that obtaining an education is in a way gaining freedom from our own formless and bored mind. Which at times is what steers so many of these young adults into drugs and alcohol. It is not an easy task, although the attempt has been the one thing that has kept me going.
With time passing, within the required stay of 45 days minimum, some residents realize the depths of their addiction; some understand the sadness of letting go of their drug of choice, which to them is their love at the time. There are also the ones that discover the gift of learning who they truly are and how to learn to be ok with who they are.
Working here has allowed me the opportunity to reiterate how I confront challenges in life through love, honesty, patience and forgiveness. It is reminding the kids that we do not know how to live life at times, but what makes it ok not to know is the wisdom we gain from our mistakes, our defeats and our own accomplishments. At last in my understanding, addiction needs not to be only with drugs and alcohol but the distorted mind process that inhabits the crevices of our thought process.
I never thought it would happen to me. I never thought that I’d become a teen addict. In fact, I never saw myself even touching drugs or alcohol. I’d watch my parents drinking and be disgusted by their behavior. I was a straight ‘A’ student, I was on the cross-country team, I played soccer, and I played the piano. In other words, I was your typical sweet and innocent “goody-two-shoes” kind of girl. But, I grew up with the feeling that I never fit in. I always felt as if I was on the outside looking in. So, when I got to high school, I decided that I was going to become “popular” and do whatever I had to do to fit in. At the age of fifteen I was introduced to drugs for the first time. The first time I got high, I felt an utter sense of relief. I finally felt like I fit in; I felt like I was finally ‘a part of’. The drugs made me who I thought I always wanted to be. I could be loud and outgoing, I could dance, and I could be the life of the party. But, things went downhill, and they went downhill fast. By the age of sixteen I was dating a drug dealer and was in lost in this world of drugs. Soon, my life revolved around using. Everything else came second. By senior year, I was missing so much school, that I almost didn’t graduate high school. Two months before graduation, I had gone into a drug-induced psychosis. Not knowing what was wrong with me, my parents took me to the emergency room. The next day, I began an outpatient program. It was at that treatment center where I learned about the disease of addiction, and I was able to admit that I was definitely an addict. But, at that age (I was seventeen at the time), I did not think I was ready to get clean. I had to go back out and use for another couple years before I came back and got sober. But, I am very grateful for what I learned in that teen treatment center, for had I not gone there, I don’t know if I ever would have realized the true extent of my problem. I am twenty-two now and I’ve been sober for almost two years. Since then, my life has changed dramatically. I am able to handle my feelings without having to numb myself with drugs or alcohol. I am able to experience life the way it was meant to be experienced. I feel better about myself than I have ever felt in my entire life. Through being in recovery, I have been able to look at where my negative sense of self originated and have been able to heal from that and begin a new life. Today, I am back to being a good student. I got back into running and am working towards running a marathon. Not only have I picked up my old passions again, but I have also found new hobbies, such as painting, meditation, or hiking. My life today is amazing, and it gets better as each day passes.
Nancy Reagan. My involvement with Visions and my work with teens in their efforts in recovery can all be traced, I believe, to Nancy Reagan.
I was only two years old when the first lady of our nation began championing the “Just Say No” generation into action. There were endless public service announcements and nationwide elementary school campaigns in effort to stop the next wave of drug users from making the same mistakes our parents did. sThere we were, smack dab in the middle of the decade of self-indulgence, signing sobriety pacts years before we would start wearing deodorant.
The first lady’s anti-drug movement was about as effective as all the other trickle-down syndrome policies of the Reagan administration. Fast-forward ten years and those same children were doing the same drugs we were warned about. The ‘Just Say No’ moniker, as much a part of Saturday morning as cartoons and fruit loops, gave the impression that the disease of alcoholism and addiction was a question of will. We were made to believe that fighting this progressive and fatal affliction was so simple. “Would you like onions on your burger?” No thanks. “Would you like to trade self worth and the innocence of childhood for jails, institutions, or death?” No thanks. As we now know, there is a lot more to it than that.
For most people, these questions are that simple, but for people like me and the brilliant young people I have the gift to work with; it takes a complete psychic change as brought forth from working the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is why I do what I do. It is my wish to dispel the myth of willpower as a solution to our disease, and usher a new era of tolerance and understanding in the fight that Nancy lost.
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