Recovery Month: A Celebration of Addiction and Alcoholism Treatment

Writen by David Westbrook

The government’s Recovery Month website states, “The Recovery Month effort aims to promote the societal benefits of alcohol and drug use disorder treatment, laud the contributions of treatment providers and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders in all its forms is possible.” But, do we really need a month dedicated to this effort?

According to the website Alcoholism Resources alcoholism effects 17.6 million individuals and the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 22.5 million Americans aged 12 or over were classified with substance dependence or abuse. This second figure would include both alcohol and illicit drugs. What neither number takes into account, however, is the number of people who don’t abuse alcohol or drugs, but are impacted by those who do. It is easy to imagine that this number could easily be twelve times as great as the number of actual individuals with dependence when one considers family member, employers, coworkers, and victims of crimes perpetrated under the influence.

The last year for which the total economic costs of alcohol and drug dependence is reported on the Recovery Month website is 1998. The combined cost of all economic loss during that year is a staggering 328 billion dollars. In 2001, it is estimated that 18 billion dollars were spent on treatment for alcohol and drug dependence.

The amount spent on treatment turns out to be an excellent investment with a seven-dollar return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent on treatment. Knowing the astronomical economic loss from drug and alcohol dependence, and the ROI one might think that a wise government would invest every dollar needed to provide treatment for all alcohol and drug dependent individuals. This is the position that but according to findings from the 2004, National Survey on Drug Use and Health 1.8 million people realized they needed treatment, but did not receive it, and 441,000 of these individuals said it was because they could not afford it. In addition to the 1.8 million individuals who knew they needed treatment, but did not get it, a further 19.3 million Americans also needed treatment but did not know it.

Is there a need for a month dedicated to recovery from alcohol and addiction? Yes. Addictions Resources encourages everyone to contact their legislators during Recovery Month and ask them to commit more resources to addiction treatment.

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Common Symptoms of Prescription Drug Addiction

Writen by Damian Sofsian

There are many common signs that people addicted to prescription drugs often exhibit. Prescription drug addiction symptoms are pretty universal, occurring in most addicts, such as an increased tolerance for the drug, and physical dependence on the drug. Treatment can begin once the symptoms are recognized and the addict realizes that he or she has a problem. Kicking a prescription drug addiction can be difficult and painful, but it is infinitely better than a lifetime wasted on drugs.

One of the main signs of a prescription drug addiction is that the user develops an increased tolerance for the drug. This means that the user needs an increased amount of the drug to get the same effects that used to result from a smaller amount of the drug. When a person increases their tolerance for a prescription drug, more and more of the drug is required to get the desired effects. For example a person may need to take four times as much of a drug to get the same effect. This is a problem for a number of reasons. It can lead to death or hospitalization due to an overdose, it can cause the tolerance to continue to rise, and it can cause serious financial problems if an addicted person needs to buy a significantly larger amount of the drug.

Physical dependence is another prescription drug addiction symptom. Physical dependence is when a person needs a certain amount of the prescription drug in their system in order to function normally. The body adapts to the drug and needs it to perform. Withdrawal symptoms often occur when an addict quits using the drug. Some withdrawal symptoms include feeling physically ill, temporary loss of memory, and wild mood swings, which can sometimes culminate in physical aggression.

The main sign that a person is addicted to a prescription drug is if they are unable to quit using it, even if they try to go without. It is important for people showing prescription drug addiction symptoms to seek help with their addictions. It often takes a doctor’s advice to manage withdrawal symptoms in a healthy way. It is important that addicts do not complicate their health any further.

Prescription Drugs Addiction Info provides detailed information about prescription drug addition symptoms, treatment, statistics, and forums, as well as personal prescription drug addiction stories. Prescription Drugs Addiction Info is the sister site of Drug Testing Web.

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How to Unfold the Day

Writen by Kyle W. McMillan

“I figure there’s Heaven, Purgatory, Hell and then there’s The Blues…” Townes Van Zandt

We figure, every one of us, that there’s got to be a little more to this, a little more, just beneath the surface - a way of seeing, of understanding that hits the vein and pulls the blood, tapping the root and pulling it up and out, where it’ll mingle in the needle with a brand new sugar, form something completely fresh, and then slide back inside to break the news: “We did it. We made it happen.”

Everybody has their struggles. Who’s to tell me that someone who wants to quit smoking has it any harder than someone trying to quit the needle or break the bottle - but then again, what addictions actually serve us and which ones kill us? How many do both?

I’ve witnessed far too many people creating art from a place of ‘addiction’ that was simply too real to be denied. I’ve been moved to tears by the words and music of so-called ‘drunks’, sat around fires at festivals and listened to the rhythmic verse of people who couldn’t form a sentence if you asked them to - but goddamit they could sing.

It makes me wonder just where exactly we might be pulling this privilege from, and why so few people seem to be able to deal with it. I’m often reminded of a friend’s account of seeing Portishead live, of how Beth Gibbons started the concert relatively sober, but came sporting a jug of clear liquor in hand. By the end, he said, she was laid out on the stage, unable to stand, but hitting every note without fail.

Why is it so hard? Even those who thrive in the spotlight seem to have a rough time, inevitably. It’s a rare case in which we actually see somebody able to embrace a certain level of true artistry and maintain the ability to deal with it at the same time.

When you want to create, how do you go about it? What do you need to get you there? It’s always something, there’s no denying that. Whether it’s simply an organized work space, a self-induced state of mind or a cocktail of narcotics, everybody needs something to properly deliver them. And this is how we do it:

To unfold the day, first place your mind where it doesn’t belong. Slide your thumbs beneath the seams and feel around with your fingertips, groping for the hold you know is there. Ease the paper back, coax it from its place and lift it away, revealing layers you knew you’d find, but ones which greet you with an all new layout nonetheless. We have a fresh pattern now - new edges to be lifted, new folds to be felt.

From there, slip your fingertips beneath those new spaces and peel the paper away, yet again, coming ever closer to the full picture we’ve been waiting for. The further we go, the softer it seems to get. Everybody wants a piece, everybody wants to sneak a peak. We are, all of us, looking for that soft, warm centre that might just give us some idea as to which direction to turn, what next to believe in. And as we delicately pull away each and every separate day, waiting to see what we’ll find, we come to see something that not one of us ever expected.

I can listen to Van Zandt and Hopkins sing the gin and pour poetry from their lips, and I can hear about the ruined mess they made of their lives. What I can’t do is understand why it always seems so necessary.

http://www.writingup.com/blog/slip_shoes_william

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