Tolerance

Addiction and open use  of drugs and alcohol on city streets and parks have become a tolerated, if not accepted, common occurrence.  There are not too many cities left in America that don’t have at least one area where tents, camps and piles of trash with drug and alcohol paraphernalia abound.   Some states openly enable this, offering free needles, access to drugs and alcohol, and reduction of arrests for use.  Revolving door detoxes, free pipes and drug paraphernalia all contribute to this enabling they call Harm Reduction.  Addiction has risen to the top industry in several cities in the West.

Folks being interviewed have reported that they have attempted treatment many times, to no avail.  More than a few have been hospitalized, entering treatment through that route; others thru drug courts, family pressure, or some just not having the ability to fund their addiction anymore.  All left after detox, declining continuing residential treatment for a plethora of reasons, most believing they could control their addiction now that the crisis was over.  85%  at a minimum will relapse.

Exposure and Conditioning

For  functioning  addicts and alcoholics, this serves as a kind of  barometer, a measuring of what an alcoholic or addict looks like.  The bar is pretty low.   As long as ‘we have a job, family, a home, we are not like them‘.  The constant exposure to seeing others in such states of active addiction conditions us to believe that is what addiction and alcoholism look like.  In our grandparents day, there was ‘skid-row’, where the alcoholics lay with their brown bags -that was what alcoholism looked like.  We cannot be an addict.  We are not an alcoholic.  We might drink too much one night or after a rough day, and we tell ourselves that we deserved that extra bit.  We rationalize our pills; they are prescribed, after all.  We research getting pills from different sources because we are being proactive, or getting a ‘healthier’ brand.

We are the waiters and waitresses after work to let off steam after a rough shift.  We are nurses and aids, self medicating our tired and sore bodies.  We are homemakers and artists, teachers and bankers, athletes and support workers.  All with reasons, excuses and  good intentions.  And if we are told we might be drinking or using too much, we compare ourselves to those on the street, and say, “I’m not that bad”.

Detox or Harm Reduction

There comes a time in the addict or alcoholic’s life where the truth is exposed.  This might be a doctor telling us out liver is shot; the DUII stop and subsequent court date.  One too many days calling in sick.  But it catches up to us; it always does.  Now we have to decide what we do with us.  Depending on your use and drug, if abstinence does not work, detox is the next option.

One of the biggest barriers to entering detox or treatment is believing that we need it.  (Cost is definitely a factor also, although most insurances are required to offer this). We don’t believe we are really alcoholic or addict, we just need to dry out, so the least invasive, the quickest, and most discreet top our choices.  The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics lists costs ranging from $250.00 to $800.00 per day, depending upon medication needs.  Most detox require a 7 day stay.  Most insurances will cover the first time; alcohol is always covered because detoxification can be life threatening.  There is no ‘detox’ program currently for Marijuana.

All detox facilities are required to offer counseling and case management services, leading many people to consider this treatment.  It is not.  Alcohol and drug addiction treatment involves weeks and months of treatment planning, education, and behavioral therapy.  In a detox program, patients are usually medicated to assist with withdrawal from alcohol or drugs, and stabilized medically to prepare for treatment.  Detox facilities are a Harm Reduction Model.  While there may be legal obligations to enter detox programs, anyone can leave at anytime.  Detox programs have become a revolving door, and some insurances now have a cap on detox and treatment.  At an average of $50,000+ per person for 7 days, this is not affordable to mainstream America. In addition, there is an increased push to halt all federally (taxpayer) funded ‘enabling’ drug and alcohol programs; a detox only program meets this definition as harm reduction.

After Detox – Choosing Recovery

What happens after detox without any treatment?  Statistics report the relapse rate is 85% – 95%.  Detox has only removed the drug from the body, (in the case of marijuana, the drug remains in the body for upwards of 30 days).  All of the lifestyle behavioral, trauma, physical and mental aspects that created the environment for addiction or alcoholism have not been addressed.  It is as if we are put unto a washer with a high spin cycle; we come out ‘clean’ but stunned, with no idea how to navigate this same life without drugs or alcohol.  ‘Just say No’ does not work for most people at this time.  AA, NA, CA, MA, any and all of the anonymous and support groups, can be great supports, but you have to go to them, and discover the ones that are your peers and will work for you.  Solid friendships and supports can be found in these rooms, and I urge anyone to go to in person meetings vs on-line whenever possible.  You need to learn to be present in your own life.  Remember though-these are self-help groups, and while counselors may be participants, this is not treatment, and everyone is in a different stage of their recovery.  Not all groups are healthy.  Famous author and poet, Anne Lamont, said “You can get the monkey off your back but the circus never leaves town’.

After detox, if you choose recovery, it would support you to seek out some form of treatment.  Learning to navigate your world sober will help you to recover.  Treatment is expensive and long term – there are no shortcuts.  Below are two locators:

• https://findtreatment.gov/
• https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

Contacting your local state or insurance company are also good resources.  Many churches offer recovery groups and counseling also.  In this website, you will find additional resources, questions to ask, and information.

There is a famous quote:  “Recovery is less about fighting the urge and more about building a life you won’t flee”. Please don’t stop trying.  Recovery is possible, available and attainable.

As always, my hopes are for your hopes and dreams…..T

Resource:  (https://drugabusestatistics.org/cost-of-rehab/)