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VIEWPOINT

Sadly, There is No Magic Bullet

Addiction is not solely a disease of the brain. The case for holistic treatment.

NEWSWEEK
Mar 3, 2008 Issue

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  • Posted By: Gicomeng @ 03/26/2008 6:50:31 AM

    Comment: Life for me began at 19 when I was prescribed Desoxyn (methamphetamine) for narcolepsy. My 2.0 GPA doubled in one semester. For the first time, I had direction. I went on to manage the International Space Station C&TS for the NASA. Because of my persistence for continuous communications, the ISS program saves about $35 billion/ year. After 14 years on Dexoxyn, I discovered a health food store product that turned out to be gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) which allows for the most natural REM sleep and I switched over. By 2001, GHB was taken from the shelves of health food stores and by 2002, I was terminated from employment. I came to California hoping to jumpstart my career. A physician thought that narcolepsy was a narcotics disorder and prescribed Trazadone that did nothing to stop the daytime sleep attacks. The medical records he produced contained the diagnosis of "SPEED ABUSE" because our lawmakers have indoctrinated everyone to fear certain drugs. Incidentally, Desoxyn is prescribed for children as young as 6 years old. A health educator offered to refer me to his drug dealer for a solution because physicians are afraid to write prescriptions for controlled substances. Today, I'm disabled because I can???t get treated for narcolepsy. I dream of the day that the drug war will be over and I can get back to work. Last December, I delivered a presentation at the 2007 International Conference on Drug Policy Reform, pointing out that we live in the Electro-Chemical Age in which drug use is normal human behavior. Drug abuse is a teaching disorder and anti-drug disorder is a societal phobia that defines our world. The solution is Drug Use Education (DUE). Rather than a drug war that has crippled our nation and our economy we need to establish an educational program that teaches medicine... I've encountered a vast number of people who depend on illicit street drugs because they can't afford healthcare. Meth has been used to spike CD4 cells in HIV/AIDS patients and save lives when used responsibly. We need to look at the bigger picture. Addiction is one of many problems that can be prevented through education. Drug abuse is a quantitative issue. It is the foundation for chemical dependency (ie: addiction). The fear and ignorance spawned by the drug war is causing our society to regress. There are reasons we don't even know yet why people are using drugs. We can???t administer experimental blockers and then realize it was a total mistake... In January 2006, 34.5 years into a drug war costing over $2 trillion, the US Congress stated: "Too little is known about drug abuse, especially the causes, ways to treat and prevent drug abuse." Now I ask you: Why are 30% of our prisoners in the US serving 20-40 year sentences for something that Congress knows "little" about!? We need to stop destroying and start healing. Please visit my website (http://www.gicomeng.com/). Thank you...

  • Posted By: stickville @ 03/03/2008 11:43:29 PM

    Comment: Dr Rosenthall is obviously not an addict. It is so easy for the non-addict to theroize on the condition of the addict and the possible cures and just as easily entirely miss the mark. The good Doctor writes like someon who's livelihood depends on constantly formulating new approaches to "curing" addiction. Sadly, each new one is a much of a miserable failure as the pne before it.

    I am an Addict. My problem is not drugs. Drugs were the solution to my problems. I used drugs to mask my problems, to hide my problems, to run away from my problems. I am powerless over my addiction.But, that does not mean I am helpless. I can, with help, live a life of recovery. It's called the 12-step program. I know that many professionals, possibly even the good Doctor, look down their nose at 12-step programs. Most like it's because they can't make any money off of them.

    Here's a quarter. Buy a clue.

  • Posted By: CarolFromIL @ 02/26/2008 11:29:17 AM

    Comment: I saw this article and thought it would give insight into the recovery process once the drug is not controlling the addict physically.

    Whenever we make the effort to free ourselves of an addiction or a habit we no longer need, we are often surprised to find ourselves missing the old pattern as we would a familiar friend. This sounds counterintuitive, because we think we should instinctively gravitate toward what is good for us. Yet, it makes a lot of sense when you consider that we humans are creatures of habit. This is why we gravitate to people and places???and patterns of behavior???that make us feel comfortable. Therefore, many of the habits we form are not conscious and are based instead on learned behavior from role models who were not always making the healthiest decisions.

    Most addictions begin as a way of avoiding feelings that are extremely uncomfortable, so it makes sense that stopping the addiction means a fair amount of discomfort for a time. The same is also true of habits that we have developed over time that we are ready to release. Just knowing that this is hard, and having compassion for ourselves as we work through this process, can help us to stay the course when we feel the urge to backtrack. It???s also helpful to remember that in time we will establish new, healthier patterns, and the yearning for the old ones will disappear. Eventually, we will instinctively reach for things that are good for us, and the longing for positive change may form the basis of a new habit.

    The only way to get to this new place is to endure a time of difficulty, which is a challenge we can confidently handle, if we remember that it will lead to the change we seek in our lives. Our bodies, hearts, and minds always need time to adjust to a new way of doing things, but they will adapt, and even become our allies, if we remain true to our vision of a new way.

    The link to this article is: http://discuss.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/discuss/displaydiscussion.cgi?did=9215

  • Posted By: CarolFromIL @ 02/26/2008 11:15:37 AM

    Comment: to have a vaccine that would stop the drugs' stronghold on an addict and allow him or her to gain control again is a god send.

  • Posted By: Concerned_Chicagoan @ 02/26/2008 11:12:12 AM

    Comment: to have a vaccine that would stop the drugs' stronghold on an addict and allow him or her to gain control again is a god send.

  • Posted By: peterolo @ 02/26/2008 6:13:10 AM

    Comment: This article and its author displays a rare combination of understanding addiction and the addict. The message is clear and simple, treat the addict, not the just the addiction.

    The bridge leading to the road of recovery needs many supporting pillars to avoid collapse, and one of them is what Carl Jung told Bill W, the co-founder of AA in an exchange of
    correspondence:

    " Science has no answer to this problem. Psychotherapy alone is useless. What is needed is a spiritual experience".

    Given that the road to addiction is spiritual insofar as the use
    of mind altering substances is an attempt to change the way one feels, the road to recovery must by definition, have a strong spiritual content if it is to fill the needs of those seeking recovery. Methinks Jung had it right.

  • Posted By: MotherWarrior @ 02/25/2008 1:43:50 PM

    Comment: This is a good companion piece to the addiction article by Jeneen Interlandi. I blog about adolescent addiction issues at motherwarriors.blogspot.com and am a member of the Parent Advisory Board of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. What parents notice about treatment for addiction is the lack of coordination of forces among substance abuse professionals, mental health professionals, psychiatrists, doctors, educators, and families. Number one is to include the families in the mix because when push come to shove and addicts are turned out of programs or don't agree to programs, or die, it is a family responsibility and a family sorrow--although a loss to our communities and society as well.

    How does Phoenix House rate on family involvement? Recovery is a personal journey, but it most often starts at home, goes through home, and occasionally ends at home. Families can help and should be part of comprehensive approaches, including holistic approaches.

    Try to get a doctor to listen to a mom's feedback and concerns. Try to get your child's health records if they have not signed a release. Try to have a discussion with a drug counselor about what's going on when they know your child is addicted to heroin and you don't. Families can make the road to recovery shorter. Especially if they're on it with their loved ones. Don't shut us out of the process. We care. And you--the professionals and treatment centers--need us, even if you don't admit it. We can do more than foot the bill over and over or pay for drugs. We are part of the process. Hear us and talk to us.

    • Posted By: C. MacLean @ 02/26/2008 22:40:41

      Comment: "Families can make the road to recovery shorter."

      Families can also make the road to recovery longer if they are not willing to work at their own recovery from codependency. If your "child" is old enough to be addicted to heroin, s/he is old enough to make decisions about releasing information.

      Addicts who don't agree to programs are not a family responsibility, although they certainly cause a lot of family sorrow. As long as the family keeps assuming responsibility, the addict has little incentive to change. As painful as this may be to hear, if the addict in the family is a child, this is almost always a symptom of much more severe problems within the family . We in the treatment community have a saying - the sickest person in the family is not always the one who presents for treatment.

      As a parent, I feel your pain, but as a substance abuse professional, after reading your comments I heartily recommend Al-anon or Nar-anon, and starting to focus on your own issues. This is the best way to help a child caught in the spiral of addiction.

 
 
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