Many are calling addiction an epidemic in the United States and for good reason. Last year, nearly 10% of the US population used illicit drugs, while binge drinking affected nearly 15%. In 2015, 35,000 people died of an opioid overdose. These numbers can be scary but the Utah Department of Health is taking aim to reduce and eventually eliminate this problem. The Utah Opidemic is of particular concern. They have declared the opioid problem in Utah an “Opidemic” and launched a campaign to promote awareness and resources for those struggling with addiction.
Their website, opidemic.org, explains the serious consequences of opioid use, provides resources to find treatment, illustrates what to do if someone you know has an overdose, and provides hopeful messages from those who are overcoming their own addictions.These helpful tips offer suggestions on what to do to take action and support this initiative in your communities. While the treatment centers listed on the website are located in Utah, the information is useful for anyone who is struggling or knows someone who is.Read here to learn more about the opioid epidemic.
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IBM Watson recently joined forces with MAP Health Management to fight substance abuse in the U.S. The partnership will focus on relapse reduction.
Over 22.5 million Americans are caught in the snare of addiction, and of those, only 2.6 million are receiving treatment. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that the economic cost of substance abuse--related to crime, lost work productivity and health care--is near $700 billion. In 2015, opioid abuse claimed more American lives than car crashes and gun homicides combined.
Jacob Levenson, CEO of MAP, described addiction as the "great crisis of our time." He reported that the current method of "assessing, treating and paying for … care isn't sustainable." He believes that using "advanced cognitive technology" like Watson, will improve treatment decisions, leading to improved long-term management for those suffering.
Aetna Behavioral Health is planning to use MAP's system to predict substance abuse relapses. The goal is to gather and analyze patient data in order to create long-term strategies to help patients reach and stay in recovery through relapse reduction.
Read here to learn more about technology in addiction recovery.
Historically, addiction has been a quiet, hidden tormentor. It silently took its victims into their graves without ever bearing a burden of responsibility. Why? Because of the stigma of addiction.
Because no husband wants to tell the world that the mother of his children was a “junkie”. No mother wants to reveal to the tennis club and the PTA that her son overdosed on heroin. Nobody wants to “dishonor” the memory of the deceased by tainting their legacy with words like “opioid,” “overdose,” or “heroin.”
However, brave families are starting to be frank in the obituaries they write. Not to dishonor their deceased loved ones, but to sound the alarm, to call others to action, to open peoples’ eyes.
The parents of a young man in New Jersey published the following in the obituary of their son: “our beautiful son, Andrew, died from an overdose of heroin. He was 23 years old. We want to share his story in the hope that lives may be saved and his death will not be in vain.”
Hundreds of other families are following suit, sharing the stories of relapses, treatment centers, overdoses, heartache, that created years of struggle for their lost loved ones. Together, they are shattering the stigma of addiction.
Obituaries of opioid epidemic victims have become cautionary tales that have the potential to save lives. These families are ushering in a new era, when people’s obituaries will begin with, “After a brave battle with addiction,” just as they would with cancer, heart disease, or any other chronic illness.
Read here to learn more about overcoming misconceptions about addiction.
Also, if you're looking to for a new substance abuse treatment EHR, fill out the form below to get a free demo.
Naloxone is the product of incredible medical breakthroughs. It functions to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, a remarkable feat and a much needed one in light of the spreading opioid epidemic. When an individual has overdosed on heroin, fentanyl or painkillers, Naloxone can be administered to them intramuscularly or nasally. It works to block the opioid receptors in the central nervous system.
The mechanism of action is not completely understood at the chemical level, but we do know that it saves lives. In fact, over 30,000 overdoses were reversed through use of Naloxone between 2010 and 2014.
In many states, Naloxone is available for purchase directly from the pharmacist, without a prescription needed. Additionally, many states require that paramedics and law enforcement personnel carry the drug with them. While these policies are good and have made a dent in the opioid crisis, additional policy changes could improve the status further.
Some of the obstacles include the lack of “good Samaritan” laws and the high price of the drug. High prices are limiting for obvious reasons, especially in the case of those supporting an active addiction.
The disease of addiction is going to drive an individual to get the next fix, not to go stock up on Naloxone incase things go south. Good Samaritan laws provide legal immunity to individuals who respond in emergency situations. In the case of overdoses, this would mean that the individual who called the ambulance could not be charged with possession themselves, even if they were also using.
The person who called would be able to ensure the administration of Naloxone and help save a life without fear of being arrested in the very same moment. These laws prioritize saving lives over punishing crimes. States like Texas, Montana, South Carolina, and Arizona currently have no Good Samaritan policies in place for the event of drug related emergencies.
Naloxone is responsible for saving countless lives. In recent years, policies have improved dramatically, making Naloxone more accessible. But there are still lives to be saved as we learn how to optimize the use of this life-saving drug.
The healthcare debate has been heated and long-lasting and for good reason. Americans are concerned about threats to their lifestyle and their lives. While discussing policies can be divisive, there is a discussion that we should be having that can receive bi-partisan support. May is Mental Health Awareness month, and although this initiative started in 1949, not many people seem to be aware. Mental illness is often associated with a negative stigma that can keep people from discussing issues that affect community members, friends, or family.
1 in 5 American adults are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. That statistic is disheartening considering the available treatment options and the fact that more than 50% of those diagnosed do not receive treatment.
On May 2nd, the White House released a statement addressing the need to increase awareness and instill the desire to help confront the stigma in acknowledgement of Mental Health Awareness Month.
“Addressing substance abuse, addiction, and overdose is often critical to improving mental health outcomes. An estimated 8.1 million adults in America suffering with a mental illness also struggle with substance abuse. Many of those who struggled with both were among the 52,000 people in our country who died from a drug overdose in 2015. Approximately 44,000 Americans took their own lives in the past year, a preventable tragedy that frequently correlates with mental illness and substance abuse.”
So what can be done? How do we as members of the treatment community and as citizens make a difference?
Perhaps the most important role we can play is that of advocates. We should be engaging with policy makers in local, state, and federal government. Those who suffer from a mental illness can be very vulnerable and we can stand up for them and help them find their way towards the right treatment.
The White House statement continues, “No American should suffer in silence and solitude…. We must support those in need and remain committed to hope and healing. Through compassion and committed action, we will enrich the spirit of the American people and improve the well-being of our Nation.”
Addiction recovery and mental health go hand in hand. In the United States, 20.2 million adults are experiencing a substance use disorder. Of those, 10.2 million have a co-occurring mental illness. This means that conditions like depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, bipolar, OCD and others are strongly associated with addiction. The purpose of Mental Health Month is to raise awareness and reduce stigma with regard to mental illnesses. This year, the focus of Mental Health Month is “Risky Business.” Mental Health America explains, “We believe it's important to educate people about habits and behaviors that increase the risk of developing or exacerbating mental illnesses or could be signs of mental health problems themselves. These include risk factors such as risky sex, prescription drug misuse, internet addiction, excessive spending, marijuana use, and troublesome exercise patterns1.”
Governmental institutions, social media platforms, non-profits, and individuals have joined together to reach people through screenings, events, and education.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has published the following facts to help raise awareness during Mental Health Month:
Take NAMI’s “StigmaFree” pledge by committing to avoid labels and speak respectfully about mental illness.
Become educated about the prevalence of mental illnesses in the United States and even in your specific demographic. Be aware that 1 in 5 U.S. adults have mental illnesses.
Familiarize yourself with the resources available online as well as in your community.
Learn about “Risky Business” and conditions that are commonly co-occurring with mental illness, like eating disorders and substance use disorders.
Talk to friends and family about the things that you learn and encourage them to participate in Mental Health Month
We cannot underestimate the power of words in recovery. The two main views of addiction are 1) that it is a moral failings and 2) that it is a disease. Although modern science proves the latter to be true, the words and phrases we use may be supporting the former view.
By using terms that emphasize people rather than symptoms, we can help reduce the stigma of addiction and recovery. Dr. John F. Kelly of Harvard Medical School explains, "This change goes beyond mere political correctness. Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, the language we use actually makes a profound difference in our attitudes and, thus, how we may approach our nation’s number one public health problem.”
Using people focused language empowers patients and gives them the same dignity and respect that we give to those suffering with cancer and other chronic diseases.
Shatterproof, “a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation that addiction causes families,” created the following list of stigma reducing language:
Click here to learn more about how the words we use can impact recovery.
Patrick Bordnick, associate professor at the University of Houston and recent TEDx speaker, has begun a unique study on addiction recovery involving the University’s Virtual Reality Clinical Lab. Computer-generated, VR (virtual reality) simulates a 'near-reality' experience in which a user interacts in a seemingly real or physical way by use of special electronic equipment, such as VR headset. Virtual reality for recovery has the potential to be a life-saving development in the field of addiction recovery.
The university's lab features a series of "virtual drug caves," in which addicts navigate different life-like scenarios. While in VR, they learn to identify and resist different triggers. Bordnick believes that the VR learning experience will transfer to reality, reasoning that taking addicts out of the traditional "therapist office" and putting them into a VR environment will help them get a clearer picture and improve interventions. He hopes to show that decreasing one's cravings in the VR lab will lead to a similar decrease in the real world.
Click here to learn about technological developments that are changing the way we treat addiction.
In 1971, President Nixon declared a war on drugs. Estimates on the cost of this war range from $1-2.5 trillion in the last 46 years. Despite this, drug use disorders have lured people into jail cells and caskets at an ever increasing rate. After nearly five decades, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the “war on drugs” has been a complete failure.
Additionally, the war on drugs has made it impossible for the United States to fund needle-exchange programs on a federal level. As early as 1998, the Department of Health and Human Services conclusively stated that needle-sharing programs are associated with decreased incidence of HIV and hepatitis C that is attributable to IV drug use.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health likewise endorsed this intervention in the 1990s, followed by the American Medical Association in 2000. We lag miserably behind countries like Canada, Brazil, and the UK in this regard, meanwhile, our rates of HIV and Hepatitis C continue to climb.
The drug enforcement approach to substance abuse has exacerbated the issue in several ways. Addiction in jail is like bacteria in Petri dishes- the conditions are ideal for the proliferation of the disease.
The Journal of Addiction Science and Clinical Practice Criminalized reported in 2012 that "in prisoners released in Washington State, overdose mortality rates were 12-fold higher than what would be expected in similar demographic groups in the general population.” Similar statistics can be sited across the board. Addicts finish their sentences with more connections in the drug world, dismal opportunities for employment, and a label and often don’t know where else to turn.
Research shows that shame is one of the primary psychosocial contributors to addiction. It’s sobering to think of the shame distributed by the war on drugs. Policies intended to eradicate drug use in the United States have instead created a war on addicts. The stigma of addiction is beginning to dissolve, but it’s going to take more than billboards to reverse five decades of government endorsed alienation.
With all of these issues glaringly obvious, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has called for a new approach to the substance use epidemic: a health approach. Some key elements of this approach include:
Critical reviews of drug policies by experts in social work, public health, medicine, drug treatment, law enforcement and even former and current drug users. APHA urges that policies by altered in such a way that drug treatment and harm reduction programs can be expanded.
Increased federal funding for effective treatment modalities that are currently in place.
Deprioritizing funding of drug enforcement entities that are non-health related, such that individuals are cared for by health interventions rather than criminal justice.
Encouraging resources of the Affordable Care act to be redirected to include addiction rehabilitation.
Eliminating federal and state criminal penalties for personal drug use and possession, barring circumstances that endanger the lives of others.
These changes in policy would cause a dramatic shift in our response to drug use and abuse on a governmental, cultural, and even on an interpersonal level.
Often, policies and statistics can make us forget the narratives that make up the story of the addiction epidemic. Beneath the surface of the court rulings and census reports are lives ruined and lives lost. There are tears, failure, relapse, funerals, and broken families. By encouraging changes in policy, we can turn a war on addicts into a war on addiction.
Understanding the three C's of addiction recovery is an important part of healing for those who have family members or friends with substance use disorders.
The three C's of addiction recovery
You didn’t cause it
You can’t cure it
You can’t control it.
What You Can’t Do:
#1 Make them quit. #2 Do the work of recovery for them. #3 Accept behavior that violates your boundaries.
What You Can Do
#1 Get educated. #2 Take care of yourself. #3 Talk about it.
Click here for important information about families in addiction recovery. If you're looking to learn more about addiction treatment, we've got an extensive post on which treatment is best for drug addiction. It's also incredibly common for recovery addicts to relapse. You can learn more about why people relapse here.
Read here to learn more about the opioid epidemic.
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