Innovators, like Johann Hari, help us understand better those who struggle with addiction and helps us challenge our preconceived ideas on the criminalization of drug use. He helps us ask the hard questions. What is addiction? How does addiction happen? How can we help those who struggle from addiction to achieve recovery? And he gives us surprising solutions as he makes striking statements like, "the opposite of addiction is connection".
The term "opioid epidemic” is in the news almost hourly. We hear tragic stories of lives destroyed by addiction. Some states are notorious for a specific type of drug use- think Montana with meth, or California with cocaine. But a recent WalletHub report published the drug use statistics on every state, ranked by “overall drug problem”, drug use and addiction, law enforcement and drug health issues and rehab.
Where does your state rank? The answers may surprise you.
Here are the top 10 states in terms of the overall drug problem:
Colorado also ranked #1 in teen AND adult drug users, while Alabama made a name for themselves as having the most opioid prescriptions per 100 citizens. West Virginia has the most overdose deaths per capita, and South Dakota has the most drug arrests per capita.
Our one-of-a-kind EMR software is taking off and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news. Our super-cool first press release was published earlier this week. “We knew we could make a difference in the realm of addiction recovery simply by improving communication between therapists, clients and families,” said co-founder Matt Stevens when interviewed for the press release.
Our HIPAA-compliant secure video conferencing, treatment plans, client app, and other unique features make our EMR the best on the market.
We want to thank our team members in our San Clemente and Provo offices for their hard work, creativity, and stunning good looks. We also want to thank our beta customers: Acqua Recovery, Miramar Recovery Center and Solara Mental Health for jumping on board and letting us be part of their teams.
We’re excited to see what’s next!
Addiction has long been characterized by researchers and observers as a result of a lack of willpower. Many assumed that those who struggled to achieve sobriety just had a weakness and so it was necessary to remove temptation.
A recent study found that just the opposite is true. A study of 69 participants in recovery over the span of three years found that most identify as being strong-willed and yet they still have addictions to various substances. This suggests that addiction is less cognitive and therefore requires prevention strategies that are not focused on cognitive processes.
Those who participated in strategies rather than sheer willpower had more success in staying sober and in progressing in their recovery.
This is not to say that willpower in sobriety is irrelevant. The researchers explain, “It probably takes willpower to deploy strategies at all. Because willpower is likely fragile...such a use of willpower is successful because it need not continue; the person who effortfully deploys the strategy of blocking out the sales pitch of the dealer with headphones doesn't need willpower to resist that pitch. Willpower is best used strategically, and the participants mention several strategies for doing so. They ‘pick their battles’.”
Treatment can teach those in recovery how to harness willpower and deploy strategies to lead to a more effective and long-lasting recovery. You can learn more about which drug addiction treatment is best here.
Drug advocacy groups are important to the mission we all share: to save lives through recovery. These groups are making incredible progress in increasing public awareness and improving policies on advocacy about drugs. Advocacy groups often stem from personal tragedies.
1. Shatterproof: Stronger Than Addiction
The DPA is the leading organization in the U.S promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. They are currently prioritizing, decriminalizing drugs and building health-based alternatives, uprooting the drug war from civil systems, disempowering police in drug enforcement and response, reducing punishments for people in the drug trade, reinvesting drug war rescues into communities most harmed, and eliminating the poison drug supply through responsible legal regulation of all drugs
4. The Brent Shapiro Foundation: Making the world a better place for all.
5. Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Institute for Recovery Advocacy
This foundation educates the public and policymakers about substance use disorders and recovery, shape public policy, and transforms stigma into compassion.
The advocacy institute’s top priorities are expanding access to addiction care, public education and dismantling the stigma associated with addiction. This is another advocacy group that works aggressively to reform drug policies that will address the nation’s opioid addiction crisis.
Alleva is comprised of a talented group of individuals dedicated to providing world-class software to the behavioral health industry that offers premium care to those who need it. Our team includes licensed therapists, industry professionals, and experienced software developers who are passionate about helping the helpers. To learn more about what we do, click here.
Patient brokers are an emerging plague on the field of addiction recovery. They have several different names: patient brokers, treatment brokers, and perhaps the most chilling, body brokers. These brokers make fees by referring to treatment centers who pay them for the referrals.
Often, the families are also charged for the service. In other cases, where families aren’t involved, brokers pull people off the streets, offering to help them get help. They make between $100 and $5,00 per transaction, or more accurately, per human sold.
While that process may in and of itself seem harmless- a middle man who makes a living by helping struggling individuals get into treatment. But the field of addiction recovery, a rapidly growing $35 billion industry, is particularly vulnerable to predatory capitalization.
By the time treatment is being sought, the patient is sick, physically, mentally, emotionally. Families are desperate, willing to do whatever they can to help their struggling loved one. This is an especially vulnerable point for everyone involved. Treatment brokers often target young drug users, those who are inexperienced with the process of entering rehab.
So what do addicted individuals and their families need to be aware of?
While each of these events may not be hard evidence of treatment brokering, they are definitely warning signs. Treatment centers can help our industry to overcome this problem by disseminating this information.
Addiction is a struggle that not only affects the person involved but also his or her family and close friends. It is not a solitary struggle and so it is important to be open with those affected by addiction, including children.
While it is for parents to decide when and how to explain their own addiction or that of a close relative to their children, there is some information that should be included in that conversation. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune outlined some key points when it comes to speaking with your children about addiction:
Children may be deeply affected by addiction but they can be involved in recovery without being in the dark.
Addicts were once thought of as being, in the words of Red Hot Chili Peppers' lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis, "Under the Bridge." However, the recent opioid epidemic and the search for recovery has changed all of that.
Jamison Monroe Jr., founder of the Newport Academy rehab center, said that the recent epidemic has changed this stereotype. She asserted that addiction no longer "discriminate[s] based on demographics, […]income brackets or zip code[s]."
To help combat this new epidemic, some people have turned to technology-- specifically the kind that you hold in your hand. Recovering addict Sam Frons, creator of Addicaid, believes the support system of her app may be a game changer. Addicaid puts individuals into groups based on their shared tendencies, rather than their addictions. It also creates a personalized recovery program formulated by the information users give during their initial intake, accounting for their personality and triggers.
The app combines machine learning, adaptive artificial intelligence, and clinical research to predict situations where users might be at risk of relapse, and then it intervenes. The support system enables users with shared tendencies to reach out during those "trigger moments."
If you'd like to learn more about our addiction recovery software, you can click here to get a free demo or fill out the form below.
A study published by the Journal of Applied Psychology, as discussed in a previous post, not only discusses the importance of diverse social outcomes, but also the role of social self-identity, and self-efficacy in recovery. The study indicates improved self-efficacy among those who identify themselves as “in recovery” as opposed to those who identify as “addicts.”
Self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s belief in their own ability to be successful at a given task. In the journey of recovery from substance use disorders, self-efficacy is a foundational ingredient. Individuals will not successfully find recovery if they don’t believe that they can get sober.
People who identify as “in recovery” have greater self-efficacy as compared to those who identify as “addict” or “alcoholic.” So why do Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step fellowships place such great emphasis on members self-identifying by their greatest vice?
The answer lies in humility, one of the cardinal virtues of Alcoholics Anonymous. Interestingly enough, many of the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have the aim of producing or encouraging humility. Humility is considered a cardinal virtue in the twelve steps because it allows for a thorough self-examination. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions goes into further detail on the role of humility in recovery:
“Indeed, the attainment of humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.’s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’t much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.” (p. 70)
And while humility may seem antithetical to self-efficacy, exploring the way humility is defined in the social sciences allows for a more harmonious coexistence of the two principles. Humility is defined operationally, with this set of two over-arching traits: an accurate view of ones-self while also being other-oriented rather than self-focused. In that sense, maybe self-identifying as an addict doesn’t engender humility at all, because doesn’t the identity of “recovery” yield a more accurate self-view? Shouldn’t it?
Encouraging clients to identify as being “in recovery” can have a positive influence on the culture and success of treatment centers, but also on the lives of the individuals they serve. Building humility in recovery allows people to thoroughly examine their weaknesses, to highlight and overcome them. Building self-efficacy in recovery allows people to thoroughly examine their strengths, to highlight and expand them. Recovery programs need to foster both virtues.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology earlier this year has explored the role of social networks and social identity in addiction recovery. The study found that diverse socialization leads to improved recovery outcomes. If one subscribes to the social identity approach to wellbeing, these are key to success in health and recovery.
The study highlights the benefits of social group membership, even going so far as to say that it is fundamental in “shaping the recovery trajectory.” This supports the framework of Alcoholics Anonymous in terms of joining a group, having a home group, responsibilities, and a sponsor. However, additional findings about the importance of diverse social interactions challenge much of how we treat recovery culture.
Recovery culture, by nature, tends to be self-isolating. Meaning that the culture itself tends to be exclusive, often rightfully so. In a world where most social settings stigmatize drug addiction while simultaneously tempting alcoholism, exclusivity proves to be protective to many people in recovery.
Associating with only members of Narcotics Anonymous allows a recovering addict to talk freely and openly about their life experiences without having to choose between living a double life and being ostracized. Associating with only members of Alcoholics Anonymous allows a recovering alcoholic to attend parties and social events without rehearsing their response to a free drink in the mirror before they leave.
However, the study’s findings indicate that, “Those who are able to maintain a sense of belonging with a range of important groups prior to addiction are at an advantage to those who are socially isolated.”
In other words, associating successfully with people both in and out of recovery, and even those from varied cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds, improves outcomes for recovery. Put simply, diverse socialization leads to improved recovery outcomes.
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Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.