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Prescription Stimulants Taking a Toll on Young Adults

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Young adults are increasingly at risk of prescription drug abuse. This has been proven especially true for prescription stimulant drugs like Adderall and Ritalin.

Young adults use these drugs as a study aid or “party aid” because they allow them to stay awake longer. Normally indicated for Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.), Adderall and Ritalin contain amphetamine salts and similar chemical compounds which increase the amount of dopamine circulating in the brain. They help those with A.D.D focus, but give the feeling of hyper-alertness for those without A.D.D.

The number of young adults visiting the emergency room after abusing stimulants has quadrupled over the past 6 years – from 5,600 visits in 2005 to 23,000 in 2011. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) attributes this rise to young adults having greater access to stimulants. According to their data, in 2011 the majority of young adults had access to stimulants by getting them from friends and relatives.

Peter J. Delany of SAMHSA says the rise is pronounced among those 18-25 years old. Unfortunately, many young adults aren’t aware of the health and legal consequences of abusing stimulants. In many states, possessing just one pill without a prescription is a felony charge and having as few as 5 pills can be considered trafficking.

The health consequences can also be severe – especially when combined with alcohol. Many young adults end up visiting the emergency room with palpitations, severe anxiety, paranoia and heart and blood vessel problems. Some even end up with psychosis after taking too much over an extended period of time and some get alcohol poisoning because stimulants mask the effects of being drunk.

For a young adult, the legal and health consequences can be lifelong. What often starts out as innocent use of stimulants – such as using them during finals at college – can quickly turn into not-so-innocent consequences because of the addictive nature of stimulants.

At Harmony Foundation we understand the consequences of addiction among young adults, which is why we have created special Young Adult Recovery Track. We help bring young adults back from the often-quick downward spiral of prescription drug abuse.

Men and Women Have Different Triggers

Posted on by Christy Weeks
What Triggers You? Photo Via

A recent study published in the Scientific American showed that alcoholic men and women relapse for different reasons.

It is common knowledge that relapse rates are high for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. That is why addiction treatment programs work with clients on relapse prevention before they leave treatment.

John Kelly and Bettina Hoeppner with Massachusetts General Hospital collected and assessed data that revealed new insights for relapse prevention. For 15 months they looked at the social networks and drinking habits of 1,726 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They presented them with hypotheticals and asked them how confident they were in their ability to stay sober if those situations happened.

They found that male alcoholics are at greatest risk of relapse when they are in social situations where others are drinking. AA helps them stay sober by being around non-drinking friends. After some time in recovery with fellow members of AA, they learn coping skills to handle situations where friends or colleagues are drinking around them socially. The classic depiction of men bonding in business or personal life over a glass of whiskey seems to be all too triggering for men.

Kelly and Hoeppner found that women alcoholics are at greatest risk for relapse when they feel strong emotions. When they are feeling depressed or anxious, fellow female AA members can help them recognize that they can have emotions, but they don’t have to react to them by picking up a drink.

While in alcoholism treatment, clients often identify their own relapse triggers – be it business dinners, breakups or celebrations. Those in early recovery are cautioned to avoid those situations because the integrity of their recovery should come first. Clients also have opportunities to play out the triggering situations in an individual or group therapeutic setting while in treatment. They can role-play how they would react to identified triggers by utilizing the new tools they learned in recovery. Over time when they are strong in their recovery they can handle triggering situations with grace.

What are your triggers? How do you handle them?

 

Cory Monteith’s Death Sheds Light on Relapse

Posted on by Christy Weeks
“I may have a relapse but may not have another recovery”
 The Importance of Relapse Prevention

It has been a week since it was announced that Cory Monteith passed away from a fatal combination of alcohol and heroin. The devastating news has made us reflect on the importance of addiction treatment for younger adults and relapse prevention.

Monteith was best known for his role in Glee, portraying Finn Hudson, a young football star turned singer for the high school’s singing squad. He was found dead in a hotel in Vancouver last Saturday and reports indicated that alcohol and other substances were found in his hotel room.

Monteith was open about his substance abuse – saying in interviews that he first got sober when he was 19 and remained clean for almost 10 years. In one interview he told Parade Magazine that was “lucky to be alive” because he was “doing anything and everything, as much as possible” by the age of 16. Then last April his publicist announced that he entered rehab for substance abuse.

His relapse is a reminder that sobriety is something those in recovery have to consistently work at, through various means of support – and that a relapse can happen no matter how many years of sobriety someone has under their belt. There is no one size fits all approach to maintain sobriety, but many find that going to 12 step meetings, having a sponsor, incorporating spiritual principals such as honesty and discipline in their lives, maintaining connection with others in recovery and aftercare services or staying connected to their former treatment centers can help.

That is why Harmony’s addiction rehab in Colorado has a unique alumni support system whereby former clients connect with Alumni Services through events and even an iPhone and Android app that allows them to track their recovery progress. We also have a relapse program for those that need to recommit to their recovery. We have created these safety nets because we believe the saying that “I may have a relapse but may not have another recovery” unfortunately rings true. You never know when a relapse or what combination of substances can take a life. Our hearts and prayers go out to Monteith and his friends and family.

Was She Drunk? Czech Woman Hit by Train

Posted on by Christy Weeks

It is estimated that 40,933 people in the US die each year from alcohol related accidents. Not all accidents are car crashes, in fact many are other accidents such as falls, cuts or being hit by other vehicles.

This includes the devastating story of Devon Arnold who was mysteriously found dead in 2010 on railroad tracks after he had been drinking at a Denver Nuggets game. A train had apparently hit him more than 2 miles from where he was last seen and no one knew how he had gotten onto the tracks.

These stories happen everywhere, not limited to the US – and just last week a young Czech woman believed to be drunk almost lost her life after she was run over by a subway train. A video captured her staggering around the edge of the train tracks until she fell in. Seconds later a train came and ran her over.

In the video below you see the aftermath of the accident, whereby she is shockingly pulled out from under the train unscathed and simply dusts herself off and walks away after refusing a breathalyzer and medical treatment.

Unfortunately many aren’t so lucky to be able to walk away from alcohol related accidents. Those who are often use the experience as a wake up call to limit their consumption of alcohol. Those who don’t take incidents seriously, and continue to drink heavily despite past falls or other accidents, may have a problem with alcohol.

After getting sober many look back on their past recklessness and praise the fact that they are still alive and healthy. Some even use the fact that they never experienced physical harm as spiritual fuel to support their sobriety. Many seek out addiction treatment after negative experiences while drinking that put them in harm’s way. If you are concerned about your own safety while drinking or that of another, Harmony Foundation has alcohol treatment for adults and young adults.

The jury is still out on whether the Czech woman was drunk or just sleepy, you can form your own opinion after watching this video:

“Drug Dreams” in Early Recovery

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Have you ever had a terrible dream of loss or grief only to awake and feel immensely grateful that it was not true? Well this occurs quite frequently with addicts and alcoholics in early recovery such as those in addiction treatment centers. They experience “using dreams” or “drug dreams” that gallingly pop up at crucial moments of recovery.

Many of those who awake from a drug dream report being filled with gratitude that they have not picked up. They value the days, weeks and months that make up their sobriety and they wear their time sober as a badge of honor resembling hard work. Many dream that they have used, lost their sober time, let others around them down, and they experience feelings of guilt mixed with a murky darkness or impending doom. Just like anyone who has experienced a bad dream, they wake up thankful that it was only a dream.

Others report awaking with a feeling of relief but also find the dreams triggering. This is because they actually experience being “high” in their dreams, which may spark cravings the next day or a few days following the dream. The thought of being high in their dream permeates their waking hours and they find themselves suddenly preoccupied with using despite being strong in their resolve not to pick up just the day before. The dream then just seems downright unfair. For an addict’s hard work to be temporarily undermined by a using dream feels like putting salt on a wound.

There is limited research on why drug dreams occur or if certain groups experience them more often than others. However, some addiction treatment professionals say that drug dreams can indicate something positive – that they are the brain’s way of healing – of closing the gap between a painful and dramatic past with a serene future. With each dream the brain is healing – by reconciling the addict’s new way of living by playing out the past in a dream rather than in real life. Many believe the dreams occur more frequently in early sobriety because the brain is healing the most then. Using dreams may reappear at stressful times in life – sometimes even years after being sober – because the life situation may resemble something the sober brain has not conquered yet. However cumbersome and annoying using dreams might be, the bottom line is that they are just a dream and we can choose how we react to them. We can play into the disease of addiction by letting them be triggering, or we can let them fill us with gratitude that the brain is healing and we are sober in real life.

Can a Missing Enzyme Explain Addiction?

Posted on by Christy Weeks

News related to painkiller addiction and opioid overdoses has increased over the past decade alongside the rate of addiction with few tell all explanations as to why. Also mysterious is the rate of relapse among those addicted to opiates compared to other drugs. Painkillers are killing people at an alarming rate and more people are getting hooked everyday. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, there are 2,500 teens in the US who try prescription drugs to get high for the first time each day. Many become easily addicted after they experiment with painkillers. A new study published this week by Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles sheds some light on why painkiller addiction may be so hard to kick for some.

The study suggests that a missing brain enzyme makes some people more susceptible to opioid addiction than others. Researchers removed the enzyme called prohormone convertase 2 (PC2) in mice. This enzyme activates otherwise dormant hormones in the brain and these hormones were found to increase after long-term treatment of morphine. When researchers removed this enzyme, concentrations of the opioid receptors increased in the brain regions related to addiction. When this enzyme is present it regulates the addiction response to opioids in the brain. Although these were preliminary studies, researchers like Theodore C. Friedman, MD, PhD who conducted the study will follow up with similar studies in the near future.

While this study may serve as a partial explanation as to how addiction to opiates occurs, it doesn’t answer why the rate of addiction has reached epidemic levels over the last decade. Many say that the access to painkillers is why addiction rates are so high. A study by Richard Miech, Ph.D. of the University of Colorado Denver explains, “From 1997 to today, legal prescriptions for painkillers increased from 20 million to 160 million a year – a fourfold increase.” Greater access combined with other explanations – like the missing PC2 enzyme – answers some the questions concerning the national epidemic. However, as with many aspects related to addiction the “why” or “how” is often elusive. While people search for explanations, addiction treatment and recovery is most important and works without knowing all the facts about why and how people became addicted in the first place.

If you are concerned about opiate abuse, our young adult and adult addiction programs at Harmony Foundation help people recover from painkiller addiction.

Matthew Perry Opens Malibu Sober Home for Men

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Awhile back we blogged about how Russell Brand was turning his home into a yoga studio, now the word is that Matthew Perry is turning his Malibu mansion into a sober living home for addicts and alcoholics in recovery. Perry has been sober since 2009 and is now strong in his recovery after years riddled with addiction treatment and relapse – which was very much in the public eye.

He has recently joined forces for good with Earl Hightower, the well known interventionist and addiction specialist. Hightower has said that the most challenging part of recovery and gap in addiction services is the 60 days that follow inpatient treatment. Harmony Foundation also recognized this problem and has developed a strong aftercare program – including our mobile phone app to assist alumni in their recovery process.

Together Perry and Hightower are turning Perry’s former Malibu home that he still owns into a sober living home for men. Perry shares Hightower’s belief that there needs to be more recovery support following treatment and says, “If you’re thrown from treatment to the outside world, sometimes it’s too bumpy.” On his relapses after treatment in 1997 and 2001, Perry said, “ I was a sick guy” which is what sparked his initiation of creating the sober residence with Hightower.

In recognition of their efforts, the Office of National Drug Control Policy honored them with the Champion of Recovery Award, to which Perry jokes “now we are award winning alcoholics.” And it is good they were rewarded for their efforts, but much of the reward comes from the satisfaction of being of service to others. Addiction treatment professionals say that helping others after getting sober can help reduce the propensity for relapse. It also helps more people become sober today as those in recovery are taught to give back what was given to them when they first sought help from fellows in recovery.

More Binge Drinking Among Young Women

Posted on by Christy Weeks
rehab college students
Photo Via

When you think of binge drinking, usually fraternity houses come to mind – or a scene from Animal House. Surprisingly, binge drinking is increasingly more common among college age woman than their male counterparts.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) men should drink a max of 14 drinks per week and only 4 drinks per day and woman should drink a max of 7 drinks per week and no more than 3 per day. A study by Harvard Medical School concluded that women were going above and beyond these recommended limits more so than men.

The study looked at 992 students comprised of 417 men and 575 women and asked them to confidentially report their daily drinking habits 2 times a week during the first year of college. According to the reports, women exceeded their alcohol limit more than men. Already, women have higher risks associated with drinking because they experience alcohol related health problems at lower levels of alcohol than men do. These risks are why NIAA recommends the weekly limit of 7 drinks a week for women to reduce their risk of breast cancer, liver disease and other significant health risks. 

Harvard was not the first to report the higher levels of binge drinking among women, as the CDC issued an article this year saying that binge drinking among women can start as early as high school and the problem is under recognized. Sociological explanations for the higher incidence of binge drinking among women are many but none are a tell all. Some theories include greater susceptibility to emotional and academic stress, more pressure to fit in and trying to “keep up” with their male counterparts when out drinking. Another explanation may just be that college kids drink a lot. Many reduce their consumption once they leave college, while others begin to experience problems and signs of alcoholism while in college. Some of these signs include having social relationships affected by consumption or a reduction of academic performance – like not showing up to class – because of binge drinking.

Luckily addiction treatment centers are responding to the problem of college drinking – not just among females but both male and female young adults by creating specialized treatment tracks for college students. Also many college campuses are offering 12 step meetings and support groups for those who have problems with drugs and alcohol.

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Colorado universities are known to be “party schools”and sometimes drinking and drug use can quickly turn into an addiction. If you are concerned about your alcohol or drug use, Harmony Foundation in Estes Park, CO has an addiction rehab track for college students to help those in the grips of addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Incomprehensible Demoralization from Alcohol Abuse

Posted on by Christy Weeks

There is a common phrase thrown around by those in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse that describes a sentiment while they were using: incomprehensible demoralization. While this phrase is applied to thousands of diverse stories and situations, the feeling is the same. Most in recovery can attest to their moments of incomprehensible demoralization.

Recently this sentiment was in the public eye with news stories about people getting drunk, doing very regretful things and woefully apologizing afterwards. Some of the things they did while intoxicated disrupted their careers and reputations with a swift and lasting effect that only serves to reinforce the sentiment of incomprehensible demoralization.

The first popular story occurred about a month ago when Reese Witherspoon’s husband got pulled over for drunk driving in Atlanta. Reese was caught on camera on the side of the road talking back to the police. In an aggressive and boastful tone she asked and asserted, “you don’t need to know my name?!….Well, you are about to find out who I am!” She acted as if being famous exempted her from being treated normally – or in her case – handcuffed and arrested.

Overnight her reputation went from being the sweet girl next door to being egotistically irresponsible and rude. Days later she publically apologized and soberly knew that the police were “just doing their job.” The harsh reality is that what she did while drunk had no bearing on who she really is as a person. It is because of regretful drunk actions like this that people experience demoralization. Often what people do while drunk is far different what their normal selves would dictate – which consequently is also a telltale sign of a problem with alcohol.

In another incident last week, an Eco-Tourism Field Guide named Brian Masters, who had dedicated his education and life to garner that line of work, lost his job. This happened after a video went viral of him charging at an elephant while drunk as his friends recorded him. Now “the guide involved in the confrontation is no longer employed by Singita and further disciplinary procedures are in progress with regard to others involved,” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page. Singita describes the video as “disturbing,” and say the elephant was “extremely agitated by the confrontation and retreated into the bush.”

In response to the event, Masters said “I admit full responsibility for the actions and am deeply, deeply remorseful…There has been a lot of baying for blood and a campaign to name and shame so here I am. I am so sorry this happened and I wish I could undo the stupidity of the act but I can’t; all I can do is apologize and hope people can see the sincerity I am trying to convey.” As aforementioned, although others may not relate to the story specifically, the sentiment is exactly the same. In short, Witherspoon and Masters likely feel the same exact way about themselves although their stories bear no resemblance.

These incidents depicted in the videos below show the destruction that even one night of alcohol abuse can cause. They show how character-changing alcohol can be and how it can cause deep regret. Luckily the demoralization eventually fades, especially after a sound apology as they have made and self forgiveness kicks in.

Is the DSM V Diagnosing Addiction Right?

Posted on by Christy Weeks

What has long been considered the go-to resource for diagnosing mental and addictive disorders, has been recently critiqued by Dr. Thomas R. Insel, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Insel is considered an expert in the field of mental health disorders and says that the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) doesn’t account for important diagnostic tools such as the role of biology, neuroscience and genetics. Currently, the DSM looks at symptoms as the driving criteria to diagnose patients for mental and addictive disorders. For example, the critera for substance dependence is:

1.Tolerance, as defined by either of the following: (a) A need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or the desired effect or (b) Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of the substance.

2.Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following: (a) The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for the substance or (b) The same (or closely related) substance is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

3.The substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended.

4.There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use.

5.A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain the substance, use the substance, or recover from its effects.

6.Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of substance use.

7.The substance use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance (for example, current cocaine use despite recognition of cocaine-induced depression or continued drinking despite recognition that an ulcer was made worse by alcohol consumption).

If someone has experienced 3 of these critera within the same 12 month period, they are diagnosed with substance dependence. According to Dr. Steven E Hyman, former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the DSM “chose a model in which all psychiatric illnesses were represented as categories discontinuous with ‘normal.’” Hyman explains that this caused a scientific dilemma because those who qualify for one diagnosis qualify for five by default but don’t actually have five diseases. Both Dr. Insel and Hyman explain that patients have an underlying condition that causes the symptoms. Therefore, the lens through which we look at patients and research should be through the overall condition rather than just the symptoms.

Dr. Insel asserts that the DSM created in the 1960s and 10970s is outdated and “As long as the research community takes the D.S.M. to be a bible, we’ll never make progress,” because people think everything has to match the criteria. He explains that biology doesn’t follow the rigid criteria of the DSM and we should look at the causes and condition. For example, over the past 40 years neuroscience has shown that genetic abnormalities can put people at risk for addiction, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The drugs created for disorders like bipolar disorder show nothing about the causes of the disorder and therefore drug makers have no goal for drug development that targets the problem before it manifests. Dr. Hyman, Insel and other experts would like the current direction of cancer research, such as characterizing it by genetic and molecular signatures, to serve as a model for the direction of mental health research.

With the newest DSM since 1994 set to come out in a few weeks, practitioners say it shouldn’t be disregarded entirely. It is still the primary tool available to diagnose disorders, but those like Dr. Insel and Hyman say that while using it, keep in mind that it doesn’t reflect the entire picture of the disorder – namely the causes of the condition – and it should not guide research.