Hi JB3,
Thank you for your message. It was a wee while ago and hopefully you are fully recovered from covid. I don’t have a tv and sorry, but I haven’t seen the advert. I do know there is much bias, discrimination and stigma surrounding those who realise they may have a problem with addiction and these issues can more often than not make the individual too frightened to seek help. This in itself is beyond sad as an earlier intervention is easier when assisting a person seeking recovery. However, in the current system I still don’t think enough help is available at any stage for people fighting addiction. There will always be room for improvements , but more people are becoming more aware of the problem and hopefully this awareness will end some of the stigma.
I believe that any individual who has a drug problem should be encouraged to seek help. There is help available here in Scotland, but it is badly organised. For example a Heroin addict can be prescribed methadone as a substitute opioid that staves off withdrawals enabling them to level out and make changes to their health and eventually move on to a better path. Unfortunately this in itself isn’t enough. They can’t just suddenly get well, go out to work meet new friends, acquire an education and rejoin society as a productive individual. They are stuck in the same community and left to get on with it. Acquiring an actual substitute ‘ script ‘ in itself is no easy task. The person seeking recovery is made to jump through hoops. Please feel free to read previous posts of mine that detail my own experiences on trying to help my son receive Medication Assisted Treatment.
To receive their script the person seeking help has to go to a designated chemist every day and the substitute is administrated under supervision. This service is usually not available over the weekend which means a two day supply is given to take away. This makes the person in recovery vulnerable to use again as it takes years to conquer addiction and temptation often overtakes their desire to stay clean, especially at the beginning of treatment, often resulting with the two day supply being sold or swapped for heroin or other drugs. The addict begins to withdraw and the emotions of shame, failure etc kick in and the cycle begins again.
The reason I think substitution therapy has a low success rate is because the person seeking help often lives in poor housing or hostels with nothing to occupy their time and with no where to go. A long term drug user usually has other underlying conditions such as HepC, HIV and mental health issues and is unable to function very well. Their self esteem is very low and their new reality i.e. staying clean is dogged by isolation, poverty, loneliness and the community they belong to which is riddled with crime and violence. They are often stigmatised by the public, the police, the health service and social services. There is much bias. It is easy for the afore mentioned to show empathy and say the right things, but actions speak louder than words and everyone knows the system isn’t working. Individuals seeking recovery can’t just suddenly get well, go out to work or meet new friends. These things take a long time. They are stuck in the same community and left to get on with it.
I know there is AA, NA , etc and many more support systems available, but your average street poly user doesn’t quite fit in there. I respect that these institutes do good work, but also do not have a high success rate and the fear of complete abstinence stops many from using these facilities at the beginning of their recovery. Complete abstinence is best but not always possible with the first steps of recovery. Even severe alcoholism needs to be medically supervised if the problem is extreme.
Relapse can also be seen as a problem. Statistics show that relapse is inevitable on the road to recovery but relapse is seen by many as a weakness and rather than be supported through a relapse ; possibly the most crucial time on the road to recovery, the recovering addict is instantly kicked off a program or shunned by some support groups, family etc.
Any moves forward with “parity of esteem ‘ can only do good. In combination with MAT for the physical symptoms : support with a persons mental health is imperative. My opinion has changed over the years and currently I think MAT and parity is the way ahead for recovery. I think there should be a reclassification of drugs. Harsh as this sounds, l also think that the sale of drugs should be illegal and the law should come down hard on dealers, even those who only deal to enable their own supply. Rather than go to prison there should be a rehabilitation route where the individual can choose in-house recovery and rehabilitation whilst serving their sentence . Where they could receive MAT, psychological sessions and ongoing support when entering back into the community should they choose that option. Obviously this wouldn’t be suitable for all people who have committed a crime, but for people where there crimes are related to their drug addiction. I actually don’t like to use the word ‘crime’ here as many people end up in prisons due to the lifestyle addiction can lead to.
I urge you to watch the documentary “ Seattle is Dying “ on you tube, this explains what I mean about rehab much better than I am. It is a long gruelling watch, but near the end the work of health care providers who facilitate and run (think they are called CODAK centres – might be wrong spelling) is highlighted and it seems to work. There is a lot to be learned here.
My son is still in hospital and life is sometimes very difficult for him but he is trying. Its been around eight months since his accident and things are different though still tough. I have taken him out a few times and it’s a new way of living! I don’t expect anyone really ends up with the life they had hoped for. Still, I keep trying to make things better every day , even the ones that are spent in bed as there is so much I still can’t face. Things are easier in the sense that I know he is safe for now although he will have to leave hospital at some point and I am not sure how we will fare. In the meantime we are finding joy in the simple things, cooking lunch, watching films and maybe a walk round the park sometime soon stopping for a coffee and some people watching.
Hoping everyone is doing okay and is having a pleasant Easter holiday.
Love
Ivy