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Depression and Relapse - A Guide to Recovery
von: Terence T. Gorski
BookBaby, 2017
ISBN: 9781483593791 , 200 Seiten
Format: ePUB
Kopierschutz: frei
Preis: 11,89 EUR
Part 1: Addiction
In this part of the book we're going to look at the problems people have with alcohol and other drugs. Alcohol and drug problems are common. About two-thirds of all Americans drink; about one-third don't. Of those who drink, about half develop alcohol-related problems. Somewhere between 6 and 10 percent of all Americans will become alcoholics. In addition to alcohol, many people use, abuse, and become addicted to both prescription and illegal drugs. When you add it all together, about 15 percent of all people will have serious problems with alcohol or other drugs at some point in their lives.
One thing is certain- no one starts drinking or drugging with the goal of getting addicted. People don't wake up in the morning and say, "Gee, this is a beautiful day. I think I'll go out and get addicted!" That just isn't how it works. Addiction is a slow, insidious process. It sneaks up on people from behind, when they're not looking. Here's how it happens.
When some people start using alcohol and other drugs they feel really good. The drugs make them feel better than they've ever felt before, and so they keep drinking and drugging. They focus on enjoying the good times and get in the habit of pushing the bad times out of their minds. This allows the disease of addiction to quietly sneak in through the back door. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous states it better than I ever could when it says that addiction is "cunning, baffling, and powerful." Addiction comes into our lives posing as a friend and then slowly grows into a monster that destroys us.
There was once a man named Ted. His best friend gave him a little kitten. Ted loved that soft, cuddly little cat and made it a part of his life. As time went by the cat kept growing. It started to get so big that it was causing problems. It would knock things off the counters, break things, and tear up the house. But Ted loved the cat so much that he decided to ignore the problems. By the time the cat was six months old, it was clear to everyone that this was no ordinary cat. Ted's friend had given him a baby mountain lion. But knowing this didn't change Ted's mind. He loved his "cat" so much that he decided to keep it. After all, what harm could it do? About eight months later a friend came over to visit. Ted's mountain lion attacked his friend. When Ted tried to pull the cat off his friend, the mountain lion turned on its master. Ted was severely clawed and nearly died.
Addiction is a lot like Ted's mountain lion. It starts out as a cute and cuddly little thing that brings a lot of joy, fun, and excitement into our lives. But then the addiction starts to grow up. As it grows, it turns into a vicious monster that starts destroying our lives.
To understand the relationship between depression and substance-use problems we need to understand three basic things: social and recreational use, substance abuse, and addiction.
1.1. Social and Recreational Use
Social drinking is the responsible use of alcohol to enhance pleasant social interactions. A recent government report (Dufour, 1999) described what social drinking looks like. A social drinker uses alcohol less than three times per week and consumes two normal-sized drinks or less during each drinking episodes. A normal-sized drink equals 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of SO-proof distilled spirits such as bourbon, gin, or vodka. Social drinkers become intoxicated less than once a year. When they do get intoxicated, it is usually a planned event such as a New Year’s Eve party, a wedding, or some other celebration.
Social drinkers never engage in dangerous behavior such as driving a car, operating dangerous equipment, or caring for infants or children while drinking. They never have problems because of drinking.
There is no such thing as the social or recreational use of illegal or prescription drugs. This may sound like an extreme statement, but it's true. Whenever people use an illegal drug they're breaking the law. The minute they break the law by using the illegal drug they become a substance abuser. Why is this? Well, people become substance abusers when they start having problems because of using alcohol or other drugs. Breaking the law is a problem. By breaking the drug laws people put themselves at risk of getting arrested and going to jail. By any rational definition, when people do things that could put them in jail, it's a problem.
It's a good idea to think twice about using illegal drugs for several reasons. First, as we said, they're illegal. If you're caught using them, you can go to jail. Second, they're dangerous. When you buy street drugs you never know what you're getting. The drugs could contain adulterants that are poisonous. Third, you don't know the purity or potency. This puts you at high risk of taking an unintentional overdose. Fourth, to buy drugs you have to get involved in a violent and antisocial drug culture. Drug dealers are not nice people. They routinely cheat, steal, hurt, and kill people. Fifth, you put yourself outside the protection of the law. Short of carrying a gun and being willing to use it, there are very few ways of protecting yourself from the violence of the drug trade. So, there's no such thing as the recreational use of illegal drugs.
There's also no such thing as the recreational use of prescription drugs. Any time you manipulate a doctor into giving you a prescription that you don't really need you instantly become a substance abuser. Why? Once again, you're breaking the law. You're manipulating the doctor to give you a legally controlled substance by providing false information. This is both dishonest and illegal. You're abusing prescription drugs if you start using more medication than your doctor prescribed. You're also abusing prescription drugs if you start using them to get high instead of to treat an illness.
Evan was an eighteen-year-old high school senior with a promising future in basketball. Coming home from his after-school job at a convenience store, he was pulled over by the police. Being young and cocky, he antagonized the police officer, who decided to search his car. The officer found a minimum quantity of cocaine and marijuana and arrested Evan. The judge decided to impose treatment instead of a sentence, and Evan dutifully completed his three-month outpatient treatment. A few months later, over the Christmas holidays, Evan decided to party with friends and took what he thought was methadone. Evan spent the next two weeks in intensive care where he died from the complications of the overdose. The methadone Evan took was laced with acetaminophen which significantly raised Evans body temperature and essentially cooked his brain.
Here's another point that many people never think about: responsible people will use only their own prescriptions. They'll never share their prescription medication with others. They'll also never use drugs that were prescribed for others. No matter how much you'd like to believe that using illegal or prescribed drugs to get high is "recreational drug use," it's not.
1-2. Substance Abuse
Substance Abusers are people who get into trouble because they make bad decisions about their drinking and drugging. How can you tell if you're a substance abuser? It's easy. If you get into trouble because of using alcohol or other drugs you're a substance abuser. It's just that simple. There's a formula that clarifies this definition:
Alcohol and Drug Use + Problems = Substance Abuse
What kind of problems can substance abusers develop because of using alcohol or other drugs? Some people develop physical health problems. They get physically sick. Others develop psychological problems. The start feeling bad, guilty, or ashamed of their drinking or drugging or what they do while they're drinking or drugging.
Many start to get psychologically dysfunctional. They can't think clearly. They have trouble managing their feelings and emotions. They lose control of their behavior and start doing things they normally wouldn't do. They emotionally overreact and lose their temper. Sometimes they become violent by getting into fights.
Some people develop social problems. They neglect important family or social responsibilities. They start having problems at work, with friends, or with their families. Some abusers have financial problems because they spend too much money on drinking or drugging. Others start having legal problems, like getting arrested for drunk driving or for the possession of illegal drugs.
Alcohol and drug abusers have problems because of their alcohol and drug use, but they haven't lost control. They haven't yet developed the biological brain responses that create the powerful compulsion to use. They still can stop.
1-3. Addiction
Addiction is a biopsychosocial illness or disease. The term biopsychosocial...
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