This has been coming for awhile..I guess all the press about Robin William's..and a heart to heart with my son and a few of his friends in recovery brought it too a head..Notice I didn't say his Clean friends..I hate the word CLEAN ..We have to open our eyes people..We have an epidemic in our Province..Our Country..In North America..Yes we can blame some of it on Big Pharma..But we can also blame it on our reluctance to Change the way Drug Addiction is treated..It's not working..end of story.
We have to be willing..open to change..We can't simply say.."They didn't want recovery bad enough"..Give me a break..I have heard from many actively using.. many in recovery..that say "Their not ready"..But I have yet to hear from any say.."Guess I didn't want it bad enough."
I am no expert..far from it..But I am a Mamma of a son who lives with the disease of Addiction..I have done a ton of research...yea yea..get a life..I have a life..and I gave life ....to 2 wonderful son's..They were planned..I was ready..We made that decision..Being a parent is a life long commitment..I am not about to throw my son to wolves, because he is sick with a disease that is treatable ..I'm just not. It is a Disease of the brain..A horrendous disease..and everyone is an expert..everyone has an opinion..everyone has an answer..a cure..a treatment..The problem is..everyone's road to recovery is different..and we have to accept that !!!
There is so much Judgement in the addiction community it is literally killing our kids..instead of helping them..
When you are on medication for addiction..the 12 steppers think..and tell you..your weak..your not clean.. You don't want it bad enough...your NOT welcome at our meetings..That my friends..is BULLYING!!!
The holistic approach..you just need to cleanse your body..walk on hot coals..find your aura..take multi viatmins..but not medication..no no..Your Body and Mind can heal themselves..just relax..get refreshed..reaffirm your sobriety..and Chant..
So how's it working for ya..It's not!!!
Dr. Drew had to cancel "Celebrity Rehab" due to the inconveniently frequent suicides !!
The statistics on Successes of these programs alone..are ...low...
I love the 12 step program..yes I do..I love the 12 steps they have to go through..reflection on their addiction..Minus a few.."that they are defective"..No they are sick..they have A Disease..they are not defective!!
I love the holistic approach..I love relaxation..eating healthy..exercise..spiritual awakening's..BUT..If I need Medication..For depression..for addiction..for diabetes..for Cancer..I'm bloodly well gonna take it!!!
SOoooooooooooo..Why can't we just have a rehab that offers everything..there's a novel Idea..lets Just treat The F* ing Disease with everything we got!! All in one place..All supporting each other..Offer 12 step..offer Holistic..Offer prescribed medication..Offer psychotherapy..Offer empathic Staff..Offer whatever and everything it takes to help our kids..no judgement..No Bullying..Just recovery from Addiction..Mental Illness. We have been going backwards..instead we need to move forward by opening our minds..Our Hearts..To NEW ways of treating Addiction..what have we got to lose ??? Our Kids ???
Wow! It feels good to have a rant, doesn't it?! I enjoy your blog and agree with what you are saying. We have to use whatever works and it is different for everyone. If only one way worked then we could expect that 100% of the people would recover, but they don't. It is not that they don't want it, it is because they haven't found what works for them. Motivation is important. Thanks for the post! Keep on educating.
ReplyDeleteIt felt so good!! Probably lost the 2 followers I have...lol..But damn it was worth it!!
DeleteI totally agree. Everyone is different and everybody heals differently. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeletePleasure was all mine..xo
DeleteAmazing! Thank you for you advocacy.
ReplyDeleteAlways..I'm on a Rant and Roll ;)
DeleteBeing a parent is a life long decision, no matter when or how you have you kids. They are our decision, our chosen destiny and no matter what, they are ours. For good or bad, in times we are ready for them, or not.........ours for life.
ReplyDeleteI lost my son to drugs, he was a good boy and a loving son, He willing went to three rehabs but 29 days is not enough, he read the bible he prayed and he wrote things from the bible in a notebook that he would write how he felt, he came home one night and said he couldn't live this way anymore and he went into the bathroom and cut his wrists, I thought I was doing everything right to help him, we would sit and talk for hours about his addiction, I took him to all his meetings, I would see a glimor of hope, his councler would tell me he didn't fit the profile for people on drugs, well to make a long story short, I lost him to this horrible disease and that was 22 years ago and I still cry for him and wonder what more could I have done, I miss him so much!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your Loss..You are living with my fear...I truly don't believe there is any "Profile for Addiction"..Most importantly you CAN"T blame yourself..Sounds like you had a great relationship with your son..And he knew it!! It is a disease..of the brain..we can only do what we can..love support..encourage..educate..advocate..you did all of them..and sometimes the disease wins..It is not that want to die..they just cant live with the pain anymore...Hugggggs
DeleteWell said! I am right with you when it comes to whatever works. I currently live with 4 addicted youth.... 2 of them are my own. All of them are on either methadone or suboxone. All are doing great! 2 of them have over a year of not using. When I found out that my kids were addicted, the first thing I did is study and research (especially during all those sleepless nights) and made a conscious effort to treat their addiction exactly like other disease. We made sure that they got to all their appointments, their random urine tests, the pharmacy on a daily basis and the treatment really began to work. This ridiculous idea that people should hit rock bottom and have to constantly "prove" that they are motivated or ready is crazy! What dr would say to anyone with a disease that you should wait until it gets worse before you start treatment? Even crazier is expecting a very ill person, who often is umemployed, to be able to get to Mt. Herbert, the pharmacy, doctor's apts, etc., without a bit of help and it sure doesn't prove lack of motivation or readiness if you can't. Our current system of treatment is set up to fail. Oops...guess I am ranting too!
ReplyDeleteYou are Amazing!! You are welcome to Join my Rants any day of the week!!
DeleteI have to say..You are right on..It is set up for failure ! And shame on them!!
xo
I LOVE this post!!!! I could not agree more, there are so many that judge in the addiction realm! I also believe there is no cookie cutter treatment for addiction everyone's path to recovery can and does look different. People do judge big time if the recovering addict is being treated with suboxone or methadone. I think it is sad when people who have an addicted loved one in their lives are attached by others who have addicts in their lives about how they are treating their loved one's addiction. It's crazy! I honestly do not believe that my son could have stopped without the help of suboxone, and trust me many look down on him for taking it. He doesn't want to be on it for life but it was a tool in his recovery. He still had to do the HARD WORK to stay clean.
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin! I also believe my son needs methadone..after many years of using and periods of recovery..each episode of using was getting worse..I will admit to struggling with the notion of him using it in the early days..After much research..I know it saved his Life! His outlook is much better...he has goals..He is getting his life back..A normal life with a disease that requires him to take medication to maintain...What the heck is wrong with that?? Your right..another tool in his recovery!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! Great job!
ReplyDelete