October 27, 2025
| Valerie Hayes
| Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos
The sad reality is that the drug treatment, and rehab is an industry in itself, which by design perpetuates the cycle of repeated treatments, followed by relapses, and then more treatment.
Recently I watched a documentary on the situation in British Columbia. The government does not provide that many treatment beds, mostly because the problem is so huge, the cost would be excessive, and partly because no one wants to take responsibility for the problem.
The government does provide some beds, but apparently a third of them do not provide any treatment options. The low barrier housing options allows the addicts to continue using drugs, with the provision of shelter, and other supports.
Many arguments for involuntary treatment are bandied back and forth. There are those who are adamantly against forcing treatment, and those who are just as unyielding on the issue of mandatory treatment.
Given the fact the number of government subsidized beds is so sparse, considering the scope of the problem, it has given rise to a range of private treatment centres, counsellors, and options for those seeking treatment, if they have sufficient financial backing. The payment for treatment usually comes from the family members of the addict.
However what many people may not know, is that the treatment centres are not regulated in BC. How many times do you read about former addicts going from addiction, to immediately becoming counsellors? They believe their experience qualifies them.
Clearly there can be benefits to peer counselling, and support groups. But we must keep in mind that former addicts have many years ahead of them to resolve their addiction, and reduce the chance of relapse. Unless they have many years of sobriety, they should probably stay away from other addicts, even though they might have intentions to help them.
Regarding some of the treatment centres, you hear of neighbours reporting that they thought the treatment centre was a crack house. All kinds of people are allowed to come and go without any kind of monitoring. The advertising for many of these places makes them sound like a five star resort. But when people get into the program, they find out it is a different story.
The cost of some of the programs is staggering, often tens of thousands of dollars. The background and credentials of the owner/operator is often fabricated. Some of the treatments are taken to the extreme, from sweat lodges, to Kundalini yoga, restrictive diets, excessive exercise, unsupervised fasting, etc.
When a family seeks out a treatment facility, they are often at their wits end, and in fear for the life of their loved one. They are in a vulnerable position when it comes to paying upwards of $60,000.00 for a ninety day program. Because the facilities are unlicensed, and unregulated, they have to take the advertising, and claims at face value.
This is where for profit drug treatment can fail people. There is no real incentive to see people get well for the long term. In fact the cycle of addiction often includes multiple relapses. These relapses are framed as “part of the journey” and are to be expected.
The success rate is going to be much higher if the addict is motivated to get well. Involuntary treatment does work for some people. If you listen to jailhouse interviews, or to those who spent time in jail as a result of an addiction, they will often say that being incarcerated is what got them on the road to recovery, because they had no other choice. It also gave time to reflect on what got them there, and what they needed to do to change direction.
In my opinion, individual care plans might help. The benefits of creating tailored care plans based on the addicts current situation, goals, general health, childhood trauma, and drugs of choice, could help to keep them on track.
A huge part of the problem is poly-pharmaceuticals, combining prescription drugs with street drugs. Also the inclusion of so many benzodiazepines in the mix is a recipe for disaster. Benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and antidepressants can be more lethal than opiates.
When people become long term addicted to benzodiazepines, getting off them is a nightmare. With opiates there is a period of withdrawal, and sickness for several days. But once stabilized, they can move forward.
Benzodiazepines require a very careful, long term tapering of the drug to be able to manage the withdrawal. In one case, a man was able to help his wife by micro-dosing, with minute incremental reductions. She was doing quite well, but then her psychiatrist advised a more rapid reduction. She had extreme withdrawal, and quickly relapsed.
Antipsychotics interfere with dopamine, serotonin, histamine, and epinephrine. Benzodiazepines also interfere with dopamine, and various other neurotransmitters. If these drugs are combined with opiates, the person’s dopamine levels become an absolute mess, requiring long term treatment.
Three month treatment plans might get a highly motivated person past a crisis, but what needs to be addressed is that it takes years, not months to fully recover.
Primarily there has to be a change in neurochemistry, as well as gut health. This is in addition to supports for emotional, psychological and spiritual recovery.
Another long term effect of drug use, is EPS symptoms, or extrapyramidal side effects. These symptoms can vary widely in severity, from stiffness, to Parkinson like tremors, involuntary movements, restlessness and agitation etc. Antipsychotic drugs are the worst culprits, but many other drugs can cause these distressing symptoms as well.
In so many cases, people move away from street drugs, only to become dependant on potent prescription drugs that cause just as much harm. Short term gain for long term debilitation. The exchange is not recovery. It is misery, and an ongoing cycle.
The reason a well structured care plan might help, is to avoid some of the pitfalls, as well as being shunted from one psychiatrist’s opinions, and drug choices, to another. Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist can be certain they will be prescribed drugs. This is not going help balance the system to a state of wellness.
After the initial detox, the addict needs to set out long term goals, short term goals, and daily goals. The objective is to restore natural dopamine through diet, exercise, and goal setting. It also means changing old habits, and patterns, and staying away from areas where drugs are being used. It requires learning to set boundaries, as well as to avoid being manipulated, and/or manipulating others.
Manipulation is based on the need for control, and is a deceptive tactic. But underlying the need to control others, is an unstable locus of self-control. Self-control allows us to stick to a plan, and detach from the people or things that are prone to derailing us. We cannot thrive if we are people pleasers. If we are being manipulated, it does not come from a place of love or support.
Part of self care, is to learn to be your own butler, or caregiver. It may sound selfish, but it is important to learn how to take care of your own needs. After that, you are much better equipped to help with, serve, or take care of others. Without the ability to self care, we are at the mercy of anyone who tries to influence or control us. We lack boundaries, and end up responding in a knee-jerk fashion. This kind of response often leads to resentment.
By being your own butler, it means you are thinking ahead. You are planning meals, exercise, finances, making to do lists every day, and staying organized and focused. That way you are not an easy target for those who want to sway you, or exploit you, or simply get you to join them.
Breaking out of a cycle of victimization is not easy. We have to learn to take responsibility for the many mistakes we make. We also have to forgive the things others have done to us, while setting boundaries to prevent it from recurring.
We have to change. Change only comes about by changing daily habits, by exchanging resentment for gratitude, by changing our plans, and by finding ways to restore dopamine.
Dopamine is responsible for reward and pleasure, and therefore is a major contributor to mood. It is also responsible for cognition, memory, attention and focus, which is why it is so important to start creating a written plan, along with daily to do lists.
Dopamine also plays a crucial role in multiple other bodily functions related to sleep, blood vessels, heart rate, movement, posture, and kidney function. If a hospitalized person is on a dopamine drip, they are probably in ICU.
The ways in which drugs interfere with dopamine receptors in the brain, is vast and complex. Once a person is addicted to any substance, they face a long road to recovery.
But the good news is that unlike spinal cord injuries, or brain injuries, the recovery from addiction is possible. The younger, and healthier a person is, the more quickly their system can heal and recover.
The problem for many people, is that they expect to feel better within a matter of weeks. Or they switch from one dependancy to another, by going from street drugs to prescription psychotropics.
Switching addictions puts people on the path to relapse, one way or another. There has to be a plan to prepare for the bad days, to avoid the impulse to use again. No one is in a good mood all of the time. Learning healthy ways to cope with bad moods, is an integral part of self regulation.
Setbacks are not just a part of the addicts life, but rather, they are part of life. It can be anything from a broken down car, to finding out a spouse is having an affair. Losses can occur from extreme weather conditions, losing a loved one, to losing a job, or getting a knee injury, just when you make a coveted team.
Life has many obstacles, struggles and difficulties for all of us. For those with stable childhoods, they could still be affected by accidents, illnesses, sibling relationships, parental conflicts etc. A child’s disposition can affect the way they view the world. We simply don’t know to what extent a person is impacted by the events of their childhood.
Certain things like sleep training, perfectionism, high expectations, inflexibility, too much, or too little attention – can all have an adverse effect on how a child views the world. These things can have an impact on whether or not they develop security, confidence and trust.
If a parent favours one child over another, it can have an adverse effect on both the favoured, and the rejected child. It takes us a long time to be resilient as far as the opinions, or judgements toward us.
If children are constantly hovered over, without the freedom to play, or have some unstructured time to reach developmental milestones at their own pace, they might become anxious, depressed, or rebellious. They might find it difficult to take initiative.
Some kids are naturally coordinated. Others are clumsy. Some are academically inclined. Others are not, and may excel at sports instead. For the most part, children do not want to be shaped according to their parents values or expectations. They struggle for autonomy. Even the “perfect child” who seems to excel at everything, will not necessarily feel secure or confident.
In every family, among the siblings, most of us have observed that each child is a unique individual. Even though they grew up together, they may be very different from one another.
For those who came from a traumatic, chaotic, violent, and/or addictive childhood background, they have lifelong hurdles to overcome. The brain, the adrenal system, the dopamine, fear, anxiety, and coping mechanisms all become hardwired into the system. It affects self esteem, trust, security, learning, the way the future is viewed, and basically everything. It robs the child of a childhood, as they are faced with adult responsibilities, caregiving, and the struggle for survival at an early age.
The suggestion of learning to be your own butler, or caregiver, seems glib, but yet it does make sense. The guy who suggested this idea, is a successful executive who travels a fair bit. He said he likes to have his Keurig coffee set up the night before. He gets his clothes out, and plans what to wear. He goes to bed at night thinking about what he needs to do, to make his life easier, puts things in place, and wakes up planning his day for smooth sailing.
Yes, flexibility is a key character trait in well adjusted individuals, so we have to take all planning as an outline that might need to be changed or adjusted. If we become too rigid, we risk becoming insecure, like a toddler who needs a pacifier, blanket, stuffed animal, and story in order to be able to go to sleep.
For Christians, there are bible verses instructing us to give up self. Paradoxically the notion of self care might not align with abandoning self to follow Christ. However, Christ is within us, therefore we are to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually.
If we abandon self care, we will allow the forces of the world to take over our lives. Self care does not mean total selfishness. It is like when you sit on an airplane and the flight attendant goes through the safety instructions. They tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then assist the person beside you. The reason for this is because you cannot help anyone, if you cannot breathe.
People are often praised for being selfless. In order to serve others without being a manipulated people pleaser, we have to take care of ourselves. We have to be sober, vigilant, discerning, and capable of setting boundaries. We have to know our own limits, and seek God’s will for our life, as opposed to being men pleasers.
For those coming out of drug addiction, they also need to take care of the former child within, to help restructure life, and bring in some of the things they did not receive to help stabilize them as children. Childhood trauma is a root cause of addictive behaviours.
If we are honest with ourselves, we can recognize the manifestations of some form of addictive behaviours in our own lives. Addiction has many long and winding tentacles. It is not limited to drugs, alcohol, food and gambling. It is any behaviour that we repeat for short term escape, or gratification – in spite of the fact it is robbing us of something important.
What about guilt? Guilt robs us of the ability to forgive ourselves. Once we recognize the need to repent, we do not need to carry a burden of guilt. We are all flawed, and we all fall short of the glory of God. We are forgiven by the grace of God.
It means we can let go of past mistakes, hurt, shame, and guilt – to allow each day to be a clean slate. Our prior tribulation can end up benefitting us, if we have trust and faith in God.
Romans 5:3-5
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
August 28, 2024
| Valerie Hayes
| Business & Web Development, Health & Wellness, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos
The rampant addiction and overdose deaths continue to rise, and create crisis after crisis for families, communities, health care, and education.
The issue of addiction has creeped into every nook and cranny of our lives. If we ourselves have not battled it, someone in our family has.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies to the topic of addiction, probably more than most health related issues.
When asking the question about how to prevent addiction, and where does it start? For most of us, the obvious answer is that it begins in the home, and must be recognized how much early developmental learning, comes through observation, emotions, and intergenerational patterns.
First of all, we need to be cognizant of how our own parents managed addiction. In many cases, addicted children have addicted parents. Even if the parent does overcome the addiction at some point, the children are still prone to addiction, and such vulnerabilities cannot be overlooked.
We also have to be aware that parental addiction is not only about drugs and alcohol. It can also be manifested in workaholism, gambling, food, and various other forms of escapism, or habits.
The first step is in identifying increased vulnerability in ourselves, in our families, and especially for the sake of the children.
Children at most risk are those who are traumatized. Children who end up in foster care end up having more trauma than combat veterans. Children who are exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault, neglect, and shame, become hard wired to seek forms of escapism.
Our familial patterns can take many years to recognize and overcome. The effects of PTSD and profound shame associated with family of origin, cannot be shaken off in a few weeks or months.
Most of all, the emotional scars cannot be remedied with drugs or alcohol, as is so often the case. When someone tells another person to get help, what exactly does that mean?
Where do they get help? Paradoxically, every program is likely to focus on giving more drugs to combat the drug addiction. Why?
We can never under estimate the power of the pharmaceutical companies, and the role they play in contributing to widespread addiction. They want steady customers. Repeat customers are the proverbial cash cow.
Therefore many addiction programs will focus on harm reduction, which just means they substitute one drug for another. But as most of us familiar with how addiction works, we know that abstinence is the only cure. Prescription drugs can be just as deadly as street drugs.
Once a person enters a rehab facility or a treatment centre, or the mental health system, they are likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, and prescribed psychotropic drugs. Often they are prescribed antipsychotics, which target the dopamine receptor sites, just as many other drugs do – especially opiates.
In addition, there is no real way to track how poly pharmaceuticals in conjunction with street drugs, can potentiate each other.
Not long ago I watched a YouTube show about a young woman who was around twenty years old, and ended up in rehab. She was bright, energetic, and had an outgoing gregarious personality. When she was in rehab, she became anxious and restless. They gave her benzodiazepines, which is the anti-anxiety class of drug, most commonly known as Valium, Ativan and the mood stabilizer Clonazepam.
Although benzodiazepines are not similar to opiates in how they work chemically, they are just as dangerous, just as addictive. People who become addicted to benzos require months, and sometimes years of very careful tapering to get off them.
When the young woman was discharged from rehab, she had a prescription for Valium. She was full of hope and had written a diary, to express her new found confidence in being able to kick her drug habit. Unfortunately, she was full of hope, but hopelessly naive.
She went home, and immediately got a job in a bar. She hooked up with old friends and was exposed to the usual party scene. She was still taking Valium during the day, and started drinking at night. Within a matter of weeks, she relapsed and started taking street drugs again. And shortly after that, she died of an overdose, leaving a grief stricken family behind.
How many times do we read about an addict relapsing a hundred times? Or going through a treatment program twelve to twenty times? In the US drug culture, they refer to this as body brokering. In other words, the system is designed to cycle people through treatment programs, with no intention of seeing them get off drugs.
They even have a referral system to see if the person has insurance, or wealthy parents, and they will get plugged into the treatment centre, get discharged, relapse, and go back for repeat treatments until they die, or the funds are exhausted.
For those of us who claim abstinence is the only way out, we get harm reduction advocates screaming blue murder. They will insist the quest for abstinence is killing people, and they will use histrionics and hyperbole, to fuel the steady, and ever increasing flow of drugs.
They will claim the push for recovery, through abstinence, represents a profound lack of compassion. But wanting to see people get well – is not a lack of compassion.
Addiction is very easy to fall into, and very difficult to climb out of. Therefore is makes sense to prioritize prevention. The cost of addiction is part of the profiteering malevolent cycle.
In order to tackle the problem of addiction, there has to be a complete paradigm shift. It starts in our minds, and in the minds of our children.
We understand there are laws to help protect us from physical, and sexual assault. But we have no laws to protect our minds and emotions from infiltration, and assault, by those wishing to exploit us, and rob our potential.
In fact, the assault on our minds and emotions can be just as deadly as physical assaults, yet the perpetrators never face any charges, because there is no outward bruising, or signs of assault.
The stage can be set for self-medicating psychic and emotional pain, long before the individual or family is aware of it. On behalf of children, we need to protect their minds and their emotions, as well as protect them physically.
We also need to be aware that we have become a pill pushing society. Every ailment has a pill to remedy it. We have come to believe we need those pills as a quick fix for every hindrance we face.
Children watch their parents, and grandparents use medication, and begin to see it as a normal part of life.
When I worked in ER, part of the history, and documentation to be entered on the patient’s chart, was to list the medications the person was taking. Often they did not even know the names of the drugs, or why they were taking them.
It was not uncommon for the patient to bring in a brown paper bag filled with bottles of pills. The ER staff would go through them, and write them down, because the patient could not list them all when questioned. One person could easily have fifteen or twenty prescription drugs in that bag. This was especially so for seniors.
Previously, I did some research, and wrote a blog post about the multiple classes of drugs prescribed to certain groups, and how they stacked up in relation to age, and demographics.
Not surprisingly, it was those in poverty, seniors, and Indigenous people, who were prescribed the most classes of drugs.
It is not to say people don’t require medication for certain ailments. It is just that we have learned to expect there is a pill for everything, from depression to high cholesterol, and every ache and pain that plagues us.
Instead, we should be focusing more on diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, wellness, and stable routines. We need to find ways to have fun, without drugs and alcohol.
Sports, hobbies, fresh air, camping, music, learning, and positive relationships, with much care and attention to who we allow into our lives, will contribute to overall wellness. Music and sports probably top the list for young people, as healthy outlets.
Although we may have many regrets about our own addictive tendencies, and how we may have affected our children, we can only use what we have learned to try and help others. We cannot turn back the clock.
Therefore, overcoming addiction must carry forward with love, and forgiveness within families. We need to do so, without neglecting to validate the amount of emotional pain it has caused.
By the time a child enters school, many of the intrinsic coping mechanisms have already been established. If the schools genuinely want to help address the problem of addiction, and protect children, they must incorporate education about addiction into the school curriculums at every age level.
In addition to validating the effects of psychological and emotional pain, and the importance of protecting our minds and emotions, the education surrounding addiction is extensive.
How many kids have been put on Ritalin, then go on to use meth? How many of them were diagnosed with ADHD when really they were simply rambunctious, bright, high energy kids? Or maybe their lack of attention was an attempt to seek distractions, which is another form of escapism from emotional pain or trauma.
Instead of addressing the vulnerability, and properly assessing the child, they start them on drugs, in order to manage them, and keep them in line. It is the worst thing they could do to them.
How is any school going to begin to educate about addiction, if they are encouraging parents to put their kids on Ritalin?
To be sincere about wellness, the educational systems need to provide honest information about the effects of drugs on every system of the body. Just as kids learn the periodic table of elements to understand sodium, magnesium, calcium etc. they should also learn how these chemical elements affect the bodily systems.
The book “Molecules of Emotion” written in 1997 by Candace Pert made the connection between dopamine, endorphins, and the physiology between internal chemistry and emotions.
Candace Pert was a neuroscientist and pharmacologist who was credited with the discovery of opioid receptors in the brain, and the cellular binding site for endorphins in the body. She lectured about many related topics, and wrote a significant amount of material.
What I found interesting when I watched some of the interviews and lectures given by Candace Pert, is that she often had a can of Coke sitting beside her, instead of a bottle of water. Even though it is a minor thing, it is interesting to note, she too experienced the pitfalls of a form of addiction.
Candace Pert died at the age of 67 of congestive heart failure, and was clearly sick and overweight for at least the last ten years of her life.
She had the knowledge, but she still struggled with maintaining her own health. What can we learn from it?
The subject of molecules and emotion, and how it relates to knowledge is so complex, it transcends what our minds can grasp.
We are constantly seeking to feel good, to feel better, and to fill a void within us. If we reach for the wrong remedy, it becomes a bad habit. if we continue the habit, it becomes an addiction. If we continue the addiction, it will kill us.
We are the subjects of someone else’s profit motive, whether we realize it or not. So within this convoluted train wreck of addiction, there lies a profit motive, messaged toward us from every direction imaginable.
The advertising and propaganda is beamed into our brains. Greed, and the love of money – are two of the most essential components driving it at the higher levels. These motives are often concealed. We need to learn to be far less gullible.
Rather than allowing our minds and bodies to become a cauldron of chemical soup, we need to find ways to feel good without addictive substances. It is not always easy, that’s for sure.
It means we have to acknowledge the importance of the gut biome, as a very important part of the internal chemistry. We have to evaluate sugar, pop, and fast foods, as part of the attack upon our systems, because they too, set off a train reaction and increase our risk of addiction to harmful substances.
We have to find ways to cope with hardship, losses, and pain, without resorting to self-medicating. Fresh air, exercise, hobbies, adequate sleep, learning, our spiritual lives, our love for family and others – all contribute to our well-being.
Personally, I believe one of the worst things for our mental health, is shame. Although it is often children from homes steeped in poverty, addiction, instability, and trauma who feel the most shame, the burden of shame has no respecter of persons either.
Children from good homes can also feel ashamed and unworthy. Perhaps they are portrayed as the perfect child. Perfectionism is damaging, because no one is perfect.
Or maybe they have a sibling who is the apple of the parents eye, and they are not. All kinds of things can cause shame for a child. In fact, favouring one child over another wreaks havoc under the surface of many familial veneers.
Almost all families have some form of dysfunction. To make matters more difficult, we tend to be master’s when it comes to denial.
Shame increases vulnerability to addiction. It is another form of emotional pain that may seek to self-medicate. Addiction is best addressed in an open, and communicative environment within the family.
None of us can rightfully deny what the other is experiencing, because denial is also part of what fuels addiction. If there is denial, there is re-victimization.
On the flip side of shame, we see narcissism, which also represents a very fragile ego. The healthiest outlook is one of quiet confidence, without a need to be special, or talented, or use achievements in order to measure self worth.
There is no way to summarize the tip of an iceberg. We either hit it and go down, or we find a way to navigate around it.
In my humble opinion, and less than stellar background, all I can say is first and foremost – protect the mind and emotions, as well as the body from assaults, grooming, shaming, exploitation etc. Set boundaries, or the destructive people, and systems – will bowl you over without giving it a second thought.
Secondly – understand that for those who have addictive tendencies, which truthfully, is most of us, we need to abstain. For the addict, there is a constant need to fill the void with more, until there is a certain mood elevation, sleep, and then the cycle begins again.
This is not a stagnant cycle. It is a very active and ever increasing vortex, until that deep sleep brought about by the substance, ends up becoming a permanent sleep.
And finally, probably most important of all, is the fact we are not only made up of mind and body, we also coexist in a spiritual world. Therefore, we have to integrate ourselves with a belief system that transcends our physical world.
There is much criticism in our very secular world, towards those who acknowledge the importance of our spiritual beliefs, but regardless, they are probably at the heart of every recovery, and certainly the hope for a true recovery.
Candace Pert acknowledged the spiritual aspect of life, and unfortunately for her, she delved into New Age, instead of Christianity. Her expansive knowledge of pharmacology, and the chemistry of emotions, and how it led to her own spiritual beliefs, does reinforce that our spirituality is an ultimate quest.
It also tells us we not only must protect our minds, heart, and emotions – but more than anything, we also need to recognize and understand the importance of our spiritual lives, and what we choose to believe.
The void within us cannot be filled with harmful substances, because if we do, it is like feeding a wolf, prowling around with an insatiable hunger, and a determination to destroy us.
We cannot just take away the substance we are using to fill the abyss within us, because the emptiness will continue to haunt us, or we will fill it with something equally addictive.
We have to find our own pathway, and also find ways to fill the vacuity within us, with what is good, what is rewarding, and with what will sustain us for the long term.
Healing is both a journey, and a destination. It is metaphorically full of highwaymen with pistols, and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
There is a barren nihility, and a deep black hole, both on the inside, and on the outside, of this wrecking ball of the soul.
Somehow we need to learn to be wise, to be aware, and to be willing to do what we can, to prevent our children, and our grandchildren, from falling into the pit of addiction.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
September 3, 2023
| Valerie Hayes
| Health & Wellness, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos
The history of opiates, and opiate addiction goes back thousands of years. I once read that every single society throughout history with access to opiates, resulting in high levels of addiction – will use up the entire supply made available to them.
With the introduction of fentanyl, the potency of opiates has skyrocketed. We are told the fentanyl is coming from China, however if that is truly the case, one does wonder why Australia has not been afflicted as much as other countries in the world, when Australia has a much closer proximity to China.
In addition, apparently Australia just had a drug bust involving fentanyl, with enough doses to kill the entire population of Sydney. The shipment came from Canada.
I recently listened to a safe supply pitch, or harm reduction video promotion filmed in Vancouver, where a journalist was interviewing those who actively support a safe supply. Although he took an observant and neutral position on the topic, by the look on his face, I am not sure they convinced him or swayed him to their position.
The doctor who was interviewed for this video was very pro drugs, in particular pro opiates, insisting the use of opiates could be safe, normal, widespread, and not a problem at all. She made glib statements like “everyone uses drugs, and it does not have to be a problem at all.”
She came across as being kind of an opiate know-it-all, and in my opinion, she seemed more like an opiate promoting airhead. She sounded like a drug sales rep, advertising and advocating for the drug, instead of the patient.
Even though she was right in the thick of it all, she was completely out of touch with reality. Paradoxically, she talked about the need for addicts to be given massive doses, due to high tolerance levels. She said for example, if you gave 100 mg for severe pain in a hospital, these people (addicts in the scope of a safe supply) would need at least 2500 mg. in a single dose. She flippantly thought nothing of that painful and poignant fact.
The film also featured bereaved parents who lost children. In most cases, they believed their child was poisoned because they took a drug, in some cases a single pill, that was laced with fentanyl. In other cases, they did not realize the extent of the problem, until their son or daughter overdosed. Understandably some felt guilt, and others felt anger.
Some of the grieving parents are lobbying for policies around a safe supply, and others are lobbying for addiction treatment centres.
I believe the school system should be educating young kids about the addictive effects of opiates. Not about harm reduction, or safe supply, but rather the physiological and biological impact drugs cause on the various systems of the body. It should be explained to them why the tolerance for the drug becomes astronomically high, and why such a tolerance can predispose a person to a fatal overdose.
All people should be aware that addiction means the need to take more and more of the drug to get the same effect. They should also know how long it takes to become addicted, and what specific drug classes are addictive.
The focus should be on finding ways to feel good without the use of toxic mood elevating drugs. Educating kids should be about drug prevention, not drug use and safe supply. We need to find ways to stop indirect pharmaceutical promotion under the guise of “safety”.
The history of the OxyContin crisis and the Sackler brothers setting up an aggressive marketing campaign in order to promote opiates is well known, and well documented. In 2020 Purdue pharmacy pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the fraudulent OxyContin promotion.
By the time they were charged, the company had already made fourteen billion dollars, and the Sackler brothers who were behind it all, have had immunity for years. They continue to face threats of civil lawsuits, and whether they are ever held accountable or not, the entire family will be tainted by their family history for generations to come.
However the Sackler brothers are not the only culprits. The widespread use of Ritalin, and the overly zealous diagnosis of ADHD for every active kid in school, has contributed to the crystal meth drug crisis. In fact, we might even surmise they launched the crisis, just like the OxyContin crisis was launched by overprescribing opiates.
The pharmaceutical and health care industry contributed to the rampant amphetamine use by overprescribing Ritalin and Adderall. Both drugs are stimulants. Adderall contains amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Kids as young as four years old are being prescribed Ritalin. Is it any wonder there is a drug crisis?
The pharmaceutical companies claim drugs for ADHD can regulate brain chemistry, yet we already know the whole brain chemistry theory has been soundly debunked, based on the long term outcomes surrounding SSRI antidepressants. These drugs were advanced, promoted and over prescribed based on junk science, and the false notion about depression and brain chemistry.
Healthy neurochemistry is not drug induced. It is based on diet, exercise, adequate sleep, stress management, and natural dopamine levels based on personal accomplishments, loving relationships, and overcoming challenges. There is no pill or quick fix that will navigate life for us. In fact the notion of a quick fix leads to disaster.
Even for those who are estranged from family, or come from a toxic and abusive family dynamic, there is a deeply spiritual aspect to addiction. God’s love will not forsake us. Christ said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In Galatians 5:1 it tells us “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery”
Addiction is a form of bondage, because it robs choices, opportunities, and health. In many cases it puts a person on death row without a trial. In the meantime, it forces the person to work towards serving the addiction, which is very costly with no positive returns. When you think of how much money has been spent on addiction, and all it demands, just to drag people down, the losses are monstrous.
The public tends to be profoundly gullible when it comes to destructive and debilitating pharmaceutical drugs. Multiple pharmaceutical companies have been charged with fraud. In 2009 Pfizer faced one of the biggest health care frauds and scandals in history. For them, it was a drop in the bucket.
If you go to Wikipedia and look up the list of pharmaceutical frauds and scandals, to include false claims, kickbacks, and off-label promotions, you will find a very long list. It barely scratches the surface of the underlying issues.
When it comes to addiction, gullible people can become unwittingly addicted, if they trust and believe doctors will only prescribe what is safe. Just look at Jordan Peterson’s widely publicized journey with benzodiazepine addiction.
Jordan Peterson believed he was taking a safe supply of a safe drug, prescribed by a qualified physician. Obviously he is an intelligent man, yet he faced astronomical obstacles trying to get free of his own addiction.
Some people claim there is no such thing as a vulnerability or a predisposition to addiction. In one sense it is true, in that many times kids from loving families become addicted, and people who are accomplished and wealthy can also become addicted.
However, I do believe some people are more vulnerable and prone to addiction than others. Although addiction has no respecter of persons in many ways, there are those who are much more susceptible or predisposed to addiction.
Childhood trauma, genetics, PTSD, chronic pain, the need for repeated surgeries, addicted parents, or intergenerational trauma, violence and abuse, childhood sexual abuse, exploitation, emotional abuse, extreme financial stress, job loss, homelessness, and complex grief reactions – all increase the likelihood of addiction.
Those who have backgrounds and personalities that are stable, nurtured, supported, and fairly stress free, are much less likely to become addicted. They can accept their own mood cycles, and are better equipped to regulate their systems, and realize when something is off.
If a person is well adjusted and happy, they do not want to escape reality, and also do not want to feel the sickness, and side effects brought about by drugs. They are also more likely to get a good diet and regular exercise. A healthy lifestyle helps people to feel at peace, experience joy, and realize that some sadness, or grouchy days, are normal and to be expected.
When I hear some of the promotions surrounding rampant drug use, and safe supply, I don’t buy it. The primary reason I don’t believe in such a thing as a safe supply for addicts, is because they need an ever increasing supply.
Therefore, it only stands to reason, there will be a constant search for more drugs. When a person is disinhibited, or under the influence, they are less likely to be vigilant when buying, seeking, or using the drugs. Chances are they will take advantage of safe drugs when they are available, and resort to street drugs in between.
Another reason I don’t believe in a safe supply, is because of the physiological effects, and side effects of almost all drugs. For this reason I would not even promote statins, or SSRI’s, or anticholinergic drugs, or any drug unless it was for palliative care, or short term usage. We have become far too drug dependent, and are easily led down the chemical trail.
Many people are led to believe they need certain drugs. It is not uncommon for seniors to have a bag full of prescription drugs, most of which they don’t even know the names of, let alone what they are for. Yet they really believe they need all those drugs, and would die without them. I think it is more likely they will die because of them.
Of course opiates have their place in the cases of severe pain, such as heart attacks, trauma, and fresh post op surgeries. They can also help keep a terminally ill patient pain free and comfortable.
The notion that widespread use of street drugs can be safe, is obviously bogus, as can easily be seen by the devastation and deaths it has caused. One only needs to walk down the streets of any town or city, to see the loss of human dignity and potential, caused by widespread drug use. The picture it paints, by what is witnessed, is hardly an opiate Nirvana. It is more like John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
When people are in their twenties, and cannot even take care of themselves, something is seriously wrong. It is not normal to spill the contents of a backpack on the ground, and then be unable to pick the items up, and put them back in the pack. It is terribly sad to see people go through such a disturbing regression, and inability to function.
The cycle, and attraction of most addictions, is based on an artificial mood elevation, and escapism. There is a temporary euphoria, and a cathartic release from all the daily struggles, and emotional pain.
If it hijacks the individual, and becomes a cycle – soon the addiction is all that matters. In between the highs, are corresponding lows, to the point there is no even-keel, or stability at all in the life of the addict.
All drugs have side effects. Not only do they wreak havoc with the dopamine neurochemistry, and intensity of mood. They also cause disturbances in gut health, diet, routines, skin integrity, liver and kidney function, and overall well-being. It robs people of their health, and their potential.
Being addicted means not feeling well, therefore I do not see how it can be viewed as compassionate, to enable or support addiction, pretending it can be healthy. It is not healthy. Since it is so unhealthy, the person cannot possibly feel good in a natural state. They do not deserve to be shamed or judged. They deserve genuine empathy, and true compassion for their overall health and well-being.
The addictive high is a chemically induced mood elevator. The temporary euphoria is short lived, and soon the striving for more drugs, is based on the avoidance of being sick. Without a doubt, overcoming a serious addiction is a major challenge.
Many people have overcome addiction, and should be encouraged to go in the direction of healing through abstinence. There is no personal freedom in addiction, therefore to be liberated and free of it, is the ideal choice.
When a person is high, they are not in control of their faculties. It increases vulnerability, and risk in all realms. From violence, to accidents, to shame, to loss of dignity, to doing things they would not otherwise do, to overdosing and dying. The risks taken while using – are astronomical.
When an addict is not high he/she is searching for the next fix, and cannot possibly feel well in that state either. All relationships are affected. The ability to enjoy the small and simple things in life begins to evaporate. Productivity reduces to the point they cannot care for themselves at all.
It does not simply boil down to a safe supply, in order to avoid the deadly fentanyl overdose, although that has increased the risk of overdose significantly. The safe supply cannot prevent the increased tolerance, and need for more and more of the drug.
A safe supply cannot prevent the side effects, loss of productivity, and all the other health related problems caused by the drugs.
The real solution is optimal wellness in a drug free state. That way the person can feel good, and can get in touch with their true emotions, and cycles of ups and downs. They can enjoy their food, and have a natural dopamine increase without the use of toxic chemicals.
Regardless of what our position is, and what we choose to do in our own lives, we would be wise to put on a pharmaceutical filter with a strong dose of cynicism.
When it comes to taking any drug, for starters, all people should know what they are taking, what class of drug it is, how it affects other systems of the body, and what it might interact with as far as other drugs, alcohol, and food is concerned. They should know why they are taking it, what the side effects are, how long they will need to take it, if it is really necessary, and most of all – is it addictive.
Clearly we will not get educational policies through the very systems that are supposed to support health and well-being. We live in a society where drug promotion, and drug fraud is rampant, long before we hit the street level drugs.
Whether it is the aggressive and fraudulent pharmaceutical marketing campaigns, or doctors over prescribing, government policies, or criminal drug cartels – it all boils down to profit.
There is big money to be made, and like the old adage “the love of money is the root of all evil” there is no greater truism than in the drug industry. Once a person is addicted it guarantees a steady customer.
Almost all prescription drugs are designed to be refilled over and over, and over again. People will believe they need the drug based on faulty drug promotion surrounding everything from statins, to SSRI’s to Ritalin, and pain relief.
We are indoctrinated. And like being subjected to religious indoctrination, no one else is going to sort it out for us. We have to find the truth for ourselves. We have to get in tune with how we feel, and stop allowing doctors and the pharmaceutical industry to indiscriminately prescribe harmful medications. We have to understand, a high percentage of the pitch to get people to accept drugs is fraudulent. Look up the list of drug companies charged with fraud over the years, if you don’t believe me.
During the years I worked as an RN one thing I definitely noticed, is the fewer drugs a person was on, the more likely they were to be sane and reasonably healthy. This was especially noticeable with seniors presenting in ER, and in long term care.
Those who took only a vitamin, or a baby aspirin once a day, were much healthier, slept better, and had far better cognition than those who were on a number of meds, especially psychoactive meds like antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opiates and sleeping pills.
How many young people have developed an addiction, and then helped themselves to what was in their parents, or grandparents medicine cabinet? There is often an underlying intergenerational, or familial component as a contributing factor that is denied, because the drugs were prescribed by a doctor. They were rationalized, because there was an element of control, and a perceived need.
Yes, certain drugs are useful and needed. But when you compare what is truly needed, to what is being promoted and prescribed, it is wider than the Gulf of Mexico.
The drug motto should not only be buyer beware, but user beware, and if you can avoid going down that path altogether – ignore the propaganda, and take the divergent route. In LTC the medications would be crushed and put into apple sauce, and countless people would immediately spat them out.
We have been sold down the drug river, poisoning all the waters around us. We shouldn’t have to wait until we are ninety years old, to spat out the concoction in a spoonful of apple sauce.
We should spat them out long before we are in a care home, and recognize they could kill us, regardless of how they are disguised, or what kind of hype, slogans, and slick advertising packages they are encased in.
Whenever someone in the system tells us they want to “keep us safe” – it is a dire illusion. It is a drug induced phantasmagoria. It is a grim and grave antithesis, creating a deceptive mirage for us to keep tripping over.
On a street level, safe drugs is a contradiction in terms. It is a tainted booby trap, and another pit fall full of perils. It is a crooked hook, and a strung out stone. The only substance in such a concept – is narcotized and impaired.
I realize all people truly want to save their loved ones, and prevent more tragedies. Love does not remain blind, and when it comes to addiction, there is so much more than meets the eye.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
August 9, 2023
| Valerie Hayes
| Fashion Research, Health & Wellness, Thoughts & Ideas, View All Articles & Photos
When we look back at times of rapid societal change, no other time in recent history, was as wild as the jazz era turned out to be. Also known as the roaring twenties, and the flapper era – they let loose without much restraint.
It came about during a post war rebellion, and desire to break free of the prim, and often stifling structures of the Victorian era. During this time, radio and film began to emerge as a primary influence, so the music as well as the glamour, became far reaching, and spread like a prairie wildfire. The winds of change brought about a whirlwind of excess, dancing, partying, drinking, opiates, barbiturates and outright revolt.
As much as things change, human nature seems to be quite predictable. If people are stifled and oppressed, it is followed by a break out phase. If not taken to excess, it could be almost therapeutic, and redefining. But sadly, it has a dark side.
One thing for certain is that the 1920’s brought about some of the most creative expressions in music, fashion, film, architecture, and all other forms of art. Their disinhibition did not have a disregard for detail. Quite the opposite in fact.
We have heard a great deal about freedom lately. Few things capture the concept better than creativity without boundaries, because the imagination, when applied to some kind of medium, or form, can churn itself into dizzying accomplishments. But the letting loose of rules and constraints is not without its perils.
Too much freedom has a downside, and perhaps there is no greater example of this than what can be found in the life and writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He not only captured this era, he also lived it, so he knew what he was talking about.
When you read his biography, it becomes a bit more sad and sobering. He and his rich, spoiled, creative and flamboyantly artistic wife Zelda, partied like there was no tomorrow. It is quite incredible how he managed to write as much as he did.
The couple became associated with the introduction of the flapper era, and were also dubbed as the “enfants terribles” of the Jazz Age in the various newspapers.
Even though they lived a rich life of excess, they faced many trials and hardships. They got kicked out of numerous hotels, did outrageous things at parties, moved multiple times, and before long, Zelda was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She was treated at various facilities, and by the time she was in her thirties, was permanently institutionalized.
Fitzgerald remained married to her, and continued to write to her until his death, even though he was living with another woman. He too, was plagued with addiction and substance abuse. He drank copiously throughout his life. He tried rehab often, and relapsed at least eight times.
Then he attempted to cure his gin habit by switching to beer, and drank forty to fifty bottles of beer each day. In addition, he took barbiturates, and choral hydrate to sleep. By the time he was in his early forties, he had cardiomyopathy, and could not walk up a flight of stairs.
F. Scott Fitzgerald died at the age of forty four of a heart attack. He became known as one of the greatest American writers, who captured the era, because in many ways, his stories were autobiographical.
Apparently, his father was also an alcoholic, so it points to a genetic vulnerability that he probably did not fully acknowledge during his lifetime.
The 1920’s was a time of opulence and excess, paradoxically tied to prohibition. Fitzgerald rubbed shoulders with many other famous writers, to include Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein.
Ernest Hemingway was another writer who was plagued with mental health disorders, and was said to have never met a martini he didn’t like. He developed paranoid delusions and bipolar disorder. His friendship with Fitzgerald did not last.
The struggles brought about by addiction, are not always known or documented in the lives of those who are less famous. But it is no less tragic, regardless of whose lives fall into the unhealthy spiral, and cycle of addiction. The outcome is evident, and becomes more and more obvious with the deterioration of both physical and mental health.
The famous writers give us a glimpse of reality, because not only do they lay bare their inmost thoughts to the world, but their lives, and struggles became a part of public knowledge.
They could not hide their demons, as they came out into the open, and pranced about at cocktail parties. Their antics also found their way to the pages of gossip columns, to be salaciously recorded for all time.
Of all the things we can learn about the various eras, upheaval, and times of rapid societal change and rebellion, we can see human nature in all of its nakedness, and the wretchedness of excess.
Poverty brings one set of problems, and excess brings another. Sometimes the two intermingle. Countless lives of famous writers, musicians and creatives, went down the tumultuous path of addiction.
Today, as I write this, we are no different, and many of us are just as vulnerable. More and more people fall into the depths of addiction, and unlike Hemingway and Fitzgerald, they are largely unknown. Their struggles are not documented, other than in the memories of those who loved them.
I think one of the takeaways when we study the historical writings and biographies of famous people, we can know that addiction is not only for the homeless, or the hobos, or those who are judged to be lesser human beings.
But rather it has no respecter of persons, and can grab ahold of, and lock anyone into its’ grip. It does not matter how rich, brilliant, talented, or creative one is. On the flip side of the coin, it also does not matter how poor, wretched, or downtrodden a person is.
For unknown reasons, for some people, there is a vulnerability, leading to a profound difficulty in overcoming the cycle of addiction.
The Jazz era was reckless and wild. The historical depiction of addiction, is something to look back on, as well as to give us an opportunity to reflect, to understand, to have compassion for, and to try to figure out how to avoid the loss of life associated with addiction.
At the core, there is a sadness, a void, and an attempt to fill that void with the wrong remedy. Yet once the cycle has begun, it is like the person has been hijacked.
I know many will say, “no one told a person to drink or party, or do drugs.” That’s true. Others rigidly adhere to the concept of taking responsibility for oneself, which is also true.
However, for those who do not have the propensity for addiction, they do not understand it is like being grabbed by a crocodile. Every time you try to get a breath, it drags you down and rolls you over again. The mind understands it is a death trap, but the will cannot wrestle it into submission.
This problem goes back to the beginning of time. In my opinion, it is only by the grace of God that we can escape addiction. We are prone to stumbling. We cannot see what is within us, to show us the way out.
Surely for the afflicted, there has to be a way out. Paradoxically, addiction is based on an attempt to escape painful emotions, but it becomes a self inflicted prison instead.
For those who are prone to addiction, due to genetics, prior trauma, neurochemistry, the lack of a shut off valve of some sort, the loss of control – whatever the reason, it is a death trap. They don’t deserve it. No one does.
Ironically, highly addictive people are often highly productive and creative, as the story about the lives of people like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, numerous musicians, and countless others can attest to.
If only the way to the exit was better lit. Not the exit out of this life, but rather the exit out of the addiction, as it continues to rob and drain the lifeblood of so many people.
If we manage to find the truth, we also see the light. Finally we can discern, there is just one door we should be knocking on. We are spiritual beings. Addiction, perhaps more than any other struggle known to humans, is a spiritual battle.
One way or another, eventually the yoke is off, and the burden is removed. In my opinion, we will never fully comprehend it.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
August 17, 2022
| Valerie Hayes
| Health & Wellness, My Story, Thoughts & Ideas, Valerie Hayes, View All Articles & Photos
One of the biggest problems in society today is addiction. When we think of addiction, we are likely to look at homeless camps, and see the losses they have faced as outcomes of the bad choices they made. But the homeless camps are an end result, not the beginning. We might also ask ourselves, where does it begin?
The most simplistic break down of addiction is based on the reward centres in the brain. Like mice in a lab, we are quickly conditioned to seek reward instead of punishment. So once the substance or behaviour is rewarded, our brain quickly recognizes this and creates a pattern of reward seeking.
In many cases, or perhaps even most cases, addiction is a form of escapism, even if it is only temporary. But what many people do not realize, or refuse to acknowledge, is the number of different addictive substances or patterns we can be afflicted with.
The list of addictive attractions is a long one. It includes food, especially sugar, gambling, money, power and wealth. Yes collecting things is also an addiction. People are addicted to a myriad of substances and behaviours. It is the reason so many people will think they have found a solution, only to become addicted to another substance.
Opiate addiction is just one facet of drug addiction. Many people will have great disdain for a heroin addict, without realizing they are addicted too. If we lead outwardly normal lives, have a job and work hard, we are distanced from our addictive natures. If we have multiple resources, support systems, money and respect, we can easily deny addiction.
If we are truthful, we will acknowledge the addiction in our own lives and nature. Television, Internet, exercise, money, fame, prescription drugs, OTC drugs, alcohol, shopping, you name it. In fact, those who are not addicted to something, are probably the minority.
In my opinion, addiction and an addictive personality require insight followed by management and change. Some addictions are not as harmful as others. Some people can manage an addiction for years without falling into a death trap. Others go downhill very quickly.
One of the key awareness raising objectives is to assess whether or not the addiction is killing you or potentially someone else. Therefore addiction that causes overdoses, brain injury, other physical injury, violence, crime, or severe intoxication – is clearly the most dangerous trap to fall into. It quickly becomes a cycle of despair, and the person loses the ability to self regulate. The substance becomes more important than life itself.
It does surprise me that prescription drugs are seldom reported in the news as an addiction issue, yet there are many powerfully addictive prescription drugs. We still live in a society that will condemn marijuana and list it as addictive, without creating a proper scale of addictive substances, with this one being near the bottom. Why is it less of a problem than what they claim? It does not cause severe withdrawal, and does not cause increasing levels of intoxication. It also does not require increasing amounts to get the same results, and does not cause movement disorders like so many other drugs do. There is no way it can be classified as a narcotic, because it does not have the properties of a narcotic. If a person overdosed on marijuana, would Narcan reverse it? The answer is no.
But, like everything else, marijuana can be a problem. The 1970’s low to medium potency flower is probably not addictive by itself, or the least addictive of all, as long as it is not used in conjunction with anything else. But the very high potency strains, and things like shatter, where potent levels of THC are extracted using a blow torch – then yes it definitely can be unsafe. In my opinion the edibles, candies, and high potency extractions, have the potential to make it dangerous. In addition, if it is combined with other drugs, such alcohol, or prescription drugs, it is probably a bad idea, and most certainly will contribute to putting it in the addictive class.
Therefore, if we were to create an honest scale of the hazards caused by addictive substances, certainly fentanyl, heroin, meth, cocaine, alcohol, and tobacco might top the list. Truthfully though, many prescription drugs are lethal, and contribute to mortality far more than we will ever know, because the media does not report this cause of death accurately. How many secretive addictions are there in the form of prescription drugs, and hidden obsessive behaviours? Far more than we realize, because we look at what is at the bottom of the barrel, not the top of it.
Drugs like Valium and a litany of other benzodiazepines, which are classified as minor tranquilizers have been know to cause severe addictions, with years of tapering just to get off them. The SSRI’s were seen as a method to change chemical imbalances in the brain. Yet there never has been any type of scientific method to measure chemical imbalances in the brain, so how can they make the claim? The SSRI’s like all other psychoactive medications, lead to an increased need for the drug to get the same effect. After awhile many people report feeling like a zombie with no emotional range at all.
Obesity is another killer, yet do we have someone standing guard at the supermarket when we buy our food? How depressing is it to struggle with food addiction? It can be a constant obsession, as well as a very outward and visible cause for shaming.
Shame – ah yes that could be the crux of it all. If we do not have a serious enough addiction to be living on the street, we must be okay. Or so we tell ourselves. We all want to believe we are better than someone else. We are more intelligent, harder working, better educated. But if we could see how impoverished the soul of the person is, they may fare no better than the person on the street.
Many famous people who are often seen as the epitome of success, talent, and accomplishment – will not find happiness as a result of their success. Often they are in despair too.
Addiction is an effort to cope with or escape pain. Whether it is physical or emotional pain, is irrelevant. We have to admit our own fallibilities first and foremost. We tend to judge others, yet we don’t do an honest appraisal of what we need to change in our own life.
Addiction recovery is a long road. For some of us, there may be substitute addictions in the process, and no way of shaking off the addictive personality type, or the early childhood trauma that contributes to it.
Addiction creates an energy of its own. It is an attempt to fill a void with a substance or a solution that cannot fill the void, but rather carves a deeper hole. Before long, you have to climb out of that hole, before you can deal with the demons that put you there in the first place.
Some people can manage their addictions, however it is a significant risk if the addictive substance is also physiologically addictive. It takes many months or years to improve the gut bacteria, and regulate the dopamine levels in the brain. In addition, the emotional, psychological and spiritual factors also have to be faced, dealt with and forgiven.
There is a strong genetic link, and an even stronger trauma link, causing this catastrophic loss of human potential. The intergenerational cycles cannot be overlooked, if we ever hope to find a cure.
Our judgement leads to shame. The more shame is increased, the greater the loss of human dignity. But at the same time, as adults, we do have to look after ourselves and our surroundings. If there is a loss of motivation, the energy within the person loses all interest in maintaining their health and surroundings. It is not really laziness because even a causal observer can see the life on the streets is a hard one.
Shame increases the psychological distance between people. Just as the rich create a distance of obvious superiority and rule over the poor, shame increases distancing as well. Therefore, the rich are less likely to admit to having addictions, yet they may be key contributors to the overall cause. They might be addicted to power, yet are shaming the person who is addicted to opiates. At the end of the day, addiction humbles us. The arrogant will be humbled some day. Perhaps their arrogance is one of the greatest barriers of all. The more power and influence a person has, the more responsibility. Those who abuse power, are the most culpable, even though they live lavish lifestyles. They won’t take the money with them when they go. But they will take the legacy they leave, and it will not be hidden forever.
Even a life of crime to feed the addiction, requires a great deal of energy. If only the energy could be converted or directed toward productivity instead, there would not be so much chaos and mess associated with addiction. Addiction to intoxicating drugs, including alcohol, causes people to do what they normally would not do. There is an underlying desperation as well. They are driven to get the drug, in a way that robs better judgement. Loss of judgement, and disinhibition leads to all kinds of outlandish and irresponsible behaviour.
Possession of drugs of any kind, for personal use, including hard drugs with high toxicity, are now legalized. We might not agree with it, but it is reality. There comes a point where addicted people can no longer take care of themselves, because of the effects of the drugs on the brain and central nervous system.
Each person has to come to terms with their own addiction, in order to overcome it. Otherwise, it is a constant treadmill. We can create order in our lives. We can create structure, cleanliness, organization, divergent hobbies, a proper diet, and let those activities of daily living overtake the negatives. Even something as mundane as creating a daily to do list, can increase dopamine levels and motivation.
We overcome by doing. We have to do things each day to increase orderliness, which in turn gives our soul some stability and security. Many of us cannot survive an addiction to opiates, alcohol, or psychoactive prescription drugs, without abstinence. Some people can achieve stability while still using the addictive substance. Others cannot. It probably goes back to how extensive the genetic, familial patterns, and trauma are ingrained in the person’s neurochemistry and psyche.
One thing does stand out though. Judge not – lest ye be judged. I have read through many of the comments following the death of actress Ann Heche. It does appear she had addiction issues, because she spoke about them openly. But more importantly, she had deep spiritual issues as well. She had what most would describe as psychosis at a fairly early age.
Ann Heche herself described an alter ego or inner personality she called Celestia where she thought she was the half sister of Jesus, and the reincarnation of God. This is probably where the deepest turbulence and disturbance originated. The news claimed she had cocaine in her system, so she may have had a psychotic break while she was driving, thinking she was being chased by demons or aliens.
No one knows what another person is going through. Ann Heche could have committed suicide. She might have been unable to face the prospect of growing old and losing her looks, glamour and fame. Whatever the cause, it was fatal, and tragic, because she was a talented actress with a troubled spirit and soul. Addiction is no respecter of persons. We do not know her background, because even though she claimed her father raped her, it does not appear he was ever charged. If a child was raped at an early age, one would think it would be reported to the authorities. Molestation might not be as obvious, but the rape of a child does show provable signs of trauma, and is seldom overlooked.
Our grandfather was a pedophile, and raised his own family on a hog farm in the middle of nowhere, during the depression era. Yet in spite of the isolation, his crimes against his own children did get reported, and he was charged and sent to jail. He was released after a five year sentence, let out, and reoffended. So he was sent back to jail. This type of history does corroborate familial abuse beyond a shadow of a doubt, because it is based on established evidence.
I can relate to having a traumatic background as a child. By itself that was more than enough to try and cope with. But the worst of it was being dominated and brainwashed by a cultish high school teacher, who made the absurd and false claim to be adopting me, when I was never up for adoption, and was just months away from graduating. The teacher colluded with my older brother, and so the trauma, abuse, secrecy, and oppressive cover over the truth of our childhood, has never been resolved or reconciled. I was scapegoated. The religious aspect of the teacher abuse at the age I was, and under the circumstances, followed and plagued my life beyond description.
Whatever the truth of Ann Heche’s background might be, it was definitely a troubled one. Her brother died by crashing his car into a tree, and a sister died of cancer. The family was deeply religious, yet whatever doctrine they followed, did not lead to forgiveness or healing. One thing I did learn from becoming a target of religious abuse, is that it lasts much longer than every other kind of abuse. It is very difficult to sort out, and even more difficult to comprehend the family betrayal it is conjoined with.
We walk a fine line, and for those of us who do manage to overcome very traumatic early lives, all we can ever say is “by the grace of God go I”. There is no other explanation. Therefore, to me it is clear that only God can heal us. Only in hindsight, once free of the shame, fear, cloud of deception, and spiritual wounds, could I see how damaging the teacher relationship was. We need Jesus, not a domineering teacher daddy-god, and cult to mess up our minds.
I was lucky I did not develop a serious mental illness, psychosis or suicide, trying to cope with the teacher lies. He was denying and shaming who I was, and where I came from, using physical, psychological, and spiritual dominance to force a fake and long lasting relationship. I kept telling him to leave me alone. I did not even like the guy. It was something he contrived, defined and laid out in his repetitious lies, which he conveyed as gospel truth. He would not take no for an answer. In fact, he was the last thing I needed on the heels of a traumatic childhood. It took a very long time before I saw him as the opportunistic predator I now view him to be. I was shamed out of my own cognition. I do find it much easier to forgive family members, as opposed to an opportunistic predator in a public school.
The best I can do when it comes to forgiving the teacher, is to not wish him harm. As far as forgiving him deep down, and sincerely, I hope God forgives me for not fully forgiving the guy. When we are told to pray for those who persecute us, I would sometimes pray “bless him with a slap upside the head, and help him to see the error of his ways”. Bring some wrath upon him, so he might repent and admit wrongdoing. If not, guess where the teacher is headed? I have to say, I honestly don’t care if he goes to hell. One day his bubble will burst. But I do care for my family members, and pray they will not follow in his footsteps.
In the process of healing our past, our spirit and soul, we have to be very careful to discern the religious evil in this world. When we are young, we are naive. All through my life, I struggled against it, without realizing what it was. For the longest time, I thought I was trapped due to the family of origin trauma, and the tragic deaths of close family members. With healing, those deaths are not viewed as so tragic, because they brought good to my world, and I know I will see them again. So when I started to get free of the compounded grief, I finally saw the origin, or the wolf that was eating my soul. Of all the trauma in my life, the religious faux-Christian teacher topped them all.
I do hope Ann Heche cried out to God, and was saved in her final hours of life. We don’t know what she went through, and can only hope her suffering was short lived.
Perhaps the greatest poignancy of sadness surrounding the family, is that her mother has outlived her husband, and four of her five children. I can honestly say, I would not want to be in her shoes. To have two children die by suicide, or as a result of loss of value for their own lives – does not seem like she fostered a stable home life, let alone a Christian one.
If there is a core or crux of the cause, in my own estimation, I would conclude addiction stems from early childhood trauma and familial abuse, especially rejection and betrayal. It is not just coming from the knock ’em down hillbillies drunk on moonshine, that creates trauma for children. It might also be the overly strict perfectionist with a perfect outward life, but lacking in empathy or the expression of love. It could be a workaholic father whose career supersedes all else. One child might be able to manage it, but another with a different disposition, might not be able to.
When we are betrayed or rejected by a family member, what they are basically saying is that their life matters, and ours does not. We are sacrificed, in order to create an advantage for them. This goes against natural affection, which is difficult to reconcile. It is also one of the key components of relationship break down as described in end times prophesies.
“In the last days . . . men shall be . . . without natural affection” (2 Timothy 3:1-3). There are the only two occurrences of this word in the New Testament. The word stergeo (“natural affection”) is one of four Greek words for love. It refers to the natural love that members of the same family have for each other.”
Too often, these familial deficits carry over into the next generation, to create a rippling effect that causes the strife associated with addiction to fester endlessly. In some cases it morphs into problems too deep to contemplate. We need some distance from it. We definitely need boundaries. But we don’t need, or want the “us against them” polarizations, or the scapegoating, or the gulf that separates us from each other if the boundaries turn into steel walls.
No matter who we are, if we are not sorry – we probably should be.
Only God knows our hearts. We cannot know what is in the heart, or future of another human being. When it comes to addiction, as it is with all things in life, we have to examine our own hearts and lifestyles. Although this advice may take a long time to sink in, we are to be sober and watchful. There is so much going on, we are like prey for the wolves if we don’t pay attention.
We are best to repent, forgive, and trust God. There really is no other way out of the mess.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
