Over the past several weeks I have had several friends ask me why I have not blogged in a long, long, time. I could go with a routine line such as, "I've been too busy," or, "I've been involved in other projects."
The truth is multi-faceted. From a feeling at times of general malaise regarding the whole field of addiction of which I am a part, to not believing I can make a difference. Last week I began to read a blog by a new friend that chronicles her personal journey in the arena of mental health. Her blog has motivated and inspired me to hit the keys again to state my thoughts and feelings on addiction and all of mental health for that matter.
Lately I read of a treatment facility that has a ninety percent "success" rate (of course how they derived at that number and what exactly is their definition of success is never stated); to the seemingly almost instant prescribing of medications such as anti-depressants and mood stabilizers upon completion of a detoxification (or while still in detox for that matter).
We live in the ‘give me a pill and fix me right now’ society.
Yes, I understand about taking a good bio/psych/social and noting 'mood' throughout their history (when using and not using); Yes, I understand about substance induced mood disorder and all the ramifications; Yes, I understand it is important to look at family of origin patterns that may be present. As far as I am concerned, medication is all too often seen as the first line of action, rather than based on a case by case consideration.
One area I have a difficult time understanding is why most addiction treatment units do not have groups on such topics as nutrition and exercise. Talk about two areas that can affect mood, huh?
Recently I was presenting a group at one of the facilities where I work and asked the patients how many experience anxiety. Three-quarters (15 out of 20) raised their hands. Next I asked those that had raised their hands whether they smoked and drank coffee. Not surprisingly 13 did both, while the remaining two did not smoke but did drink coffee. I am not stating that nicotine and caffeine are the causation of their anxiety. However, I definitely believe that the ingestion of nicotine and caffeine is not helping to alleviate their anxiety by any stretch of the imagination.
When I further asked them about their diets the majority of them just laughed. Before groups I remind them that I can arrange nutrition consults while they are in the program. It is a rare occurrence for anyone to take me up on my offer. Without an actual group(s) on nutrition they remain ignorant of the benefits.
The same goes for exercise. The benefits of exercise on mood has been empirically proven over the years. One just has to “Google” addiction & exercise to see the vast research on this modality. So why are the majority of addiction treatment units not offering groups on this topic? I have no idea as to this possible answer.
Motivation back in place I will blog at least once a week. Thanks for the read.
3 comments:
Hey Willy, you bring up great points. Interesting about the 90 percent success rate thing...my first thought too was what are they basing that on...how many pills prescribed/taken and how soon afterwards they where discharged? Like to see what the percent rate after discharge. Medication alone is not what will help people get better, it's a change in life style, with nutrition and exercise being two important factors in the change. Sometime I get stuck in the same thinking about not believing that I can not make a difference. I have come to the conclusion that it's really not that I'm going to change people, but I can plant seeds in people minds that maybe will help them in the future. What you talked about to the people in the group about nutrition/exercise and such and offering them referrals is the seed, it's up to them to make the change. Good work.
Thanks Willy for illustrating and (or) mirroring my current feelings regarding the lack of "source inquiries" (my term) into the attitudes and emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of a recovering addict's state of being.
Willy, I hear your pain brother. In my line of work, I suggest to people to stretch, to not exercise themselves into oblivion and then come see me to "fix" them, to not let an injury get to a ridiculously painful point before coming to see me either. Does it work? Not always. I feel that I'm planting seeds. Sometimes seeds are duds. You put them in excellent soil, you water, you nurture, you play the Beatles White Album, and nothing happens. They stay seeds in the dirt. Then, there's the miraculous ones who sprout and send up a shoot of new life. I try to not make judgements about the duds. They just ain't ready dude. Not for lack of trying on my part to bring forth that miraculous moment. We just have to keep making those moments available and attainable. Love to you, Lisa Santoro.
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