National Drug and Alcohol Recovery Month
It is National Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month. Here are some of the stories making waves in the world of recovery.
Slate’s Zachary Seigel writes about his frustration with how the opioid crisis in his piece “I’m So Sick of Opioid Disaster Porn”. Seigel discusses the need to document not just the darkest moments of addiction but also the recovery process.
Nancy Hooper, a pharmacist who is also in recovery from opioid addiction, is now counseling doctors who over-prescribe pain medication. Axial Healthcare reviews insurance claims to determine when patients are prescribed too much and Hooper works with the medical staff to help them understand how to avoid doing so in the future. Read the full story
Joline Gutierrez Kruger at the Albuquerque Journal chronicles the story of Adan Carriaga, an addict in recovery in her piece “Recovering addict finds ways ‘to be part of the solution’” who has helped create Albuquerque Celebrates Recovery, an event “of hope and help” that he put together with local community leaders.
Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. at Practical Recovery explores gaslighting in addiction recovery, concluding “gaslighting leads to people feeling deeply ashamed, denying who they are, feeling like they’re constantly on shaky ground, not trusting themselves, believing that they’re unreliable, that there is little room for mistakes, that they are not allowed to be a regular human being, that weaknesses must be hidden, that they are a burden to others, and that they do not matter. I would argue that addiction treatment is best when it aims to foster the antithesis of all the aforementioned feelings that can stem from the gaslight – treatment that helps people to feel proud, embrace who they are, stand on solid ground, trust themselves, be reliable, free to make mistakes (aka be human), believe they are a source of joy in the lives of others, and know that they matter.” Read the full story
We’ll be back next week with more stories from around the web about people helping cure the addiction crisis in American communities, rising up to meet the challenge and the practical steps anyone in recovery can take to be part of the solution.