Stress Can Lead to Unwanted Consequences
Co-Occurring Disorders
Hello Blog Fans.
Sorry for the absence of late – have been working on a new work project opening a residential treatment center for anxiety disorders and chemical dependency. If you know anyone who needs residential treatment for these issues, please feel free to contact me and I can direct you to some information, or look at AMITA Health and check out our new program on the website.
This post will focus on are area I have not really touched on before, but our new venture has led me to really get to know about substance abuse and I thought it might be good to look at substance abuse from a stress management point of view.
We see a lot of people who come in that tell us that they started to drink or use drugs as a way to manage their anxiety, and over time it just got out of hand. Seems to be that no one plans on getting addicted to legal or illegal substances, but it sure does happen a lot. From prescription pills and alcohol to illegal street drugs, substance abuse has a significant impact on our society.
One reason people use substances to manage their anxiety is because they work so well. Take Benzodiazepines for example – a class of drug designed to decrease the feeling of ear that we experience. These drugs work well – in fact, I would contend, they work too well. Further, they are the only drug that works without taking them. I know plenty of people who tell me that the only reason they do not panic is because them have their benzos with them just in case they do panic. That shows you the absolute placebo power of these drugs – they stop panic just by being in your pocket!
When people need more and more of these drugs to stay calm, since we can build up a tolerance to them, there will come a point where doctor will no longer prescribe higher doses. When this occurs, people resort to doctor shopping and getting multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors, but this is getting harder to do with pharmacies all being linked to each other and sharing prescription histories. Or, people show up to the emergency room with a panic attack, but emergency rooms have really clamped down on giving out these medications since there were a lot of addicts who were medication seeking. So, recently, people have been turning to street drugs to get the dosage they feel they need to manage their anxiety. And, since the price of street drugs is relatively low (can be lower than the cost of a prescription or buying prescription pills on the street), people turn to unregulated street drugs to get their relief.
Street drug use leads to risky behavior – and often people find themselves doing harder and harder drugs than they ever planned to. This leads to a host of health problems (hepatitis, HIV, etc.) as well as societal problems (petty theft, missing work, effects on families). And, it can wreak havoc on a home – I have sat with parents who have lost kids to an overdose and it is devastating. I am happy that we are opening a program to help people who have gone down a path that they never sought out or wanted, but got there anyway. I am glad to serve people who have co-occurring disorders, like anxiety and drug abuse. And, I think of Margaret Sisson and her son Riley, and I hope that there are no more stories like what Margaret went through. You can go to www.Rileyswish.com to see their story.
If you are addicted, and you need help, there are so many opportunities to get help if you are willing to take the first step to do so. There are hundreds of therapists here on Psychology Today who can assist you.
Sorry for the absence of late – have been working on a new work project opening a residential treatment center for anxiety disorders and chemical dependency. If you know anyone who needs residential treatment for these issues, please feel free to contact me and I can direct you to some information, or look at AMITA Health and check out our new program on the website.
This post will focus on are area I have not really touched on before, but our new venture has led me to really get to know about substance abuse and I thought it might be good to look at substance abuse from a stress management point of view.
We see a lot of people who come in that tell us that they started to drink or use drugs as a way to manage their anxiety, and over time it just got out of hand. Seems to be that no one plans on getting addicted to legal or illegal substances, but it sure does happen a lot. From prescription pills and alcohol to illegal street drugs, substance abuse has a significant impact on our society.
One reason people use substances to manage their anxiety is because they work so well. Take Benzodiazepines for example – a class of drug designed to decrease the feeling of ear that we experience. These drugs work well – in fact, I would contend, they work too well. Further, they are the only drug that works without taking them. I know plenty of people who tell me that the only reason they do not panic is because them have their benzos with them just in case they do panic. That shows you the absolute placebo power of these drugs – they stop panic just by being in your pocket!
When people need more and more of these drugs to stay calm, since we can build up a tolerance to them, there will come a point where doctor will no longer prescribe higher doses. When this occurs, people resort to doctor shopping and getting multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors, but this is getting harder to do with pharmacies all being linked to each other and sharing prescription histories. Or, people show up to the emergency room with a panic attack, but emergency rooms have really clamped down on giving out these medications since there were a lot of addicts who were medication seeking. So, recently, people have been turning to street drugs to get the dosage they feel they need to manage their anxiety. And, since the price of street drugs is relatively low (can be lower than the cost of a prescription or buying prescription pills on the street), people turn to unregulated street drugs to get their relief.
Street drug use leads to risky behavior – and often people find themselves doing harder and harder drugs than they ever planned to. This leads to a host of health problems (hepatitis, HIV, etc.) as well as societal problems (petty theft, missing work, effects on families). And, it can wreak havoc on a home – I have sat with parents who have lost kids to an overdose and it is devastating. I am happy that we are opening a program to help people who have gone down a path that they never sought out or wanted, but got there anyway. I am glad to serve people who have co-occurring disorders, like anxiety and drug abuse. And, I think of Margaret Sisson and her son Riley, and I hope that there are no more stories like what Margaret went through. You can go to www.Rileyswish.com to see their story.
If you are addicted, and you need help, there are so many opportunities to get help if you are willing to take the first step to do so. There are hundreds of therapists here on Psychology Today who can assist you.
