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10 Percent of US Adults Have Drug Use Disorder at Some Point
A survey of American adults revealed that drug use disorder is common, co-occurs with a range of mental health disorders and often goes untreated. The study, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, found that about 4...
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Getting Help: What Are Your Rights in the Workplace if You Are Battling Addiction
According to a 2012 survey by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (NYS OASAS), 10 percent of all-American adults, ages 18 and older, consider themselves to be in recovery from drug or alcohol problems. That means many of the...
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Creating Innovative Programs for Young Adults in Treatment
As more opioid-addicted young adults are entering treatment facilities, many addiction professionals are seeking alternative ways to guide this demographic into recovery. Marworth Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Treatment Center’s young adult population (ages 18-25) doubled from 159 in 2009 to...
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Living with Addiction: The Role of the Family
As you can see by the letters after my name, I am a Social Worker by profession but one of the most significant roles in my life has been as a mother. For the last 6 years I have been the mom of a 28-year-old son who is suffering from the disease of addiction. Prior to my knowing about his drug use...
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Seven Steps to Fix the Opioid Addiction Crisis Now: We Already Have Most of the Tools We Need
Recently, Professional Voices revisited an issue that The Fix has been focused on since its inception: the public health debacle caused by the overprescribing of opioid pain medications, and the related increase in heroin use and overdose, which has contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of...
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One Runner at a Time: We Are Slowly Eroding the Stigma of Addiction
Recovery from substance use disorders often resembles training for a marathon. It’s a long process that requires discipline, focus, and ongoing effort. As addiction experts and mental health professionals gain greater insight into the behavioral-physical health connection, fitness programs are...
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Realizing My Purpose
I often wonder what my mom would think of the journey of my life and the man I am today. She raised me well, as a single parent to me and my older brother. She passed away when I turned 13, and my life began to spiral out of control. My brother and I were taken in by my aunt, but despite her best...
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Bullied by Addiction
It’s sort of embarrassing to have an eating disorder. It seems like such a silly problem to have. “Just stop it!” Well, unfortunately, it’s not that easy. In fact, it is not easy at all. Other addictions can be avoided, not easily, but one can live quite successfully without smoking or...
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SBIRT: Stopping Addiction Before It Starts
The facts are clear: in our country, there is an imminent need for substance abuse prevention and intervention as early in the teen years as possible. A recent study in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that the 15 percent of U.S. high school students who abuse drugs and alcohol began...
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Addiction 2.0
When we think about addiction, we associate the word with an addiction to substances, such alcohol, tobacco, pills or other drugs. But in recent years, researchers have been studying behavioral addiction, an overwhelming desire to engage in a particular behavior or action. Some of the...
