Don't Give Up on Addiction Recovery
Hundreds of Events Planned Nationwide to Celebrate Recovery Month
Danielle Soucy started using heroin in 2005. Since then, she has been arrested and put in jail twice, almost lost her arm from an abscess in an infected injection site but continued to live the life of a junkie for four years. She even tried methadone treatment but says she was never able to stay clean long.
"I just hated life. I had been to five rehabs and it's always the same thing--in and out," she writes.
However, Soucy didn't give up. On June 12, she stopped using heroin again and said she celebrated two months sobriety on the 12th of August. She said those two clean months, free of heroine, have been the longest she has gone without the drug coursing through her veins.
However, Soucy is not alone. There are countless others who suffer in silence by hiding an addiction or are discouraged from staying clean because of repeated failures and too many opportunities to use. Soucy shared her recovery story at Recoverymonth.org as a form of outreach to others like her, who are bound in a struggle against addiction.
Recovery Month
September is Recovery Month and observances of this day have been celebrated for the past 20 years. Within many cities across the nation, there will be marathons, cook-outs, luncheons and accredited learning modules available for anyone in the field of addictions and mental health. There will also be involvement for those who have traveled the well worn path of abuse. The societal benefits of substance abuse treatment will be highlighted, along with the successes of treatment providers and the message that recovery from substance abuse is possible.The annual observance also encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective substance abuse treatment for those in need.
This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal,” emphasizes the need to use all available resources in recovery. Whether it is a methadone clinic in the community, using the Internet to look for resources to educate people and help those with substance abuse or helping families get support, every resource should be valued.
By opening a dialogue about the harmful effects of alcohol and drug addiction on families, friends and communities, sustained recovery can be achieved.
Don't Give Up
John Pigate came to Minnesota in 2006 to go to treatment. He too shared his experience on Recoverymonth.org.
"I was addicted to crystal meth. It began with smoking from a pipe and had just begun to lead to intravenous use. I went through the Pride Institute in Eden Prairie, MN once and stayed sober for two months."
He soon found himself back at the recovery center after almost a year of heavy intravenous use of the drug and untold consequences.
"The following year, I went back to Pride. This time I stayed sober for 11 months. I relapsed again and was miserable for the five months that I was "out there". Finally, I went to Fairview Riverside in Minneapolis and got further help. Each of the treatments I participated in helped get me to where I am today. I say this so that you will not give up if you have been unsuccessful one, two, five, 10 or 15 times. It is a process. The obsession to use crystal meth has been lifted from me. It's miraculous. Today, I am present in my life. Today, I have hope. And I am so grateful to the State of Minnesota for making this possible for me and countless others...".
Drug Abuse at Work and the Law
Images of drug abusers usually bring to mind a stereotype of a person on skid row and who lays in a gutter. This is more so the look of homelessness. Of the 17.4 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2007, 13.1 million or 75 percent were employed either full or part time, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. Employers often play a critical role in an individual’s successful recovery from substance use disorders. It is important that employers promote healthy work environments while allowing individuals to get the support and treatment they need.
When the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008 becomes effective in 2010, additional options will become available to those seeking addiction and mental health services, according to Recoverymonth.org.
The Act will require group health plans to offer coverage for addiction and mental illness and provide benefits on par with those for all other medical and surgical conditions. Examined will be the impact the Act will have on health care and insurance systems and what it means for individuals and families battling addiction. Also explored will be other issues related to the health care role in recovery, such as proper screening and intervention, prescription drug abuse prevention and treating co-occurring disorders.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) are the sponsors of Recovery Month. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment was created in October 1992 by a Congressional mandate. It provides national leadership in the Federal government's effort to improve the lives of individuals and their families affected by alcohol and drug abuse.
Fight addiction every day.
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