Posts Tagged ‘rehab’
Treat the Patient, Go After the Addiction
Last Updated on Thursday, 4 March 2010 06:17 Written by Monica Wednesday, 3 March 2010 06:11
Do you know what a Catch 22 is? It is like being between a rock and a hard place. It is being damned if you don’t and damned if you do. It is what many addicts feel like in those moments of clarity that seem further and further apart. Every day, alcoholics and drug addicts face depression, loneliness, self-loathing, numbness, nightmares and lost hope. How do we give it back to them?
We should recognize the affects of alcoholism and drug addiction. We should counter it with therapy and care. We should go after it like a soldier goes after an evil force.
Does anyone wake up one day and decide to become an alcoholic instead of a doctor? Does one decide instead of being a fireman, to become a drug addict? It is not the goal of a person to succumb to substance abuse. Why act like it is?
Many people argue the fact as to whether alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases. Why? Because they say people have a choice. Fine. But wait a minute. Isn’t AIDS a disease? Isn’t HIV a blood disorder? Aren’t sexually transmitted diseases well, diseases? These were brought on by choices, too.
It is time to band together and treat the patient. Treat the addict. Go after the disease. Go after the addiction. Here in Texas, let’s take that “Don’t Mess with Texas” motto we are so proud of and see it for what it is meant to be: strength in numbers. Just as I wrote in a post earlier this week, if our legal system is figuring out things like dual diagnosis, then shouldn’t our other departments do so as well? The VA, anger management, community service projects, jail time, all could help with successful rehabilitation in different situations by recognizing that the person is not the problem, the addiction is.
If a person injures another, we go after that person, right? That is what addiction and alcoholism does. Go after the root of the problem, that addiction. Battle the enemy. Yes, a person can be held accountable for his or her actions but tell them they are accountable because they are worth saving, that person deep inside who is now being controlled by substance abuse is still in there and worth saving.
By doing so, you could be helping someone who could very well go on to becoming a rehab counselor, or the parent of the future doctor who finds a cure for cancer. How awesome would it be to have had a hand in that by helping an addict or alcoholic? Exactly.
Tags: addiction, alcoholism, rehab, substance abuse | Posted under Texas Rehab | No Comments
Give Them a Chance
Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 January 2010 05:46 Written by Monica Wednesday, 13 January 2010 05:46
It is hard enough to find a job in today’s economy and also if you are over 40. So why make it worse on yourself by getting into drugs? If you have a felony in Texas, if you even have a misdemeanor, and it is drug related, you are going to be hard pressed to find a decent job. It is even going to be hard to get a minimum wage fast food job.
I have been following along with some people who have allowed me to do so in order that others might learn from their mistakes. I have been invited to group sessions and told people I write and promised to keep names anonymous. I was told it would be good to point out something in hindsight: even if you do your time, even if you pay your debt, you are going to be punished for the rest of your life when it comes to drugs and looking for a job.
One gentleman told me he did a five year sentence for drunk driving. Did not hurt anyone, did not cause an accident. Never did. However, he was a repeat offender. The judge sent him to state jail. He is looking for a job as part of his parole and worried sick that he will not find one.
Another guy told me he will be on parole for ten more years for his repeat drug violations. Luckily, he has a job. He got one through an old friend of his from high school. No one else would hire him, not even a fast food restaurant.
One lady told me that she put that she had one drug violation as a 19 year old nearly 20 years earlier on an application and the manager sent her on her way the moment he saw it. So now she tells people she has no record of any kind. Lying got her a job. Being honest showed her the door.
Texas takes its drug and alcohol violations seriously. We do give second chances. Then, the “stand in the corner” type punishment (fines and possibly probation) turns to being grounded (definitely probation or even six months jail time). Then, if the person still does not learn his or lesson, state jail or prison.
But seriously, we should look at the individual aspects of a crime. If someone paid their dues, if they agree to drug testing and are honest and truthful? Give them a chance. Everyone makes mistakes. Those who get themselves clean and go through rehab? They could end up being the best employee an employer ever had.
Tags: drugs, drunk driving, parole, rehab, state jail | Posted under Texas Rehab | No Comments
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