NewDay Counseling

When Covid-19 first came into the news, I wrote a blog post about alcohol, masks and social distancing.  Now that many cities across the US are opening up, my thoughts on this subject are even clearer. At first I was vaguely skeptical about people who drink alcohol or use other drugs on a regular basis following the virus guidelines. As it turns out my suspicions were right. 

We’ve seen many pictures and videos of full bars across the nation where people were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Also, it’s likely that all the pictures and videos of full beaches depicted the same problem, people drinking alcohol and violating guidelines for safety. Not everyone who goes to the beach drinks alcohol, but many do, and many drink enough to impair their judgment.

That’s the problem: judgment. I haven’t heard one in-depth report that highlighted alcohol as one of the main culprits in the recent spike of new Covid-19 cases. You would think this is a great opportunity to inform the public of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and to urge people with a problem to seek help. And, there should be direct guidelines  related to attending and drinking alcohol in large gatherings even for people who don’t have a drinking problem. It’s life threatening when large groups get together and violate all the guidelines. Even if you are trying to follow the guidelines, if most aren’t, that puts you at risk. No one wants to fiddle with a mask when they’re drinking, and they don’t want to talk six feet apart, so all that goes out the window in bars or other gatherings that include alcohol. Alcohol, as we all know, affects judgment, so after a few drinks you begin not caring so much about safety, you become unreasonable, and you take risks — alcohol slowly shuts down reason and good judgment.

I would love to see one news report that puts it all out on the table, so that maybe some people who heed the call would think beforehand and not put themselves in such risky and life-threatening situations.

Many pot smokers dismiss the idea that marijuana is a gateway to drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Research has placed a new twist on pot as a gateway drug. Here is an excerpt from the research article:

Cannabis use makes young brains more sensitive to the first exposure to cocaine, according to a new study on rodents led by scientists at Columbia University and the University of Cagliari in Italy. By monitoring the brains of both adolescent and adult rats after giving them synthetic psychoactive cannabinoids followed by cocaine, the research team identified key molecular and epigenetic changes that occurred in the brains of adolescents — but not adults. This discovery reveals a new interplay between the two drugs that had never previously been directly observed in biological detail.

Using powerful drugs is risky for adults, but adolescents don’t have fully developed brains, so they’re at even more risk. Click on the link above to read the entire article. I believe pot does lead to the use of other drugs with many kids. Pot affects judgement, and being in an environment of drug use leads to bad decisions. When cocaine is introduced to the group of young pot smokers, it’s easier to say yes if you’re stoned on pot. Then the young person is chasing pot and cocaine, and if the young drug user has a biological susceptibility to addiction, the consequences can be devastating. Young people need to learn everything they can learn about drugs, brain chemistry and addiction early on so they can make better, informed decisions.

Most people don’t want to discuss topics like alcoholism (or if you prefer the current term – AUD,  Alcohol Use Disorder). Even when discussions take place, there are different levels of understanding alcoholism.  It’s important to first understand it’s a disease that starts with the use of alcohol. A person could have the biological and psychological predisposition to alcoholism, but, of course, if the person never drinks alcohol, the disease will not progress. A note – when I refer to “alcoholic” I merely mean a person suffering from alcoholism, just as I would refer to a diabetic. To best understand alcoholism, one should understand that the term alcoholic is not a derogatory term. Also, I should note, there have been studies through the years claiming that some problem drinkers can learn to drink in moderation. I’m not going to get into this controversy. It’s true that some people simply abuse alcohol situationally, like after a divorce, in college, at parties, but don’t have the predisposition to alcoholism — that’s a different story. Someone who started going out to bars after a divorce and misused alcohol to get over the divorce can surely receive counseling, deal with the emotions of loss and return to moderate drinking. Alcoholism is something different. Be careful reading “new discoveries” related to alcoholism, every year, it seems, a new “cure” for alcoholism is presented by someone. Get to know the facts and the science.

The disease concept is the biggest hurdle for most people when it comes to understanding alcoholism. Nothing about the disease concept should be used as a cop-out. Just like other illnesses, no one’s responsible from “getting” the disease, but they are responsible for doing something about it once they know they have the disease. Many addiction professionals call alcoholism a chronic, relapsing, brain disease, but the relapse part is misleading. Relapse doesn’t have to happen. Recovery from alcoholism is dependent on the person becoming dedicated to recovery and to not drinking alcohol. It’s more complicated than that, but there are recovery plans available which offer actions necessary to recover. It’s up to the individual to follow the plan. This is not unlike other diseases — there are treatment plans for various diseases, like various forms of cancer or chronic kidney disease. The patient with the disease is responsible for following the treatment plan.

Alcoholism is a brain disease if untreated progressively gets worse. Untreated alcoholism affects all parts of the body, leading to liver problems, heart problems, digestive problems, on and on. The alcoholic becomes physically and psychologically, and, in many ways, socially dependent on alcohol. Although in early and middle stages of alcoholism a person can stop for periods of time, when the person starts back the alcoholism progresses. It becomes harder and harder for the alcoholic to stop without suffering withdrawal symptoms. People sometimes die withdrawing from alcohol. Alcoholism is a viscous downward spiraling disease. The person comes to believe  they can’t live without alcohol. When they try to quit it’s so painful it reinforces their need for alcohol, yet the more they drink the worse it all becomes in reality. The alcoholic can no longer see the reality of his/her condition — denial strengthens and the person blames everything but the alcohol.

Family members and friends can see the person’s dying from constant alcohol use, but the alcoholic minimizes, afraid to face life without alcohol, not knowing how to live without alcohol. In the end stage of alcoholism, there are physical and mental problems which rapidly deteriorate leading to pre-mature death. Even if an alcoholic lingers in the end stage, quality of life is very poor. Drunkenness and sickness are a daily, constant reality. To say a person chose this route and is morally weak just doesn’t make sense. In many cases, the person could have been strong, could have made it through a war, achieved success in business, been a loving father,  became a doctor or a lawyer or a successful actor, a politician or builder. The person could have been strong willed in all parts of his/her life except when it came to alcohol, which progressed through the years until the disease overcame and destroyed the person. This is the common story of untreated alcoholism, or AUD, if you like. If understanding alcoholism can help you or a loved one, you can read about what alcohol does to the brain and body of those who have a predisposition to alcoholism. Or you can call an addiction specialist for a free consult. This is about alcohol addiction, but other drug addictions are similar in the progression and consequences. The information has been available for a long time. But, still, with 1 in 20 people, globally, dying from alcohol use, you’d think we’d all make understanding alcoholism a priority.

WTOC interviewed our lead counselor, Minna Betancourt, regarding our treatment program and clients as they relate to Covid-19. Go here to see the video.

The only part that needs revision is the part about cleaning — we clean about 4 times a day, not 4 times a week. 

Anyone who says dealing with addiction is accomplished by will power is only partly right. It does take will power, all you have, but will power alone is not enough. It’s extremely rare for someone to simply stop drinking or using drugs without support, without serious changes to their thinking and behavior, without talking to others who understand, without changing playgrounds and playmates, without some kind of transformation, either slow or sudden.

Where will power comes into play is making the decisions daily in recovery to do the things that lead you to a healthy mind, body and emotions. Lots of people start out strong and willful in recovery, saying they’ll never drink or use drugs again, they’ve seen the light, they want to go forward with a positive attitude and put addiction and all the consequences behind them. 

However, this resolution usually doesn’t last if there’s no support from others who understand addiction and recovery. It’s easy to say you’re putting the past behind, but it’s very hard to do so by just shutting it out of your mind. As long as life without alcohol/drugs goes splendidly well, it’s ok, but when life’s problems intrude, as happens in reality, the person’s will power is tested over and over. Old thoughts begin to creep in — the person sees his/her friends going to bars and getting loose with a few drinks, or a few joints, or a few pills or whatever. 

If there’s no help from others and there’s no realization and understanding that untreated addiction has a psychological factor which creates a desire to drink or use again after the drug’s removed from the body( even weeks or months after the person has stopped drinking or using) the person is blind-sided. He/she can use will power alone to fight the desire to drink or use again but this usually wears him/her down mentally and emotionally, making life even more difficult. The struggling person becomes what Bill Wilson, the co-founder of AA, called irritable, restless and discontent.

Life becomes grey and boring. There are biological reasons for this grey outlook along with psychological reasons. Addiction changes brain chemistry. It takes a long time for the brain chemistry to readjust and become a recovery state of mind, so to speak. Going through this alone with just will power, not understanding what’s happening or how to deal with it, becomes overpowering. This breakdown of willpower precipitates a return to drinking or using some other drug of choice. The person usually rationalizes their return to drinking or using by saying it’s been awhile, health has returned, they’ve learned a lesson to keep the drinking/using moderate, to not overdo it, on and on. Then, in matter of time, addiction has taken hold again and life, once again, is spiraling out of control. 

A feeling of weakness and shame takes hold because will power was insufficient. It becomes more difficult for the person to reach out for help. There’s tendency for the person to harden against reality, but it’s really a feeling of hopelessness and desire to escape the emotional and mental pain. This is when there’s the greatest need to reach out for help and let others in who understand addiction and recovery, to receive help with an open mind. There’s no shame  realizing you need the help of others in life at times.

Recovery from addiction is a long process. You can say it’s a life-long process. There doesn’t become a time when the recovered person is capable of drinking and using without consequences. Recovery should be about change that makes it possible to deal with problems without alcohol or cocaine or opiates or whatever — for life to be what Bill Wilson called happy, joyous and free. Not happy, joyous and free all the time, of course, but dealing with the ups and downs, remaining clean and straight through it all, growing stronger all the time. There’s an old saying in recovery communities — you’re the only one who can do it, but you can’t do it alone.

Before I start with the topic I have in mind, connecting with others, I’d like to assure anyone considering treatment that we’re taking all precautions to deal with Covid-19 and to continue treatment at the same time. We space chairs sufficiently and we offer masks. We’ve cleaned so much we might have to rebuild the facility because we’re going to wear it down to the studs. Seriously, we’re doing well. Anyone with a fever or other symptoms is sent to the doctor and has to be cleared before returning to group. I’ll put it this way — we’re much safer than shopping at Wal-Mart.

One of the reasons we decided to continue treatment is because people entering recovery need human contact. It’s just not the same with online images. Making a solid, deep connection to others who understand addiction is vital to a strong, lasting recovery. Over and over clients tell me what they experience in group when they open up and connect with others — it’s a powerful experience that touches a person deeply. It’s one thing to receive facts about addiction and to understand how drugs affect the mind and body, that’s helpful, but a deep and spiritual connection to change and healing is the path to lasting recovery.

One main reason people relapse after treatment is they don’t follow up with group support, or don’t even establish an individual recovery connection with another person who understands and cares about what they’re going through. The client leaving treatment will go back to the hustle and bustle of their life expecting what they felt and experienced in treatment to last and sustain them, but it doesn’t. Addiction requires ongoing efforts to maintain the deep connection that inspires recovery. This deep connection changes perception, and what once seemed like an unchangeable lifestyle now seems small and self-defeating. Once a person enters recovery at that deep level of connection, they are pulled forward to a future that promises strength and change. It’s no longer a struggle to stay away from alcohol, cocaine, opiates or any other drug, because now there’s a powerful force pushing the person forward to great possibilities. It’s when this connection is broken that the person loses themselves in the chaos, forgets the pain of active addiction, loses inspiration, begins thinking they don’t need others, and forgets they are one drink or one use of a drug before going back to the same hell they left.

It’s much easier to keep the connection alive in recovery than to lose the connection and try to re-connect — that’s not easy. Many addicts never find the connection again, and that’s a tragedy.

Often, people in early recovery from addiction tell me one of the things they value most in recovery is a clear mind. For so long, they tell me, every morning was a fog, then during the end of their drinking/using even the good feelings from the drug were short-lived. They lived in a state of mental impairment. In today’s world, a clear mind is vital.

In treatment we get clients to re-evaluate their value judgements. It can seem to someone addicted that life is painful, and alcohol/other drugs are necessary to ease the pain. What the addict can’t see is that the drug is causing the pain, or preventing them from dealing with emotional pain. Living in the foggy world of booze and drugs can create a faulty view of self, others and the world. In treatment, we seek to stabilize the person, clear their minds and then have them assess their thoughts and emotions. The client also works with their counselor to develop a treatment plan.

This process helps the person to stop the noise and hectic activity of day to day life and verbalize what’s going on inside their head. Actually, it’s good for all people, even if they don’t have an addiction or mental health problem, to stop and assess thoughts and emotions, to re-evaluate your life plan. We all get so tied up in work, family issues and financial pressures, we don’t take time to stop and center ourselves. What is our purpose? What do we want? Are we going in the right direction? Are our relationships on solid ground? It’s really a good thing that someone in treatment has taken the time to reassess their life and make necessary changes.

It feels good to clear the mind. It’s hard to recover in a constant mental fog.

Check out this link. Here is an excerpt:

“Alcohol compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes,” the WHO’s regional office for Europe said on its site late Tuesday, citing heavy alcohol use throughout the continent.

Alcohol consumption is associated with a number of communicable and noncommunicable diseases that can make a person more vulnerable to contracting Covid-19. It can also exacerbate mental health issues and risk-taking behavior and stoke violence, especially in countries that have implemented social distancing measures that largely keep the population quarantined in their homes.

The WHO also published a fact sheet dispelling the “dangerous myth that consuming high-strength alcohol can kill” the coronavirus. 

“It does not,” the WHO said, adding that it could result in serious health issues, including death, especially if it’s adulterated with methanol. About 3 million deaths a year are attributable to alcohol without a pandemic driving up consumption.

Like I wrote in a recent blog post, now is a critical time to get treatment, if you have a problem. It’s very important at this point in time, in particular, to be healthy and to have clear judgement.

In recovery from addiction it’s recommended to utilize the support of those who understand addiction and recovery. There are times, though, when a person is alone with their thoughts. This is not necessarily bad — it all depends on how the person uses this alone time. If the person begins going back in the past, feeling guilt, shame, anger, etc, it’s probably not productive time spent. Our minds have been trained over a long period of time to tell ourselves things that need to be reevaluated in recovery. I’m not good enough — I can’t stop the alcohol, drugs for very long – I can’t achieve the goals I’ve set for myself – everyone is judging me – I’m too weak – I’ve ruined my life – I’m too old to change, too far gone — on and on this internal negativity goes. It’s defeatism.

Recovering addicts fall victim to this defeatist self talk all the time. They go back to the drugs because they don’t see a way forward clean and straight. The thoughts are just too painful. This can change. Recovering addicts can learn how to talk realistically to themselves. Change is possible. Finding a center is important in recovery, a place inside yourself that’s solid. Others can you help you do this, through plain old talking it out, practicing techniques like mindfulness or meditation, whatever it takes to get to that place where there’s peace of mind. Then you can have a real conversation with yourself — yes, I have relapsed in the past but this time I can stay in recovery if I follow and manage a recovery plan – yes, I’ve done bad things, but I can make amends – yes. I’ve let anger control me, but now I can take different actions – I can find the source of my shame and I can do something about it.

The more a person changes the internal conversation to recovery talk, the more the person advances and grows. Anyone can change if they put their mind to it, open themselves up to help from others and gain a willingness that’s persistent. There will be ups and downs, but as long as the person doesn’t give up and doesn’t start drinking or using again, they have a chance for a new day – a new day in recovery – a new day of change.

Our lives have become disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This is not easy. Disruption can cause anxiety and, sometimes, a desire to deny the reality. But when disruption is accepted, and when we use reason and inner strength, valuable lessons can be learned.

I was once told, during a time of great disruption in my life, that I might not be able to make anything better right away, but what I could do was not make things worse. As this pandemic disrupts, it requires us to be smart and level headed, to have clear judgement. When someone’s constantly under the influence of a drug that impairs judgement, the effects of the drug create impulsive actions, a tendency to take risks and to ignore consequences.

It’s times like this which clarify why people with an addiction disorder should seek help. I’m not being opportunistic here, I’m being very realistic. When AIDS became a national problem, addicts suffered disproportionately from the regular population. It’s because they were constantly, under the influence, taking actions that put them at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The same will hold true for people with addiction during this Coronavirus pandemic.

Individuals will tell themselves to be careful, but once under the influence, their judgement’s impaired and they begin to take risks despite promises to be careful. If addicts could simply control the effects drugs have on their mind and how drugs affect their behavior, there wouldn’t be a problem. It’s the reason people who can’t control their drinking get multiple DUIs. After each DUI, they say never again, not again, but then they start drinking and get so drunk they shut out thoughts of consequences and take the risk.

One of the greatest benefits of recovery from addiction is in recovery the mind clears, good judgement returns, and the recovering person is no longer insanely putting themselves at risk over and over. This would be a good time to reclaim a clear mind and good judgement.