Substance use is supposedly so common with mental illness. I just don't see it talked about "much" on Reddit. I would be interested in hearing your personal experiences.
I'll share mine. I started because I was miserable all the time. Started partying with 'friends' but I couldn't even, I was just there to drown myself in alcohol. My alcohol consumption increased throughout my twenties to the point where I was going to have to drink in the morning to prevent withdrawals. I tried to quit so many times. Luckily, I was able to control it, and I got diagnosed BP2 around the same time, and now I'm sober for a year and a half.
I'm interested in hearing your story even if you still do drugs, or even if you never touched drugs.
First year psych major here, I'm very curious on this subject ? If you know of any research, experiments, or articles on this it would be greatly appreciated, as well as your personal opinion on it! Thanks
Maine’s dramatic death that ends the 2018 version may be realistic, yet an alternative ending might depict disease remission—made more likely with evidence-based treatments—while intimating that remission is not cure and the story is not over. Addiction in this version need not be the symbolic price paid by a man to facilitate a woman’s ascent to celebrity and an affront to the artistic authenticity of both members of a heterosexual pair.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2777218
https://preview.redd.it/t2f2e3w5jx871.png?width=1247&format=png&auto=webp&s=80551f8c8563ca950a596bd9f538c6827d78ce0d
Introduced: Sponsor: Sen. Christopher Murphy [D-CT]
This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions which will consider it before sending it to the Senate floor for consideration.
Sen. Christopher Murphy [D-CT] is a member of the committee.
MS3 here interested in addiction psychiatry. I’m looking to learn more about substance use disorders (especially MAT guidelines) to prep for my addiction elective. Anyone have book or resource recommendations at the med student/junior resident level?
I have a habit of using alcohol to calm a lot of the symptoms of ADHD, cools down an angry head, slows my mind, gets me to sleep etc.
Anyone have any experience getting sober with ADHD?
Hello!
I am currently writing a paper, reviewing the literature to evaluate the efficacy of DBT for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
I was wondering how much caution I should take including RCTs of DBT for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) when developing my review. To me, AUD and SUD populations seem pretty different, though I am assuming they have similar individual and context vulnerabilities.
Does anyone know of any papers that discuss this issue (differences between AUD and SUD) specifically? If I am not including studies of DBT for SUD, I think I should explain why?
When I turned 17, it started to become clear that there was something wrong with me. Shortly thereafter I was diagnosed bipolar disorder (now with psychotic features). Although I had been a militant straight-edge for my whole life, at 17 I started drinking. A lot. And then I discovered oxycodone and I didn't know it at the time, but that discovery meant I was doomed.
I'm now 31 years old, a recovered heroin addict. I'm very, very far from sober. I was always an opiates-only druggie. A full-on junkie. But I don't have access to that anymore, so I've turned into one of those pathetic "anything I can get my hands on" kind of person. What I can get my hands on is amphetamines, cocaine, and crack. So that is what I do. To stunning excess. I took 300mg of adderall today.
I've been giving my substance use a lot of thought lately. I've finally admitted to myself and my family that I need counseling. I'm currently looking for a therapist. But it bugs me, why can't I cope with anything without drugs? Here's the best way I can describe it:
I have a deep ache inside of me that will not remit until I am getting high, and then only for a little while
It's very much like that song by The La's, There She Goes. (which they deny is about heroin, but it's clearly about heroin)
she calls my name
she pulls my train
no one else can heal my pain
Does anyone else feel like this? How can I begin to deal with it. I know it's destructive and I'm trying to better myself.
We currently have 5 clients, the most recent one having flown in from Hawaii last week. I usually visit my family weekly, my grandmother is 70, my aunt is 68 and has COPD and diabetes among other things. My sister is 25 and my nephew is 3. My boyfriend is 28 and has asthma and I’m with him pretty much daily. I guess I am considered an essential worker as I work at a licensed healthcare facility, so I’m still currently working full time. As I’m typing this out it’s pretty clear that I shouldn’t be around anyone right now. My question was going to be is it selfish for me to continue visiting my family weekly and seeing my boyfriend daily. I don’t know what I’m exposed to at work from clients and coworkers. I haven’t had any symptoms but my fear is that I could be carrying it and transmit it to someone I love. I don’t want to put those I love (or anyone) at risk. Does anyone have any advice? Sorry if it sounds stupid. I’m just scared
Does anyone know where I can find (preferably) raw data from genome-wide association studies on various disorders.
We're trying to associate different genes with various disorders and see which have the strongest links.
Hopefully in the following format: showing the gene, then the correlation to the phenotype.
For example: rs0000000 is correlated with ADHD at the .6 level
or
21% of those with rs11111111 have been diagnoses with Substance Use Disorder.
Any suggestions in finding research like this?
I’ve recently started working at a call center at a substance use treatment facility, and I’ve been in school for a couple of years for substance abuse counseling, and I’m curious, what do cravings for opioids feel like? I’ve tried the occasional prescription opioid in the past, but I’ve never really enjoyed taking them. They make me feel sick and anxious. The only drugs that I’ve ever enjoyed using was benzodiazepines, coke, weed, and acid in the past. I want to be able to have a better understanding of opioid addiction, especially since I eventually hope to be a counselor. Someone at work described withdrawal from opiates as “it feels like it’s everything in your body is in agony, even your bones.”
I have had friends who have struggled with opiates, have known people who’ve passed, and have some professional knowledge, but I still don’t feel like I have a personal experience with opiate addiction to where I can relate to future clients and gain their trust and respect. Does anyone have any advice or any stories they’d like to share with me to help me become a better counselor to help cope with or combat opioid addiction/to engage with my future clients better?
This is a long one so please refrain from commenting unless you have 5-10 minutes to read the entire post. This is a firmly held view of mine and a controversial one, so I've laid it out in full detail. I’d be interested to hear any informed arguments against it. Thanks in advance!
I think there is a big problem in the US related to the number of women with active drug addiction giving birth. A recent CDC report noted that the rates of this occurring are growing quickly. In my home state of WV, more than 3% of woman giving birth are actively using opioids. Being born with an opiate dependence and the subsequent neonatal abstinence syndrome has been associated with declining school test scores beginning in elementary school and getting worse with time. Good data on how it affects adults isn't yet available because this is such a new phenomenon. Add to this the fact that these children may grow up in the foster care system or with a parent suffering from an uncontrolled addiction and you can see why there is a serious risk of them developing an opioid use disorder themselves as adults.
The medical community agrees that long acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), which includes IUDs and hormonal implants, are the most effective means of birth control. These are over 99% effective in preventing conception and effective for 3-5 years after placement. They are safe and fertility resumes quickly after removal. Importantly, they are far more effective than oral contraception because you don't have to remember to take it every day.
Women who are suffering from opiate use disorder should be able to voluntarily accept payment from the government in exchange for using a LARC. This would be a one-time payment and the LARC would be provided and placed by an experienced physician free of charge. This would be entirely voluntary and the LARC could be removed at any time if not wanted anymore. Once a woman is reliably in remission from an opiate use disorder, she is no longer eligible for payment. While in some states these products already very affordable with the right insurance coverage, these still are not highly utilized services by this population and I think an incentive would fix that.
Before you try to CMV, here are some counter arguments I've heard in the past and have already prepared answers for, in order from the least reasonable to most reasonable:
- "My tax dollars shouldn't have to pay for women to have sex. They just need to stop sleeping aro
(reposting bc of a throwaway tag that the automod didn't like)
Hi /r/drugs. I'm a long time lurker, but I'm using a throwaway here for privacy, and because it's quite frankly too embarrassing to post this on my main where people I know irl could see.
I was diagnosed with a substance use disorder after quitting ativan, alcohol, too many psychedelics to list, and adderall I was prescribed, and subsequently misused. I've been taken off all medications prescribed to me, including my ssri's which I admitted I had stopped taking.
I also have major depression, GAD, and aspergers. My ssri's never felt like they helped after years of trying to let them help, I took them daily, and rarely skipped a dose. Recently, I've been experiencing a severe depressive stage, and I'm trying to do anything to get back to normal or feel happy again. I've been taking some pretty large steps in trying to get and keep my life as healthy and positive as I can. I've been going to Alcoholics Anonymous, which has been tremendously helpful in staying positive. I've found new friends that don't fuck with any of the things I used to do, and honestly, they are the best people I could have ever met. They help me stay sober, and they really care about me. They actually enjoy living life, unlike the group I was around before. I really have been trying to do anything I can to make a positive change in my life, but I just feel more anxious and isolated as a result.
I want to see my doctor again, but I'm worried that if I ask for other medications, I wouldn't be prescribed. I've heard good things from people taking benzodiazepines about how it can help with the constant anxiety associated with depression, and I'd like to give it a try. What are my rights in asking for such treatment? How can I ask without just seeming like a junkie trying to get a new med to abuse?
TLDR; I've been sober and staying away from hard drugs for a while now, and I want to ask a psychiatrist for benzos or anything else for anxiety and depression. I'm scared to ask, because I could be refused. What are my rights? How do I go about asking?
I'm trying so hard to make a difference and help teens and young adults struggling from severe mental health and substance use disorders get the help that they need. Instead, we just get shamed everyday for having depression and being different instead of supported. Sometimes, I feel like giving up. I started an awareness pledge to spread the message that shaming and stigmatizing people for who they are is not okay. If you want to show your support for the cause please sign the pledge. It would help a lot. Really appreciate it.
Straight from Zanki:
Substance use disorder is defined as >2 of the following signs in 1 year related specifically to substance use and can be remembered with the mnemonic A TWIN FUCCS:
A: Activities reduced (Can't do anything else but crush cards)
T: Tolerance (My daily reviews have steadily increased...and it takes me the same amount of time)
W: Withdrawal (An hour without slapping spacebar is torture)
I: Increased doses (When you crack open that new system deck)
N: uNsuccessful attempts to stop (Maybe I should just read FA and have a social life? Nah, reading isn't as fun as slapping a spacebar)
F: Failure to fulfill obligations (Neglecting every school lecture)
U: Use despite sequelae or danger/harm (I will have a positive Tinel sign in T-5 months)
C: Craving (I need to keep my daily review streak going!)
C: Conflicts (What deck is the best???)
S: Significant energy spent getting/using substance (Lurking on /r/medicalschoolanki every day!)
Big shoutout to all of you freaks! We're all in this together!
I sure do
