[ad_1]
After people learned that singer Demi Lovato would not play in Atlantic City after an apparent overdose last Tuesday, messages of support were sent by her fans, celebrities and people in the recovery communities.
Specialists and advocates of addiction treatment in South Jersey say that it has become a time to teach people about relapse and the role it plays in disorders related to consumption of psychoactive substances
. that it is a chronic disease, just like diabetes and asthma, "said Patrick Kennedy, advocate for mental health and addiction. "We tend to look only at the negative aspects of this disease, thinking and judging people only when they do not get it 100%."
Lovato, 25, has openly shared his struggles with bipolar disorder. disorder and substance use. She released "Sober" in June, a song that indicated that she had relapsed after six years of sobriety.
Relapse, a back to the use of substances or behaviors, is common, national studies show. According to the National Institute on Drug Use, between 40 and 60% of patients with substance use disorders suffer from relapses.
Research also shows that substance use can impair brain function, sometimes permanently. When badociated with use triggers such as certain people, places, or things, Gloria Ann Seel, senior director of addiction care at AtlantiCare, said this could lead to a relapse.
"Relapse is difficult for people to understand. Linking this to negative things in someone's life, but even what others see as positive, such as marriage, a new job or a new album release, can also induce stress and become a trigger for someone "
. Compared with relapse into other chronic diseases, a relapse into addiction may have greater consequences – someone who returns to use a substance like heroin for the first time in months or years. years can take a dose that can lead to overdose and death. Kennedy, a former Rhode Island congressman and US Senator Ted Kennedy's youngest son, said he and his wife, Amy, who live in Brigantine, were planning to meet with Lovato before his scheduled beach concert on Thursday. As a person who also grew up in the public eye while battling his own bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse issues, Kennedy said no one was safe. relapse. "I hope the message she hears is that the 6 years she was working to stay sober are not lost," he said, reflecting on his own experiences of relapse. "She's probably alive today because she's been putting these 6 years together." There's nothing to say that she can not get back on that wagon right away. She can do it because she has done so already. "
Corey Richey, Director of Admissions and Review of Use at Recovery Centers of America at Lighthouse, in Mays Landing, said the causes of relapse are different for everyone, and it's important to identify these personal triggers during treatment and recovery. "According to Seel and David Dorschu, CEO of Lighthouse, although more and more people are choosing to educate themselves about addiction, the network stimulus can help someone in the long run if they experience a relapse. stigma, which makes it difficult for people to seek help, especially as they are ashamed of having suffered a relapse.
Mike McGaffney, of Egg Harbor Township, had nearly five years of sobbing heroin and other substances when he had a relapse of a day in November. Impulsively, he used substances when they were "in his face" and said that he immediately regretted it.
"I was two months younger than 5 years, I helped every day and I felt so guilty, so disappointed in myself," he said. "When I I called my (employer), my godfather, my friends, they were so supportive and because I had already worked on a program, it probably saved my life. "
addiction is one of the most difficult diseases to understand.According to McGaffney, there will always be people who will remain ignorant about it, but a failure does not erase all the years of hard work and the right people who are left can do when they come back to life.
I know them personally, and they have seen me relapse and get up, "he said." Since then, I honestly feel that more and more more people came to me for help with treatment. The thing to remember is that it is important to stay today. After 24 hours, it's a new day. "
