Parenting advice – What’s important when it comes to teens, alcohol, and drugs

July 8th, 2011

Parents often ask us what they can do to prevent their children or teens from becoming alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and the likes. I’ve been all of these and more, and so I’d like to share my insight with you now that I’ve made it over to the other side:

You can’t prevent anything – but you can educate, inform, prepare, and support.

My family breaths success; it also breeds its. My father was a star athlete who turned into a star doctor and a star family man. He also never drank alcohol and couldn’t care less about drugs. My mother was a beauty queen who always helped me get the best grades in school, even if it meant that she ended up doing my art projects for me and keeping me up all night so I’d finish my work. I’m not sure if it was my perception or my parents’ actual wish, but I always felt like unless I saved the world, I would end up a nobody. Drinking enough alcohol to black-out and consuming every drug on earth was never supposed to be on my menu.

A recent article I read in a monthly psychology magazine (see my post on it here) talked about this sense of perfectionism in our culture and its effect on teen depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug abuse. Did you know that these are highest among more affluent teens?

Advice #1 – Shooting for good performance is important, but focusing on it as a sole measure of success can lead to trouble.

I got gifts for grades, and the best gifts came only with the best grades. Anything short of perfect was pretty much frowned upon and considered “less than my best.” It became impossible for me to actually enjoy anything but the school subjects I excelled in (math, physics, chemistry). It wasn’t until I graduated from college and did some of my own exploration that I learned to appreciate art, English, and history as worthwhile pursuits. It’s a well-know fact in developmental psychology that you don’t reward behaviors that are supposed to be appreciated in their own right. If you do reward them do so with small gifts, nothing large. Big gifts take away the perception that the activity itself brought about enjoyment.

Advice #2 – Parenting requires consistency and openness, but leave the preaching for church.

This constant need for perfectionism also lead to the repression of many issues in my family.

My parents fought often when I was a kid, screaming loud enough for me to take my sister away often and go play. We never talked about the fights so I never managed to learn about conflict, relationships, or resolution. We never talked about my stealing either, whether I was stealing from my family (mainly my father’s porn) or from the neighborhood toy store. The one time I got caught, my father sternly told me to return my new toy and to never be caught stealing again. I began stealing away from my neighborhood; it would be years before he’d hear about me stealing again. It probably would have been better to sit down and talk about what just happened.

Later on, when my mother would find my weed in my room, she would hide it so that my dad won’t find it because he would get mad. We call that enabling. When I was caught stealing at my work, my father didn’t want to tell my mom, so as not to upset her, so he never brought it up again. We call that denial. Neither of these work since they don’t teach a child anything except how to hide things properly and that even responsible adults lie.

But research shows us that preaching is not a good parenting technique so stay open and talk about struggles without being hypocritical and trying to teach lessons that are obviously forced. Kids and teens pick up on that very quickly but they’re ready to learn from their parents.

Advice #3 – Don’t let your sense of pride, or your ego, prevent you from dealing with real issues with your children. Parenting requires you to be the adult in the relationship with your children even when things don’t go your way.

By the time my parents were forced to confront reality, things in my life had spiraled way out of control. They received a call from my LA lawyer telling them that their son had been arrested for some pretty serious drug dealing. My bail was set at $750,000 and I was facing 18 years in prison. That’s pretty difficult to ignore.

Ironically, my arrest, court case, and the year I spent in jail brought my family closer together than we had even been during my teen years or my later drug addiction phase. Having to actually confront many of our issues allowed us to bring some actual intimacy into the family I had run away from so many years before. The important thing was that my parents didn’t pull out the “we told you so” card but rather helped me confront my demons and treat them. It was the best parenting I’d received in my life and it worked.

My parents did the best they could. I know that. Still, I can’t help to wonder if worrying a little less about how things “should be” and a bit more about the reality of parenting their deviant son may have prevented the latter part of this story. Then again, there’s no guarantee of that either. That’s the most important parenting advice I can give when it comes to teens and drugs…

Posted in:  Education, For others, Tips Tags: addiction, addiction help, Alcohol, best, best grades, caught stealing, drug abuse, Drugs, family, help, important, parenting, parenting advice, stealing, teen addiction, teen drug use, teens and drugs

Global Commission on Drug Policy: Legalization, decriminalization, and the war on drugs

June 7th, 2011

A commission made up of some big names, though not really any names of addiction or drug researchers I noticed, just released a report that’s making a lot of noise throughout every news channel including NPR (see here, and here for stories) and others (see CNN). They want the debate about the current state of drug regulation expanded, and since I’ve written on the issue before, I figured it’s time for another stab at this. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in:  Education, Opinions Tags: abstinence, Alcohol, cigarettes, CNN, commission, commission on drug policy, criminal, criminalization drugs, decriminalization, drug, drug use, Drugs, harm reduction, hope, legalization, NPR, offenders, prison, replacement medication, report, Richard Branson, should we legalize drugs?, smoking, stigmatization, stimga, syringe, treatment, War on Drugs

About Addiction:Elder Abuse, Excercise, and Smoking

April 28th, 2011

Yes, you got it. This is the place to get some of the most recent, and most interesting information about addiction from experts who study addiction as a specialty. Our “About Addiction” posts cover some of the latest information from the WWW that addresses addiction specifically or issues related to addiction. Enjoy!

Drugs: Smoking, Placebo Effect, and Elder Abuse

PsyPost-Smoking cigarettes at an early age may make people more prone to using illicit drugs such as cannabis when they are older. Risk factors that are associated with smoking include externalizing problems such as impulsiveness. By the time teens are seventeen years old 15% of girls and 12% of boys have used cannabis in the past.

Psychology Today- It seems like most people have heard of the placebo effect. Previously individuals thought that a person had to be told that they were taking effective medications in order for the placebo to work but this is not the case according to a study at Harvard that we covered for the Psychology Today version of A3. Individuals were being treated for irritable bowel syndrome and were put into two groups. One group got no treatment while another group got a sugar pill which was labeled “placebo pills”.  Those taking the placebo pills reported feeling better than those who received no treatment.

Science Daily- Elderly individuals who are victims of elder abuse are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. This drug and alcohol abuse was particularly common in females and people who have some sort of mental illness. Alcohol and drug abuse are linked to physical abuse of elderly individuals.

ABCNews- A study was conducted which found that the earlier teens start drinking the more likely they are to deal with substance abuse disorder. This was particularly prevalent with heavy teen drinking (between 18-21 drinks a week, so pretty heavy drinking!). For more information check out the video and see an interview with our very own Dr. Adi Jaffe!

Addiction Treatment- Being an Educated Parent and Exercise

Breaking the cycles-Teaching children often seems to be the number one thing that parents want to do for their children. Another thing they can do is to be educated about their children. Parent denial is a common threat that teens face when they are doing things such as smoking a joint or popping pills. Parents don’t want to think that their child is the “bad” kid and often tend to think about their friends as bad influences. For tips and information about addiction check out this article!

Addiction Inbox- A study has found a connection between exercise and getting high. The study suggests the runners high and the high people get from cannabis are striking similar. Additionally, exercise has been found to curb cravings for addictive drugs.  Does this mean that exercise will be the new “it” treatment for trying to combat drug addiction? Only time can tell, but as we’ve talked about on A3 before it probably can’t hurt.

TheWest- There is new funding for an addict Naltrexone implant program. This program will fund naltrexone impants for drug addicts. As we’ve mentioned here on A3, this new form of injectable-depot naltrexone (called Vivitrol) allows naltrexone to stay in a patients system for 30 days at a time. The naltrexone (an opiate antagonist) then stops opiate molecules from having an effect and addicts have no reaction (or a much reduced reaction) to heroin and other opiates. Due to its effect on the body’s opioid system, Vivitrol has even been shown to be effective for reducing alcohol relapse. Sounds good to us!

Posted in:  Education Tags: abuse, addiction, Alcohol, alcohol drug, drug, Drugs, elderly individuals, group got, naltrexone, people, placebo effect, study, study conducted

Opioid prescription overdose and abuse – Staying safe while reducing pain

April 11th, 2011

A new article just published in JAMA (see here) reports a strong relationship between high-dose opiate prescribing and accidental overdose deaths. The authors focused on a sample of Veterans and found that those prescribed more than 50mg of morphine per day, or the equivalent of other opiate drugs, we much more likely to die of such overdose than patients being prescribed lower doses. Fortunately, only about 20% of the patient-months (a measure of how many people were prescribed a specific dose for how long) were prescribed these high doses but the rate of overdose for this group was 3 to 20 times higher! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in:  Education Tags: accidental death, Alcohol, benzo, benzodiazepines, Drugs, JAMA, marijuana, medication, Medications, nicotine, opiate, opiate presciption, overdose, overdoses, pain, patients, prescribed, prescription, veterans

Calling bullshit on addiction treatment bullies

March 6th, 2011

About three years ago, I was attending a national conference on public health (American Public Health Association) and presenting my posters on the relationship between drug use and violence, and sexually transmitted infections and injecting drugs. As I walked the aisles I ran into a woman who runs a Florida addiction “treatment” facility. We talked for a bit about my work, her facility, and then we shared some of our personal stories. Mine included meth addiction, jail, recovery, and now graduate school studying addictions. Everything was great until I mentioned that I now drink alcohol socially… “We’ll save a seat for you” she told me as she handed me her business card. Idiot.

Recovery bullies and addiction treatment

As soon as my version of recovery from addiction didn’t match her expectations, it was an immediate failure. Forget the 6 years I’d spent free from crystal meth use, the excellent graduate school career that was producing real results I was there to present. Forget the fact that my family, my bosses, and my girlfriend at the time thought I was doing amazingly well – As far as this woman was concerned it was her way, or her way. Well I call bullshit on that thinking once and for all.

Unfortunately for her, the research evidence, as well as the actual human evidence that I’ve seen, shows that recovery from addiction comes in many colors and flavors, like pretty much everything else in life. We’ve covered research on all about addiction before showing that the best evidence to date actually calls into question the idea that relapse is the necessary disaster so many paint it as. The fact that the majority of those who meet criteria for drug dependence at some point in their life actually recover on their won is also there, and although this does nothing to reduce the impact of addiction on all those who have an incredibly difficult time quitting, it’s there and can’t be ignored. Drug dependence is almost certainly not a one size problem and the solution is probably far from a one-size-fits-all, no matter how much you like your own solution.

So there’s cognitive behavioral therapy, peer support solutions (like SMART Recovery, Rational Recovery, Life Ring, 12 Step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, and more), medication-supported recovery (like Suboxone, Methadone, Vivitrol and more), Motivational interviewing and other Motivational Enhancement techniques, as well as a whole host of psychotheraputic approaches that are more eclectic. No research we have to date indicates that any of these approaches is necessarily more effective than others, which means that they are all essentially equally effective. We’ve already talked about some combinations that work very well together, like PHP programs for physicians, but there is absolutely nothing to indicate that the 12-steps (for examples) are somehow superior to CBT, or Rational Recovery, when it comes to treating addiction.

If you get better, you’re a success in my book

When it comes down to it, whether this Florida 12-stepper likes it or not, I am still a social drinker and I still don’t believe that this nullifies any of my other achievements or my successful recovery. More importantly, it doesn’t nullify the success of millions of others, no matter how poorly it fits with some people’s notions. When a life gets overrun by drug use or another addiction, a successful outcome to me means recapturing a functional life that is no longer dictated by the pursuit of that addictive behavior. Anything more or less is a personal preference sort of thing. The problem with these idiots who will absolutely ignore success because it doesn’t conform to their expectations is that they drive people out of treatment and away from success and that is not okay. I’ll continue to call them out for their narrow mindedness and hopefully eventually, their voice will be far from the dominant one.

Posted in:  Education Tags: 12 step, addiction, Alcohol, alcoholics anonymous, CBT, crystal meth, drug, drug dependence, drug use, Drugs, graduate school, MI, motivational, motivational interviewing, public health, recovery, relapse

About Addiction: Alcohol, drugs, marriage, taxes, and teens

February 4th, 2011

You’ve come back and we love it! As a reward, we’re going to give you some of the best information about addiction on the web, free of charge. Really! No, seriously, we’re really happy to have you back learning about addiction here on A3. Now go on.

Alcohol: Marriage, Sports Games, and Price Planning

Science Daily- We have already talked about what alcoholism can do to you body as well as what it can do to your brain on A3. This article highlights what it could do to your marriage, specifically delaying it and possibly causing early separation. Just one more thing to think about for those thinking of tying the knot any time soon.

BBC News-In an effort to reduce crime in England the government wants to set a minimum price for alcohol so that it could no longer be sold at a price that is untaxable. Home Office projections indicate 7000 crimes could be cut in a year. The increase in cost would also result in a benefit to the nation’s health given projections form Sheffield University, which estimated last year that raising the price of alcohol to a minimum of 50p per unit would mean that after a decade there would be almost 3,000 fewer deaths every year and 41,000 fewer cases of chronic illness. The projection are dependent on the notion that price will affect demand and therefore use, something that has been shown to be less true among dependent individuals.

Med – A new study found that alcohol dependence is a strong predictor of early separation in marriage. In addition to this finding the results showed that if an individuals parents were dependent on alcohol  both men and women were more likely to separate early in marriage. This some very early evidence, but more research is being conducted.

Science Daily- Often times sports games are a great way to have fun. However, about eight percent of fans are legally drunk after leaving sports games according to a recent study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER). Researchers administered a breath test and found that 60% of the fans had zero BAC, 40% had a positive BAC, and nearly 8% were legally drunk. This problem could be resolved through better training of alcohol servers, and setting a limit to how much alcohol an individual can purchase, about 74% of the time an intoxicated individual was still able to buy alcohol. That is assuming these people are getting into cars and driving or starting fights… Otherwise, I say let them drink and walk it off.

Drugs: Texting & Fighting Teen Drug Use

News Feed- Restricting texting for teenagers may be a good idea as a new study shows that teens who “hyper-text” ( text more than 120 times a day) are more likely to be sexually active, drink alcohol and do illegal drugs compared to teens that text less. I wonder if they’re also sexting more… maybe while drunk or high. I guess future research should examine negative outcomes in this group – addiction, pregnancy, arrest and so on.

Time- The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has declared Nov. 8–14 National Drug Facts Week, in order to help prevent teen drug problems. The goal of this drug facts week is to present teens with factual information about drugs and drug abuse. Read this article and take NIDA’s Drug IQ Challenge here (warning: the online quiz begins with the loud sound of shattering glass, which may jolt adult nerves). Effective drug prevention requires open and honest communication information about drugs between parents and children.

Posted in:  Education Tags: A3, about addiction, Alcohol, alcoholism, arrest, drug, drug abuse, drug facts, drug facts week, Drugs, early, early separation, NIDA, pregnancy, price, sports games

Alcoholism , Sniffing Bath Salts, and Prescription Medication Abuse

January 17th, 2011

If you care about addiction you’re going to want to read our weekly update from across the globe. It’ll make you smarter – promise (at least when it comes to alcohol and drug abuse issues)!

Drug Abuse – Vaccines to treat addictions, and Sniffing Bath Salts

Medical News Today-A biochemical breakthrough by researchers at Cornell  produces a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine. Researchers believe the vaccine could be tailored to treat other addictions, such as to nicotine, heroin, and methamphetamine. While similar to other vaccine discussions we’ve had here, the method and generalizability here are of specific interest.

BBC News-Publicity of scholastic journals back fired on Dr. David E. Nichols as drug makers profit off his research findings. Dr. Nichols says while some drugs can be manufactured in the kitchen the scale to which these “legal high” drugs are produced indicates some small companies are involved.

Fox News.com- A new “drug abuse” trend of sniffing bath salts to try to get high is emerging in Louisiana and is creating a issue for the Louisiana Poison Center. It appears that more kids are attempting this “trend” resulting in of paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, as well as hypertension and chest pain. The problem’s gotten so bad in the state that the Governor had to make the active ingredient in the bath salts illegal. The bath salts contain a chemical called “Mephadrone and Methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV, which is known to be a stimulant that may also cause paranoia and hostility.

Alcoholism – Studies and Personal Stories about alcohol

Science Daily- A new study has been conducted which shows that midlife alcohol consumption may be related to dementia which is often assessed about 20 years later. The study found that both abstainers and heavy drinkers had a greater risk for dementia and cognitive impairment than light drinkers. Again, it seems that drinking no-alcohol is associated with risk factors and outcomes that are not as ideal as moderate consumption and somewhat similar to heavy drinking.

Counselor Magazine Blog- Everyone loves watching a good and inspirational movie from time to time. The new movie “Country Strong” deals with many issues that everyday individuals face such as alcoholism, mental illness, co-dependency, ageism, and grief. These are elements that a person goes through when they are dealing with alcoholism. The movie depicts that alcoholism is a family disease and does not affect just the alcoholic. Another great point that the movie shows is that if there are underlying issues that are often not resolved that relapse is very common.

Prescription Drug abuse and death

Reuters- A new study has found that an increasing amount of individuals are dying from abusing and misusing prescription drugs as well as illegal drugs. In recent times deaths from “accidental poisonings” or overdose are more than ten times higher than they were in the late 1960s. This increase in drug deaths is higher across almost all age groups than it was in previous decades, especially amongst white Americans.

Chicago Sun Times- Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in our country, and deaths from unintentional drug overdoses in the US have increased five-fold over the last two decades. The drugs that are commonly causing these deaths are particularly painkillers such as OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin (hydrocodone) and fentanyl. What many individuals do not realize is prescription drugs can be much more deadly than illegal drugs. In 2007 alone, abuse of prescription painkillers was responsible for more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. Prescription painkillers, most of which are opioids, are synthetic versions of opium used to relieve moderate to severe chronic pain, however in large and excessive quantities, they can suppress a person’s ability to breathe and are very dangerous when they are mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

Posted in:  Education Tags: about addiction, addiction, Alcohol, alcoholism, bath salts, BBC, cocaine, Country Strong, crystal meth, death, drug, drug abuse, Drugs, heroin, illegal drugs, methamphetamine, new study, nicotine, opiates, overdose, prescription, prescription drug, prescription drug abuse, prescription drugs, sniffing bath salts, stories, vaccine