<p><em><strong>Telling the story of a child's <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/addiction" target="_blank" class="wordlink">addiction</a></strong></em><br></p><p>Nothing can prepare a mother for discovering her child is abusing drugs. Anne Spollen has not only navigated this difficult terrain herself but also made it her mission to help other single moms facing similar situations.</p><p>When I found <a href="http://www.brainchildmag.com/tag/anne-spollen/#" target="_blank">an essay Anne had written on addiction in the family</a> that appeared in <em>Brain Child Magazine</em>, it took my breath away. Besides being well written and informative, it was gutsy and candid in its exploration of one of the toughest challenges a parent can face.</p><p>Anne is an accomplished writer and experienced professor. But if all I knew about her was her essay, I would know she has something very valuable to offer other Solo Moms.</p><p><strong>Susan: Anne, you’ve said that although single <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/parenting" target="_blank" class="wordlink">parenting</a> can be challenging, it has also been a source of strength and joy for you. Would you elaborate?</strong></p><p>Anne: A <a href="https://esme.com/voices/perspectives/whats-a-solo-mom" target="_blank" class="wordlink">Solo Mom</a> has a special bond with her child or children that a partnered mom does not. It’s kind of a you-and-me team spirit that I never had when my children’s father was present. I have done things, like driven across multiple states, managed money, handled tools, and taken on jobs that I previously never would have thought I was capable of managing. That’s where our strength comes from: Solo Moms face significant challenges every day for the sake of their kids. I know that everything I do, I do for my kids, and they know that as well. For me, that knowledge is a constant source of both strength and joy.</p><p><strong>Susan: You’ve written about difficult decisions you’ve made parenting a child who has an addiction. I know from discussions with clients and friends that this is a very challenging situation, with no one-size-fits-all approach to “helping.” What would you say to other Solo Moms who are concerned about their son’s or daughter’s drug abuse and are faced with similar decisions?</strong></p><p>Anne: I have a bit of a different take on what the experts on addiction might advise. They say that the person has to hit bottom before anything really works. To me, when a child shows signs of substance abuse, they are beginning a descent that will only end in death or jail, so you need to fight an all-out war against addiction. You absolutely cannot enable. Even if it means calling the police on your own child, do it. You should show your love by getting them help for a disease that means to kill them.</p><p>It has always seemed paradoxical to me that professionals have told me to wait until my child is “ready” for treatment—as if my child, who is injecting poison into his veins, is capable of making appropriate decisions. Also, drugs change brain chemistry. How can a person who is addicted, who is making decisions that summon damage and death, be expected to suddenly grow reasonable?</p><p>That does sometimes happen, but I think your child is worth a shove in that direction. As a Solo Mom, you may not have the support that two-parent families do. Stage an intervention, take your child to the hospital when he or she is high, and get that child into a detox program. Fight for your kid in whatever way you have to; let your child be mad at you. It’s not your child who is angry—it’s the addiction that is angry.</p><p><strong>Susan: Some of this is so hard to understand if you haven’t experienced it personally. What would you say you have learned about addiction through your experiences as a mother that you didn’t know before?</strong></p><p>Anne: I did not understand how addiction impacts the people around it to the degree it does. And I did not understand how deeply rooted it becomes in the addict. To sum that up, I would say I never understood the strength of addiction, the power it has over us.</p><p><strong>Susan: Addiction is powerful, and often mothers facing addiction feel alone and overwhelmed. How do you think Solo Moms can support one another, both in general and with specific concerns like addiction?</strong></p><p>Anne: I think sharing experiences—what worked, what didn’t work, what was miraculous, what was a disaster—helps everyone. Simply sharing experiences can be therapeutic, and, of course, the shared knowledge of resources is also vitally important.</p><p><strong>Susan: For many people with addiction, telling their story is an important part of recovery. What has writing about addiction meant to you, and what has been the response to your essay in <em>Brain, Child </em>about addiction and the family?</strong></p><p>Anne: Writing about addiction is my therapy, at least for now. I have come up against just about everything addiction has to offer. My experience with addiction completely changed my life, but, more important, it has changed my expectations and my assumptions about life. I know I can’t be alone in this.</p><p>The responses to that essay were positive: Many women (yes, they were all moms) wrote to me, some in sympathy but most in desperation about a child they suspected of using drugs. I am not a mental health professional, but I know what Solo Moms are feeling and going through. A heroin epidemic is ravaging our kids, but parents have little access to information or resources about where and how to begin to combat substance abuse in their children. I want to contribute to narrowing that gap in whatever way I can.</p><hr><p><span style="font-size: 12px;">Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com</span><br></p>
<p><strong><em>The benefits of a dual diagnosis therapist for those struggling with both substance abuse and mood disorders</em></strong></p><p><strong>Q: Last winter, I got really depressed around the holidays; it was my first holiday season as a single mother after a <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/divorce" target="_blank" class="wordlink">divorce</a> that I didn’t want. I was drinking more than usual at times, and long story short, I drank too much one night and made a half-hearted suicide attempt. Fortunately, my parents took the kids for a while, and I was treated in a psychiatric unit and started on antidepressants. </strong></p><p><strong>At this point, I am feeling much better emotionally (I think the antidepressants are really helping), and my doctor and I agree that I should see a therapist to make sure I continue to do and feel better. I thought the therapy would focus on my depression, so I was surprised when my doctor referred me to a “dual diagnosis therapist” (I had never heard of this before) to talk about both my alcohol use and my depression. I’m not sure this is really necessary. I do tend to drink more when I’m depressed (this is not my first go-around with depression), but never to where I’m drinking daily or passing out or anything, so I really don’t think the alcohol is the problem or that I need help from a substance abuse specialist. I feel that if my depression is treated, the drinking part will take care of itself. On the other hand, I like my doctor and generally trust her judgment.</strong></p><p><strong>Can you explain what a dual diagnosis therapist is and why someone who isn’t a full-blown alcoholic might need one?</strong></p><p>A: Most people have never heard of a dual diagnosis therapist (also known in some areas as dual disorder therapists or co-occurring disorders therapist). I think you are fortunate, though, that your doctor is aware of this clinical specialty. Here’s why this kind of referral can make sense for some people. </p><p>Substance abuse (whether or not it rises to the level of <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/addiction" target="_blank" class="wordlink">addiction</a>) and mood disorders such as depression often go together in complicated ways. Often it takes a therapist who not only understands both conditions, but knows about the various ways that one can lead to or contribute to the other, to formulate an effective treatment plan. Although the term “dual diagnosis” suggests someone has been diagnosed or meets criteria for having both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse disorder, it is not at all unusual for a dual diagnosis therapist to evaluate and treat clients who don’t fully meet criteria for two separate disorders. You might think of a dual diagnosis therapist as a person with expertise in evaluating and treating the interplay between a client’s substance use and his or her mood problems. </p><p>You wrote that you have struggled with depression more than once and that you tend to drink more when you’re depressed. This suggests a relationship between depression and drinking that needs to be better understood. The fact that you drink more when you’re depressed suggests that feeling depressed increases your likelihood of drinking to excess. If bad things happen as a result of your being intoxicated (such as, say, being arrested for driving under the influence, or losing your temper with someone you care about), these experiences can contribute to your becoming more depressed. There is also the fact that when you drink alcohol, you are consuming a depressant, which in and of itself can make depression worse. Add the fact that alcohol is a disinhibitor, impairing judgment, and when you combine it with depression, that can put you at increased risk of impulsive behavior, such a suicide attempt. (I don’t know the circumstances of your suicide attempt or if suicidality has been a long-standing issue, but the fact that you described it as a “half-hearted” attempt suggests to me that you might have been less likely to act on the urge if you had been sober.) And, last but not least, your antidepressant medication regimen may call for changes in your drinking habits.</p><p>A dual diagnosis therapist can develop an integrated treatment plan that takes both problems into consideration and help you understand how you can move forward without one problem making the other worse. Sometimes people with unrecognized dual conditions relapse more often into mental health crises or substance abuse because treatment or self-help that is geared exclusively to one problem or the other does not adequately help them prevent relapse. For this reason, many people who see a dual diagnosis specialist experience a sense of validation and relief that somebody really understand the complexity of what they’re dealing with.</p><hr><p><span style="font-size: 11px;">Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com</span><br></p>
<p><em><strong>How methadone works and what it might mean for your custody</strong></em></p><p><strong>What is methadone?</strong></p><p>Methadone, also known as Dolophine, is a synthetic opioid. Its medical use is twofold: Sometimes it’s used as a pain medication, but methadone is more frequently employed as maintenance therapy in people with opioid dependence. In the case of heroin <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/addiction" target="_blank" class="wordlink">addiction</a>, methadone is not a cure; it is a pharmacological tool designed to mitigate withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. It is treatment, not antidote.</p><p>Use of methadone is not without controversy. Many critics point to the use of one drug being utilized to combat addiction to another drug. Methadone, however, does not deliver the euphoric high or instant rush of release that heroin or other opioids do, and it has helped many people who are addicted to heroin recover from severe opioid dependence. </p><p><strong>How methadone works</strong></p><p>Methadone is a long-acting opioid that helps to normalize your body’s neurological and hormonal functions. It blocks the high of opiate drugs and will prevent someone from getting high from opiate use. While some people continue to use opiates while in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), the effects of the opioids are blocked at doses higher than 100mg. The most compelling benefit of methadone is its ability to prevent the addicted person from experiencing withdrawal so she can be free from symptoms and begin recovery.</p><p><strong>Methadone use </strong></p><p>MMT bloomed in the 1960s as a way of treating Vietnam veterans who came out of the service with heroin addiction. MMT originally did not include anything but a daily dose of the medication. As the medical field began gaining insight into the nature of addiction, the need for treating the underlying causes of opioid use became apparent. Clinics now offer individual and group counseling in addition to the medication. </p><p>To participate in MMT, the client generally has to travel to a clinic. The dose is measured and taken in the presence of medical staff. A doctor and psychiatrist are frequently in attendance during the hours of the clinic’s operation. Twelve step meetings, counseling, and other psychosocial resources are usually available on site.</p><p><strong>MMT and Solo Moms</strong></p><p>Solo Moms may hesitate to begin MMT for fear of losing their child or children. MMT is making public what may have been a hidden addiction. The courts now see MMT as a positive in <a href="https://esme.com/resources/c/parenting" target="_blank" class="wordlink">parenting</a>, because drug addiction is not a moral failing, it is a medical condition, and methadone is treatment not drug use. </p><p>Beginning treatment with MMT is an indication that the parent is taking definite steps toward recovery. Participating in MMT is no different from taking medication to control any medical condition. You can obtain documentation from a clinic to show the court that you are participating in the program as a means of recovery. The clinic will also keep track of your clean drug screens, and you can obtain records and present them to the court as evidence of your commitment to sobriety. </p><p><strong>Some methadone facts</strong></p><ul><li>When taken as directed, MMT can improve your overall health and your sense of well-being.</li></ul><ul><li>MMT cannot create euphoria.</li></ul><ul><li>Methadone does not make you sick.</li></ul><ul><li>Methadone does not affect your immune system.</li></ul><ul><li>Methadone does not damage your teeth and bones. (This misconception stems from methadone’s common confusion with methamphetamine.)</li></ul><ul><li>You will not gain weight from MMT.</li></ul><ul><li>Methadone is taken orally, which is much less complicated than intravenous dispensing. </li></ul><p><strong>Some precautions</strong></p><ul><li>You cannot get a prescription for methadone; you need to travel to a clinic as it is administered once a day. After a time and with clean tests, some take-home doses are available.</li></ul><ul><li>Withdrawal from methadone can be lengthy and require in-patient treatment.</li></ul><ul><li>Methadone providers are required to be specially licensed and are subject to strict monitoring and reporting regulations. For this reason, the availability of qualified providers may be limited.</li></ul><ul><li>Side effects can include profuse sweating, decreased libido, constipation, and itching among other symptoms.</li></ul><p>If you are thinking of trying MMT as a means of treating your opioid dependence, you can get more information at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.samhsa.gov">www.samhsa.gov</a> or call their national helpline at 1-800-662-4357.</p><p>If you would like to visit a clinic, click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.methadone.us/methadone-clinics">here</a> for state locations of current methadone clinics.</p><span style="font-size: 18px;"></span><hr><p><span style="font-size: 11px;">Image via Shutterstock.com </span><br></p>