Approximately ten years ago, my wife and I learned our daughter was addicted to heroin. In our naivety, we were convinced that if we could just get her into the "best" drug detox and rehab center, she would be sober for the rest of her life. After 6-8 episodes of detox/recovery, short-term sobriety, and relapse, our unrealistic optimism decreased each time she fell back into the "hole" of addiction.
In hindsight, this poem is an accurate depiction of our daughter's road to recovery. Recovery happens on their addicts time-line, which can be very difficult for their loved ones to accept. We all want recovery to be immediate and permanent, but it usually takes 5 or 10 attempts for the person in recovery to develop the awareness and perserverance to make the 'internal" changes that make long term sobriety possible.
During this time it is important to put a "harm reduction" strategy in place. This means that while your loved one predictably goes through multiple cycles of recovery and relapse, they need to be protected from harm and potential overdose death from opiates and fentanyl.
Harm prevention includes three important aspects: 1. Every loved one and friend should have multiple Narcan kits that will revive a person that has overdosed. Please contact our office at 602-692-4626 for free kits. We offer these to all our patients and anyone else at risk for overdose. 2. Clean needles and needle exchange. Making sure IV users have access to clean needles prevents transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C is preventable. 3. Fentanyl test kits. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than heroin and is responsible for the sharp increase in overdose deaths in the last 5 years. Test kits allow the user to know if their street drug contains Fentanyl so they can adjust their "dosing" to prevent overdose. Our office is grateful for Sonoran Prevention Works for providing Narcan, free needle exchange, and fentanyl test kits for our patients and other's struggling with opiate use disorder.
During this period, parents and loved ones struggle with fear and doubt. They usually don't know what to do to "help" their addicted loved one become sober. The truth is, there is little we can do to help if the person is not "ready for recovery". Rather than trying to "control" the addicts behavior, it is important to work on ourselves through counseling or a program like PALS (www.palgroup.org).
Unless we change our parenting style, it is unlikely the person struggling with their opiate addiction will change. This means stopping all financial and any other support that enables the addict's drug-induced "lifestyle."
This approach is difficult for the parent. They worry that their child will die if they withdraw support. The truth is, unless they change their relationship with their addicted child, there is no reason for the child to become sober and they will eventually end up in prison or overdose.
During this time, PALS offers parents support and coaching, helping you realize you are not alone in your efforts to deal with your addicted adult child. Usually, the changes a parent makes in their parenting style will be reflected in the child's road to recovery at least 6 months to a year later.
Please call Explore Health at 602-692-4626 to discuss how we can help once your child is ready to do what it takes to become sober.
Our office has provided Medical assisted treatment combined with natural and effective treatments for out-patient opiate detoxification for 10 years. Explore Health frequently has patients from all over the US as well as internationally fly into Phoenix to benefit from his expertise in this challenging situation.
Explore Health, located in Scottsdale and Flagstaff, AZ has been a world leader in the effective use of Naltrexone pellet implants for over 10 years. Naltrexone is essential to help people struggling with opiate and fentanyl addiction. It is a safe and effective treatment to facilitate long term sobriety. to take away the opiate cravings and prevent relapse once the drugs are out of the patient's system.
Helping to rebuild the brain and nervous system from years of abuse.
I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in
I am lost......I am helpless
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place,
but it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in.....its a habit.
My eyes are open. I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
I walk down another street
Copyright @ 1993 by Portia Nelson, from the book, There's A Hole In My Sidewalk; Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Oregon.
