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Summer Sky's First Annual Run For Recovery

The Run For Recovery 5K is a benefit run/walk to heighten community awareness about those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction and to raise funds to support the local STAR Council. The STAR Council (Solution Towards Addiction Recovery) has been quietly providing needed services to those families suffering from substance abuse challenges. STAR Council is a 501c3 charitable organization, primarily funded by contracts form Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and matching funds from United Ways of the supported counties.  Run or walk this scenic 3 mile loop around Tarleton State University; see the growth and progress of this beautiful campus. September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Recovery Month celebrates the positive impact of treatment for addiction in communities throughout the nation. September is set aside to recognize the strides made in treatment and to educate the public that addiction is a treatable public health problem that affects us all. This vital observance lets people know that addiction can be managed effectively when the entire community supports those who suffer from this treatable disease.

“the process of developing a substance use disorder”

by Philip Ward MSW --- Patricia Corbett Ward MA

Adolescent substance abuse must be considered within the developmental context in which it occurs. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of adolescent substance use requires the use of a multi-dimensional biological, psychological, social and spiritual frame of reference. Adolescence is a time of dramatic change and transition in all of the above areas. Adolescents differ from adults in that they are in a period of multi-leveled transition. As such, adolescents are vulnerable to negative long term consequences of substance use.

Adolescence is a time of transition and chaos. This transition includes the following identifiable behaviors and goals:

• Adolescents are moving from dependence to independence.
• Their identity and sense of self is being explored.
• The inner experience of the adolescent is reflected upon their relationships .
• It is normal for adolescents to move away from their parents and toward their peers.
• The movement away is a biologically driven process.
• The expected goal of the process is adulthood and autonomy.

Why do “good kids” get involved with bad behaviors; the answer is simple as bad behaviors most often do not feel bad. The answer also involves whose definition of bad you are using. For parents anything that has the potential to harm their child is considered to fall within the bad category. For adolescents who want to: fit in, explore their sexuality, try on different identities and lifestyles and separate from their parents bad behaviors are often perceived as helping to facilitate these events. As well, society has “pro social norms”; which dictate legal and allowable versus illegal and harmful behaviors.

Process of addiction

Introduction to the high

For a young adult who has less than a positive self esteem, a goal at a party is to appear cool and to connect with peers. Consider the following scenario: at this party someone starts smoking marijuana and offers marijuana to the child. After smoking the marijuana the juvenile has an experience of feeling “cool” (uninhibited). Smoking the marijuana is reinforced by the fact that it neutralized anxiety. As such, the adolescent felt a connection to theirs peers which is a critical aspect of adolescent development. If an adolescent’s peers use, then the behavior is even more reinforced by their social acceptance. This experience when reenacted becomes the filter, through which all of the adolescent’s social experiences are viewed.

The idea is that an initial use may produce a perceived positive experience; which would be reinforcing for a repeat of the behavior. The adolescent may put “two and two together” and say this is not the evil experience that my parents described. This is when the adolescent is introduced to the high and experiences a “high” much like the first days of romantic involvement.

Contrast the aforementioned scenario with the following:

The following weekend the same adolescent attends another party where there is no marijuana. Immediately the young person is struck by the stark dissimilarity in that s/he is dramatically aware of each and every one of their perceived flaws. More so, the adolescent may well believe that everyone else at the party recognizes these deficits as well. The pairing is supported by the contrast of using “I feel good” and not using “I am overly self conscious”.

At this point the adolescent will shift from being introduced to the high to seeking the high. All of this occurs over time and is a process not an event. Adolescents do not begin smoking by saying my goal is to develop emphysema and lung cancer. The neuro chemical changes brought on by using substances are powerfully reinforcing. Being high is not a cognitive process; it is an experience that engulfs ones entire being. Add to this the perceived benefits of having a secret language, rituals, knowledge of how to use, and drug use becomes even more rewarding for the developing teen. S/he now belongs to a culture of like-minded and seemingly accepting peers. They are now part of the American subculture of drug using adolescents.

Learning the high

At this stage in the process adolescents will spend a great deal of time thinking about the high. Here they are learning the high. They are learning all of the particulars of how to get the drug, use the drug, handle the high, and conceal the drug use. All of these activities involve the indoctrination to this subculture. Think of the subculture from a developmental perspective in that the adolescent is separating from their parents, trying on a new identity, and is fitting in with their peers. All of these activities require energy, effort, and secrecy from those “who do not understand”. Adolescents are not neuro-physiologically wired to recognize the dangers of drug use or to accurately perceive the long term negative consequences of use. Consequently all involved in this subculture are unaware of the potential harm and danger. The child and h/her peers are not aware of the synergistic build up of negative affects of the substance use. Overtime the potential for dangerous consequences increases as the group and individual awareness decreases.

Awareness decreases as a defense mechanism and harm increases without the awareness necessary to make healthy decisions. The process of addiction occurs mainly on a covert and unconscious level.

Abuse is defined by the negative consequences of use

The next phase in the process is when the adolescent experiences negative consequences of use. The negative consequences are when they turn the corner from experimentation to officially “joining the club”. When confronted by negative consequences the adolescent will either turn away from or toward the substance. Turning toward the substance requires the youth to neutralize the negative consequences.

Substance use is recognized

At this stage those not involved in the drug use may notice signs of use. Signs may involve a decrease in activities, secretiveness, mood swings, etc. What is occurring is that the child is withdrawing from “normal life” as they are developing an illness. This withdrawal is often masked by the normal developmental process of moving away from ones parents and toward ones peers. Adolescents are also allowed greater autonomy and freedom as they are normally developing their independence.

Thus, normal adolescent development complicates the ability to accurately differentiate between normal adolescent tiredness, moodiness, secretiveness, irritability, and addictive behavior. Adolescents are also bombarded by mixed messages regarding drug and or alcohol use. An example of this is viewing alcohol consumption as an adult activity and thus a right of passage into adulthood.

Recognition is a process and not an event

As a parent recognizing that h/her child is abusing substances is often a process that occurs over time. Many times this process is impeded by: a lack of understanding the signs and symptoms of use, and most importantly, feelings of responsibility and guilt. Realizing that your child is using drugs often brings up feelings of fear, anger, and confusion. The process of realization is often initiated when the consequences of use become so great that they demand to be recognized. Consider the following example: when a caregiver realizes that s/he is enabling h/her child to kill h/herself. As this is the antithesis of what good parenting looks like, the parent must now take action to save h/her child; at all costs. Most parents do not have the skills required to adequately address the disease and they are left to seek assistance from treatment providers who often lack adolescent specific addictions treatment training and experience.

Focus on the process and not the content
The objective is to change the parent child dynamic.

The details are not as important as the recognition that a problem exists. Energy is best spent addressing the concern rather than dissecting the: who, what, when, where, and why.

Parents often get caught in the detail during the recognition phase. Involvement in the detail often masks the parent’s process of coming to terms with the reality of the addiction.

Adolescent Addiction within the context of the family system

Oftentimes the outcome of a substance use disorder for an adolescent is that the juvenile unknowingly becomes the symptom bearer for the family. As such, behaviors cause that; which is covert within the family structure, to present to the outside as overt (e.g.; the dysfunction within the family). Addiction manifests pervasive anxiety within the family system and is demonstrated through conflicted interpersonal relations. If the child is sick, then the family system will present symptoms of the illness. Typically relational conflict is a displacement of internal emotional conflict. Second to this disarticulation is the illness of co-dependency or attempting to control ones insides by attempting to control another’s outsides. It is critical that the care givers separate their own process/beliefs/ideas from that of the child. In my experience, the best thing that a parent can do for their addicted adolescent is to firstly get help for h/herself as in “secure your own oxygen mask first”.

Those who are out of control on the inside are into control on the outside.

About the Author

Philip Ward is the Chairman of the Curriculum development and oversight committee at the Institute of Chemical Dependency Studies (ICDS).