Texas Substance Use Overdoses
Summer Sky Treatment Center is concerned with the number of deaths that have occurred from drug overdoses in Texas. Summer Sky wants to see more people receive help through alcohol or drug treatment before an overdose takes place. People that go into an inpatient drug rehab in Texas can prevent a possible overdose from taking place in their life. Alcohol and drug treatment centers are the single most effective way to help reduce the number of drug overdoses in Texas.
Support Common Sense Legislation:
We all can make a difference when it comes to preventing overdoses in Texas. Calling your senators and house of representatives and asking them to promote prevention, treatment and recovery initiatives is one way to get involved. We hope that the Texas Legislation will continue to look at this problem and we support common-sense legislation that focuses on trying to reduce the Texas Substance Use Overdoses that take place throughout our State.
High-Risk Populations for Overdoses:
People that have a substance use disorder are at high-risk for experiencing a substance use overdose. People with a substance use disorder use a substance despite significant substance-related problems. We must help more people with substance use disorders gain access to alcohol and drug treatment programs. If we can help more people get into a treatment program before an overdose, we can dramatically decrease the number of overdoses that take place in Texas. It all starts with encouraging people with alcohol and drug problems to ask for help.
Preventing Overdoses in Texas:
Prevention involves identifying the problem and then educating others about the problem. When it comes to preventing overdose problems one must know what the problem is and then work toward a solution that solves that problem. We believe that people with a substance use disorder are at high risk of experiencing alcohol and drug overdoses. Many people often report multiple overdoses in their history of alcohol and drug use before receiving alcohol and drug treatment. However, others report close calls with overdoses. Some people have reported that they knew eventually, and overdose could take place in their life if they had not received help at an alcohol or drug rehab.
Denial of a person’s alcohol and drug problem is one defense mechanism that keeps a person from acknowledging they have an alcohol or drug problem. It’s important that people around someone that has a substance use disorder communicate with the individual that is using alcohol or drugs what you see as the problem. Silence only enables the problem to continue, but conversation helps in stopping the denial and allowing a person to see the truth that they have a substance use problem.
Therefore, we are promoting more awareness of alcohol and drug treatment. We know that treatment works and the more people we can help become free from alcohol or drugs the higher likelihood of reducing overdose rates in Texas. It’s a tall order to get more people to ask for help, but with the support of Texas Citizens across the State, we can all make a difference.
Do you know someone with a substance use disorder?
If you know someone that has an alcohol or drug problem, then ask them if they have considered stopping their alcohol and drug usage? Start a conversation up with them and explain to them you are concerned with their alcohol or drug usage. You will be amazed at how many people have been thinking about doing something about their alcohol and drug problem, and they just need someone one to talk with about the problem. Conversations can open a dialogue and in turn create an opportunity to suggest the idea of professional help in the conversation. If there is a lot of resistance to the conversation, then consider calling a treatment center and discussing the problem with the alcohol or drug treatment center. Treatment centers can suggest professional interventionist that can be utilized to help you with a person who has a substance use disorder.
Professional Interventionists:
If you are having difficulty with a friend or loved one who needs alcohol or drug treatment, then contact an alcohol or drug rehab center. An inpatient rehabilitation center should be able to guide you in the right direction for finding a professional interventionist that can help you or a loved one get someone to seek alcohol and drug treatment.
Alcohol and Drug Treatment is a Solution to Drug Overdoses:
More people need access to alcohol, and drug treatment before a drug overdose takes place. Going to an alcohol or drug treatment center is the best prevention from an overdose. Texas has amazing alcohol and drug treatment programs across the State of Texas. No matter what city you live in Texas there is a way to get help for an alcohol and drug problem in Texas. We hope that by making more Texans aware of the problem of substance use disorders, we can make a bigger impact on the drug problems in Texas. Summer Sky Treatment Center services the entire State of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico.
Texas Opioid Overdose Rates:
Texas is ranked at 48th out of 50 States in reported deaths related to Opioid Overdoses. You may make a mistake in believing that means as a state we are doing better than the rest of the nation. However, any deaths are too many deaths in our opinion. For the individuals and families that have lost a loved one to an overdose, many have shared with our staff that they wished they could have helped their loved one get treatment before an overdose death. In 2016 it is estimated that there were 10.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 2016 related to Opioid Deaths alone.
Opioids account for about half of all drug overdose deaths in Texas, whereas they account for two-thirds of drug overdose deaths nationally. Summer Sky Treatment Center can make a difference by helping as many men, and women as possible that have a substance use disorder problem receive treatment.
Understanding Opioid-Related Disorders:
Summer Sky Treatment Center has been helping men and women recover from the devastating effects of substance use disorders for over 33-years. In that time, we have spent a lot of time helping people that have become addicted to Opioids. We have positively helped thousands of individuals and their families find solutions related to opioid disorders. These individuals have been treated for an opioid-related disorder and found personal recovery during the treatment process. Each one has gone on to experience a meaningful life without the use of opioids. It’s important to understand that no one sets out to become addicted to a substance on purpose. Sure, there could be a case here and there where this is the case. However, our experience in dealing with people that have become addicted to opioids is that they didn’t understand the power of the addictive substances they were taking. They never imagined that they would experience an overdose or have their lives torn apart by a substance use disorder.
Opioid Use Disorders are problematic for the individual and the people around the person with a substance use disorder. Individuals with an Opioid Use Disorder experience significant impairment issues and in some cases distress. Many will often take into their bodies a larger amount of opioids over a longer period than they intended. In treatment, we will often hear individuals express that they begin to use larger amounts of the substance because they were not experiencing the same effects of the substance that they had previously experienced. They begin to develop a tolerance to the alcohol or drugs they were ingesting. To fix this problem an individual will increase their intake of a substance because they are developing a tolerance to the drug. However, they don’t recognize that tolerance to the drugs has been created. This process can happen weeks or months after a person is using the addictive substance. Failure to notice the change in the amount of substance one is taking into their body increases the risk for a potential overdose. The intention was not to become addicted to the substance, but to get a result from the prescription medication or illegal substance.
Some individuals describe a persistent desire inside of themselves that becomes strong. Their minds began telling them to use more of the medications or drugs to feel better. They will often succumb to the persistent desire to take more of the substance. We call this persistent desire a craving to use more of the substance. If they do recognize this happening which many do not notice it happening at the time, they will fail at trying to cut down their usage or find it difficult to control the opioid use. This lack of the ability to control the usage is one sign that a substance use disorder has developed.
Ask for Help!
The most important thing is that if you or a loved one is experiencing a substance use problem that you begin to talk with addiction professionals, counselors, drug rehabs, employment assistance program departments, or contact our treatment center at 1-888-857-8857. We have an admission specialist to speak with you 24/7 who can guide you in the right direction.
