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Substance Abuse
Prevention and recovery is a family affair.
Maureen Lyn Bernard I Special to the Jewish News
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52 October 29 2015
JN
5
am C. is in his mid-40s, has been
in recovery from alcohol and
cocaine addiction for more than
10 years and takes his recovery very
seriously. He actively participates in
12-Step fellowship by going to meetings
and serving as a sponsor. Sam credits
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics
Anonymous with saving his life and his
marriage of 18 years. He is very proud
of his two children, 12-year-old Sarah
and 16-year-old Jason. Both children do
well in school, have a variety of friends,
and are involved in sports and syna-
gogue youth group.
Sam had been in outpatient counsel-
ing for more than a year for help with
interpersonal communication when he
requested a family session with Sarah
and Jason. The new schoolyear had
started, Sarah was beginning that seem-
ingly endless round of bar/bat mitzvah
parties, and Sam had heard rumors that
alcohol was available to the kids at one
of these parties. There had also been
reports of kids at Jason's high school
selling their prescription Ritalin and
Xanax.
Sam started the session by asking
me — an addiction counselor at Jewish
Family Service — "Can you tell them
how to say no? I would think they would
have learned by watching my struggle,
but what if they haven't?"
Sarah and Jason's eyes (characteristi-
cally) rolled as they sighed, "Oh, come
on, Dad. We're good kids. Don't you
trust us?"
And Sam (characteristically) turned
to me and said, "See, they just don't get
it:'
October is National Substance Abuse
Prevention Month, an observance
that focuses on the role prevention
can play in eliminating the damage
caused by alcohol and drug addiction.
The American Society of Addiction
Medicine (ASAM) defined addiction
as "a primary, chronic disease of brain
reward, motivation, memory and related
circuitry:'
Addiction is further "characterized
by the inability to consistently abstain,
impairment in behavioral control, crav-
ings, diminished recognition of signifi-
cant problems with one's behaviors and
interpersonal relationships and a dys-
functional emotional response.
"Like other chronic diseases, addic-
tion often involves cycles of relapse
and remission. Without treatment
or engagement in recovery activities,
addiction is progressive and can result
in disability or premature death:'
It's easy to understand Sam's concerns.
Yet "just say no" seems over-simplistic
and doesn't address the real issues that
Jason and Sarah will face in the next
few years as they navigate the tricky and
ever-changing roadmap of adolescence.
Many of us have had a drink and pos-
sibly tried a drug, probably more than
once. It is estimated that 10 percent of
the population has a diagnosable sub-
stance use disorder. What makes that 10
percent more susceptible to addiction?
As our understanding of brain chem-
istry develops, so does our understand-
ing of the complex interplay of cultural,
societal, genetic, psychological and
developmental factors. No single factor
determines the probability of addiction.
There are many positive factors
in Jason and Sarah's lives that could
increase the likelihood that nursing a
beer at a party will not lead to alcohol-
ism. Some of these strengths include
good physical health, supportive family,
a variety of activities and friends, and a
positive outlook with long-term goals.
Negative risk factors include a genetic
predisposition to alcoholism and their
ages. The adolescent brain processes
alcohol and drugs differently than the
adult brain because the executive func-
tioning part of the adolescent brain
— the part that allows for complex
decision-making, understanding cause
and effect and predicting negative con-
sequences — is still developing between
(approximately) ages 12-21. And other
risk factors, negative or positive, might
not emerge until they are older or they
find themselves in specific situations.
What can I say to Jason and Sarah that
will address their parents' concerns while
not inducing additional eye rolling?
I know that preaching, moralizing,
shaming or scare tactics disguised as
education will not be effective. I also
know that minimizing the real-life
potential consequences will be inter-
preted as encouraging poor judgement.
Rather, I admit that I cannot predict
the future, nor can they. So I ask them
to share their concerns, their knowl-
edge, their stories. I ask them what they
know about addiction. How do they
feel about the poor judgment some of
their peers are exhibiting? And, most
importantly, what are the things in their
lives that give them pleasure, happiness,
a sense of fulfillment and what can they
do to enhance those things?
Encourage the adolescents in your life
to be involved with positive, constructive
activities and people. Be realistic in your
expectations of self and others.
What if they choose not to follow my
sage advice and manage to get them-
selves in trouble? Seek out help, quickly.
It is not necessary to wait until someone's
substance use leads them to hit rock-
bottom. Addicts, alcoholics and their
loved ones do themselves a disservice
by minimizing, ignoring or denying the
mounting evidence of problematic sub-
stance use.
The most effective way to stop the
damage caused by addiction is to prevent
it. During National Substance Abuse
Prevention Month we recognize the
importance of modeling and providing
choices that support optimal physical,
emotional, behavioral and mental health
in lieu of substance use. *
Maureen Lyn Bernard, LMSW, ACS W, CADC, CCS,
is a licensed masters-level social worker, certified
addictions counselor and clinical supervisor at
Jewish Family Service.
Resources
In Oakland County, we are fortunate to have access to a variety of substance use
disorder treatment providers that can address all treatment needs regardless of
income, age, gender, sexual orientation and medical status:
•The Daniel Sobel Friendship House offers a welcoming Jewish recovery com-
munity, www.friendshipcircle.org/friendshiphouse.
•Jewish Family Service provides outpatient individual and family therapy. Contact
the Resource Center at (248) 592-2313 for further information.
•Alcoholics Anonymous: www.aa-semi.org/meetings.php
•American Society of Addiction Medicine: www.asam.org
•Narcotics Anonymous: www.michigan-na.org
•National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence: www.ncadd.org .