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Ending Addiction
Overcoming opioid addiction is possible with community support.
Maureen Lyn Bernard I Special to the Jewish News
enny G. is a 26-year-old Jewish
woman who lives with her parents
and works part time as she looks for
a more permanent job.
She is also a heroin addict.
Jenny has six months clean time, which
she attributes to the Narcotics Anonymous
meetings she attends four to five times
a week and the counseling she receives
to address her relationship with her on-
again-off-again boyfriend of eight years,
Aaron. Aaron has six months clean time
as well.
When they tried heroin for the first
time, together, it was supposed to be a
one-time experience. Yet all these years
later, heroin has become the third wheel in
their relationship, having damaged almost
every other relationship in their lives.
Often perceived as a problem limited to
those with little education, family support
and resources, heroin addiction actually
spans all ages, genders, races, socio-eco-
nomic statuses and locations. The fastest
rising rates of heroin usage are in the pre-
dominantly white suburbs of the Midwest
among people ages 18-44.
There are no readily available statistics
that break down substance use by religion,
yet anecdotally among professionals who
work with this population, we are seeing
subtle increases in Jewish young people,
such as Jenny and Aaron, seeking help.
There is a lot of conversation swirling
around about what is causing this increase
in heroin availability and use, how big of
a problem it really is, how best to fight it
and how best to treat the individual who
wants to be in recovery.
In the nightly news, somewhere in this
country, there is a story about an illicit
drug arrest. 60 Minutes has featured two
segments in as many months about the
nation's heroin and opioid crisis. And crisis
it is: The number of accidental overdoses
involving heroin has increased by 286 per-
cent from 2002 to 2013; and drug overdose
deaths are now considered the leading
cause of injury death in the U.S., above
those from motor vehicle accidents and
firearms. In Oakland County, the number
of heroin overdose deaths has doubled
from 2013 to 2014.
The majority of first-time users are
also addicted to prescription painkillers;
approximately one in every 20 Americans
over the age of 12 has taken a painkiller
for non-medical usage.
Jenny's boyfriend, Aaron, had been
j
30 December 31 •2015
prescribed painkillers following a surgery
for a sports-related injury. These narcotic
painkillers are members of the opioid fam-
ily of narcotics and are extremely effective
in managing pain by attaching to specific
proteins called opioid receptors, which
then block the transmission of pain mes-
sages to the brain. They can also cause a
relaxed feeling, a sense of euphoria.
Prolonged use can lead to an increased
tolerance; this, in turn, leads to the need
for more and more of the drug to achieve
the desired effect. Because the body
becomes accustomed to the presence of
the drug, withdrawal symptoms can devel-
op when it is suddenly stopped.
Aaron's physician felt it was time for him
to taper off the medication; eventually, he
stopped prescribing the quantities Aaron
insisted he needed. A friend suggested
he try heroin, a seemingly less expensive
alternative to getting these pills on the
street.
Much of the conversation between
politicians and policy makers is focused
on the connection between prescription
drug abuse and heroin abuse; people are
40 times more likely to be addicted to
heroin if they are addicted to prescription
painkillers. Yet it is important to remem-
ber that not everyone who is prescribed
painkillers and takes them responsibly is
destined to become a heroin addict.
Jenny and Aaron have another friend,
Brian, who suffered a similar sports-
related injury and subsequent surgery that
Aaron did. Brian was prescribed the same
narcotic painkillers, but he didn't like
the way they made him feel. He adhered
to treatment recommendations, actively
sought out ways to reduce the pain with-
out medication and followed directions on
how to slowly taper his medication use in
order to minimize withdrawal symptoms.
Heroin addiction is initially physical
as the body desires more and more to get
the same effect; yet it quickly takes over
the brain's ability to function effectively
because the brain comes to believe that
heroin is needed for its very survival.
There were many times over the last
eight years that Jenny and Aaron wanted
to stop using, and tried; yet the powerful
pull of addiction caused them to doubt
they could ever feel normal without it.
Why will this time be different for
them? Maybe the desire to be in recovery
is stronger than the desire to use just one
more time. They are tired of burying their
friends and lying to their families and
themselves.
This time, Jenny and Aaron approached
their recovery differently. Recovery from
addiction is multi-faceted, and Jenny and
Aaron started with medically supervised
detoxification. They know now that detox
is a good first step, not treatment. They are
taking medications to help with the resid-
ual cravings and other physical symptoms
while actively participating in outpatient
counseling and 12-step fellowship.
Jenny says, "No matter how bad my day
might be going, I try to remember that my
worst day clean is better than my best day
using:' *
Maureen Lyn Bernard, LMSW, ACSW, CADC, CCS is a
licensed master's level social worker, certified addic-
tions counselor and clinical supervisor, and a Michigan
Motivational Interviewing Trainer at Jewish Family
Service.
Help Is Available
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, the counselors at Jewish Family
Service can help. Contact the Resource Center at (248) 592-2313 for more informa-
tion or an appointment. Other treatment resources can be found at Oakland County
Community Mental Health Authority at (800) 350-0900 or www.00CMHA.org .
Healing Havurah is a newly formed support group with a Jewish focus for survivors of
those who died by overdose. Contact Bluma Greenwald, program director at Friendship
House, at (248) 788-7878, ext. 205, or Maureen Lyn Bernard, Jewish Family Service, at
(248) 592-2334 for more information.