Maria Hanson, JD, CPS, PRC Nicole Blaje, LCSW, LASOTP

Transcription

1 Recovery: The Key is Connection by Maria Hanson, JD, CPS, PRC Nicole Blaje, LCSW, LASOTP Objectives We will learn about the sense of isolation and disconnection that drives so many individuals into addiction We will learn why connection is the key element in so many forms of recovery paths in today s world. We will learn why connection is the answer to the problem of today s addiction issues rather than punishment and isolation. The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. Johann Hari 1

2 These views do not represent the views of the Wisconsin DHS or Mendota Mental Health Institute Connection is the Key The key element of all forms of recovery is connection, being connection with self, the group and a higher calling. There is a necessity to find a new connection that involves a deeper meaning and purpose and sense of belonging. Early Onset Addiction For many of us the early years of our lives our enveloped in a sense of isolation and a feeling of not fitting in or belonging There was a sense of emptiness and separation Our drinking/drugging often begins in adolescence or earlier, when we are trying to make social connections For many of us the first effect of alcohol and/or drugs brought a sense of social grease. Suddenly we were the life of the party or at least part of the crowd. 2

3 How Addiction Effected Maturing Addiction to substances at the age when social skills are acquired causes barriers to learning normal adaptive social skills Young teens and young adults who turn to substance use for quick fix create shallow connections with others and are unable to make deep, meaningful relationships with others or with the universe. Those with underlying mental health issues are unable to work through issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. w/o the use of substances. Maria s Recovery Story Substance medicated prominent mental health issues into my thirties Began to build relationships during the early years of AA Slowly regained relationship with higher power in forties Became willing to open up and become vulnerable to others Rat Park Bruce Alexander s Research on the Rat Park A solitary Confined Rat becomes Addicted Most Rats in a Socially Conducive Environment of the Rat Park Choose a Healthy Lifestyle and only Recreationally Use Drugs 3

4 Vietnam Veterans Returning Vietnam Veterans a Real World Example 20% addicted to heroin in Vietnam When they came home 95% simple stopped using heroin. A tiny percent continued most of these turned out to have unstable childhood, or to have been addicted prior to war. Johann Hari, Chasing the Scream Current Treatment of Addicts Punishment vs. Connection Isolating Treatment Punitive Sentencing for Drug Use Correctional Systems that are Highly Isolative and Harsh to Addicts Telling Families to Practice Tough Love and Isolate the Addict Further Portugal De Criminalization 2001 Portugal De criminalized Drugs from Cannabis to Crack Police ticket street drug users to locations called the Dissuasion Commission This Dissuasion Commission is a location where drug users are screened for addiction or recreational use and provided appropriate education, information and if needed access to treatment If someone shows up at 10am at a center and needs treatment, it is usually available by 1pm. Portugal also provided employers with an incentive to higher newly recovering addicts with a yearlong tax break to anyone who employs recovering addicts. 4

5 Portigual De Criminalization The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Forum found Portugal in ninth lowest of 28 European countries when is comes to cannabis use. 5 th lowest with amphetamines and ecstacy. Since, de criminalization the level of drugs has dropped below the European average and much lower than it s neighbor Spain. Portuguese Ministry of Health says problem drug users have literally been halved, from 100,0000 to 50,000. The British Journal of Criminology Portugal is the only one of these European nations to have exhibited a decline in problematic drug use. What Works in Recovery Whether it s AA, NA, and 12 Step Program, Smart Recovery, Native American Recovery Path or any other community recovery program the key is sense of unity and interpersonal dependence these program provide there members. These programs teach personal, interpersonal and some higher purpose connection All of this provides the responsibility of self worth, interpersonal responsibility and a need to follow a high purpose of service and a sense that there is something higher then self. All of this to once again or for the first time become a purposeful member of society. One of the ways this occurs in early recovery is often in treatment through the group model Incorporating the Good Lives Model in Recovery BEYOND AVOIDANCE GOALS 5

6 Human Dignity and Human Agency The Good Lives Model (GLM) is a Strengths Based Approach for Lives in Transition (Ward & Stewart, 2003) While it was developed for use with Sexual Offenders it can also be applied to other problematic or addictive behaviors Why is it important to come from a Strengths Based Approach rather than a Deficit Approach? The Key is Connection The GLM broadens the scope of treatment beyond a framework of abstinence, avoidance goals, and a singular cycle The GLM instead incorporates areas beyond problematic behaviors and supports the integration of friendship, relatedness, intimacy, purpose, and community. We must come to a belief that change is not only possible, but worthwhile to us and our place within society. Primary Goals We all value certain states of mind, experiences, and connection to others Our own life organization of Primary Goals reflects our values and life priorities Having a number of these identities or connections enables a person to draw upon difference value sources depending on the context This is integral to the concept of recovery from problematic/addictive behaviors 6

7 Primary Goals Healthy Life Functioning Excellence in Work Excellence in Agency Relationships Spirituality Knowledge Excellence in Play Inner Peace Community Creativity Achieving Our Primary Goals We constantly seek out our own Primary Goals and organize them in ways that are meaningful to us If a person seeks community perhaps they will. If a person seeks relatedness If a person seeks their own autonomy or agency How We Sabotage Our Primary Goals Our problematic/addictive behaviors are unhealthy ways that we pursue primary goals If we experience problems in achieving the Primary Goals that does not mean that there is an issue with the goal itself Sabotage can include: How we try to secure our goals Having narrow goals that lead to dissatisfaction Placing too much emphasis on one goal Incompatible goals A lack of skills or capacity 7

8 How We Sabotage Our Primary Goals Capacity can be both internal and external Internal capacity is our attitude and/or needing to strengthen specific skills Ex. Being impulsive passive aggressive External capacity is poor social support, unhealthy influences or peers and/or the inability to adjust to what life throws at us Ex. Divorce break up people not supportive to your sobriety Action into Goal Instrumental Goals are the actions we take to secure our Primary Goals These actions are understood as Approach Goals (Pleasurable) as opposed to Avoidance Goals (Stressful) Avoidance Goals can be risky as they are often emotionally charged and based in feelings of anxiety, shame or guilt For some the anxiety may shock a person into action For most it may leave us feeling mentally or emotionally paralyzed Avoidance Goals Dynamic risk factors represent the distortion or absence of the internal and external conditions required to secure these Primary goals (Recovery) The pursuit of a greater number of avoidance goals is related to: Less satisfaction with progress and more negative feelings about progress with personal goals Decreased self esteem, personal control and vitality Less satisfaction with life Feeling less competent in relation to goal pursuits. (Pychyl, 2009) 8

9 Recovery through the Good Lives Model The Good Lives Model takes five broad steps: Believing that you can accomplish your primary goals (Recovery) in ways that are pro social and distinctly satisfying Understand how you pursued these goals in the past and how your capacity/behavior helped or hindered achieving your goals Develop strategies to construct your plan that support goal fulfillment and acknowledge your personal risk factors Understand patterns of behavior, risk factors, self regulation style/capacity, and the relationship between these elements and how they can sabotage our goal of recovery Develop strategies and skills to achieve our goals/recovery and manage our risks Connection as the Means to Recovery Each step of the Good Lives Model requires connection to others and can not be an isolating experience in order to be successful: The desire to belong in a healthy environment/society Making amends to those you have harmed and taking accountability for past behaviors Beginning to include yourself within a community rather than isolating Being open to others challenging your distorted thinking or unhealthy behavior Incorporating these experiences into our lives, strengthening our tolerance for the unknown (acceptance), and ultimately living a healthy and pro social life with others. This is why connection is integral to our recovery Will we make mistakes? Will we be disappointed? Will we be scared? Will we experience setbacks? YES, WE WILL. 9

10 In closing Approach Goals better support recovery than just an Avoidance Goal (Pleasure vs. Stress) Our Primary Goals represent our current values, beliefs, and attitudes rather than being consumed by our past In the past we thought our unhealthy behaviors helped us to achieve our desires, but in reality they sabotaged healthy connections with others Our communities and connections to other not only support us, but help us to challenge our distorted thinking and unhealthy behaviors Being accountable to ourselves also means being accountable to others Resources Alexander, Bruce K. The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008 Hari, Johann. Chasing The Scream. The First and Last Days of the War of Drugs. Bloomsbury: Bloomsbury Publishing Maté, Gabor. In the Realm of the Hungre Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books,