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Recording: Knowledge to Action Conversation on Addiction Recovery Through a Trauma Lens

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Recording: Knowledge to Action Conversation on Addiction Recovery Through a Trauma Lens

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Knowledge to Action Conversation on Addiction Recovery Through a Trauma Lens

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Join Ashley Black, Executive Director of RISE UP, for an empowering conversation about addiction recovery and hope.
 
Hear her journey, learn about trauma-responsive strategies, and discover ways YOU can help break the stigma.
 
Gain access to vital resources and support for recovery in Georgia. This is more than a discussion - it’s a step toward healing and resilience.
 
Don’t miss this chance to be part of the change!

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Explore how Johns Hopkins Medicine addresses the stigma of addiction and its harmful effects on recovery, offering insights into overcoming bias and improving care.

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Information and resources about the stigma of drug addiction from Johns Hopkins Medicine.

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Stigma surrounding drug use, fueled by negative stereotypes and systemic biases, creates barriers to treatment and support, but changing our perceptions can lead to more compassionate and effective policies.

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This article from the National Institutes of Health explores the impact of social stigma on addiction recovery and highlights strategies to reduce its negative effects.

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Stigma: how it affects the substance use disorder patient

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The stigma surrounding individuals who have substance use disorders is a pervasive phenomenon that has had detrimental effects on treatment outcomes, health care providers, treatments, research, policies, and society as a whole (Kelly JF, Dow SJ, Westerhoff…

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Meet the RISE UP team! They are passionate about supporting recovery, breaking addiction stigma, and building a community of hope and healing. Explore the team to see the people behind the mission!

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Crestview Recovery discusses how recovery hinges on the "3 Ps": patience, persistence, and perseverance. This blog explores how these key traits support lasting sobriety and stability.

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A guide to addiction treatment centers in Georgia, with over 500 outpatient rehabs, 250 inpatient facilities, and 230 detox clinics, plus answers to rehab costs and other information.

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Discover supportive community housing options designed to help individuals in recovery build a stable and substance-free future.

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Sober Living Program | Georgia Addiction Treatment Center

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The Georgia Addiction Treatment Center offers a sober living program to those recovering from addiction. Click here to learn how we can help you today.

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Centered Recovery Programs offers a mindfulness-based, non-12-step approach to addiction recovery, focused on holistic healing and lasting change.

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Holistic Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Rehab Center Atlanta Georgia

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Holistic outpatient drug rehabs Atlanta drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers in Alphraetta and Roswell, Georgia. Substance abuse

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Explore The Summit Wellness Group's comprehensive guide to drug addiction recovery in Georgia, offering valuable resources and support for every step of the recovery journey.

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Guide to Drug Addiction Recovery in Georgia

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Comprehensive guide to addiction recovery in Georgia: stats, resources, treatments, programs, high-risk areas, and inspiring testimonials from residents.

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Discover how stigma impacts the recovery process and learn ways to overcome its challenges in this insightful blog from Waypoint Recovery Center.

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Breaking Down Barriers: Understanding How Stigma Affects the Recovery Process

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The stigma surrounding substance use disorders can be viewed as similar to the stigma surrounding mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

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Learn how the stigma of addiction hinders recovery efforts and discover harm reduction strategies to combat its negative impact in this guide from American Addiction Centers.

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Cultural Stigmas and How They Affect Addiction Treatment

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Cultural stigmas encourage populations to think certain ways about issues within society. By combatting the current perception of addiction treatment, it could encourage more people to get help and change their substance abuse habits.

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This AJC opinion piece looks at efforts to end substance addiction and overcome the stigma that hinders recovery in communities.

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Opinion: Ga.’s working to end substance addiction, overcome stigma

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September is National Recovery Month. Today, an estimated 180,000 Georgians are living with an opioid-use disorder. To put this staggering number into perspective, that means we have a population the size of Macon coping with the malicious effects caused by the opioid crisis.

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This journey highlights how trauma impacts the brain, driving addiction, and shows the importance of reducing stigma to help others seek recovery

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How trauma impacts the brain: reducing stigma around addiction and substance use

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This video explains how trauma can change the brain and increase the risk of addiction, while also offering hope through healing and recovery.

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In this powerful TEDx talk, Petra Schulz shares the heart-wrenching story of her son Danny's death and advocates for harm reduction, emphasizing that people who use drugs deserve safety, health, and to live without judgment.

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My son Danny: The truth about substance use, stigma and overdose | Petra Schulz | TEDxMacEwanU

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Learn about substance use disorder, its treatment options, and how ongoing care can prevent relapse in this informative video from Cleveland Clinic.

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Substance Use Disorder | The Road to Recovery

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Watch this insightful video that explores the impact of trauma on addiction and how understanding this connection can aid in recovery.

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How Does Trauma Affect Substance Abuse Disorders? | A Better Today Recovery Services

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Read the connection between trauma and substance abuse in this insightful article, which examines how trauma can lead to addiction and impact recovery.

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Understanding the Connection Between Trauma and Substance Abuse

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Substance dependence and trauma are often linked. Learn how trauma can lead to substance abuse, the signs of trauma-related substance use, and how to get help.

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This NCTSN discusses the link between trauma and substance abuse, offering insights and strategies for addressing both in treatment.

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Gabor Maté, renowned for his work on childhood trauma and its lifelong impact on health, particularly in addiction recovery, talks about addiction, attachment, and addiction.

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How Childhood Trauma Leads to Addiction - Gabor Maté

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Watch this video to hear Tiffany's powerful story of overcoming substance abuse and transforming her life through recovery.

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Georgia Department of Community Supervision

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Supervisee Success Stories | Georgia Department of Community Supervision | GeorgiaDCS

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This heartfelt testimony highlights a personal journey through addiction, recovery, and the power of making positive life changes while staying committed to sobriety.

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Georgia Department of Community Supervision

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Success Stories | Georgia Department of Community Supervision | GeorgiaDCS

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Watch and hear Robert's story of overcoming substance abuse and finding an anchor in spiritual health.

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Georgia Department of Community Supervision

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Supervisee Success Stories | Mr. Robert Pugh | GeorgiaDCS

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Discover how community support plays a vital role in addiction recovery, offering encouragement and fostering long-term success.

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Useful tips and advice on how to support those in your community.

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5 Major Benefits of Community For Addiction Recovery

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Being in a healthy, supportive community can help you avoid relapse and live a life free of addiction. Here’s why it’s so important to recovery.

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Watch this video to learn about the crucial role that community plays in supporting addiction recovery and fostering lasting change.

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It takes a village to recover from drug addiction | Charlotte Colman | TEDxGhent

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This article explores the critical role of social support in addiction recovery, highlighting how community connections can enhance long-term sobriety and well-being.

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The Emergence, Role, and Impact of Recovery Support Services

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Various community recovery support services help sustain positive behavior change for individuals with alcohol and drug use disorders. This article reviews the rationale, origins, emergence, prevalence, and empirical research on a variety of recovery…

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This article discusses how recognizing the human need for community is essential for effective addiction treatment and long-term recovery.

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The isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been tough for most people, but it's been particularly difficult for people with drug addictions.

Last month, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that deaths from overdoses spiked by 30% in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020, when more than 90,000 died from overdoses. In Virginia, the increase was more than 40%.

Two University of Virginia anthropology professors who study cultural and social systems related to substance abuse and treatment discuss here what accounts for the rise in overdose deaths, offer ideas for understanding this health crisis and suggest different ways of healing. Recognizing our human need for community should be an essential part of helping people with substance abuse addiction, they say.

Jarrett Zigon, the William and Linda Porterfield Professor of Bioethics and professor of anthropology, has been researching for 15 years how people with drug addictions are treated, doing fieldwork around the world. His latest book, "A War on People: Drug User Politics and a New Ethics of Community" was published in 2019.

Associate professor China Scherz has led studies in Uganda and Southwest Virginia in recent years that look at the impact of non-medical treatments for alcohol and substance abuse, particularly involving religious participation. She received seed funding from UVA's Brain Institute to look at several interventions and is continuing that research with a $270,000 National Science Foundation grant.

"Overdoses have been awful since the pandemic," Scherz acknowledged, "but it's been a continuing pattern that was already happening, mainly because of fentanyl circulating."

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The pharmaceutical is used in hospitals to treat pain; illegal dealers increasingly mix it with other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA. The unknown combinations of these street drugs are very dangerous for users.

"Addiction is often called a disease of loneliness, and during the pandemic, many more people experienced loneliness."

The simple fact that people buy their drugs in an underground, unregulated, illegal market is the "primary driver" of overdose deaths, Zigon wrote in email. "They have no idea what they are buying. It is impossible to buy heroin - 100% pure heroin - on the street. Instead, people buy a bit of heroin cut with all kinds of contaminants, from baking soda to fentanyl." Consequently, they do not know the potency of the substance they use. This not knowing is the primary driver of overdose, Zigon explained.

The rise in overdose deaths "doesn't come as any surprise to those of us who work in this field or are aware of the issue," said Zigon, who directs UVA's Undergraduate Bioethics Program.

"Addiction is often called a disease of loneliness, and during the pandemic, loneliness is something that many more people experienced," he said.

Zigon suggested that the advice on "social distancing" sent a distorted message. "'Physical distancing' would have been a more precise description of what was needed in the COVID pandemic, and wouldn't have suggested that one needed to become isolated in order to be safe," he said.

"Shifts in drug markets and isolation intersected," Scherz said. "Using drugs alone is particularly dangerous with no one to help you."

She noted that "for a period of time during the pandemic, the drug supply was unreliable and some people lost tolerance. This is similar to what happens when people are imprisoned or in abstinence-based programs and then go back to taking drugs when they are released; the risk of overdose is higher because they don't know what they're getting, and their bodies' tolerance has lowered. Also, when there's a fluctuating and uncertain supply, drugs get cut and mixed even more."

Scherz began preliminary fieldwork in Southwest Virginia in 2019. With then-UVA research fellow Joshua Burraway, they followed a small number of individuals dealing with substance abuse, past or present; the research was supported by the Brain Institute funding, and then a three-year National Science Foundation grant in January 2020. The drug crisis hit this economically depressed area hard in the late 1990s as pharmaceutical opioids like oxycontin came on the scene.

This study is observing solutions beyond medical treatment, including forms of religious participation, which offer social and emotional support.

The pandemic stalled the grant for about six months, Scherz said. It has been a strange time for anthropologists, she said, because so much of their research relies on fieldwork, which usually involves travel (often international) and close contact with people - almost impossible during the pandemic. Instead of going to Southwest Virginia in person, she and Burraway attended meetings at the churches and clinics they had studied before the pandemic via Zoom, she said.

Since Burraway left UVA, postdoctoral researcher Abigail Mack joined the study and just relocated to start her work on the project.

Scherz said the study asks the basic question: "How do people with substance abuse or addiction rebuild a flourishing life in a community where there is hopefulness for the future, a future that's more than just surviving?" Or more simply, "How can they heal and create new lives?"

"Rebuilding meaningful social connections and trust in the future may be just as important an aspect of recovery as mediating physical withdrawal symptoms."

The Western medical disease model calls addiction a "chronic relapsing brain disease" and sees it as coming from inside you (the brain); it's part of you, and always will be, Scherz said. Medication-assisted treatment draws on this model in its use of drugs, such as buprenorphine and suboxone, that treat opioid withdrawal symptoms on an ongoing basis.

Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous programs share the medical view that this is a disease that's always going to be part of the person.

By contrast, the religious experience of being "born again," especially in Pentecostalism, gives the person the sense of being transformed and able to start over, suggesting that the addiction comes from forces outside the person. This may provide more hope for a better life in the future, as well as social support from the religious community that believes the same thing.

"While [medication-assisted treatment] remains a profound and hard-won treatment avenue for those afflicted, recovery, like addiction itself, does not emerge in a social vacuum," Scherz wrote in the grant proposal. "Indeed, rebuilding meaningful social connections and trust in the future may be just as important an aspect of recovery as mediating physical withdrawal symptoms."

The study aims to describe how these social connections and ways of understanding addiction help people.

Zigon describes the underlying issue differently and offers another version of community.

Based on his 15 years of research, Zigon recommends two major changes. He thinks all of these drugs should be legalized so they can be regulated, thus removing the violent, illegal market. In addition, governments and communities could invest in what he calls "the Vancouver model."

Facing the drug epidemic in the 1990s, the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, focused on ways of connecting drug users back to their world and others in it, Zigon said, "by creating businesses and jobs run by and worked by active drug users; organizing events and activities for them, such as community opera and concerts, gardens, sports clubs and art initiatives; [and] establishing housing and community centers where they can live and feel safe together."

The public health benefits to the Vancouver approach included providing a safe-use facility and other harm-reduction initiatives that aim to reduce overdoses and the spread of infectious disease.

"The point of this model is not to blame and shame, but to connect and support; not to judge, but to care," Zigon said. "In doing so, the response does not attempt to enforce abstinence, but rather to help build a community within which people come to realize that they no longer need drugs to fill a void."

That void points to something else, a deeper malaise that has been around for much longer, Zigon said.

"The crisis is not an opioid crisis, but rather an existential crisis. For quite a long time, the country has been moving toward this contemporary condition of existential crisis, which is characterized above all by despair, anxiety, disconnection and disorientation. Just one manifestation of this is loneliness and addiction. But other manifestations take the form of hate, suicide, extremism and anger. We have seen a lot of these in the last few years."

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Recognizing the Human Need for Community Is Essential in Addiction Treatment

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UVA anthropologists China Scherz and Jarrett Zigon discuss the rise in overdose deaths, offering ideas for understanding this health crisis and different ways of healing.

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In this powerful TEDx talk, Devin Lyall shares her personal recovery journey and emphasizes the importance of creating supportive community services that meet individuals at every step of their addiction recovery process.

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Creating A Community Where Recovery Is Probable | Devin Lyall | TEDxFurmanU

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A community listening forum to help those struggling in the community.

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Community forum focuses on addiction, recovery

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Ashley Black ablack@csbmg.com 478-246-8090

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Addiction Recovery Through a Trauma Lens

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Addiction Recovery Through a Trauma Lens