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ERIC - Siblings of the Child with a Life-Threatening Illness., Journal of Children in Contemporary Society, 1987

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The experience of siblings of a child with a life-threatening illness may be seen at the juncture of the following perspectives: (1) the family system; (2) a focus on living rather than on dying; and (3) a view toward positive adaptation rather than toward psychopathology. The most critical focus is on the sibling-patient relationship itself.

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A Harvard Health article
New Insights into the Causes of Addiction

Addiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation. Although breaking an addiction is tough, it can be done.

What causes addiction?

The word "addiction" is derived from a Latin term for "enslaved by" or "bound to." Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction-or has tried to help someone else to do so-understands why.

Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.

For many years, experts believed that only alcohol and powerful drugs could cause addiction. Neuroimaging technologies and more recent research, however, have shown that certain pleasurable activities, such as gambling, shopping, and sex, can also co-opt the brain.

Although a standard U.S. diagnostic manual (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition or DSM-IV) describes multiple addictions, each tied to a specific substance or activity, consensus is emerging that these may represent multiple expressions of a common underlying brain process.

New insights into a common problem

Nobody starts out intending to develop an addiction, but many people get caught in its snare. Consider the latest government statistics:

Nearly 23 million Americans-almost one in 10-are addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

More than two-thirds of people with addiction abuse alcohol.

The top three drugs causing addiction are marijuana, opioid (narcotic) pain relievers, and cocaine.

In the 1930s, when researchers first began to investigate what caused addictive behavior, they believed that people who developed addictions were somehow morally flawed or lacking in willpower. Overcoming addiction, they thought, involved punishing miscreants or, alternately, encouraging them to muster the will to break a habit.

The scientific consensus has changed since then. Today we recognize addiction as a chronic disease that changes both brain structure and function. Just as cardiovascular disease damages the heart and diabetes impairs the pancreas, addiction hijacks the brain. This happens as the brain goes through a series of changes, beginning with recognition of pleasure and ending with a drive toward compulsive behavior.

Pleasure principle

The brain registers all pleasures in the same way, whether they originate with a psychoactive drug, a monetary reward, a sexual encounter, or a satisfying meal. In the brain, pleasure has a distinct signature: the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a cluster of nerve cells lying underneath the cerebral cortex (see illustration). Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is so consistently tied with pleasure that neuroscientists refer to the region as the brain's pleasure center.

All drugs of abuse, from nicotine to heroin, cause a particularly powerful surge of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. The likelihood that the use of a drug or participation in a rewarding activity will lead to addiction is directly linked to the speed with which it promotes dopamine release, the intensity of that release, and the reliability of that release.

Even taking the same drug through different methods of administration can influence how likely it is to lead to addiction. Smoking a drug or injecting it intravenously, as opposed to swallowing it as a pill, for example, generally produces a faster, stronger dopamine signal and is more likely to lead to drug misuse.
Brain's Reward Center
Addictive drugs provide a shortcut to the brain's reward system by flooding the nucleus accumbens with dopamine. The hippocampus lays down memories of this rapid sense of satisfaction, and the amygdala creates a conditioned response to certain stimuli.

Learning process

Scientists once believed that the experience of pleasure alone was enough to prompt people to continue seeking an addictive substance or activity. But more recent research suggests that the situation is more complicated. Dopamine not only contributes to the experience of pleasure, but also plays a role in learning and memory-two key elements in the transition from liking something to becoming addicted to it.

According to the current theory about addiction, dopamine interacts with another neurotransmitter, glutamate, to take over the brain's system of reward-related learning. This system has an important role in sustaining life because it links activities needed for human survival (such as eating and sex) with pleasure and reward.

The reward circuit in the brain includes areas involved with motivation and memory as well as with pleasure. Addictive substances and behaviors stimulate the same circuit-and then overload it.

Repeated exposure to an addictive substance or behavior causes nerve cells in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain involved in planning and executing tasks) to communicate in a way that couples liking something with wanting it, in turn driving us to go after it. That is, this process motivates us to take action to seek out the source of pleasure.

Do you have addiction?

Determining whether you have addiction isn't completely straightforward. And admitting it isn't easy, largely because of the stigma and shame associated with addiction. But acknowledging the problem is the first step toward recovery.

A "yes" answer to any of the following three questions suggests you might have a problem with addiction and should-at the very least-consult a health care provider for further evaluation and guidance.

Do you use more of the substance or engage in the behavior more often than in the past?

Do you have withdrawal symptoms when you don't have the substance or engage in the behavior?

Have you ever lied to anyone about your use of the substance or extent of your behavior?

Development of tolerance

Over time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the sought-after substance or activity less pleasurable.

In nature, rewards usually come only with time and effort. Addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters. Our brains do not have an easy way to withstand the onslaught.

Addictive drugs, for example, can release two to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do, and they do it more quickly and more reliably. In a person who becomes addicted, brain receptors become overwhelmed. The brain responds by producing less dopamine or eliminating dopamine receptors-an adaptation similar to turning the volume down on a loudspeaker when noise becomes too loud.

As a result of these adaptations, dopamine has less impact on the brain's reward center. People who develop an addiction typically find that, in time, the desired substance no longer gives them as much pleasure. They have to take more of it to obtain the same dopamine "high" because their brains have adapted-an effect known as tolerance.

Compulsion takes over

At this point, compulsion takes over. The pleasure associated with an addictive drug or behavior subsides-and yet the memory of the desired effect and the need to recreate it (the wanting) persists. It's as though the normal machinery of motivation is no longer functioning.

The learning process mentioned earlier also comes into play. The hippocampus and the amygdala store information about environmental cues associated with the desired substance, so that it can be located again. These memories help create a conditioned response-intense craving-whenever the person encounters those environmental cues.

Cravings contribute not only to addiction but to relapse after a hard-won sobriety. A person addicted to heroin may be in danger of relapse when he sees a hypodermic needle, for example, while another person might start to drink again after seeing a bottle of whiskey. Conditioned learning helps explain why people who develop an addiction risk relapse even after years of abstinence.

Recovery is possible

It is not enough to "just say no"-as the 1980s slogan suggested. Instead, you can protect (and heal) yourself from addiction by saying "yes" to other things. Cultivate diverse interests that provide meaning to your life. Understand that your problems usually are transient, and perhaps most importantly, acknowledge that life is not always supposed to be pleasurable.

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A Harvard Health article Addiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation.

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Opioid addiction treatment center opens in Glendale

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Cleanslate holds it grand opening cermony.

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https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/heroin-addiction-mental-health/https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/heroin-addiction-mental-health/

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http://heroin.net/wp-content/uploads/HeroinEpidemic_asset1_QA-1.pnghttp://heroin.net/wp-content/uploads/HeroinEpidemic_asset1_QA-1.png

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Irish dancer dresses are extremely elaborate, ornate and expensive. I think the dress an Irish dancer chooses is an expression of the dancers personality.

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Through various posts by staff, I’ve discovered multiple ways to connect students to fiction and non fiction. An example from Meghan, image of poster, Some things just fill your heart without trying

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https://sobernation.com/mom-writes-a-letter-to-her-son-about-his-heroin-use/

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Cop adopts homeless addict’s newborn

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Programming note: Watch "New Day" and "CNN Newsroom" each Friday to see inspiring stories of officers going above and beyond the call of duty.

But when Albuquerque police officer Ryan Holets responded to a possible theft at a nearby convenience store, it had all the hallmarks of a mundane assignment he could quickly clear from the call log.

It didn't turn out that way.

As Ryan left the convenience store on September 23, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a couple sitting on the grass against a cement wall. It appeared the man and woman were shooting up heroin in broad daylight behind the convenience store.

Ryan turned on his body camera and approached the couple but he wasn't prepared for what he saw. The woman was in the middle of injecting a needle into her companion's arm. Then he noticed the woman was pregnant.

"It's not every day I see a sight like that and it just made me really sad," he told CNN.

Crystal Champ, 35, looked slightly dazed and agitated in the body camera footage as you hear Ryan begin to scold her. She told the officer that she was almost 8 months pregnant and addicted.

"You're going to kill your baby," Ryan is heard saying on the bodycam footage. "Why do you have to be doing that stuff?" It's going to ruin your baby."

In the video, Champ is seen breaking down in tears after hearing this. She told CNN the officer's words cut deeply because, even though she's pro-choice, the idea of having an abortion was never an option for her.

"I was like how dare you judge me. You have no idea how hard this is," Champ told CNN. "I know what a horrible person I am and what a horrible situation I'm in."

'He became a human being instead of a police officer'

Champ, who has battled addiction since she was a teenager, sat down for an interview with CNN outside of a tent where she currently lives in Albuquerque.

Champ has been homeless for more than two years. She detailed a life time of battling heroin and crystal meth addiction and how the drug controls every moment of her life, spending up to $50 a day on scoring hits of heroin simply so she can "get well." She's tried multiple times to get clean, but failed.

"I did give up. I just decided this was going to be my life," Champ said. "It just keeps coming back and ruining my life."

In the body camera footage, Ryan questions Champ and her companion for almost 11 minutes. He focused on Champ and tried to figure out whether she fully understood the danger drug use was inflicting on her unborn child.

In the course of the conversation, Champ emotionally told Ryan that she desperately hoped someone would adopt her baby. Champ says the words triggered a change in the officer's demeanor.

"He became a human being instead of a police officer," Champ said.

Ryan made the call to not charge the couple with drug possession but he couldn't shake the voice in his mind telling him that this was his chance to help and truly make a difference.

Ryan showed Champ a picture of his wife and four children, including a 10-month old baby and in that moment offered to adopt her baby.

"I was led by God to take the chance," Ryan said. "God brought us all together. I really don't have any other way to explain it."

Champ was stunned and says she looked at him to "make sure his eyes were genuine and that I could see his soul." She realized instantly, her prayers had been answered.

But there was one problem, Ryan offered to adopt Champ's baby but had not told his wife about it.

Rebecca Holets was just a few miles away at a going-away party for a friend. Ryan jumped in his police car and drove over to the party to break the news.

Ryan walked up to his wife, who was holding their 10-month old baby, and said he had just met a pregnant woman who was shooting up heroin and that he offered to adopt the baby.

The couple had discussed adopting a child in the future but were waiting for their youngest child to grow a little older. When Ryan delivered the shocking news at the party, Rebecca never hesitated.

"He already knew my heart on the issue and he knew that I would be totally onboard with it," Rebecca said.

The Holets say they see many in the world around them who desperately need stability. They know they can't help every child, but Rebecca knew she could take on the challenge of raising another baby.

"We feel God has called us to do that," Rebecca said. "It's been on our hearts for a while."

On October 12th, Crystal Champ gave birth to a baby girl and the Holets family named her Hope.

Ryan was at the hospital for the delivery and he kept thinking back to the surreal turn of events that brought a young police officer to this moment with a pregnant, homeless heroin user.

A few days later when Rebecca walked into the nursery with Crystal Champ, it would be the last time the birth mother would see the newborn. Rebecca watched Crystal fawn over how beautiful the little girl looked.

"I love you. Goodbye," Rebecca recalled Crystal saying to the baby. "And then she turns to me and says 'Take care of her for me.' And I said, 'I will take good care of her and you take good care of yourself.' It was super emotional."

Rebecca said from that moment she was Baby Hope's new mother.

Opioid babies are born every 25 minutes

Baby Hope represents an alarming trend in the United States, babies born addicted to opiates.

The medical term for a baby exposed to opioid abuse in the womb is, neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study in 2016 that determined the number of neonatal abstinence cases tripled between 1999 and 2013.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that a baby suffering from opioid withdrawal is born every 25 minutes in the United States and that these babies face developmental issues.

Dr. Heather Pratt-Chavez is a pediatrician at the University of New Mexico, the same hospital where Baby Hope was born. She specializes in babies born with opioid exposure and says that babies usually need several weeks of medical treatment, which can include morphine and methadone, to help the newborn detox.

The Holets say Baby Hope suffered the painful process of detoxing and withdrawals and even endured methadone treatment.

Babies suffering from NAS usually endure abnormal sleep patterns, are difficult to console and have trouble feeding. The withdrawal symptoms are just as intense for babies as adults.

"I look into their little faces and see their brows furrowed and watch for their faces to relax," Dr. Pratt-Chavez told CNN.

Many experts says intensive intervention in early infant care is crucial to ensuring a healthy future for the baby. After the initial medical treatment, Dr. Pratt-Chavez says "skin-to-skin" touch is crucial in lowering stress levels and ensuring the most nurturing development.

Hope for the future

Baby Hope is no longer in the hospital. The Holets family takes her for weekly medical checkups but mostly they're beginning to settle into their new routine.

Crystal Champ's future is bleak. She's still battling addiction and remains homeless. Ironically, Crystal Champ was also given up for adoption as a newborn. She remembers the lyrics of a song that her adoptive parents used to sing her as a child:

"I'm Crystal. I'm adopted. I'm loved, loved, loved.

I'm Crystal. I'm adopted. I'm loved, loved, loved."

But she hopes that when Hope grows older she'll understand how much her mother and father loved her. And that placing her with a loving family was the best thing to do for her future.

"She needs to have a safe environment and a stable life and be able to grow and be nurtured and be safe and secure and all of these things I can't give her right now," said Champ.

Both Crystal and the Holets marvel at the inexplicable course of events that brought them together in that convenience store parking lot back in September.

Ryan calls it "providence" and still can't believe that he met the parents of his future child on what was supposed to be an unmemorable call.

Crystal calls it "serendipity" and describes the adoptive parents of her baby girl as a "light in this world."

"There needs to be more people like Ryan and his wife and their family in this world," she said.

The Holets know their new baby will likely face trials and troubles in the future. The threat of developmental issues is real. But they're banking on love and nurturing to save Baby Hope's life.

Rebecca says as Hope grows older, and when the time is right, they will share the details of how she was adopted. And they want her birth parents, Crystal Champ and Tom Key, to have a place in their life. But the road to overcoming addiction is unpredictable.

"Whatever struggles she has, we'll be there and we'll work through it," said Ryan. "And that makes me happy."

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police officer adopts homeless mother's opioid-addicted newborn  - cnn

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Police officer adopts homeless mother's opioid-addicted newborn

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Programming note: Watch "New Day" and "CNN Newsroom" each Friday to see inspiring stories of officers going above and beyond the call of duty. But when Albuquerque police officer Ryan Holets responded to a possible theft at a nearby convenience store, it had all the hallmarks of a mundane assignment he could quickly clear from the call log.

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It’s more than just a drug-it’s life altering

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It’s more than just a drug-it’s life altering

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Heroin(e) | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

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In the face of the opioid epidemic in a West Virginia town, three women are giving their community a fighting chance. Heroin(e), only on Netflix September 12.

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Opioid crisis: Childhood friends die on same day, half a mile apart | CNN

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The powerful painkiller fentanyl is being blamed for the deaths of two teen boys in an Atlanta suburb.