Crazy addicts: a Macro tragedy

[WendyBG]

The expression “crazy addicts” is very politically incorrect. But the politically-correct jargon wouldn’t fit on the Subject line. It is “people with co-existing mental health and substance abuse disorders.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/opinion/addiction-overdos…

**12 Americans Die of an Overdose Every Hour. We Have the Knowledge to Prevent That.**
**By Jeneen Interlandi, The New York Times, June 24, 2022**
**...**

**More people are dying of drug overdoses in the United States today than at any point in modern history. The overdose fatality rate surpassed 100,000 per year for the first time ever in 2021. Halfway through 2022, it appears to be rising even further (the latest numbers come out to about 300 people per day, or 12 people every hour, on average).** [That’s about the same number as are currently dying from Covid-19. --W] **...**

**Substance use is especially dangerous for people with mental health conditions. They are much more likely to become addicted, and face a higher risk of overdose and other bad outcomes when they do. It’s common for these disorders to occur together. Roughly half of those who have one also have the other. And it’s crucial for them to be managed together, especially in teenagers whose brains are still developing, because they tend to amplify one another. ...**

**Twenty-two percent of 13- to 18-year-olds have a mental health disorder with severe impact...the vast majority are not receiving any kind of treatment for it....** [end quote]

This is a long article which highlights a macro-scale problem. Mental illnesses are common in the United States. Children as well as adults suffer from mental illness. Some mental illnesses commonly appear during adolescence (e.g. schizophrenia).
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html

Many people with mental illness self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. My mentee told me that about one in five of the students in her high school class came to school high.

Addiction and mental health services are still effectively separate in many states. Both are separate, in treament location and health insurance, from medical care even though there are many cross-impacts.

Psychiatrists who treat mental illness often won’t treat addicts – they require the addict to stop using (which is difficult to impossible). Addiction rehabs often won’t allow recovering addicts to use any drugs, even prescribed psychiatric medications. A young man in our area committed suicide when stuck in this Catch-22.

A new approach (called “Encompass” as described in the article) treats both mental illness and addiction as life-long, relapsing chronic brain co-morbidity. It involves weekly talk therapy supplemented by psychiatric and anti-addiction medications when appropriate. That sounds simple and reasonable but runs into the practical barrier of the existing system. It’s a good idea that doesn’t exist at this time.

Crazy addicts – people with co-morbidity of mental illness and addiction – are difficult to live with and difficult to work with. Many are homeless. A high and growing number are dying. The high numbers and lack of effective treatment make this a Macro tragedy.

Wendy

[intercst]

Crazy addicts – people with co-morbidity of mental illness and addiction – are difficult to live with and difficult to work with. Many are homeless. A high and growing number are dying. The high numbers and lack of effective treatment make this a Macro tragedy.

American culture has long considered mental illness to be moral failure rather than a medical problem. People who suffer from it are getting what they deserve.

Just another thing that makes us “special”. Maybe we need to bring back exorcisms and witch burning?

intercst

[ptheland]

This is indeed a serious problem. Unfortunately, the solutions are mainly political, which makes discussing them a topic non grata both on METAR and now at TMF generally.

—Peter

[telegraph]

“Twenty-two percent of 13- to 18-year-olds have a mental health disorder with severe impact.”

now that is an amazing stat and I don’t believe it.

Growing up 65 years ago, I don’t recall a SINGLE KID out of our class of 330 high school kids that had ‘mental problems’. There were a few ‘problem kids’ but mostly because they were bullies.

The era of ‘AHD’ and other ‘attention related’ ‘illnesses’ started much later. Like when kids were watching 40 hours of TV a day, and later playing video games for 80 hours a week rather than making friends, outdoor activities, etc. Or the large rise in single parent homes and second and third marriages with kids and trying to ‘blend’ six or eight kids from 4 parents together in a house.

Seems many parents were happy ‘medicating’ their ‘hyper active’ kids to calm then down rather than keep up with their activities and arrange activities where they actually got ‘worn out’ rather than secluded in a back yard.

Likely there were a ‘few’ but 20%. You gotta be kidding!

Of course, diets probably don’t help. We didn’t have gallons of Coke or other highly caffeinated drinks with TONS of sugar and snack foods by the ton. Maybe some Kool-Aid on weekend picnics but mostly milk. more milk. Good home cooked food.

t

[telegraph]

“Psychiatrists who treat mental illness often won’t treat addicts – they require the addict to stop using (which is difficult to impossible). Addiction rehabs often won’t allow recovering addicts to use any drugs, even prescribed psychiatric medications. A young man in our area committed suicide when stuck in this Catch-22.”

Fortunately in Texas, rehab programs and even the state pen allow use of proscribed medication for mental illness situations such as bipolar and schizophrenia.

I know personally one such person- bipolar. Sadly she got into drugs in her early 20s. Pot - big time…that wasn’t enough - ventured into meth. Didn’t bother to register the car…or keep her drivers license current. Had a druggie boyfriend. Got caught speeding with more than enough drugs to send her to prison for 2 years sentence and rehab. Got out in 15 months. Then 90 days of half way house. All during the two years of prison daily rehab sessions. No drugs there naturally. Not even smoking.

Got out…was doing OK but back to smoking. Seems one of her CBD vape pens had some THD in it…got caught on routine drug testing (Mandatory during probation)…did another 30 days in a halfway house/rehab. Still smoking…never going to stop. On her prescription meds. Working now but is a real character. Super self centered.

Anyhoo…that’s my own personal knowledge bit. If pot is legalized in TX, she’ll be right back on it…and these days you never know what is on or in your pot leaves…some fentanyl? some other stuff? to get you addicted to that supplier/brand.

BTW, for the 2 years she was on meth, it rotten all her teeth. Now 36 years old with dentures. teeth simply disintegrated…had to be pulled. she has 4 original teeth and they aren’t good.
Probably rotted her brain a bit too,

Drug addiction, according to Dr G, is the number two cause of preventable early death. First cause of preventable early death is smoking. Takes 11 minutes off your life for each minute you smoke. On average 20 years.

And, the number one killer of people - early death - is hospital infections. 1.7 million die of infections each year that they catch in the hospital. Wash your hands. Drive safe and wear a seat belt. Take care of your weight and take your prescription med for BP. Exercise. Follow your docs orders. See a doc annually! Stay out of the hospital if you can!

Don’t know if any of y’all watch the Dr G Medical Examiner re-runs on the True Crime network daily. Good show. She has a great book out too…re-runs on Amazon…too…

t.

[WendyBG]

<Growing up 65 years ago, I don’t recall a SINGLE KID out of our class of 330 high school kids that had ‘mental problems’. There were a few ‘problem kids’ but mostly because they were bullies. >

Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s I also don’t recall a single kid that had defined “mental problems” – but that was because they didn’t ask. Nobody screened kids or bothered to define any eccentricities that today would be diagnosed. I have Tourette’s Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome but didn’t self-diagnose until about 40 years later. (I learned to hide them and adapt.) There was a kid in our neighborhood who was clearly psychopathic but that was never diagnosed formally.

I had serious depression in my senior year in high school due to suffering from a potentially fatal blood disease (ITP, immune throbocytopenic purpura). I went to my guidance counselor but she didn’t ask why I was there – she just gushed about my high grades and how proud all the teachers were. I thanked her and walked out without mentioning my mental problem.

I agree with you that saying 20% of kids have serious mental disorders seems too high. But I’m not a pro; what do I know? Nowadays, kids who seem a little off the beam are immediately referred for diagnosis. They often get specialist treatment – which can be good (e.g. reading tutoring for the dyslexic) or not so good (e.g. Adderall for kids who need more physical exercise).

I also agree with you that many family and lifestyle problems are more prevalent today and can lead to mental disorders.

Wendy

[Neuromancer]

"Growing up 65 years ago, I don’t recall a SINGLE KID out of our class of 330 high school kids that had ‘mental problems’. There were a few ‘problem kids’ but mostly because they were bullies.

The era of ‘AHD’ and other ‘attention related’ ‘illnesses’ started much later. Like when kids were watching 40 hours of TV a day, and later playing video games for 80 hours a week rather than making friends, outdoor activities, etc. Or the large rise in single parent homes and second and third marriages with kids and trying to ‘blend’ six or eight kids from 4 parents together in a house.

Seems many parents were happy ‘medicating’ their ‘hyper active’ kids to calm then down rather than keep up with their activities and arrange activities where they actually got ‘worn out’ rather than secluded in a back yard."

Whether or not correlation implies causation, what do you propose we (the US) should do?

Or do you just want to return to those good old days by magic? (at least, apparently good in your memory)

[warrl]

I agree with you that saying 20% of kids have serious mental disorders seems too high. But I’m not a pro; what do I know?

The elementary school our kids went to had a number of students diagnosed with learning disabilities - dyslexia, adhd, et cetera. This number had been essentially stable for some years. Coincidentally (I’m sure), at the maximum percentage of the student body that the state would provide extra money for.

Then the state law changed, and the maximum percentage doubled.

It took two years for the percentage of diagnosed learning-disabled students in that school to double, again maxing out the state financial assistance.

This CERTAINLY LOOKS like manipulation…

… but I have no way of knowing what the non-manipulated number would be.

[inparadise]

Nowadays, kids who seem a little off the beam are immediately referred for diagnosis. They often get specialist treatment – which can be good (e.g. reading tutoring for the dyslexic) or not so good (e.g. Adderall for kids who need more physical exercise).

Totally depends. I went to the school guidance department myself out of concern for our youngest who was a junior in high school at the time. It was clear to me that he was struggling, but he didn’t cause troubles and he was able to compensate enough to be a B student without issue. They poo pooed my concerns, sending us to a therapist who toed the district line and said he was simply immature, which of course we accepted as good news since it’s implied one grows out of that. We later found out he had significant ADHD and learned the depth of his desperation to fit in, exacerbated by the school district not wanting to have to pay for a special education for him and directing us to someone they knew would follow their preferences. It took a (happily failed) suicide attempt for us to find another therapist who was able to guide us through a year of family therapy to begin a journey of figuring out how his brain worked and how to compensate for the differences.

Happy to say he is doing very well now, but that is due to him. The school district ignored his needs and made him feel more isolated than was necessary. As for us? We were clueless. Navigating the world of mental health access is excruciatingly difficult. There is an extreme lack of professionals available, and most psychiatrists won’t take insurance, assuming one’s health insurance even covers it. We literally begged the doctor to take our son as a patient. He was already severely overbooked. It’s a long hard road with no signs to tell you where you are or how to get to where you need to be. That’s crazy.

IP

[flyerboys]

to inparadise, thanks and congratulations.
to Wendy, thanks and acknowledgement for your guts. I knew it was there and now i know a little of how it matured.

Our genes still form us to thrive as members of a tightly knit small band of apes. Smart decent cultures have thrived when they comprehend the need to compensate for what does not fit.

david fb
(my 4th grade teacher was convinced that I was a dangerously psychotic fantasy obsessed child when I knew more about trigonometry, polynesian taboos, and the germanic roots of language than she could imagine. It took my mom demanding an IQ test to keep me in school)

[Neuromancer]

“my 4th grade teacher was convinced that I was a dangerously psychotic fantasy obsessed child”

She wasn’t wrong…
;-}