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Recovery in the News
'It's very hard to enter treatment'
Kelly WilsonQuincy Herald Whig
September 17, 2006
Jane started drinking when she was about 14, thinking it would help her fit in with her peers.
She continued drinking into adulthood as a way to deal with an abusive relationship and agonizing emotional pain.
Then, after enduring numerous surgeries in four and a half years, she became addicted to pain medications.
"I took it to numb all the feelings and emotions. I didn't care if I lived or died. I didn't think there was a way out," said Jane, not her real name. "I had completely hit rock bottom. I was tired of everything."
Jane, now in her early 30s, isn't alone.
As many as 23.4 million Americans ages 12 and older needed treatment for an alcohol or illicit drug use problem in 2004, according to a national survey on drug use and health.
Of the 23.4 million, less than 10 percent actually received treatment.
"It's very hard to enter treatment. It's embarrassing," said Jane, who was able to find the strength to overcome the stigma associated with addiction and check herself into treatment earlier this year.
While she left treatment after two days, she checked herself back in a week later. She remembers getting a drawing from her young son of a bottle of medicine that said, "Mom, don't do this."
It was at that point she knew she had to change.
"I looked in the mirror and had no feelings for that person at all," Jane said. "You've got to listen to that."
She credits treatment at Recovery Resources in Quincy, along with 12-step programs, strong support from family and her faith in God for helping her on her journey of recovery.
She's been clean and sober for about four months.
"Life's great," Jane said. "I don't want to go back to that life. There's so much more to life than I thought."
She wakes up every morning and tells herself she can't have drugs or alcohol, and she works hard every day to ensure a better life for herself and her family.
"I do it to be a stronger parent, a stronger friend, a stronger Christian," she said. "I've never felt so at peace."
Ron Howell, executive director of Recovery Resources, would like to see more success stories like Jane's. But he knows millions of people suffer without getting the needed treatment.
"First of all, there's usually been a long period of isolation from any entity, especially from people who historically love them the most," Howell said. "They are under the impression that nobody cares. 'I'm all alone.' Whenever there is the second layer of community or cultural stigma on top of it, it almost makes it impossible to overcome."
Another barrier to treatment, Howell says, is what he calls a double standard regarding health care insurance for substance abuse problems.
"Usually this is a person without many resources to begin with, and they are being told they can have one lifetime treatment of 30 days or less and that's it," he said. "We wouldn't tell a heart or diabetic patient they had to get in 30 days."
He encourages employers to offer employee assistance programs to help workers who need substance abuse treatment, and for the general public to get involved when they notice signs of substance abuse among family, friends, co-workers and fellow community members.
"The earlier the better," Howell says.
To promote the hopeful and healing message of recovery, Recovery Resources is participating in the 17th annual observance of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.
This year's theme is, "Join the Voices for Recovery: Build a Stronger, Healthier Community."
Jane has words of encouragement for those who need to seek treatment.
"We are human. We have a disease. But it is treatable and we can be productive members of society," she said.
"You have to do it day by day. Some days are hard. Some days are better," Jane said. "But your worst day sober is better than your best day drunk."
©2003-2006 The Quincy Herald-Whig