Why Read This Blog?
My goal for writing this blog is to pass on information gleaned from my own clinical experience with the hopes that 1) it will help your recovery or help you support a loved one’s recovery and 2) it will help to neutralize the stigma associated with substance use - a stigma that is often internalized and experienced as shame. Throughout my blog I refer to the problematic use of drugs and/or alcohol as simply “substance use.” In doing so I do not mean to minimize the crucial distinctions between benign and maladaptive substance use. I instead aim to minimize the experience of shame for my readers, who I assume are also very well acquainted with these distinctions.
As convoluted as it may sound, there can be a powerful upside to substance use that is identified and addressed. It requires you and those closest to you to pause and notice that something is missing and something is needed. Substance use highlights these “somethings” in ways that are quite intense. By the time an individual’s use is identified as problematic and an intervention has commenced, at least one risky “event” has occurred in their life that has shaken them, their loved ones, and/or their community.
Often this “event” is met with understandable concern and variety of other emotions, like sadness, worry, hopelessness, and anger,. Intense emotions often elicit intense responses. However, an attempt of “fighting fire with fire” sometimes leaves everyone burned. A major goal of this blog will be to normalize concerns that you may have in regards to your own or a loved one’s mental health and/or substance use, but also ways to work on developing a deeper sense of connection. Addiction and problems with mental health are often at their highest when you are disconnected from yourself and from others. By developing and maintaining connections you will lower your risk of mental health problems and substance relapses.
This blog and the information within can serve as one of your companions in your recovery journey. As anyone familiar with long expeditions will tell you- the more reinforcements the better when you’re in something for the long haul. A strong support system is key to your mental and physical health during this season of your life. You do not have to - and you should not - trek through these woods alone.
ABOUT ME
My name is Brian Orr. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the Greater Boston area. I’ve been working in the field since 2013, and have been in clinical practice since 2015. My work focuses on supporting people with substance abuse throughout their recovery process and also on supporting their family members and loved ones.