Left to right, Hingham CARES President Kristen Arute with Hingham CARES Vice President Lori McCarthy.
June 3, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
The current opioid epidemic is affecting people from all walks of life, regardless of their age, economic status, background, or address, including residents of Hingham, Cohasset, Hull, and the entire South Shore.
According to statistics, 58 percent of the nation's population is affected by addiction in some way -- either one of their own or addictions plaguing a friend, family member, their boss, or someone else they encounter on their daily journey.
18 million people are addicted to alcohol, and seven million are addicted to other drugs — five million of them to opiates, including residents in our local communities.
The Hingham CARES substance misuse prevention coalition hosted a meeting recently about current substance use trends and the challenges presented by the opioid crisis.
"The scariest thing about addiction is we don't know who is going to get this disease. Fortunately there are more resources today [to help deal with this issue]," said CARES Vice President Lori McCarthy. "The three key words are prevention, treatment, and recovery." McCarthy is the executive director/partner at the Herren Wellness Center in Seekonk and is also a licensed alcohol and drug counselor certified in family intervention.
A big concern, McCarthy said, is people who downplay the potential negative impacts often associated with drinking alcohol. "There are functioning alcoholics who drink every night who show up the next day at work to do the job they're supposed to do. Drinking has become a way of life, and some who don't like to drink or who have a drinking problem and are trying to stay away from liquor in an effort to get or remain sober might feel they are put on the defensive when they aren't drinking with their friends and are questioned as to why.”
Massachusetts is Number 4 in the country for fatalities linked to fentanyl, a drug many more times powerful than heroin. "If you buy weed off the street these days there's a good chance it will contain fentanyl -- it's like playing Russian Roulette," she said. “It’s such a nightmare.”
Smoking pot is ‘not okay’
Substance misuse comes in other forms besides illegal drug use — from drinking alcohol to smoking marijuana and dabbing (smoking) pot oil to vaping. "People think because these activities are legal that they're not harmful, but they are. It’s not okay — it’s bad and can lead to psychosis and overdosing,” McCarthy said.
A Hingham resident in recovery from drug addiction following checking in at more than 30 detox facilities and other serious recovery attempts attended the meeting. He agreed that while pot is appealing to some individuals who enjoy the “high,” there are many pitfalls — for one, from his own experience — pot use can exacerbate mental health issues from which the user may already be suffering. For him, the recovery process is partly about seeking help “so you feel good enough about yourself to not want to use.” The overall recovery process is more complicated than that, but gaining or regaining self-esteem is an important step.
He noted that sometimes young people fall into the trap of thinking that getting high is a “cool thing, but it’s not.” He also believes that more funding should be made available to help those struggling with addiction. “It’s an investment,” he said, meaning that once in recovery and on a drug-free path, the goal is for those individuals to become productive members of society, which benefits themselves and their communities.
The stigma attached to addiction needs to be removed, McCarthy said. "If we really believe that it’s a disease we won't use terms like 'junkie.' This is a chronic condition that's heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. Those struggling with addiction should be treated like [the real people that they are].“
The first time a person uses a drug "they're choosing to see if it will affect them — that they might like it,” she said. For some, that decision changes the course of their lives in the most negative of ways because they find they like the feeling and don’t want to or can’t stop using, opening the door to addiction. "Others think using drugs or drinking alcohol is a right of passage. It's our culture,” McCarthy said.
She noted that in the midst of what appear to be normal lives, many people struggle with addiction, giving as an example people who are driving home from work thinking about “that drink or pill they are going to take.”
Addiction is a disease
That said, addiction is just as much of a disease as other health issues, according to McCarthy. "You can become addicted very quickly, and it can happen to very good people," McCarthy said. "If a person feels good after taking pills [their use can escalate] and he or she will chase that feeling until some kind of intervention takes place or a family notices there's [something wrong]. They might even steal from you [to buy more drugs or alcohol]. People struggling with addiction have as much of a chronic condition as someone with heart disease does.”
When asked by parents "when to ring the [warning bell]" when they suspect something is awry, McCarthy tells them, "If you are calling me, it's time to ring it."
McCarthy praised Supt. of Schools Dorothy Galo for supporting the implementation of a sophomore drug prevention program through the health curriculum that she said “captures the interest of the students, including interacting with speakers who are young kids like themselves.”
She advises family members of those struggling with substance misuse disorder to first take care of themselves in the face of feelings of isolation or fear, for instance — “like grabbing the oxygen mask on an airplane” when potential danger looms to then be in a position to help others if necessary — and to also seek knowledge and help for their loved one and themselves and to show empathy.
There are many avenues through which to get resources and assistance, including South Shore Peer Recovery in Scituate; the Anchor of Hull that serves surrounding communities as well and is part of the Hingham North Street Community Church of the Nazarene’s healing mission; the Wednesday evening support group meetings held there from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for those struggling with addiction or who are in recovery and their families; and Hingham CARES (hinghamcaresboard@gmail.com). Kristen Arute is the CARES president.
"It takes a village," McCarthy said.