Co-occurrence

Transcription

(onscreen text) Numerous people contributed to the development of this DVD. The video was produced by the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center under contract number 280-02-8070 with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Neal Brown and Crystal Blyler served as the lead Government Project Officers. The views, opinions, and content of this video are those of the producer and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of SAMHSA or HHS. All material appearing in this video is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Citation of the source is appreciated. However, this video may not be reproduced or distributed for a fee without the specific written authorization of the Office of Communications, SAMHSA, DHHS. For additional free copies of this video please call SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-CMHS or 1-866-889-CMHS (TTD). Originating Office, Division of Service and Systems Improvement Center for Mental Heallth Services, Substance Abuse and mental Health Services Administration 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, Maryland 20857 Produced 2005 National Implementing Evidence-based Practices Project Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders, Introductory Video FS: I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in my early twenties. And was drinking alcohol on a daily basis at the same time. It wasn't until two years after my diagnosis that they recognized my alcohol problem. Dual disorders are very common. About 50 percent of people with mental illness also have a substance use disorder. I was not alone in that. MS: One of my diagnosis was that they couldn't really pinpoint my diagnosis because of my use. But after awhile of being off substance, they come to find out they was treating me for schizophrenic, paranoid schizophrenic. Which I'm paranoid anyway. But I mean they really came to find out I had depression. MS: Say I'm sad, lonely, depressed. I think nobody loves me. Nobody cares about me. I want to die, you know? So because I'm feeling this way, let me see. Well, maybe a bottle of vodka will take care of it. So bam. I mix it in. mix it in with the vodka. And then I don't feel so good. Maybe two more beers. Maybe I'll smoke a joint. Maybe I'll grab a cigarette I'll feel better. And then the next day after all your happiness and all your fun is gone. Dark hole again. It sort of continues. It doesn't stop. And it gets worse. MS: I just remember being there like in a hopeless dilemma where you don't think there's no way out but to use. MS: I felt the drugs had given me ... and my father. Like I said, I remember going back to when I was five and it's really attacked my body. And that body's there. It's kind of attacked it. And it's part of it. So just to break loose is almost an impossibility. You know, it's very tough. It's tough to break that. And it's quite a struggle. FS: Once someone recognized my substance abuse disorder. I didn't get sober right away. It took me several tries. Part of the problem was that there wasn't anything like integrated treatment when I was ill. I had a substance abuse counselor for my alcohol problem. I had a psychiatrist for my bipolar disorder. And I could never get the two of those people to talk on the phone and say anything about integrating treatment for me. Integrated treatment works best for people who have dual disorders. Without any integration of services or treatment, I had a very difficult time getting sober. It was only when I found a doctor who treated both disorders at the same time that I was really able to get into stable recovery. MS: You come to a center twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays to participate in groups about mental illness and substance abuse. Additionally, we see each other to talk about any other problems that we might have where I can be of help. Previously, when we were talking about not feeling comfortable where you live. Is that true? MS: Yes. What's going on where you live right now? The same confusions that I always had. MS: The same confusions. What are they, the same confusions? MS: That I feel that spirits follow me inside the apartment. MS: I understand. FS: Recovery from dual disorders happens in stages. It's a real process. When I first was diagnosed with a substance use disorder, I didn't have any desire to stop drinking. MS: When I was younger, it was harder to understand. In about a year, I started understanding my illness. And I started speaking to people about it. And then I kind of said to myself it's kind of embarrassing just talking to somebody about my illness. MS: What we'd like to do today is actually an exercise that kind of helps people understand where substances fit into their lives. MS: I'm starting to try to open up about it. Because it's helping me out. And I'm not getting a relapse again. MS: And the first set of questions has to do with ... MS: The healing process. MS: How substances ... and when I say substances, you know what I mean by that? MS: Drugs. MS: Drugs and alcohol. So substance use we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about how ... what are the benefits? MS: When you drink, do you feel better? Do you feel worse? Do you feel the same? MS: I feel good. I don't feel bad things. Some of those messages, I don't feel them. MS: What is it that you drink? What kind of alcohol? MS: Pure rum. MS: And when you drink, you don't have those ideas? MS: No. They go away. MS: I didn't believe it at first. I said, how can alcohol get mixed with your depression? If you drink alcohol, you feel good? How am I going to get depressed from feeling good? The next day, bam. I'm depressed, you know. And I just said, wow. It's true, you know. FS: I began to look at what alcohol was doing for me and the problems it was causing. MS: People wouldn't use substances if it doesn't give you something. And so there are some benefits. And we'll talk about that. Now we're going to talk about the drawbacks, the problems with it. FS: People who have dual disorders are at an increased risk for many other problems. MS: Seventeen years out of my life I've been in prison. Seventeen years. Today is my birthday. It's the first birthday in seventeen years that I'm out on the street, --out in the world. My first birthday. I'm thirty‑four now. It's a little scary, you know. MS: My kids. MS: (Your kids?) Could you explain what happened with them? MS: Well, I was well about three years ago. I got to see them, spend some time with them and my girl. And after that, the drugs just took me away. And my mother told me if I don't straighten out my life, then it will be a few years before I get to see my kids again. MS: And the kids are important. Your kids are important to you? MS: Yeah, they're real important to me. MS: It's a helluva thing. Because when I come here, I feel good. I've been here every day, every week just about I come. We'll talk about a little bit of everything about how I got on drugs, you know, what made me take drugs, stuff like that, you know. See, I ain't going on it again. You don't have to worry about me touching a drug again. You know, I don't even think about it no more. You know, that's been a good while, you know. Because I see how it's destroying people. And I'm the type of person I love everybody. I don't hate nobody. There's not one person on earth that I hate. You know, I love people. And when I can talk to people and feel good with people like that, it makes my day. And if I can do that every day, imagine how I would feel. But I don't feel that way when I'm on drugs though. MS: One time I came to almost committed suicide on crack. MS: So things got pretty bad. MS: And I threw up while I was doing it. That's what made it came through. For actually committing suicide. MS: Okay. So it wasn't feeling so depressed. It was the idea. MS: (inaudible) it was just the idea I never did it before. It was what crack will really do to you. MS: So one of the drawbacks later when you look back on it is that you do something that may end your life, cause your death. MS: Yeah. MS: My situation was different from that. Either I was going to kill somebody or somebody's going to kill me. There was no other way. So the best thing to do was stop. MS: When I first used to come out here with people in recovery, I used to sit out here and throw rocks in the water. Because I only do two bad feelings was anger and frustration. And that's my vaguest memory of this place is throwing stones in the water and other people like why you doing that? Because I didn't ... I wasn't near where I could appreciate the real beauty of this place. And now I know what they was talking about. Because of that peace. FS: Integrated treatment works best for people who have dual disorders. Once I began to recognize that the negative consequences outweighed the positive consequences, I did stop drinking. And then I had to learn how to stay stopped from drinking. And in the early part of my recovery, there certainly were relapses back into substance use which is quite common for people with dual disorders. FS: I have a son who has undergone the process. He's been an addict. He started with marijuana, then cocaine, then crack and later heroin. That's when he hit bottom. He's been clean for a year here, five months there. But then he goes back to it. You know, this is a very difficult problem. It's hard for me to ... how you say it? To accept that you have a family member with this condition. The addiction and the emotional. It's very difficult to accept. It takes time. And you become involved in groups and counseling. And they help you to accept your son's condition. MS: Doncecel[?] how are you? MS: I'm fine. MS: How was your weekend? MS: Well, my weekend was spent looking for an apartment. There were lots of problems with some of the apartments. The waiting lists were too long. So I wasn't interested. There's church on Sunday. I went to church. And then Monday, I went to Capital Region and that's how I spent the days. MS: So you want to move. Are you moving? MS: Yes. I come to groups twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, to learn how to control substances like alcoholism and drugs. And that helps a lot because it's very educational. MS: Well, the group helped me out a lot. It had something to do with during the morning. I never have been clean in Hartford or living in Hartford in my life. And now since I'm trying it, I've got a feeling that people don't look at me negative. And they don't ... you know, just like thinking I'm a wimp or something. MS: What you're talking about is not only you have felt that. And there are ways to kind of work through that even here in Hartford. There are ways to do that. MS: Wherever I go, I am my disease. If I want to use, Hartford ain't got nothing to do with it. If I'm in Cuba and I want to use, Cuba ain't got nothing to do with it. That's my decision. MS: And it helped me be assertive towards drug dealers. MS: Everybody keep an eye out on those steps, okay? To see how Ray goes through these steps. What you like best. You guys ready? Begin. MS: Yo, I've got a half a six. We've got pot. We can chill, get some drugs. And can just get the freak on and smoke some crack. MS: No. MS: And weed. MS: No. MS: Come on, man. We ain't been together a long time. It been over six months you been clean. It's time for you to come back like you used to be. MS: Earnest, I said no. MS: We're going to have broads here. MS: Earnest. MS: They'll make you high just by looking at them. MS: Earnest, you can come to (inaudible) MS: I'm telling you smoke crack. MS: Earnest, stop right now. I mean it. Stop. MS: No, I can't ... MS: Stop, Earnest. [applause] MS: Well, I think that it depends on whoever approaches me. If they're swift enough. If they're keen enough and if they're clever enough. And it depends on what mood I'm in that day. MS: Well, how did it feel for you? MS: As far as reality. MS: How would it be different reality? MS: I'd probably explain myself more than just saying no. MS: Well, what do you think about that? Would it be better if you just ... if you explained yourself more and just said no? MS: Well, since I came here today I learned to say no faster and quicker. MS: And you bring up a very, very important point. Why do you think it's important to not get into too much of a dialogue, you know, too much of a conversation? Why do you think that's important? MS: Because they could break it down. MS: They do break it down. Exactly right. MS: So what do you say to them now? MS: I just say no. Because I learned that from class. FS: There is hope for people who are duel diagnosed. FS: Recovery for me has really been a process. For me, it means stability in my mental illness and stability in my substance use problem, abstinence from substance use and getting my life back. MS: I remember my last week of use. And it wasn't pretty. And that keeps me moving forward. I don't never want to go back there. MS: I only slipped twice in almost three years now, you know. And I don't think I'm going to slip again. And I don't want to. MS: I just hope that in time I just heal and get through this easily. FS: There is hope when you follow-up with treatment adequately. If you follow-up with your treatment adequately, with your therapist, about your addiction problems and your emotional problems, you can move forward. And there is hope with this program. MS: The disease of addiction is the disease of (inaudible) others, they're too far (inaudible) with me they ain't too far apart. Because they both know right when to move. MS: You know what I was telling you stay strong, man. It ain't the end of the world yet. And if I can do it, you can do it. MS: You've got to stand up. You've got to get up and pray. And you've got to get going. MS: Give yourself a chance. Sometimes I look in the mirror and tell myself you didn't use today. That's good. You didn't hurt ... harm nobody today. That's good. And sometimes when I'm feeling down, I do that stuff to remind me of I'm not that bad a person. I like people too. I like being around people. And I like different opinions. And my own stuff ain't always right. So I like the conversation. I like women. Hey, like clothes, like shopping, all that stuff. I like just about what everybody else likes. Just being in the mainstream of life and the main floor of life. And I think I'm about there. If I'm not, I've still got work to do. But I'm closer than I was. ♪ Music ♪