Seeing Beyond the Addict: I am a Mother of Seven
Often more than not there is a negative perception that addiction is a personal failing. A survey done by Colleen L. Barry, PhD, MPP, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health did a national survey with 709 participants regarding how they perceive people with drug addiction. The questions centered on stigma, discrimination, treatment and public policy and the results found that the respondents had significantly negative opinions more towards drug addicts than people with mental illnesses. Researchers also found that this has significantly effected policies that help people with addictions or in other words opposition of policies that might help people with addiction.
Today we are on page with Stephanie, a mother of 7, who has gotten her life back thanks to Kratom. Suffering to from chronic pain as a result of a hernia repair and being bi-polar, a double whammy.
Me: How long have you been taking Kratom?
Stephanie: I found Kratom about four years ago.
Me: Could you tell me more about your chronic pain and your journey with addiction?
Stephanie: I had to have a hernia repair surgery and prior to the surgery the doctor was aware that I had a previous addiction with opioids but he convinced me that the recovery would be too painful to handle with just Tylenol so he give me a 3 week prescription for oxy. Following the three week prescription I was mentally and physically dependent once again on oxy and I wasn’t able to get refills so decided to give my old dealer a call. I knew better but I think it was comforting that the doctor insisted I take them so I went along with it.
Me: How was it that you came to use Kratom?
Stephanie: I knew about Kratom from one of my recovery groups and on my way to meet my dealer I had to stop off at the gas station and that’s when I spotted Kratom on the shelves. So I figured why not try it and I got in my car and took my first Kratom dose. Within minutes the pain was gone, the depression was gone and the anxiety was gone. That moment was life changing and instead of heading to get more drugs I went home to my family.
Me: You mentioned to me that you also struggle with being bi-polar, now that you are taking Kratom are you still on doctor prescribed medications?
Stephanie: I was diagnosed with Bi-polar 2, BPD, severe anxiety and PTSD and I have been on so many different medications. Now I am down from eight to one pill Seroquil. I have stopped my anxiety meds, mood stabilizers, Gabapentin and Tramadol.
Me: So even though you expressed to your doctor your fears of becoming addicted he still prescribed you drugs but why did you decide to take them?
Stephanie: My doctor seemed convince that it wasn’t going to be a problem for me and as an addict there is a part of us that takes over and rationalizes our decisions even when our gut says no.
Me: How long have you been struggling with your chronic pain and addictions?
Stephanie: I’m 37 now and I’ve been struggling for the past 27 years. I’ve tried multiple times to commit suicide and I’ve had multiple stays at mental health institutions.
Me: Did u attempt suicide because u were struggling with addiction or were you just feeling hopeless and life was too overwhelming?
Stephanie: My first attempt was because I was struggling with just being alive. I always have felt like I didn’t fit in and as a child I was constantly bullied. The other two times were a result of being raped. Being raped destroyed parts of me and living with it was something I struggled with for a long time.
Me: How are your days now and what are your struggles?
Stephanie: Regarding my traumatic experience it doesn’t effect me the way it use to. I am able to put my trauma in a box and sometimes it creeps out but for the most part I don’t let it define me. In regards to the pain, I am no longer living everyday in pain and I can manage it so that it doesn’t consume my life. Kratom takes care of my inflammation and that inadvertently allows me to focus my strength on my Bi-polar disorder which is the heaviest of my life challenges.
Me: What strains do you use when it comes to Kratom?
Stephanie: I like all of them. Each one does something different so it depends on the day and the level of pain I’m in.
Me: On the hardest days what keeps you from not going off the ledge?
Stephanie: My family!!! I have an amazing best friend as my husband and together we have 7 awesome children.
Of the 702 participants only 22% said that they would be willing to work closely with a drug addicts compared to 62% that would be willing to work with someone with a mental illness. 64% said that employers should be able to deny employment to people with drug addiction compared to 25% that would be ok with denying employment to people with mental illness. 43% were opposed to giving health insurance to drug addicts and 21% opposed for those struggling with mental illness. Participants did agree on one question: roughly 3 in 10 believe that recovery from either is impossible.
Another narrative that is often portrayed in the media is that street drug users come from bad economic situations compared to those in suburbs who are addicted to painkillers resulting in struggling with chronic pain. Drug users live with the stigma “falling off the wagon” as opposed to they are struggling with a chronic health condition that is hard to bring under management.
I would like to change that narrative to the inspiring stories of people who have managed to get their addictions under control with more effective natural treatments and who have been able to get their lives back thru effective treatments like Kratom. There has been a long aged shaming of people that are associated with addiction and discrimination that still continues. There has always been a view of weakness for people that have fallen into the arms of drugs and addiction but rarely is there praise and acknowledgement for those 19 million plus that have kicked addiction with the help of natural alternatives specifically Kratom.
