SEPTEMBER 20, 2008

DRINKING HABITS AND THE ECONOMY

Brian: Welcome to the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour and my name is Brian Fuji, here with Jill Mattingly. Today our topic is drinking habits and the economy. Before we get to that we will be mentioning Nation Recovery Month, next week, we have some special events.

Jill: National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and we have been celebrating all month and our big celebration is on the 27^{th of September next Saturday and we will be doing the radio show there in our Norcross office with a lot of special guests. We are going to move the whole operation up there to our facility and you don’t want to miss is. Brian: We are so excited and a lot of folks wanting to get on radio!Jill: We are welcoming the public to come and sit in and listen to the show we will have some sharing and a lot of the people you have heard on the show will be there, Dr. Dutton, Dr. Johnston will all be there and we will have them commenting on the current events in recovery. Also, we welcome your calls also, we will be taking your calls and that will be real exciting.}

Brian: Also too, we will have discussion panels which I am very excited about because some of our staff will be there and also some individuals in recovery and we will be talking about how recovery has changed their lives and a lot of folks are going to want to hear that because a lot of people in the listening audience will be interested to know that. The questions can be answered and at Breakthrough we see people’s lives changed with the different sources of rehab in terms of education as well as counseling.

Jill: People walk through the door saying they have made the decision you can see lives turn around and when we do the show that is not going to be the only event on Saturday. We will be having an Open House and we will start at noon, you can come on in and see what we are about. We will have panel discussions and a few of us will be in involved in that and that doesn’t mean we are the only ones talking, we want discussion. We are going to start the first hour or so we will be discussing alcohol which seems to be one of the main things coming through our doors at Breakthrough. We will talk about new rehabs and Dr. Johnston will discuss medications for craving and if you have questions and want to ask some of our addictionologist that would be the day to do it. We will talk about the Matrix Model which we use in our rehab and that will connect the brain disease model of rehab with recovery and

Jill: A few more important things about the Recovery Month, if you go to the website for National Recovery Month.GOV, you can see our event listed as one of the event s in Georgia. Last week we had some guests from Georgia Recovery Residences, they were here talking on the show about their even this Wednesday actually for addiction professionals and uh, it is going to feature a wonderful speaker that we have here in Atlanta, Dr. Paul Early, I have heard him and he is fantastic. They are also having some booths set up and you will be there Brian?

Brian: Yes, we will be able to talk with folks about the services we offer and also try to find what else is going on in the community in recovery and networking is powerful.

Jill: What is recovery month? We have spent a lot of time talking about it this month, we have been trying to focus on this and celebrating people in long term recovery and show how it has empowered and motivated them and stress that substance use disorders are chronic diseases and should be treated as such. What we do is from a brain disease model in terms of alcoholism and drug addiction.

Brian: We know it is because people come in and alcohol detox and then they think they are fine. They have a few good sessions of individual therapy and we know because addiction is a chronic disease but ongoing aftercare and support or long periods of time is critical if recovery will be sustained.

Jill: About the middle of the week with Lehman and AIG and Merrill Lynch, all of these people losing jobs and uncertainty and their retirements and I started thinking what is happening in households where a person has been holding on to their recovery, holding on to that line of walking each day without relying on alcohol as self medication and I started thinking about people needing some encouragement today and need to know what an happen when they are faced with stressors and we want to do a show for those people today that are experiencing internal anxiety and stress. We also want to talk to those that have not made it into recovery and give you some hope and a pathway to choose to come out of that.

Brian; 770-226-0920 is the number. We are ready to talk with you about concerns you may have especially when stress hits we see this across the nation.

Jill: 770-226-0920 call if you are at home, in the car, comments questions but get in on the conversation. We will be talking about Drinking habits and the economy.

Commercial Break

Brian: Welcome back, 770-226-0920 that is the way to get in touch with us at the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour and today we are talking about drinking habits and the economy. A question for the listeners today is there a link between the economy and drinking alcoholic beverages.

Jill: I bet a lot of folks could call and give us the answer. On CNN.com there was a story a few days ago it wasn’t in the last three days with the economy tank or the market but I thought it was interesting that CNN picked up on this issue.

Brian: We know that when people experience stress especially opiate addicts one of the key factors for relapse is stress and especially also for those that are alcoholic and those struggling with alcohol, anger and depression are key factors in causing relapse. If a person is on a fixed income or maybe they are in a situation where they are planning to um, buy a new home or maybe thinking about trying to find a way to sell a home and then the economy drops and then add high unemployment, it increases both anger and depression. So when this occurs we have individuals find their drinking going up and they are taking more pills. I am sure in our audience right now there are some experiencing this.

Jill: It doesn’t mean that they are dependent on alcohol, it might mean that they are abusing the alcohol to get through this heightened time of stress. We know that in the brain when it is broken down it can produce the effect of calm and that is why many like to pop open the beer or wine when they get home from work you know around 5pm cause it doesn’t create gabba and that produces a calm effect. Well, when you have bad news and stress like this last week, I can see how the addiction of the alcohol as the calming agent could increase.

Brian: Indeed, again what you have just said is perfectly the reason why many people move from addiction to independence because it is mood altering. They feel sad or depressed and so they use.

Jill: 770-226-0920 that is the number to call you will reach us and we can talk a little bit on the air or if you have a comment about the economy and maybe what you have noticed around you, your favorite restaurant’s bar stools may be full earlier than normal and you know it stays packed. So, that is what this CNN article is all about. It was talking about in Manhattan’s financial district the bars were full at 6:30 PM during the week and that with stress you have a much more frequency with alcohol and problems that go with over addiction of it. So, I think that this article just really hits interesting points.

Brian: The question is that when they are under financial stress what does or the study actually shows that they do drink more alcohol and take a lot more of their mood altering substances such as pills or illegal substance. More and more are trying to cope with the stressors and you know one of the things that we try to work with at Breakthrough is helping those that have come through rehab and because you have people becoming more aware when they are clean and sober of their problems and then they need to know what to do with their issues.

Jill: You will see a lot more irritability and they might even be a little agitated about not having anything to calm me or make me feel better about my life and so you know having the person you know understand that coming off the substance is the first thing and then sticking with it and learning how to cope with each day and what you know your life circumstances bring you.

Brian: Not only coping but they have to develop new friendships and relationships. They have chosen not to drink or not to drug and because of that you know the people they hang around with have not come to that conclusion for themselves. So we really need to have the opportunity to be able to find those new individuals.

Jill: In this article about financial stress, that has been the name of the game in the last three or four days with the market. The financial stress is very interesting with gas prices going up and all of the things you have to start budgeting for because some of your income is going to more important things like food and gas and that type of thing. It does show in this study that people actually don’t stop buying alcohol even though they pay more for gas and need the extra money which I thought was kind of interesting, they aren’t choosing their Heineken they reach for tap. Interesting, if we went to the college game today we might do some research and see what they are tailgating with Shlitz?

Brian: You mentioned that

Jill: Do they still make that? Shlitz?

Brian: Again, going back to the study which is interesting because we do know that the area of unemployment has really gone sky high and people are facing tougher and tougher times trying to find jobs and one study indicates that for every five percent that the unemployment rate goes up there is an increase in 8% in binge drinking. Again the definition of binge is 4 to 5 beers or any drink at any one event that is a binge. I was at the ball game last night and there was a lot of binge drinking in front of me!

Jill: On that I can imagine. Here is what I was thinking Brian, when all of this started happening my heart was going out to the people in recovery and have been blindsided by financial burden or job stress like you were speaking of and I am thinking of ways we can encourage them to not turn to something like alcohol to help them through. I really wanted to just push that encouragement through the air waves you know you may have foreclosure or job stress, this is not the time to turn to alcohol because it will cause more of the stress that you are experiencing right now. Turning to alcohol is definitely going to be the opposite of what you need to do at this time.

Brian: We see this a lot, here is our number 770-226-0920 again 770-226-0920, you know I can see we are coming to a break and I would like to note that when people are depressed they first want to drink and then they feel the calm only for a short time and when that wears off the depression returns. We want to help the listeners today

Jill: We will be back after the break, if you are listening and want to comment on what we are talking about or you are in recovery and need encouragement we would be happy to give that to you today. 770-226-0920 we will be right back.

Commercial Break

Jill: Welcome back, 770-226-0920 that number again 770-226-0920. This is a call in show and this is Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour, we are talking about drinking habits and the economy today. If the economy has blindsided you this week with financial stress or job stress or your housing situation you can give us a call and tell us how it has effected you and if it has caused you to want to behave in a way that would bring more pain and take meds or drink to get rid of the stress we want to talk to people today that are feeling that anxiety and that stress. We want to encourage them to not turn to something that could make everything worse.

I also want to remind you of our special event next Saturday at our location in Norcross, Georgia. We will be broadcasting our show live and you may even have a chance to be on the air, or maybe not, (laugh) if you have an opinion and you don’t want to sing or anything like that I guess you could ask a question. You can see our facilities, talk to the staff and see what we are doing up there. Brian you had an interesting take on this article and such,

Brian: One thing we see here is that whenever we see a ratcheting up of economic distress there will be a lot more drinking, etc., for every 5% of increase of unemployment there is an 8% increase in binge drinking and when we see a tough economy it causes people to rethink how they spend their money and they only have a limited amount of resources and they have food, clothing and they want to have fun. We ask the question, how do they do this? What we have found or the study has shown that they don’t necessarily stop buying food and providing but they realize that alcohol is the affordable luxury. So they still see it as luxury but it is considered affordable and something they can still have to make them feel better and that is what we want the audience to hear today. We know that alcohol and drugs are truly just a means by which people want to change their mood, if they are depressed the tendency is to go ahead and change it by using alcohol and drugs. At Breakthrough people come in and talk with us in a free consultation to anyone interested in trying to find out what kind of rehab is best for them, what are my options. One of the unique things we are doing right now that is really helping those that work daytime hours, we have an Intensive Outpatient Program from 6PM to 9PM on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. First it is convenient when most are off of work and they don’t have to take vacation time they don’t have to worry about coming in and feeling like they have to stay in patient but it provides the opportunity to do the medication management and to be able to participate in the matrix model of day rehab where they are able to learn about how the brain becomes addicted and then how the brain heals. The brain does have an opportunity to heal and recovery is constantly ongoing because we need to know that the brain and the body can heal and people with liver problems or pancreatitis and they stay off the alcohol the body can rebound.

Jill: “You mentioned medication and there are anti craving medication and for some right now this may have gotten you through the last three days when you feel the stress ratcheting up as you look at the news and see the events. The medication can thwart the circuitry in the brain that is trying to get the behavior for you to use. Anti craving medication can be extremely valuable in times like this. I am so glad you are bringing up the evening programs and taking off work may not be an option these days and the boss won’t understand, so not wanting to shout to the world about rehabilitation we can keep this confidential and you meet the criteria this could be a very important program for you. When we come back let’s talk more about these beneficial programs. I want to talk about how family members can be helped when we get back. 770-226-0920 call us.

Commercial Break

Jill: 770-226-0920, the number is 770-226-0920 go ahead and call us today and talk to us about what is going on in your life in terms of the economy, finances, the housing and job realm, we are looking forward to hearing your story. If you are walking through this and know it will be ok, we want to encourage you. If you are struggling and want to talk to us that is great. If you would like to come see us in our office and have a free consultation we encourage you to do so to get you through this difficult time. We have been talking about the economy and drinking habits and problems staying in recovery during stressful times.

Brian: Many times people think becvause they have tough times that the drinking pattern may actually accelerate and some studies say that is not always the case especially related to socio economic status and stages and we find that the drinking pattern does not drop off as much on those on the higher economic scale but those on the lower will cut back in order to retain some semblance of economic stability and so we are seeing this difference already in the way that people’s earnings are being impacted it is kind of like the idea of housing, it is not so much the housing that is in the upper level the one million dollar homes, but for those in that medium income they seem to be the ones negatively impacted so again many people who are struggling uh, we may just think that they are successful because of the attractive or trappings but they are in reality. They may drink more because they can afford to. They are trying to deal with problems using the substance rather than cope with it in such a way that is more effective and less devastating.

Jill: There is not just one person in a home struggling. There is a family. A family being effected also, children, parents, all across the board and that brings me to wanting to say to the family members that listen. We have a family education program that is 10 week and it is powerful. One evening a week to help people deal with a loved ones problems with alcohol or drugs. Brian you run that program,

Brian: One of my greatest joys because I see family members eyes open up and they don’t understand how they got to this place and then of course there is a lot of anger and bitterness and frustration and it takes a lot of understanding and what this program does is open the subject and discuss for instance how a person that is not using live with a person who has an addiction. That is also powerful and when people begin to have to look at that reality and fact that although they are not using they still have someone they love and care about struggling.

Jill: You know in my mind’s eye I can picture last week when the market went down 400 points in one day, I could picture a father walking in and putting a bottle of vodka on the counter and deciding I have been sober for a year but this I can’t do and then pouring. The wife and the family looking at that and thinking about the rollercoaster ride they are about to get on as he starts to addiction alcohol again. I think of how I want people to know about our programs, even if your loved one does not want to come into rehab we can still offer it to the family to help them understand the disease. It doesn’t have to be the devastating tornado through the household.

Brian: Their lives are in chaos and now the question the family asks is why do ours have to be. So in the family education we really help our family members to understand the stages of families in addiction and many will deny this, and the point is that they are as you said Jill, experiencing the negative impact that is being created by the person that is drinking and that person is saying that that is not their intention.

Jill: And, when the family members decide well, we are going to get help for your problem, that will sometimes turn the person around and make them think they should do something too. It is a very powerful statement when the family gets the care they need. We are getting to the next break and we will talk a bit more about our programs so stay with us. In these times it may just be the thing a family needs so call us 770-226-0920, we will give more numbers out in the next segment for how you can get some help.

Commercial Break

Jill: Welcome back to the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery Hour, 770-226-0920 is the number to call with your questions or comments as we continue to discuss addiction issues today with the economy and problems with increased drinking and I want to encourage all of you once more that if this is happening in your family that you would seek help today and give us a call at Breakthrough Addiction Recovery, or go to a meeting if that helps you but do something today to help get yourself through the next 24 hours without abusing if you can. Now, I also want to remind everyone that if they want to meet Brian and I next week at the remote broadcast in Norcross in our offices, and it is going to be next Saturday the 27th. From 12 – 4:30 we will have panel discussions and food and the broadcast from 3 to 4pm. A few give away that day and we are also going to have goodies available and it will be neat to meet the listeners and not just those we pay to listen. We have a call, Ellen in Ellenwood,

Ellen: Thanks for having me, um, I have a 22 year old daughter that is an oxycontin addict and has been through many rehabs including one here in Georgia and now she is taking cold medicine and I am at my wits end cause I you know jail is unpleasant and I don’t want her to go back but she just won’t get better.

Brian: Again, addiction is a tremendous long term chronic problem and it is let me ask you Ellen, is she receiving any after care help. Does she have support.

Ellen: Yes she has been in intensive out patient a

Brian: Prior to that did she have a counselor or support group

Ellen: She has off and on through the process and she was in and out of jail of half way houses rehabs,

Jill: Is she on any medications like suboxone or anything like that to help her.

Ellen: She was but she used it to get rid of the dope sickness to get her next fix.

Jill: Now it is cold medicine to help keep her

Ellen: She likes to get high and it is legal

Jill: That is a very intense statement. She likes to get high.

Brian: That is what addicts do, and until that is where more long term counseling we do know this Ellen unless they stay in long term counseling where they are able to talk about what is going on with issues and develop coping skills uh, it’s very difficult to stay off those types of medications that cause them to get that mood change.

Jill: Working with her counselor if there is any headway in terms of getting down to the reason why she wants to escape and why she wants to continue getting high. Ellen I hope we have helped a little bit but we are at the end of the show. We would like to invite you to come out next Saturday and sit down with someone and talk more about this.

Brian: I will trim my nails

Jill: There you go, we want to meet you and it is going to be a very good time. We appreciate you listening today

Brian: We will see you next week