The Opioid Epidemic—From The Headlines to Hope

In this episode of Voices in the Family, so many different topics regarding our nation’s opioid crisis are touched on in a very thoughtful, research-based, helpful way.  These include: personal stories of how some people fall into addiction; the vulnerability of the adolescent brain to addiction; grief and loss to addiction; how to cope with the issues that arise when you love someone with addiction; tips for what to do and not to when talking with a loved one who is addicted; the value of treating people as individuals, and effective modes of treatment.  Lots of great stuff here.

Possible Trigger: I want people to know that parts of this episode could be very upsetting to some because there are people who have lost their loved one to addiction.

The Opioid Epidemic-from the headlines to hope : Voices in the Family : Health : WHYY

The news can sound dire. Opioid addiction is ruining families and taking lives at an ever increasing rate. In this roundtable discussion, Dr. Gottlieb brings together a clinician, researcher, family members and individuals in recovery to go beyond the headlines and look at what is working to bring addicts into treatment.

 

Assert Yourself!

Feeling like you have the ability to speak up and effectively express your thoughts and opinions in a respectful way, even if things don’t always go your way, is an important part of relieving anger, anxiety, and depression. The ability to be assertive is a skill that can be learned and developed, so if this is hard for you now, it doesn’t mean it will be forever.  (Remember…Growth Mindset!)

The Centre for Clinical Interventions is an Australian-based agency/website that appears to be connected to their government services.  It has resources to help people to learn/improve many different mental health related skills.  One such resource is their Assert Yourself! workbook. It is a series of modules that teach you what assertiveness is compared to aggressiveness or passiveness and then moves on to teach you skills so that you can learn how to assert for yourself, even in challenging situations.  Leaning how to communicate assertively can actually be a life-changing skill because you are more likely to be able to get your needs met and you are better able to diffuse/avoid potential conflict with others.  The website recommends that you complete one module before going on to the next.  Each module includes information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.