September is National Recovery Month - an annual event where we do our part to educate the general public about how substance use treatment and mental health services can help people recover and live happy, healthy lives.
We live in the age of information and have billions of webpages and gigabytes of data at our fingertips instantly. Despite this, much misinformation still surrounds substance use disorders and mental health conditions.
In some other contexts, factual inaccuracies may not such a big deal. However, in the field of substance use and mental health, it can be a fatal barrier to people reaching out for and receiving quality help.
The theme for this year's recovery month is Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community. The aim is to let people in recovery know they’re supported, that no one is alone, and that recovery is always an option.
Throughout this month, people in recovery from addiction, their friends, families, and allies have been working together to build awareness, celebrate the way recovery has changed their life, and challenge societal stigma about substance use. I hope that you have also been able to get involved in some way.
Monthly Blog Round-Up
The following is a round-up of our monthly blogs in case you missed any on our social media pages.
It is estimated that around one million adults live with a substance use disorder (SUD). The onset of an SUD is complex and entails numerous genetic, environmental, and social variables. Individuals from all walks of life can find themselves trapped in the clutches of a Substance Use Disorder because dependence on a substance is not a clear-cut result of age, race, economic level, upbringing, profession, gender, personality traits, or marital status
We are living in times of great uncertainty. Over thepast eighteen months, the global pandemic has caused a vast loss of life, economic decline, and widespread isolation from loved ones. There have additionally been riots, violence, political unrest, and environmental disasters. This year’s American Psychological Association (APA) Stress in America Poll further indicates that a secondary health crisis is transpiring as the stress of uncertainty takes its toll.
The increased time spent video conferencing over the past eighteen months has distorted our body image and led to the rise of a new mental health disorder: Zoom Dysmorphia. "Zoom dysmorphia" is defined as a skewed or altered negative perception of a person's self-image due to extended amounts of time on Zoom and video calls. In America there was a 56.7% rise in cosmetic consultations during the pandemic, with 86% of patients citing video conferencing as the reason for the consultation. How should medical professionals tackle this new mental health condition?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a perfect storm of combined negative factors for those suffering or recovering from an eating disorder. The number of adolescents admitted to hospitals in America with severe illness from eating disorders has more than doubled in the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with a significantly elevated risk of suicide. These young people must receive the care and attention they so desperately need.
