"Drug Dreams" in Early Recovery

Have you ever had a terrible dream of loss or grief only to awake and feel immensely grateful that it was not true? Well this occurs quite frequently with addicts and alcoholics in early recovery such as those in addiction treatment centers. They experience “using dreams” or "drug dreams" that gallingly pop up at crucial moments of recovery.

Many of those who awake from a drug dream report being filled with gratitude that they have not picked up. They value the days, weeks and months that make up their sobriety and they wear their time sober as a badge of honor resembling hard work. Many dream that they have used, lost their sober time, let others around them down, and they experience feelings of guilt mixed with a murky darkness or impending doom. Just like anyone who has experienced a bad dream, they wake up thankful that it was only a dream.

Others report awaking with a feeling of relief but also find the dreams triggering. This is because they actually experience being “high” in their dreams, which may spark cravings the next day or a few days following the dream. The thought of being high in their dream permeates their waking hours and they find themselves suddenly preoccupied with using despite being strong in their resolve not to pick up just the day before. The dream then just seems downright unfair. For an addict’s hard work to be temporarily undermined by a using dream feels like putting salt on a wound.

There is limited research on why drug dreams occur or if certain groups experience them more often than others. However, some addiction treatment professionals say that drug dreams can indicate something positive - that they are the brain's way of healing - of closing the gap between a painful and dramatic past with a serene future. With each dream the brain is healing - by reconciling the addict’s new way of living by playing out the past in a dream rather than in real life. Many believe the dreams occur more frequently in early sobriety because the brain is healing the most then. Using dreams may reappear at stressful times in life - sometimes even years after being sober - because the life situation may resemble something the sober brain has not conquered yet. However cumbersome and annoying using dreams might be, the bottom line is that they are just a dream and we can choose how we react to them. We can play into the disease of addiction by letting them be triggering, or we can let them fill us with gratitude that the brain is healing and we are sober in real life.

Can a Missing Enzyme Explain Addiction?

News related to painkiller addiction and opioid overdoses has increased over the past decade alongside the rate of addiction with few tell all explanations as to why. Also mysterious is the rate of relapse among those addicted to opiates compared to other drugs. Painkillers are killing people at an alarming rate and more people are getting hooked everyday. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, there are 2,500 teens in the US who try prescription drugs to get high for the first time each day. Many become easily addicted after they experiment with painkillers. A new study published this week by Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles sheds some light on why painkiller addiction may be so hard to kick for some.

The study suggests that a missing brain enzyme makes some people more susceptible to opioid addiction than others. Researchers removed the enzyme called prohormone convertase 2 (PC2) in mice. This enzyme activates otherwise dormant hormones in the brain and these hormones were found to increase after long-term treatment of morphine. When researchers removed this enzyme, concentrations of the opioid receptors increased in the brain regions related to addiction. When this enzyme is present it regulates the addiction response to opioids in the brain. Although these were preliminary studies, researchers like Theodore C. Friedman, MD, PhD who conducted the study will follow up with similar studies in the near future.

While this study may serve as a partial explanation as to how addiction to opiates occurs, it doesn’t answer why the rate of addiction has reached epidemic levels over the last decade. Many say that the access to painkillers is why addiction rates are so high. A study by Richard Miech, Ph.D. of the University of Colorado Denver explains, “From 1997 to today, legal prescriptions for painkillers increased from 20 million to 160 million a year - a fourfold increase.” Greater access combined with other explanations - like the missing PC2 enzyme - answers some the questions concerning the national epidemic. However, as with many aspects related to addiction the “why” or “how” is often elusive. While people search for explanations, addiction treatment and recovery is most important and works without knowing all the facts about why and how people became addicted in the first place.

If you are concerned about opiate abuse, our young adult and adult addiction programs at Harmony Foundation help people recover from painkiller addiction.

Matthew Perry Opens Malibu Sober Home for Men

Awhile back we blogged about how Russell Brand was turning his home into a yoga studio, now the word is that Matthew Perry is turning his Malibu mansion into a sober living home for addicts and alcoholics in recovery. Perry has been sober since 2009 and is now strong in his recovery after years riddled with addiction treatment and relapse - which was very much in the public eye.

He has recently joined forces for good with Earl Hightower, the well known interventionist and addiction specialist. Hightower has said that the most challenging part of recovery and gap in addiction services is the 60 days that follow inpatient treatment. Harmony Foundation also recognized this problem and has developed a strong aftercare program - including our mobile phone app to assist alumni in their recovery process.

Together Perry and Hightower are turning Perry’s former Malibu home that he still owns into a sober living home for men. Perry shares Hightower’s belief that there needs to be more recovery support following treatment and says, “If you're thrown from treatment to the outside world, sometimes it's too bumpy.” On his relapses after treatment in 1997 and 2001, Perry said, “ I was a sick guy” which is what sparked his initiation of creating the sober residence with Hightower.

In recognition of their efforts, the Office of National Drug Control Policy honored them with the Champion of Recovery Award, to which Perry jokes “now we are award winning alcoholics.” And it is good they were rewarded for their efforts, but much of the reward comes from the satisfaction of being of service to others. Addiction treatment professionals say that helping others after getting sober can help reduce the propensity for relapse. It also helps more people become sober today as those in recovery are taught to give back what was given to them when they first sought help from fellows in recovery.

More Binge Drinking Among Young Women

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When you think of binge drinking, usually fraternity houses come to mind - or a scene from Animal House. Surprisingly, binge drinking is increasingly more common among college age woman than their male counterparts.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) men should drink a max of 14 drinks per week and only 4 drinks per day and woman should drink a max of 7 drinks per week and no more than 3 per day. A study by Harvard Medical School concluded that women were going above and beyond these recommended limits more so than men.

The study looked at 992 students comprised of 417 men and 575 women and asked them to confidentially report their daily drinking habits 2 times a week during the first year of college. According to the reports, women exceeded their alcohol limit more than men. Already, women have higher risks associated with drinking because they experience alcohol related health problems at lower levels of alcohol than men do. These risks are why NIAA recommends the weekly limit of 7 drinks a week for women to reduce their risk of breast cancer, liver disease and other significant health risks. 

Harvard was not the first to report the higher levels of binge drinking among women, as the CDC issued an article this year saying that binge drinking among women can start as early as high school and the problem is under recognized. Sociological explanations for the higher incidence of binge drinking among women are many but none are a tell all. Some theories include greater susceptibility to emotional and academic stress, more pressure to fit in and trying to “keep up” with their male counterparts when out drinking. Another explanation may just be that college kids drink a lot. Many reduce their consumption once they leave college, while others begin to experience problems and signs of alcoholism while in college. Some of these signs include having social relationships affected by consumption or a reduction of academic performance - like not showing up to class - because of binge drinking.

Luckily addiction treatment centers are responding to the problem of college drinking - not just among females but both male and female young adults by creating specialized treatment tracks for college students. Also many college campuses are offering 12 step meetings and support groups for those who have problems with drugs and alcohol.

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Colorado universities are known to be "party schools"and sometimes drinking and drug use can quickly turn into an addiction. If you are concerned about your alcohol or drug use, Harmony Foundation in Estes Park, CO has an addiction rehab track for college students to help those in the grips of addiction to drugs or alcohol.