Can a drug addict take antidepressants? Do you want a short answer? Tough! There isn’t one that’s why this is a blog post and not a tweet.
Let’s get down to business.
Let’s rewind to the beginning: what is a drug addict? Who is a drug addict? I work the narcotics anonymous program, so I am going to be using narcotics anonymous as a reference and this is what the narcotics anonymous program says about who is an addict: “Most of us do not have to think twice about this question we know! Our whole life, and thinking, were centered on drugs in one form or another, the getting and using and finding ways, and means to get more we lived to use and we used to live very simply an addict is a man or woman whose life is controlled by drugs. We are people in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness, whose ends are always the same jails, institutions, and death.” Like the text says I didn’t need to ask myself if I’m an addict, I know. One of the many instances that made it very apparent was when I got raped, turning tricks and scoring, and the next day I came back because, well I needed to score again. I don’t care what anyone has to say, Nobody deserves to be beaten and raped, no matter how pathetic their life is at the moment. We all know that the addict isn’t just one type of person, it’s not just a junkie whore, shooting up heroin and turning tricks like a troll under a bridge. It’s also the CEO dipping into her child’s Ritalin, I won’t be surprised if most of the world leaders have a problem. In short, addiction can hit any home.
So the narcotics anonymous program tells us that we can’t touch any mood-altering substance successfully without setting off our addiction. Very cut and dry, right?
But what about people with dual diagnosis?
Let’s dive into that one.
Dual diagnosis is just like it sounds like two diagnoses which means you have an addiction and something else in my case it’s a few other conditions so I guess it’s a quadruple diagnosis.
I have struggled with mental illness most of my life if not all of it. I have borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and the head honcho: complex post-traumatic stress disorder. In my early 20’s it became too much for me to handle and I admitted myself to the mental hospital, of course, I found myself there for 7 years.
Step one of narcotics, anonymous states “We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction; that our lives have become unmanageable.“ But I am also powerless over my mental illness, which also made my life unmanageable. After a few years in the mental hospital in the closed ward, I managed to graduate from the outside. I was feeling good I was in a good place and most importantly, I was in recovery. We had dual diagnosis meetings in the mental hospital, and when I got out, I went to a narcotics anonymous meeting once a day. In Israel, we announce our clean time at the beginning of the meeting. I was coming close to three months and for the first time in my life. During a casual conversation over a cigarette outside of the bomb shelter where we hold the meetings (Israel doesn’t have many churches but we do have plenty of bomb shelters, and that’s where most of the meetings are held.) an old-timer heard me share about struggling with mental illness asked me “are you taking medication?” Being an eager Newcomer who is willing to go to any lengths to get clean, I responded to him with the entire list of my medications. “ I’m sorry dear you’re not clean that’s not considered clean.“ And before I had a chance to really delve into the subject, he flicked his cigarette and said something about not coming to the meeting to smoke outside as he ran back downstairs. My world was shattered! For the first time in my life I felt like I belong somewhere I thought that I found my people and my way of life and this guy comes out and flicked me back out to solitude like he did with his cigarette.
That night I didn’t take my meds and the next day I showed up at the meeting and picked up a white key tag. The outcome was pretty instant and I was surprised to learn that, although I’m attending meetings every day doing service and associating with other members of Narcotics Anonymous my life is still unmanageable. I was disassociating at different hours of the day finding myself in places is not remembering how I got there, I had anger and outbursts, and very quickly I found myself back in the mental hospital. I thought I was doing everything right. And most importantly, I was still clean. While I was there, I refused to take my medication and quickly found myself there under a court order. I didn’t really have a chance to refuse them because they would strap me down and inject my medication into me. Took me a couple of years but I was stable again. I didn’t want to hear about Narcotics Anonymous, “They nearly got me killed.” But so did drug addiction.
Once more, my life has become unmanageable. I was going in and out of the closed ward, snorting, smoking, and shooting up anything I could get my hands on. As the years passed, so did my sanity, and most of my friends; they either overdosed or committed suicide. I couldn’t live and use drugs, I couldn’t live and not use drugs, I couldn’t live without my meds and I was stuck in that circle for a few years.
My desperation brought me back to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous where I thought, I was not welcome. That is just not the case. Here are all the quotes regarding the use of medication in drug addiction recovery from Narcotics Anonymous Official Literature:
Basic Text:
- “We are not opposed to the use of medication when prescribed by a doctor. We recognize that there are many legitimate uses for prescription drugs. However, we know that we are addicts, and we must be careful not to let our addiction lead us to abuse prescription drugs.”
- “We have found that even prescription drugs can be dangerous for us. We can easily become dependent on them, and we may start using them in ways that are not prescribed. This can lead to addiction, just like any other drug.”
- “If you are taking prescription drugs, it is important to be honest with your doctor about your addiction. Your doctor can help you to find a way to use the drugs safely and responsibly.”
- “We also need to be aware of the dangers of self-treating with prescription drugs. If you are thinking about taking prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, please talk to someone in NA first. We can help you to make the best decision for your recovery.”
- “We have found that the best way to stay safe from prescription drugs is to abstain from them altogether. If you are an addict, your best chance for recovery is to stay clean from all drugs, including prescription drugs.”
Narcotics Anonymous Service Manual:
- “The use of prescription drugs can be a dangerous proposition for addicts. We may be tempted to use them in ways that are not prescribed, or to take more than we need. This can lead to addiction, just like any other drug.”
- “If you are taking prescription drugs, it is important to be honest with your doctor about your addiction. Your doctor can help you to find a way to use the drugs safely and responsibly.”
- “We also need to be aware of the dangers of self-treating with prescription drugs. If you are thinking about taking prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, please talk to someone in NA first. We can help you to make the best decision for your recovery.”
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions:
- “We are not opposed to the use of medication when prescribed by a doctor. However, we must be careful not to let our addiction lead us to abuse prescription drugs.”
- “If we are taking prescription drugs, we need to be honest with our doctor about our addiction. Our doctor can help us to find a way to use the drugs safely and responsibly.”
- “We also need to be aware of the dangers of self-treating with prescription drugs. If we are thinking about taking prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, we should talk to someone in NA first.”
And Last but not least:
The Narcotics Anonymous IPs (Informational Pamphlets) do not specifically address the use of medication in recovery. However, they do provide some general guidance on the topic.
- IP #16: For the Newcomer: This pamphlet states that “NA is not opposed to the use of medication when prescribed by a doctor.” It also encourages newcomers to be honest with their doctors about their addiction and to work with their doctors to find a way to use medication safely and responsibly.
- IP #17: For Those in Treatment: This pamphlet states that “the use of medication can be a dangerous proposition for addicts.” It encourages people who are taking prescription drugs, to be honest with their doctors about their addiction and to work with their doctors to find a way to use medication safely and responsibly.
Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to use medication in recovery is a personal one. The Narcotics Anonymous IPs do not provide a specific answer to this question. However, they do provide some general guidance that can help people make an informed decision about the best course of treatment for their individual needs.
If you are considering using medication in recovery, it is important to talk to your doctor and to other people in NA who have experience with this issue. You should also be aware of the potential risks and benefits of medication, and you should make sure that you are using it in a safe and responsible way.
