Holistic meds. vs. narcotic pain killers

I often wonder if the crime rate and homeless rate would be lower if instead of being prescribed narcotic pain killers, people were given a referral for holistic medicine or pain management technique. Before this class I never even thought of substance abuse/drug addiction as a mental illness. The reason I'm so curious is because my ex is a drug addict who is pretty much addicted to anything now but it started out as a pain killer addiction. He broke his tail bone in 2007, he was prescribed a narcotic pain killer for his pain. Instead of sitting on the blow up doughnut seat and only taking the pills when his pain was a 7 or above (on a 1-10 pain scale), he took his pills and went on about his business. Long story short he has been in and out of jail since May 2008. He lost his job because he couldn't get out of bed without his pills so then he turned to selling drugs to buy his drugs. Selling drugs is illegal so he got probation, selling drugs (again) breaks probation so then he went to jail and the story pretty much just repeats its self a few times. Once you get a criminal record then it is hard to get a job even if you go to rehab and get sober. No job=no money=homelessness. Homeless shelters are filled with people suffering from mental illnesses, not so much people who have fallen on hard times. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness" (National Coalition For The Homeless). According to the Micheal's house website, "It is estimated that more than 5.2 million people use prescription painkillers without a prescription each year," I couldn't find any stats for people who are addicted to pain killers who have a prescription. I have yet to find any statistics to show that people become addicted to acupuncture for their pain or any other holistic pain management technique for that matter.

Here are some links with additional information:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=4082759&page=3

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4999162994534049687&postID=5681947126162234256

Double click my title for some holistic pain management techniques.

Mental Illness & Homelessness

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a woman who helps run the soup kitchen in downtown Raleigh. I admit that I had never been there, so was interested to know the details of how it is run and the population it serves. The woman spoke of how she felt that Raleigh was changing its attitude towards the homeless amidst the "revitalization" downtown, with all the new buildings, renovations and clean up projects. Anyone who goes downtown would notice the changes happening and would likely agree that it is exciting to see the transformation. She pointed out that part of this revitalization is the plan to move things like the Greyhound bus terminal and the Salvation Army out of downtown. This would in turn draw the population that these places serve, out of downtown - mainly the poor and the homeless. She said they are closing shelters and moving the only place that she knows about that serves supper to the homeless, away from the new revitalized downtown. Though her soup kitchen would remain to serve one meal - lunch, it made me wonder about the future fate of the homeless there.

Then I asked the woman about the kind of people she served and not surprisingly she told me that she was sure that many of them were mentally ill. She says that many of them have obvious illnesses, but also felt certain that many others were also ill. My thoughts went to the many mental illnesses that we are studying in class and how they can lead to homelessness. We have learned that having an untreated or unmanaged mental illness often prevents people from living lives that enable a person to have a home. Being unable to interact normally with others and keep a regular job can quickly lead to social isolation and poverty. Without financial and social support, supporting a home becomes impossible. The link to the article below gives the statistic of 20-25% of the homeless population being mentally ill. Somehow I don't find this statistic surprising and would not doubt that the number is actually much higher. Quite often the homeless are often also physically ill from lack of physical care, and are frequently substance abusers.

The solution to the problem therefore is not simply housing these outcasts of society, but to address the mental and physical issues that caused them to be homeless, and possibly the social and financial ones as well. Please read the attached article for many more details and facts about homelessness and poverty.

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf

First Fieldwork

My group had our 1st session of OTA fieldwork last week, and it was awesome! We had no idea how many clients would participate & what they would be capable of doing. Our 1st activity was making hand weights from empty bottles & filling them with bird seeds or sand, and amazingly, all the clients participated (about 20). Some of the clients are more disabled than others, but they all seemed to enjoy the activity, & they were all well behaved - taking turns & being patient.

One of the clients stood out - she is such a pleasant girl & has a great smile & beautiful blue eyes. She was very friendly & enjoyed helping the others in the group. She also helped me clean up without me even asking her. I'm not sure of her mental level, but physically she has contracture in one of her hands. Her physical disability did not seem to slow her down at all. When we were doing a session of exercises, she was right there with us doing all the exercises with her dominant hand. I know, I know....don't get attached, don't get attached!

The non-profit facility where we're doing our OTA fieldwork operates 4 small businesses that employ about 41 adults with mental disabilities. It began in 1978 when a set of parents could not find a place in the Cary area to send their disabled child who was finishing school. Their 1st business was a bakery, employing 4 adults with disabilities. The bakery is still operating, along with a laundry department, a silverware contract department (preparing silverware/napkin rolls for major airlines at RDU), and janitorial & subcontract services.

All the employees are mentally challenged in one way or another - from mild to moderate. They are chosen to work at this facility based on their abilities to do at least 1 of the jobs available. A majority will not advance enough to go out into the "real" world of employment. Some may think this is a type of segregation, but as the director explained to me, these employees would have a hard time adjusting to the stresses and demands of working in a regular company. They are very comfortable with their current schedule & with the other employees. I just wish there were more employment opportunities like this for all mentally disabled adults.

Running My First Group

I ran my first "real" group yesterday, and it was scary. I had lots of help though, and as a result, we finished our craft sooner than expected, but that was okay. My team members and I decided to focus on the IADL health management from the chart on page 443 with the focus on making healthier decisions to promote overall well-being. We made stress-relief rice bags, and since we had extra time, the guys were able to make one for their store and one for themselves. They enjoyed their stretching routine that took place before the activity. They seemed to like the idea that football players are now doing yoga. I didn't want them to think that yoga and stretching was just a girl thing. Overall, I think it went well, but now I really understand how hard it is to have clients with different issues in the same group. As I talked to some of the employees at this facility, I thought what great people and how nice of an environment it is there. I think to myself how these guys would be if the environment wasn't so warm and inviting and that's also scary!
Check out this link. It's just a short testimony from a football player who enjoys yoga.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5lRM-d9IwE
Here's a link just for fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDP1-gcDcAI

DECI

I had a really great experience when we vistited the Durham Exchange Club Industries yesterday with class. Coming from a background of working with children who have physical and mental disabilities it was nice to see a place that would help these folks vocationally and help them pusue a job. With the young lady that I work with now, who is 22 and has down syndrome, we have looked for her a job and have found it very hard to actually find an employer who will see her as an employee and not just a volunteer with no pay. She is capable of doing the same things that the people who are getting paid are doing but she is only ever seen as a volunteer there. It is hard to see that when you know that just becuase of her title she can't get paid to do that job as others do. Steming from this, it was great to see these folks out there yesterday being treated like regular adults who are working, and I saw a few folks with Down Syndrome and it made me think why there wan't more places like this out there who would treat these people like real adults and not categorize them because of their "disability". Is it because of the stigmas placed on the diagnoses? Do they not trust them to do the job correctly? Or do they even give them a chance to prove themselves? It may take a little longer to learn the correct way of doing something but at least give them a chance to be put on the same line as someone who is "normal".

There is one place in Greensboro, NC that offers full and part time positions to people who are blind. They are pretty similar to DECI in what they do for work, but just thought it interesting to see a different site based on a limited diagnosis (blindness).
www.industriesoftheblind.com

Answers to Military Deployments

During one class, some classmates asked about if military members had living wills before going to the Middle East. I asked my son if he had to have a living will before he deploys to the Middle East. He said he had a briefing regarding paperwork he needed to complete before leaving. This briefing included traditional wills, living wills, power of attorney for his spouse, guardianship for children, financial info and training requirements for deployment. His spouse needed to attend a counseling session to prepare for his deployment. The spouse is strongly encouraged to make a traditional will, living will and guardianship for the children in case the spouse is unable to care for the children and the military member is not able to get home from the Middle East.

Before the service members heads overseas, they receive 30 days of weapons/combat training specific to the Middle East environment. It is similar to basic training except the members only get to eat MREs (meals ready to eat) during the 30 days.

The service members are prepared as possible for the deployments and any possible outcomes. However, all this planning does not make the deployment any easier for anyone. Remember these service members in your thoughts and prayers.

I am so looking forward to our LS visit on Wed. We are going to plan to see if our group would be interested in making dog treats and then visiting local shelter to deliver the treats that they have made. I hope this works!! I have printed several recipes--all of which seem easy enough--that I can even look forward to a successful experience in the kitchen. (Not one of my strong points!!!) I am encouraged by the possibility of a group outing--how cool will that be to actually go and deliver the treats to the lucky, four-legged animals!! The pumpin treats sound incredibly yummy--more on how they taste after we actually make them!!!!