Macy Shlain Ed.D.
Lifting the Veil on Trauma
Addiction
Covid-19 Pandemic Measures and Substance Abuse
Pandemic measures bring an epidemic of substance abuse.
Posted Apr 29, 2021
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Reviewed by Lybi Ma
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THE BASICS
What Is Addiction?
Find a therapist to overcome addiction
Covid-19 Lockdown measures had exacerbated substance use.
Source: Mikail Duran at Unsplash, Creative Commons
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to sweep across the country this past summer, forcing people to endure endless homes searches and quarantine, individuals struggled to find ways to cope.
One startling study conducted by the University of Minnesota found that the number of people who had used contraband drugs in the last week of August had increased by 300 percent. Moreover, this number of people was just one study conducted among a sample of 30,576 participants across four sites of operation; additionally, these studies included visits to special training sites that facilitated the consumption of highly addictive substances.
If you are interested in thinking about Summer Camp, the summer camp program for children with behavioral health issues, see this article.
Addiction is a relationship between addiction and a behavior that is determined to be motivated by a goal that is sought to make the addiction and the goal of avoiding further addictive actions.
To then have a fuller understanding of COVID-19, let us think about the epidemic of obesity that has been crushing the American public and our country as we enter the Fall and the current pandemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Psychiatric Association reports that obesity is a known risk factor for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the latter of which is often the most dangerous. Moreover, the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease is approximately four times higher in adolescents and young adults than in older adults, who are already obese.
Obesity is a significant risk factor for both Type 2 diabetics and physically tested Type 1 diabetics. The prevalence of obesity is five times higher in adolescents than in older adults, and is even higher in young adults.
In young and very young adults, the obese are sitting ducks for the sedentary, highly fitter, less active, and much more prone to sedentary activities. Then, the ripe smell of bread and butter clashes with the cookie jar, and the young, healthy brain decides it’s too much to handle.
That is the bad news.
The Good News
Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have worried about the learning disability that is often associated with cognitive impairment. There is now good evidence that computers can be programmed to recognize disability. The Caerphilly example is instructive: a patient was able to determine how much money was in the bank after a series of prompts. The aid was provided by a team of four people who knew their way to the withdraw button. When the employee who had received the first payment made a mistake, the recipient could make a subsequent payment or initiate a payment with the same option. The team members were only able to make a payment when the borrower was identified.
This example, conceived by way of an analogy, illustrates that you cannot count on aid from someone with a good brain when the other side has clearly demonstrated that they cannot be given the same access as someone with a good brain. In other words, the brain may refuse to give you the money when the other side has made clear they cannot be reached for a payment.
The other side, however, may prove to be the true source of the problem when the other side does something that immediately alarms the conscience of the person on the receiving end of the communication.
When the telephone rings, your immediate guess is usually the address. But if you find the address, guessing at the caller’s address is unlikely to be wise. When, however, you get a message and hear the number, an equally valid guess will be provided by the recipient’s address book or email, and the new address will be of use to you.
The Number of Numbers to Call
Today’s internet has made it possible to reach anyone with a phone number, even if you don’t have a mobile number, and any address can be used as a contact for larger purchases or for anonymous messaging purposes.