By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Staff
Addiction to drugs is a complicated, multi-layered thing that is often misunderstood. This was the message delivered by Dr. Stephen Loyd, a recovery speaker from Franklin, Tenn., as he spoke to a crowd at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 24.
Dr. Stephen Loyd, a recovery speaker from Franklin, Tenn., speaks to a crowd at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 24 during his presentation entitled “Addiction is Not Moral Failure”. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Vickie Bradley, EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Secretary of Public Health and Human Services, said at the beginning of the presentation. “I could ask you to show your hands how many of you people have been untouched by addiction in our community, and I’m guessing there’s nobody in this room that’s not been touched. Our families suffer. Our families grieve. We grieve as a community and yet, there’s hope. There are things we can do and we have resources and means. We just have to figure out how to mobilize and get everyone involved in this great work. What you hear tonight; please take and share.”
Dr. Loyd, himself 18 years in recovery from a pain killer addiction, implored the crowd during his two-hour presentation entitled “Addiction is Not Moral Failure” to avoid using terms such as addict, junkie, druggie, pill-popper, etc. “They have substance use disorder.”
He added, “Let’s concentrate on getting rid of stigma, and then let’s concentrate on getting them into a system that provides them with quality help.”
Earlier in the day, he toured the health programs of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “You guys have some great facilities, but there is a disconnect. You need to get rid of barriers to recovery.”
He spoke of the need for cooperation between programs and a smooth entry, at any point in the process, to the recovery continuum. “People take action when enough bodies pile up, and I’m sick of seeing them pile up. You have resources, but the resources are not reaching those who need them.”
A no-barrier approach has to be provided to those seeking recovery he noted. “We have to change our mindset on addiction. It’s not a moral failure.”
Dr. Loyd spoke of his own recovery journey. “When I became a doctor, I certainly didn’t anticipate waking up one morning and realizing that I was addicted to oxycontin. I didn’t wake up one day and think, ‘you know, I think I’ll take eight years of education and flush it down the drain’. That wasn’t on my radar. And, sometimes I think that when we look at people with addiction, we think, ‘oh, they’re choosing this’ or ‘if they want it bad enough, they’ll quit.”
He went on to say, “Any of you who have struggled with addiction, tell me a day that you didn’t want it (sobriety). I woke up every day for three years of my life wanting to quit pain pills so badly I couldn’t see straight. Then, the next thing I knew, I had it crushed, up my nose, and into my day again.”
Getting rid of the myths surrounding addiction is also important Dr. Loyd noted. “Most people who look at addiction from the outside think it’s a moral failure – there’s something wrong with you. If you went to church more or helped more little old ladies across the street, then you’re going to get better. I’m not saying those things aren’t good, but that’s not the problem in addiction. Addiction is made up of three things. The first thing is genetics. Those of you that have addictions yourself and you’re in recovery, I want you to look at your family trees. What do they look like? If you can’t find addiction in your family tree, then you’re not looking hard enough.”
He said the second part of addiction is trauma. “Trauma comes in all different forms. Trauma hurts our body’s ability to make something called dopamine. Long-term, systematic trauma leads to decreased levels of dopamine. No one likes having no dopamine. You’ll do something to fix it. For some of us, it was pain pills. For some of us, it was heroin. For some of us, it was alcohol. For some of us, it’s pot. That raises your level of dopamine.”
Dr. Loyd touted the use of medications in recovery such as suboxone, methadone, and others. “We can’t treat dead people. We have to keep them alive…people relapse because of cravings. They don’t relapse because of dope sickness. Medication quells cravings.”
He said that a lot of communities don’t talk about overdose deaths due to shame. “We’ve got to be able to change that and we won’t get better until we do.”
And, he said the time is now. “You’re losing a generation of kids. We need to start intervening early…this is about community and relationships.”
Ginger Southard, RN, Cherokee Syringe Services program manager, spoke at the end of the presentation and encouraged the audience to have their voices heard on how recovery efforts can be improved in the EBCI community. “We can come together. It’s going to be specific to us. Don’t let your voice be lost.”
