The Coleman Institute Blog

The answer to this question depends on whom you ask.

There are those who define recovery as the complete abstinence from any mind-altering drugs. And Suboxone®, a medication that combines the opioid buprenorphine with the blocker naloxone, does activate opioid receptors but it produces a smaller response.

It relieves drug cravings without the high or dangerous side effects caused by other opioids. Regular use can lead to physical dependence. So, can it really be considered recovery if I'm taking it?

Perhaps this is not the right question to be breaching. The more relevant question may be: What beliefs and behaviors can best support your recovery, to live a life in the service of what you value According to Richard Rohr, founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, "Bill Willson saw 'emotional sobriety" as the final culmination of the Twelve Steps.

Here’s the scenario: Your coworker is exhibiting uncharacteristic behavior at work and you are concerned it may possibly be an addiction problem. It could be to alcohol, prescription or nonprescription drugs or even a behavioral addiction to gaming, gambling or sex. What should you do?

Phillipa has been part of our practice for many years. She has as tough an Addiction Story as any I’ve heard. From getting a taste of hydrocodone as a teenager, she moved on to oxycodone, and finally to a fierce heroin habit which lasted for many years.

Choosing nursing or medicine as a profession usually means that sometime in your career, you’ll be working weekends and holidays. So when my children were young, I had to take my turns doing shifts on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, or the 4th of July for many years.

Is the Opioid Crisis responsible for helping to mobilize some of the greatest new approaches to help people change? Or have these great techniques been brewing under the surface, being applied to different problems and issues, highlighted now because of the vast numbers affected by opioid addiction?

I’m not sure about this chicken and egg story, but I do know that the very numbers of people affected have helped to motivate people from parents to medical and counseling professionals to volunteers, to understand what is the best way to help their loved ones, friends, or patients stay alive, number one, and flourish in their life, number two.