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Coming soon; ‘The Pharm’ a film by Sankalpa

Monday, June 28th, 2010

‘The Pharm’ is a short film that explores the problem of Valium addiction in Finglas, Dublin.  The Pharm is currently in post production!  Keep an eye on www.sankalpa.ie for details of up coming viewings.  If you are worried about your dependency on Valium please consult your GP.

The History of Valium Use

Introduced in 1963, Valium became one of the most widely prescribed tranquilizers over the next 10 years.

Valium had certain benefits over other competitor’s tranquilizers. While all of them worked on the limbic system, the part of the brain that regulates emotions, Valium was less bitter in taste, could be formulated in smaller doses, and provided relief without the expected side effect of drowsiness. Part of Valium’s appeal lay in the belief that it was non-addictive and, unlike other tranquilizers, was almost impossible to be taken in a lethal dose by a suicidal person.

By 1974, Valium represented 81 percent of the tranquilizer market in the United States. However, at this same time, the media presented what they considered rampant abuse of Valium, stating that only about 10 percent of prescriptions for Valium written in 1974 came from mental health professionals and 60 percent to 70 percent of Valium prescriptions came from the family doctor, gynecologists and pediatricians. The media also noted that a disproportionate number of prescriptions were given to women over 30 to control so-called “free-floating” anxiety.

In 1975 when tranquilizer usage in the United States reached its highest level, Valium also began to appear as an illegal “street” drug and became integrated in the American culture through movies and plays. Celebrity usage became apparent when an autopsy report found Valium in Elvis Presley’s system when he died in 1977.

In 1979, awareness was raised again through coverage of the Senate subcommittee hearings during which several well-regarded physicians testified on the dangers of Valium. The Food and Drug Administration forced Hoffman-LaRoche, the manufacturer of Valium, to include the caveat in its medical-journal advertisements for Valium as well as in the information provided to physicians stating that “anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic drug.” This warning went into effect in the summer of 1980.

A 1981 report stated a possible link between Valium use and the rapid growth of cancer cells which had a greater impact on the drug’s popularity with the general public than the subcommittee meetings. However, a research study completed in 2005 showed that over 60 million prescriptions for Valium were written by American doctors and that 1.8 million Americans abused tranquilizers.

For more informaiton see: http://www.valiumaddictionhelp.com

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Posted in Addiction, The Sankalpa program | 2 Comments »

Study: heroin better than methadone to kick habit

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Some heroin addicts who got the drug under medical supervision had a better chance of kicking the habit than those who got methadone, a new study says.

In a British study of 127 people who previously failed to beat their addiction, scientists gave them either injectable heroin or methadone. After six months, those who got heroin were much less likely to continue taking the drug illegally than those who got methadone. The results were published Friday in the British medical journal, Lancet (The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9729, Pages 1885 – 1895, 29 May 2010).

Methadone has been used for decades to treat heroin addicts, but only Britain and Switzerland prescribe heroin for some addicts as part of rehabilitation programs.

In 2008, Britain proposed using heroin to treat some addicts on a national level, beyond the few clinics where it was available. Government officials were waiting for the results of this trial, which some say provides the necessary evidence to roll out the strategy widely.

“Treatment with supervised injectable heroin seems to be our best option,” said Roy Roberton, of the department of community health sciences at Edinburgh University, in a statement. He was not linked to the study.

While most addicts get methadone, heroin could be used for people in whom the heroin substitute doesn’t work. “This is a treatment of last resort,” said John Strang of the National Addiction Center and the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, the paper’s lead author.

“The alternative is cheaper treatments that deliver no benefits, or prison, which is three times as expensive,” he said.

Politics has often complicated treatment for drug addiction, as critics worry about government programs giving addicts a pure form of heroin. Similar trials to test heroin injection were proposed in the U.S., France and Belgium, but none have conducted a trial.

“This state of affairs is sad because other medical specialties commonly embrace (other) therapies,’”‘ wrote Thomas Kerr of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues in an accompanying commentary. They said denying effective treatments like heroin injection to people in need was “unethical.”

For a more in-depth look at the arguments for and against prescribing heroin click here.

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Posted in Addiction | 2 Comments »

Rat Park – an experiment in addiction

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

In 1981 an experiment was carried out in Vancouver. The results were published in a journal called, “Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behaviour”, but at the time, they received little attention.

Bruce Alexander and his colleagues decided to build a house for rats. It measured 200 square feet, and they made it as comfortable and beautiful as possible. They designed a birthing room, provided plenty of food, painted the walls with nature scenes, and laid down bedding and toys for the rats to play with and explore. They also set up ordinary cages.

The experimenters then put a number of rats into the house, and a number of rats into the cages. They gave the rats a choice between water, and sugar water laced with morphine. (Rats are known to have a sweet tooth). The rats in the lovely, welcoming rat house greatly preferred plain water to morphine sugar water. The rats in cages ignored the plain water and kept themselves sedated – or high – on the morphine water.

Before this experiment, it was widely believed that drugs like heroin, morphine and cocaine were inherently addictive – no matter what the situation, using these drugs would always lead to addiction. In fact, the results were so controversial that they have been mostly ignored. It seems much easier to believe that addiction is a disease, or that it is due to an ‘addictive personality’ than to accept that the chances of becoming addicted to any drug depend very much on the situation.

This research should have changed the world. It should have changed our town planning, our social welfare systems, our education systems, and the way we design our world. Instead we continue to think of addiction as something beyond our control, as a problem we’re born with rather than a symptom of the worlds we grow up in.

For more information, see the very accessible ‘Opening Skinner’s Box’ by Lauren Slater, or click on the following link for the original article:

http://sciencethatmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/sdarticle.pdf

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Posted in Addiction | 1 Comment »

Want to look younger?

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

We all want to look younger these days.  This simple anti-ageing eye mask has helped Tom O Brien the manager at Sankalpa to look like he must have the least stressful job in Finglas!  Unfortunately he was unavailable for the photo shoot that went with this post!

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Posted in Natural Healing | No Comments »

Juice

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Fresh juices provide the body with an abundant source of nutrition all in one power packed punch of goodness!   Into your body in one fell swoop comes vitamins, minerals, live enzymes, and amino acids to name just a few.    The nutrients in juices are absorbed rapidly and efficiently with very little stress on the digestive system.

There are many different combinations of juices to choose from but it is always better to include as many green vegetables as you can and a small amount of fruit to provide a hint of sweetness.

Recipe for juice

 

3 large cucumbers    

2 heads of celery       

1 to 2 cm in diameter of ginger peeled and finely chopped

1 large or 2 small carrots

1 punnet of Blueberries or Blackberries    

1 large or 2 small apples (Fuji or pink lady red)

1 large pear             

1 whole lime flesh and juice included

For extra green chlorophyll and energy add in 1 large handful of parsley or spinach

This produces about one and a half litres of juice.  For smaller amounts simply reduce your portions of each.

Use locally produced organic vegetables when you can!

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Posted in Nutrition, Recipes | 3 Comments »

Art therapy in Sankalpa

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art making as part of the therapeutic process. It is useful in recovering from addictions because it is a psychodynamic therapy that addresses the root of drug-related issues rather than trying to solve the drug use alone. Using art in therapy can help to get around defences, which are very often verbal in nature. Clients can, with the help of their therapist, begin to identify patterns and experiences from their lives that have made them who, and how, they are today. Sometimes people with similar experiences can have very different outcomes – some people turn to drugs, while others might become depressed or develop eating disorders and so on. Using art in a therapy session can feel less confrontative that talk therapy, because if you don’t feel like talking, or don’t know what to say, you can work on an art work instead – you will still be expressing something, but it can feel easier. Sometimes people begin to talk about, or express through art, things they weren’t aware they were feeling or thinking, because making art somehow gets to the heart of things. Our experiences are not stories, so they cannot always be expressed in words. Sometimes we need to be creative in finding ways of expressing ourselves, and in finding resolution. 

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Posted in Sankalpa News, The Sankalpa program | 1 Comment »

Superfood of the month – Blueberries

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

 

Blueberries are one of nature’s wonder foods.  They are full of fibre and packed with juicy goodness and plenty of those antioxidants that we hear so much about.  That’s what makes them blue and purple in colour.  They are a great source of Vitamin C and this together with their exceptional antioxidant activity makes them qualify as a superfood.  A superfood is a food that can offer a multiple of health benefits by eating it.   

Some studies being carried out have shown that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effect of age-related conditions.   In plain terms this means that eating just a handful of these berries every day can help us improve our learning capacity and motor skills.  Another benefit is found in improved vision and protection against failing eyesight.  They are a traditional remedy for both constipation and diarrhoea.  They also can help eliminate urinary tract infections.  And finally they taste delicious!  Try them mixed with other fruits or on cereal with Greek yoghurt or ice cream (The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods).

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Des

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

I was knocking around doing nothing in September 08 and had an apartment in town for four years prior to this story. It was in that apartment I slipped into a very bad habit of doing nothing and taking drugs. It was drink and cocaine that I was taking but then when the parties were all over I was left with a filthy flat smelling of drink and smoke. I then got offered to smoke gear, which I tried but really did not like. I already had a problem with tablets to relax me. It was when I was told about being able to buy molly (that’s the street name for it, methadone is the pharmacists name) so I didn’t think much of it but bought some and drank it. It was all grand until I realised I had gotten meself a problem with it. I started needing it. So I signed up for to get on a program to get something I had at one stage despised. 

I then just gave up my apartment and came back to my mother’s where I would not have been able to do half the things I done in my flat. At the same time I tried to stop taking the methadone and could not sleep for three days in my mother’s, and then with a lot of shame went and told my mother I had this problem. So she agreed to help me. I went up to the clinic and they took me on cause I had been on the clinic in town for four months and had a plan to get stable and start coming down off it. So as well as that I had to do something to keep my mind busy and to try to get a bit of structure in my life. I only palled with one mate and it himself that told me about this course that was called millennium but is now called Sankalpa.

It was there for the first time in 5 years I had a little structure in my life. I was getting up and going in and they were quite helpful, they made a plan with me to gradually get meself back to the way I was and off this methadone. Since I’ve been here I’ve come down 15ml – 5ml a month for the last 3 months, and they make out a plan to get your life outside Sankalpa back in order. So at present I am on the housing list, seeing my kid twice a week and feel great with the bit of structure back in my life. Cause I had been a worker before I fell into this rut. And getting up and out in the morning has been great and when I’m at my mother’s she loves it knowing I’m doing something and it’s helping me. My mother came down to the church to watch us play the drums, which is something I never would have done if I wasn’t in Sankalpa. I get to learn about computers and I’ve a lot of interest in the ceramics. I’m actually doing a portfolio so as that I can hopefully be ready by September this year to go to a college and learn what I don’t already know. I’m quite good with my hands and the ceramics is my favourite.

The money is good and helps a lot but it’s the structure and the getting clean that motivates me. I’ve signed up for the course in September so hopefully I’ll be ready and each different class is enjoyable. We get to try new things every day. Me myself I think it has given me a lot and I’m making progress. It’s quite good, the staff are quite good and the other clients are alright. Getting the structure back in my life was a really good thing for me. That is really important to me, not to stay in bed and miss half a day. When I get up and get into work it’s great. You get to socialize and they try to help you in every aspect of your life and I have a lot going since I joined and I never know what we’ll be doing tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll get off my methadone but slowly does it.

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David

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

My name is David and I have been addicted to drugs for 15 to 20 years.  I started off smoking hash, drinking and for a long time didn’t use hard drugs.  I left school when I was 13.  I never did any exams but got a job as a Comis Chef and worked for a long time and never got into trouble or anything. 

When I was about 18 I was introduced to heroin and started smoking it not knowing what I was getting involved in.  I did not know what chasing the dragon was.  Around the same time my girlfriend got pregnant and I first tried to give up heroin.  I managed to stay off it until about 6 weeks before my daughter was born.  I tried again and again after a while me and my girlfriend moved into her parent’s home with the baby.  We had our own place but had to leave it because of my drug use. 

I managed to bluff my way through the next 6 to 12 months before my girlfriends folks got fed up watching me get their daughter strung out.  They eventually threw me out and I started to sleep rough.  I lost my job and couldn’t get the dole because I had no address.  Eventually me and my girlfriend drifted apart and she got worse and worse and so did I and we left each other for our drugs.  My child was 18 months old and I found myself robbing, selling, scamming and anything to get my next fix. 

After living in hell for nearly 3 years without seeing my child, I tried to kill myself.  Thankfully it did not work.  A friend brought me out to this Christian place in town and I went into the program and went through cold turkey.  They sent me to England as they had a Church in Manchester and I ended up staying there for a few months.  I became very homesick and I wanted to see my child.  So I left the program early and returned home to Dublin and for a while I still did the Christian thing, no drink, no smokes, no bad language, but eventually lost heart in God after I found out that my girlfriend of 8 years was getting married and she would not let me see my kid.  So I managed to stay clean and got a job and moved on with my life without drugs but still never addressed the issues that made me start using. 

Eventually I ended up meeting a new girlfriend and she became pregnant and we got our won place.  Things went well for about 18 months.  But things didn’t last cause I think that I didn’t know how to deal with life’s problems.  So when I found out my new girlfriend and my brother were having an affair, I snapped and had a sort of break down and tried to kill myself again.  I tried to overdose but it didn’t work thank God.  So was back using and I was in a worse state than I have ever been in.  But was working at the time and tried to keep my job going but started to rob the place and missed days when I was sick and that led me to being sacked. 

So I was back on the gear, no job, no home, no girlfriend, no friends and really felt like there was no hope.  So for the next couple of years I went from hostel to hostel.  I got barred from using in the hostel.  So I ended up sleeping rough and doing whatever it took to get my fix.  I didn’t care about anything.  I got that bad that I had no veins to inject into.  So I started to use my groin.  Eventually I went into a treatment centre and this time I stuck it out for the 6 weeks and when I got out I went back home to live with my parents.  I still couldn’t handle life without drugs.  I started to use again and I hid it from my parents for a while. 

Eventually I got on the Clinic and on the phy but was still using but this time was injecting tablets with my heroin.  This went well for a while but had a accident and done real damage to my groin and was taken to hospital, where they thought I was going to lose leg, but I had a lucky escape and was let home after a month in hospital.  So when I got home was told in no uncertain terms this was going to be my last chance.  So I knew I had to do something different this time.  I had heard of this place called Millennium (Sankalpa) from the Clinic.  So I had a chat with someone in the clinic about how I could try things differently when I moved back home after the hospital.  I had started to isolate myself from everyone and got really really depressed and had to seek help from a psychologist and counsellor.  I needed someone to talk to and a structure in myself.  When I started on the clinic, I was stable and on 90mls. 

Now my life has improved so much.  I’m happy in myself for the first time that I can remember and now I have a real goal of going to D.I.T.  I am now down to 30 mls and hope to be totally drug free in the next couple of months. 

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Posted in Testimonials | 2 Comments »

Stephen Coleman

Monday, January 11th, 2010

 It all began for me when I first started in Millennium Carving, now called Sankalpa, I was on 80mls of methadone and off all other drugs for almost 2 years.  Then after 4 months I started my detox, which went very well as I got down to 20mls.  I kept detoxing slowly until I got off all my methadone.  I found Sankalpa a big help in getting me to where I am today.  It was also a great help in getting me to play for the Ireland Homeless World Cup team that went to play in the European championships in Poland and later the World Cup in Australia. 

It’s started by Sankalpa letting me go over to the street leagues in Catherine’s every Friday morning to take part in a football 5 a side tournament.  That’s where I first got spotted by Ken who asked me to enter my Millennium football team into the all Ireland street leagues.  There were teams from all over the country taking part consisting of about 200 players out of which they would pick 50 players for the Homeless World Cup team and the European championships in Poland.  They would narrow the team down to 10 for Poland, then down to eight for the world cup in Australia.  I was picked to represent my country over in Poland and also in the World Cup in Australia, which were two of the best footballing experiences in my life.  We finished 5th in Poland and 9th in the World Cup out of 48 countries, which was a fantastic achievement for the lads and me. 

On the two trips abroad I had an unbelievable time and I was well looked after by the managers and facilitators, which I thank very much for all they done for the lads and me.  When I got back from Australia I was put forward for football for all international Street league player of the year, which was being held in the City West Hotel.  I was gob smacked to find out I was put forward for the award but when I actually won it, it was the highlight of my football career without question.  We were also brought out at half time of the Georgia and Ireland game at Croke Park to be announced in front of all the crowd for what we had achieved, which was spectacular to be standing there while the whole crowd capped and cheered us on.  I was also awarded with my cap for representing my country, which was very special because there’s not many people that can say they got capped for playing for their country. 

Well since coming back from the homeless World Cup in Australia and winning street league player of the year everything has went really well for me with my football, coaching housing but mainly with my detox.  When I went to Australia I was on 20mls of methadone and I have progressed really well since then I got myself down to 2mls of methadone a few weeks before Christmas with the help from Sankalpa and others.  So over the Christmas break I decided to come off my last 2 mls of methadone which I did not find too bad, just a few aches and pains, nothing major and I think that was down to the help from Sankalpa, hard work and also how slow I have done it and how much I wanted to do it.  Now that I’m off my methadone I feel good in myself and feel positive for the future of staying clean off drugs. 

I have worked hard to get to where I am today and I know I will not let anything spoil that for me now.  Sankalpa had a big help in that as it gave me structure, stability and kept me focused on what I wanted to achieve.  I am now really looking forward to the future being drug free.  Also I got word on my housing.  I am moving into a new apartment on the 21st of January, which I am really excited about and looking forward to having somewhere I can call home at last after spending over a year in Contrath House (transitional housing).  My football and coaching has went well recently.  I went to the city hall and received my Ireland cap from Ray Houghton, for representing my country in Australia, which I was really pleased to get, it has probably being the highlight of my football career to date, just ahead of playing for my country and winning street league player of the year for 2009.  I am now really looking forward to the New Year drug free and in my own place, where I can call home.  Hopefully I can get a job in the FAI coaching football to kids, which is my main aim in life.  I feel as if I can after making big steps towards that as well as I have my two coaching badges and I will be doing the next one as soon as I can.

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