Theodore Dalrymple

[wastedyouth]

I dont know about anyone else but i dont think that the withdrawls seen in trainspotting was "a gross exageration" as the below article says, ive been in rehab 3 times, so ive been through it but also watched it from the outside looking in and to me you could NEVER display what withdrawls are on a television screen as they are pysical and mental, so how can he say it was a gross exageration looking at someone in full blown withdrawls is horrendous but you can see the pain in its full effect so how could you see it in trainspotting, funny how we have never accually witnessed anyone going through real withdrawls maybe then people would have a bit more compation.  The person that wrote the article must also think that we have no concoince,trainspotting is a film not real life, how can there be any comparisons.

When i was in the middle of the hight of my addiction i used to try and step out in front of busses because in my mind i thought that once struck hopefully i would be put into a coma and come out on the other side of my withdrawls, please before anyone says i know this is stupid but that is how exteam withdrawls effect your mindstate

[KikiMarooni]

I think thats the point, sometimes withdrawal gets so bad instantly switching it off seems like the better option, the way I explain addiction to those with no idea, is to say that a person needs food, water and air like everyone else but a heroin addict needs food, water, air and heroin. it is as important to functioning as the air you breath and your food or water, which is the only way I can think of to explain how nessecary it is to every day life. But as to the idiot GP who wrote that article, it worries me how many people who have genuinely seeked help and ended up being sent to him, I can only hope he refers people to thier local clinic and plays no further part in thier recovery as i cannot see how his influence could ever be a good one. When i read that article I didnt actually realise it was a GP till the end, when i did realise my jaw nearly hit the floor that someone supposedly so educated could be so ignorant.

P.S. (not Kiki but her partner Craig wrote this)

[physeptomaton]

That "Anthony Daniels" IS Theodore Dalrymple, not another different doctor. AD is his real name, TD is his pseudonym which he used in the 1980s when he started writing as he was doing a regular "if symptoms persist" column in the Spectator which revealed far more about patients than his current writing (more about social issues and the arts now) so he felt it was better to protect confidentiality.

[KikiMarooni]

I see, thanks for the info, it doesnt surprise me he used another name to air his true views, seeing as his true views are a load of derogatory nonsense that no doubt would incite many to seek him out and give him a hard time, I honestly thought that it was another doctor from the same school of thought as Dalrymple, but to be honest it makes sense that there are not too many doctors as ignorant as him knocking about, even if a lot of them do discriminate against addicts, that idiot has to be one of a kind!!!

[KikiMarooni]

Harping right back to McDermot's answer to this post, I couldn't agree more with regards to the 'hope' element.

People with addictions, of any nature, got there for a reason. Whatever that reason was, they either felt oblivion was the only way out, or were indoctrinated into believing oblivion was how you dealt with problems. After that they undergo x years of struggle and perdition which consitutes the actual addiction - again, there's a feeling of being trapped by it - like a tunnel with no light. Then, once they finally get themselves into treatment, they may well physically remove the addiction, but the problems, as well as all the extra damage they've been putting on for the last few years is still there and restless. You end up in the same giant pile of *&*& but now without a crutch to lean on.

I've always felt that once I am done with the treatment, I will effectively run away - something in me knows that for the change to stick, I cannot be in this area. However, not everyone is as lucky as I am (probs the wrong word - my alcoholic father drunk himself to death last year and now I own a house - capital for the move).

A lot of addicts can't see a different life - drug treatment should be more about getting them somewhere else, getting them training / education, getting them onto the jobs market etc etc.

Thats another bug-bear I have with the system - I am desperate to work now - I just want to feel I am doing something other than sitting at home moping all day. I have picked up an OU degree to keep me busy but can't look for a job as I have to pick up daily scripts - any job I would get (probs in London, with commuting - I work in finance) would make this impossible - so the treatment itself is holding me back from creating a new life.

Lastly, I also have felt the air of hopelessness that leaches from the drug workers themselves - you get the feeling they've seen one too many failed case and now they're just waiting for you to screw up like all the rest - muted potential dissapointment. We need more energy injected into the service. It is a thankless task, I appreciate that, but they are there to help people who cannot see a way out - it doesn't help if the drug worker can't paint the picture for them, and help them get there.

[will-c]

most drug workers are lost in space and time and the ones that arent are living on borrowed time