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Boos your business, uplift your community

Creating Bridges, Changing Lives: Community-Focused Business Growth

How Syndicate12's Contingency Management Program is a Win-Win for Businesses and the Recovery Community

In today’s world, success is often measured in profits and market share. But what if there was a way to achieve financial goals while also making a positive impact on your community? Syndicate12’s revolutionary contingency management platform offers exactly that.

A Unique Approach: Fostering Growth Through Community

Forget the limitations of traditional directories or advertising platforms. Syndicate12 goes beyond simple listings and promotions. We bridge the gap between local businesses and the recovery community, fostering a harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship built on the power of community, growth, and gratitude.

The Power of Positive Reinforcement: Contingency Management in Action

At the heart of our approach lies contingency management. This evidence-based practice utilizes positive reinforcement to encourage and reward desired behaviors. Businesses partnering with Syndicate12 can create irresistible rewards specifically designed to motivate individuals in recovery.

Here’s how it works:

  • Businesses offer enticing rewards: This could be anything from a free cup of coffee to a relaxing massage or a voucher for peer support services from a peer specialist on Straight Up Care.
  • Individuals in recovery work towards earning those rewards: By adhering to their recovery plans and demonstrating positive behaviors, individuals become eligible to claim these rewards.
  • A win-win situation: Businesses gain loyal customers who appreciate their support for the recovery community. Individuals receive tangible incentives that reinforce their positive choices on the road to recovery.
Beyond Profits: Businesses as Agents of Change

By participating in Syndicate12’s program, businesses become more than just profit-seeking entities. They actively contribute to positive change by:

  • Providing encouragement and support: The rewards offered become a beacon of hope, symbolizing progress and achievement for individuals in recovery.
  • Cultivating a loyal customer base: Businesses that demonstrate genuine care for the community attract customers who value their commitment to social responsibility.
  • Standing out from the competition: In a crowded marketplace, Syndicate12’s program allows businesses to differentiate themselves by aligning with a cause that resonates with many.
Expert Guidance for Maximum Impact

Syndicate12 understands that every business is unique, that’s why our team of experts works closely with each partner to:

  • Craft personalized rewards: We ensure the rewards seamlessly align with your brand identity, target audience, and community values.
  • Offer marketing support: We provide guidance and assistance to ensure your rewards program is effectively communicated.
  • Professional design services: Visually appealing and informative materials grab attention and clearly communicate the value proposition of your rewards.
Investing in the Future: A Brighter Tomorrow for All

By marketing with Syndicate12, businesses not only improve their bottom line, they become an integral part of the recovery community, contributing to an environment where individuals can thrive and find the support they need. This fosters a sense of shared success and paves the way for a brighter future.

Join the Movement: Be Part of the Change

Syndicate12 believes in the power of collective action. Together, businesses and the recovery community can create a lasting impact. Individuals receive the support they need, businesses gain loyal customers, and the community flourishes. Together, we can build a future filled with gratitude and success.

Are you ready to unleash the potential of your business while making a positive difference? Partner with Syndicate12 today and let’s embark on this journey together!

How Syndicate12’s Contingency Management Program is a Win-Win for Businesses and the Recovery Community In today’s world, success is often measured in profits and market share. But what if there was a way to achieve financial goals while also making a positive impact on your community? Syndicate12’s revolutionary contingency management platform offers exactly that. A […]

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Veteran Joseph Soel discusses moral injury and reintegration

Understanding the Veteran Experience: From Moral Injury to Reintegration

Joe Soel, author of The Broken Mirror of Memory: Iraq and Other Tales, provides insight into the veteran experience, emphasizing the significance of moral injury, a lesser-known but impactful aspect of military service. As a veteran who served 13 months in Iraq, Joe began writing as a means to process his experiences, eventually turning his reflections into a powerful memoir. He discusses the challenges of reintegration into civilian life, the psychological toll of combat, and the often overlooked emotional and moral struggles veterans face.

Joe passionately argues for a broader recognition of moral injury, which he believes is as crucial as addressing PTSD. He highlights how societal glorification of military service can obscure the real consequences of war, both for soldiers and civilians. Soel explores how the media’s portrayal of military actions can shape public perception and policy, often neglecting the long-term effects on veterans. Through this heartfelt conversation, Soel calls for a deeper understanding and support for veterans, advocating for peace and a more compassionate approach to conflict resolution. 

Are you a Veteran interested in receiving peer support? Search for the peer that’s right for you with shared military experience. 

Click here for the episode’s full transcript

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Transcript

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (00:00)

Americans have two days dedicated to those who have served our country, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. And today’s guest illuminates for us the importance of remembering these individuals every day of the year. Get ready to be inspired as we reduce the stigma.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (01:28)

Hello and welcome to Recovery Conversations. Today’s conversation is with Joe Soel, author of “The Broken Mirror of Memory: Iraq and Other Tales.” Welcome, Joe. Thank you so much for joining me.

Joe Soel (01:40)

Thanks so much for having me on, I appreciate it.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (01:42)

Yes, you know, I’ve read your book and I really enjoyed it. And I’d love for our audience to hear in your own words what your book is and a little bit about you.

Joe Soel (01:53)

My book is an attempt to get all of Iraq out of me and write it down. And that’s what I really… Well, when I started writing I didn’t know that it would be a book. I thought I was just writing stuff down. And eventually I wrote so much down that it became a book.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (02:10)

Yeah, and in the book you wrote about how writing, it sounds like, was always a part of your life. It just was something that maybe was a hobby.

Joe Soel (02:20)

Mm -hmm. Just a hobby.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (02:23)

And so you started writing about it and it became a book to get Iraq out of you. That is a very powerful statement. Can you share with us kind of what it was like before you started the process of writing?

Joe Soel (02:39)

It was messy and it was messy throughout the process of writing. It was not a clean sort of walkthrough, shall we say. It was very messy.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (02:53)

Okay, and for those who haven’t read your book yet, could you share with us how long you served in Iraq and maybe then how long until you started the process of writing your book after you were released from service?

Joe Soel (03:08)

I started writing in Iraq actually, started writing things down. I served in Iraq for 13 months.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (03:15)

Okay. And so you came home and started then just continue, or I should say continued to write from what you had started. And you know, it’s interesting to hear that you started writing over there because I imagine you don’t get many opportunities while on active duty to be in a vulnerable space. How did that come about for you?

Joe Soel (03:41)

It was after a particular attack that I started writing things down. It was during a three -day period with no sleep for me.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (03:51)

wow. I’m sorry to hear that. And so in writing this book or writing in general, you came to a conclusion at some point to then share it with, you know, all those who come across it. Can you tell us about what led you to decide to put it out there for others?

Joe Soel (04:12)

Well, people need to understand the veteran experience. I know, you know, that Memorial Day is coming up, but really, it’s really, you know, the veteran experience is only honored in two days, you know, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and the rest of the year, our experiences are forgotten. And I feel like on Veterans Day, Memorial Day, they’re paid a lot of lip service by public officials, but it’s not really truly understood. So I wanted to get the story out there so that perhaps we could have less wars in the future. You know, that might be a good thing. And if we have to, we should really think about why we’re going in and what we’re doing and how we take care of the people that we send in when they come home.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (04:58)

Right, and your story was a result of the September 11th attacks, if I recall correctly. And I imagine there were many young men and women similar to you, and I’m curious if in retrospect, the publicizing of September 11th, the constant media coverage, if that…

Joe Soel (05:06)

I mean, yes. Yep.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (05:26)

played a role in people enlisting and maybe who wouldn’t have otherwise.

Joe Soel (05:34)

I’m certain that it did. It was, you know, as you likely remember, it was wall -to -ball media coverage. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the level of media coverage did contribute to the influx of enlistments. I think that a lot of kids who were in high school like myself during September 11th signed up as soon as they could right after. There was probably two or three from every high school in America you know, at the very least. I’ve heard estimates of 5 million total, something like that.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (06:15)

Yeah, absolutely. And that’s a young age to go and serve, whether you’re a reservist or someone looking at active duty and over in a war zone. And so you’re talking about helping people understand the veteran experience. What role does media play on that component? We saw it leading in. We see it in coverage of the war. We saw it in the you know meetup with the September 11th attacks what about the role of media for the veteran?

Joe Soel (06:53)

For the veteran, I think media, much like public officials, pay a lot of lip service to the, What I think my history professor would have called, probably what I would call the American civic religion. And we certainly do have one in this country where there’s a glorification of revolutionary government, which of course our government was founded through a revolution, therefore it is a revolutionary government. We have an example painted on the Capitol Dome of the Apotheosis of Washington. The deification of Washington, he’s in the middle, dressed as a Greek god, that sort of thing. And it really…I’ll let my dog in here. It really tends to grow this culture of the glorification of military service, the glorification of warfare and militarism, and with no real thought of the consequences of that, no real concern for the consequences of that. And in doing so, we’ve set up many millions of soldiers throughout our history, including in the most recent generation, for a lot of suffering and a lot of, you know, we say in the army, you know, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Well, that seems to be exactly what we’re doing with our media coverage of veterans issues and the lead up to the war. If you remember, CNN was a big cheerleader for the war, as was Fox News. And also MSNBC, they cheerleaded us into the Iraq war. And now you can’t find a single anchor probably on Fox News, well, maybe Fox News but you can’t find a single anchor on CNN or on MSNBC that would say, yeah, you know, that was a good decision. You can’t find a majority of the American public that would say, yeah, that’s a good decision to go into Iraq. But at the time, they were all cheerleading for it.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (08:47)

Right. So thinking of the individual who served, who’s gone through training, which is physically, mentally exhausting, I can only imagine, what then is it like? What are we not recognizing for that person who returns home?

Joe Soel (09:09)

When you go into the army, you go through basic training, you are trained to be a killer. And when you come to attention, you shout, kill! When you run, you’re singing cadences about killing, and death and destruction, and you’re gonna bring death upon the enemy, and there are even cadences about killing civilians during military training, which is against the Geneva Conventions, not explicitly. And it is explicitly taught in the training classes that you cannot kill civilians, you can’t violate the laws of war. However, the cadences seem to indicate a cultural attitude of almost indifference. While I was in Iraq, I did see a bit of indifference towards civilians. I also saw quite a bit of care from folks in my unit. So…It’s simply reprogramming that then leads to…it leads to a disconnectedness with civilian society when you return. Really the military is what sociologists would call a total institution. So it’s quite similar to a monastery or a prison, except in the case of a monastery it’s not ignored. In the case of a prison it’s not shameful. It’s in fact glorified. So it’s a total institution that is glorified in our society. And it separates you off from the rest of society and it becomes very hard to reintegrate whether you go to combat or not. Combat just makes it worse because that’s the application of the philosophy of the total institution of militarism that exists within our society. When you participate in the application, you are forever changed one way or the other, whether you want to be or not. So that’s really the problem with reintegration.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (10:56)

The reprogramming, that word really stands out to me. And what, can you paint the picture for all of us who have not had this experience, for what it’s like when your identity is no longer solely based in your military service?

Joe Soel (11:21)

when your identity is no longer solely based on your military service. I personally became very lost, disoriented. I still continue to strive from goal to goal, achievement to achievement, and still have that military drive which really is all that you…Half left, really, is the drive, but you don’t know what the goal is. You no longer have the mission that you had.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (11:52)

Then having to find that new purpose almost in civilian life, while also having gone through an experience that it in some ways it sounds like makes you go against who you would rather be with whenever it’s, you know, pushing kill in these different mindsets. So then there’s that, who am I afterwards? Is that accurate?

Joe Soel (12:21)

Yes, and a lot of it is tied up in the concept of moral injury. When you do things that are contrary to your own deeply held personal beliefs, whether religious, moral, or otherwise. And war will make you participate in things that are distasteful, and you then have to grapple with that and deal with that. So the reintegration is very difficult when you are dealing with doing things that go against your conscience. That’s really what came to mind when he asked the question was really moral injury. What’s the what’s the what’s the disconnect? What’s the difference? What’s What’s the real issue and I think even more than PTSD, which is a real? A real issue. I think moral injury is an even bigger issue, but it’s not very well addressed because that would go against the glorification of the military through American civic religion it would go, you know to say well our soldiers have participated in something that has morally injured them would indicate an error on the part of the system which would then call into question the system therefore moral injury is not very well dealt with and I think that’s a symptom of the glorification of militaristic culture.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (13:40)

I mean, you hit it so perfectly. We are all well aware of PTSD for veterans. The statistics, which I cannot rattle off the top of my head, however, we all know it’s outstanding. And moral injury is not something I at least have heard in relation to serving and the veteran experience. Is there…I mean, you just said there isn’t really recognition of it, but is there any space in which it is recognized? Do you even see that amongst your fellow veterans where there’s a recognition of that moral injury?

Joe Soel (14:20)

I do among some of them. Some of the more pro -peace veterans, some of the more peace activist circles that I would travel in. Whereas in the general veteran population, it’s suppressed by drinking, it’s suppressed by new drugs, it’s suppressed by the epidemic of veteran suicide, you know, 22 a day. I…I would be willing to bet that if you did a psychological study, if you drew it out over five years, you would find a lot of those veterans had symptom of moral injury. Now the VA does have programs for moral injury now. They didn’t in 2009. The Army certainly didn’t, and I’m not sure what they’re doing nowadays for that since I’m out of the Army. I’m no longer…

plugged into the institution, shall we say. But I think that as our society progresses a little further, we’re finding that moral injury is being a bit more well treated. It’s hard to acknowledge it from a military standpoint, even speaking with senior members of my former unit when we talk about certain things that I…will not state or bring up and describe when I say, wow, you know, that particular incident really bothered me. And it’s, well, you know, we had no choice. You know, you got to do what you got to do. It is what it is, that sort of thing. That doesn’t make those senior leaders bad or wrong, but they’re dealing with it in a way that they can deal with it. And you can either acknowledge it and…suffer or you can say well it was what it was we do we had to do and you know go on with it and there’s a certain truth to saying we did what we had to do because in many cases it was either you know, fire the missile or you know, continue taking fire, that sort of thing.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her

And so thinking of, you know, that’s wonderful that there’s starting to be some recognition of moral injury. I can’t help but think about what all we as the people around you, the people in this country, we need to be doing to better support our veterans. And perhaps it is more recognition of the moral injury. Is there anything else that the person who wants to show respect and appreciation to a veteran, what they can keep in mind whenever maybe trying to display that appreciation?

Joe Soel (18:08)

It’s, it’s… I think going beyond thank you for your service as a platitude would be nice. I think the best thing the American public could do, in my opinion, is get out in the street and demand an end to these endless wars, one way or the other. Right now we’re fighting a proxy war in two locations. We’re giving weapons to Israel, we’re giving weapons to the Ukraine to fight Russia.

The Russian army is made up of mostly conscripts. And so those conscripts don’t necessarily want to be there yet. They’re being slaughtered, you know, wholesale by weapons we gave Ukraine. There’s a lot of civilian deaths in Gaza that bother me. Although I will say that the attacks of October 7th were just absolutely horrifying. And I believe some response would have been necessary. Sometimes you have to go to war, it’s a question of how you conduct it. I think that our country should really view war as a very last resort. And when we don’t do that, we expose millions of young men and women to trauma. And we expose, you know, in the case of Iraq, nearly 5 ,000 to death. I think it’s closer to 8 ,000 if you factor in Afghanistan. It might be 7 ,000. But, you know, those are young lives that aren’t coming back. So what the American people could do is demand an end to the system of organized warfare. That’s something that I’ve argued for since I was an undergraduate, is simply defunding, de -escalating, and de -legitimizing the…system of organized warfare that we have as a species entirely, not just as a country, but we seem to have it as a species, don’t we? And I think it’s very troubling that we choose to settle disputes in that manner when you would think there would be such a better way.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (20:17)

You think about how different our world is today than hundreds of years ago, and yet we are solving some conflict in the same manner. And the long -lasting repercussions is what really stood out to me when I read your book was the, and maybe this isn’t a surprise to anyone, but just the weight that you carried home with you metaphorically, of course, just the lives touched, the lives lost, the trauma, the impact on you, and while it may be recognized, I’m not sure it’s always truly appreciated. You know, you’re home, so your home be happy, I imagine. You’re shaking your head.

Joe Soel (21:12)

Yeah, and there’s a lot of truth to, hey, you know, your home, be happy. But it’s hard not to get sucked into that black hole.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (21:20)

Yeah. And I imagine, you know, you mentioned unfortunately the average 22 lives lost a day of our veterans of our armed services. And that is those who, who we can’t help anymore, unfortunately. There are still many who are affected by you sharing your book about drinking. There are other ways that people are suffering as a result. And by no means is this disrespect or a dismissal of the appreciation of service. It’s just what can we continue to do and how do we continue to support and recognize. What are some ways that you have found to…I don’t know if I want to say make peace. That’s the wrong word. But what have been helpful for you? What do you do to continue moving forward?

Joe Soel (22:17)

I continue trying to do good things for others. I try to build a more peaceful world in my community. I try to serve my church. I try to continue on the process of making amends. You know, there’s a, there’s a Linkin Park song, you know. I’m curious how you’re going to go about making amends to the dead. Actually, it’s Perfect Circle but that’s something, that’s a lyric that’s always stuck out to me. And really, all my life is now is I’m making an amends to the dead and continuing to strive on for them and continuing to just try to do the best that I can to honor them through living a good life, really. And trying to keep that in the forefront of my mind, which is not always possible and not always done. But…it’s something you have to try to do. When you’ve been so close to it, you become very affected by it. At least some people do. Some people don’t. Some people come back and they’re just fine, frankly. But for many people, it is not that way.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (23:38)

Great. Great. I am just really touched by your vulnerability in the book and your willingness to speak openly about your experience, recognizing that there is a message of stoicism, you know, for serving. And I think that by sharing your story, you’re really helping everyone gain awareness of the

Joe Soel (23:46)

Thank you.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (24:10)

the toll that’s taken as well as what we can be doing. And as we wrap up this conversation, I’m curious if people could walk away with only one message from this conversation, what would you like it to be?

Joe Soel (24:31)

My message would be to love your neighbor as yourself. And when we love our neighbor as ourselves, when we take into account the Lord Jesus’ golden rule, we know that we cannot harm any other being. Therefore, we should be working for peace, we should be loving, we should be kind, and we should take care of our fellow human beings. We’re kind of stuck on this planet together, we might as well get along.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (25:04)

Well, I hope everyone hears that because we could all use more kindness in our lives, more joy, and just connection to others. And so thank you so much, Jo, for your book, for your advocacy, and for coming on and talking with me today.

Joe Soel (25:26)

Thanks so much, my pleasure.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (25:27)

And if you are interested in learning more and reading Joe’s book, be sure to check it out. It can be found online. It is, again, The Broken Mirror of Memory, Iraq and Other Tales. Thank you all so much for listening.

Joe Soel, author of The Broken Mirror of Memory: Iraq and Other Tales, provides insight into the veteran experience, emphasizing the significance of moral injury, a lesser-known but impactful aspect of military service. As a veteran who served 13 months in Iraq, Joe began writing as a means to process his experiences, eventually turning his […]

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Picture of a prescription pad with the medications methadone buprenorphine naltrexone dsilfram acamprosate and nalmefene. All medications for alcohol or opioid use disorder treatment

A Look at Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

Treating Opioid Use Disorders with Medications

Currently, opioid use disorder is one of only two substance use disorders to have approved medications for their treatment, with many other medications being tested for treatment of methamphetamine use, cocaine use, and other substances. 

Addiction is a chronic brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It disrupts the brain’s reward system, leading to intense cravings and difficulty controlling behavior. Opioids are one of the most common substances of use, and thankfully, medication advancements offer a powerful tool in the fight against addiction.

This article delves into the world of medications for opioid use disorder (OUD). We’ll explore how these medications work, their effectiveness, and how they fit into a comprehensive treatment plan.

NOTE: This article is for informational purposes necessary and is not intended for use in deciding on a medication. Seek guidance from a medical professional if considering medications for opioid or alcohol use disorder.

Why Medications?

Before we look specifically at medications for OUD, we need to acknowledge the role of medications. Addiction fundamentally alters the brain’s chemistry. Over time, repeated substance use disrupts the reward system, making it difficult to experience pleasure without the substance. This creates intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms, which can include physical discomfort like nausea and sweating, as well as psychological distress like anxiety and depression. Medication can help normalize brain chemistry, ease withdrawal symptoms, and reduce cravings. This not only makes the initial stages of recovery more manageable but also allows individuals to focus on behavioral therapy and other strategies to address the underlying causes of addiction and build the life they want moving forward. 

It’s important to acknowledge that withdrawal from any substance is distressful. Furthermore, withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines can result in death. If you or someone you know is experiencing withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines, consider seeking medical attention. 

Opioid Use Disorder

Opioid use has maintained significant attention the past 10+ years as the opioid crisis continues to grip the United States. Millions are struggling with addiction to prescription painkillers and illicit substances. Fortunately, there are four FDA-approved medications proven to be highly effective in managing OUD: methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

  • Methadone: Often considered the gold standard for OUD treatment, methadone is the medication that has been used to treat addiction for the longest period of time. Originally developed in the 1930s in Germany during World War II as a potential replacement for morphine. It wasn’t until the 1960s that methadone’s potential for treating opioid addiction gained traction. Methadone is a full opioid agonist which binds to the same brain receptors as other opioids, which reduces the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It is typically dispensed at specialized clinics known as an Opioid Treatment Program. Methadone is distributed in a liquid form and must be taken daily.
    • STIGMA: Historically, methadone has faced significant stigma despite extensive evidence to demonstrate its efficacy. Often perceived as replacing “one addiction for another,” methadone is frequently viewed unfavorably. In reality, methadone addresses the biochemical impact of ongoing substance use, enabling the individual to work on other aspects impacting their use.
  • Buprenorphine: Originally discovered in the 1960s, like methadone, buprenorphine was initially explored as an alternative for pain relief with a lower potential for dependence than morphine. A partial opioid agonist, buprenorphine partially activates the brain’s opioid receptors, which reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Unlike methadone (the full agonist), buprenorphine has a “ceiling effect,” meaning taking more buprenorphine won’t produce a “high” or “stronger high.” As a result, buprenorphine is less likely to be misused. Buprenorphine comes in various forms, including tablets, films, and long-acting injectables. Unlike methadone, it can be prescribed by general practitioners and is not limited to OTPs. Because of ongoing concerns about misuse, buprenorphine is commonly combined with naltrexone (discussed below).
    • STIMGA: While less stigmatized than methadone, buprenorphine can still be looked down upon by the general public, employers, and individuals in recovery. The average person does not understand the unlikelihood of buprenorphine misuse, thus the ability for them to inappropriately assume it is being misused.
  • Naltrexone: Developed in 1965 at Endo Laboratories during research into medications that block the effects of opioids at the brain receptor level, naltrexone was also explored as a potential pain reliever. However, because naltrexone is short-acting, it had limited effectiveness as a pain relief medication. Its potential use for treating opioid use started in the 1970s and 1980s. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist, meaning it not only blocks the effects of opioids by stopping the opioid from connecting to the opioid brain receptor. Naltrexone can also be used in combination with buprenorphine to discourage misuse or ongoing concurrent opioid use. Ingesting opioids while naltrexone is in the person’s system can cause withdrawal. Naltrexone is available in pill and long-acting injectable forms. It is also an FDA-approved medication for alcohol use disorder.
    • STIGMA: Naltrexone is the least stigmatized medication for OUD. This is likely because it is an opioid antagonist. 

How Effective Are Medications for OUD?

Research overwhelmingly supports the effectiveness of medications for OUD. Studies show that medication significantly reduces:

  • Opioid use: People on medications are more likely to refrain from opioid use or significantly reduce their use.
  • Return to use risk: Medication helps individuals stay in treatment longer, leading to sustained recovery.
  • Overdose deaths: Medications like naltrexone can prevent fatal overdoses by blocking the effects of opioids. Additionally, because withdrawal symptoms are managed through medications, there is less likelihood an individual will consume a substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms. 

Is Medication Alone Effective?

Previously, medications for opioid use disorder were referred to as “medication assisted treatment.” However, research and advocates have demonstrated that medication alone is an effective approach to opioid use disorder. By previously emphasizing “medication assisted treatment,” many individuals were forced to choose between no medications or forced participation in services they felt they didn’t need or which they didn’t want. Recognizing the efficacy of medication alone, similar to how we would view medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., increases accessibility and decreases stigma.

Work with a peer specialist with lived experience with medications for opioid use disorder

Amanda Bosley, Certified Peer Specialist

Connect with Amanda: https://amandabosley.peerspecialist.us/

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Elizabeth Kipp discusses healing from chronic pain addiction and trauma

Healing From Chronic Pain, Addiction, and Trauma

Elizabeth Kipp, a stress management and historical trauma specialist who has overcome chronic pain herself, discusses her holistic approach to healing. Chronic pain, defined as any pain lasting more than 15 days a month for over three months, can manifest physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually or financially. Elizabeth believes the root cause can be a stress response stuck in overdrive, sometimes due to unresolved past trauma. Traditional medicine often manages chronic pain with medication, but Elizabeth’s approach delves deeper. She uses stress management techniques, trauma therapy, and even ancestral clearing to help people heal from chronic pain, recognizing the potential for emotional burdens to be passed down through generations.

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Transcript

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (00:00)
What comes to mind for you when you think about chronic pain? If you’re like me, you think about the physical pain that we experience. Well, in this conversation with Elizabeth Kipp, we all can learn a little bit more about the various ways pain can present and what chronic pain really means, as well as the power to heal that lives within each of us. Stay tuned to be inspired as we continue to reduce the stigma.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (01:36)
Hello and welcome to Recovery Conversations. Today’s conversation is with Elizabeth Kipp, a stress management and historical trauma specialist who uses trauma, trained and informed addiction recovery coaching, ancestral clearing, compassionate inquiry, and yoga to help people with their healing. Elizabeth healed from over 40 years of chronic pain, including anxiety, panic attacks, and addiction. Now in long -term recovery, she guides others to unleash their healing power and finding freedom from suffering as well as living a thriving life. The bestselling author of The Way Through Chronic Pain, Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power. Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining me today.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (02:19)
Well, thanks so much, Whitney. It’s my pleasure to be a guest on your show.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (02:23)
I am just so reflective of how much painting was mentioned in your history in that little bit. And I want us to go there through the way of your work, because it seems like they’re interwoven. Can you tell us exactly what your work is and what led you to doing it?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (02:45)
Well, my business is called Elizabeth Kipp Stress Management Limited or LLC. And all the other things in my bio that you mentioned are under that umbrella. It sounds like I do a lot of things. Those are the modalities that I use to handle that. Now,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (03:03)
Okay.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (03:06)
I think we’re all go with this because we could go in a hundred different directions. I think we’re all go with this is this. The human body has this thing called a stress response. And it’s designed to go when we’re under threat, when we perceive a threat or we’re actually under threat, even perceived, it’s designed to go into the on position. And that creates a physiology, kind of biochemical stuff, mental stuff, puts us in a state where we are physiologically able to address the threat. Then we address the threat, it’s done, we’re safe again, and the stress response goes back into the off position. That’s a balanced stress response.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (03:47)
Mm -hmm.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (03:51)
In chronic pain, the stress response gets stuck in the on position. So that’s an example of chronic stress is an example of chronic pain. Chronic pain is any pain that’s felt 15 days out of 30 for three months or more. Any pain, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, it doesn’t matter. All those things send the same signal to the brain. It hurts the brain can’t tell the difference between a broken bone and a broken heart. So grief is a chronic pain experience if it’s lasting more than, if it fits the definition that we just gave. A divorce is an example. The pain of a divorce is an example of that. Feeling separated from God can be devastating, can be a chronic pain experience.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (04:32)
Yeah.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (04:45)
And walking around with a broken bone that isn’t healing is another one. So those are all examples. And this is the stress response stuck in the on position. And how does that show up physiologically? Imagine you’re walking on eggshells your whole life. You’re in this, that your lifestyle is that. So you’re hypervigilant, always looking for, you know, when am I going to, when’s the next threat coming? Its a kind of thing that’s very corrosive to the body. We’re not made for that. The human machine is just not made for that. So we get chronic disease. It creates so much stress in the system that it creates dis -ease. Also in the chronic pain experience, we have brain fog, we can’t remember things, and we get a pronounced negative mind.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (05:15)
Right.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (05:43)
Every person that I’ve been in the rooms a little over 10 years now in the recovery rooms, every person I know that’s in recovery was a chronic pain, that was an addict, right? To whatever, was a chronic pain sufferer first. And prior to that, they had unresolved trauma in the system they were trying to like deal with one way or another. So that’s why I had the trauma training part in there.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (05:48)
Mm -hmm. Great. Great. yeah.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (06:11)
And that’s why I ended up going into historical trauma because that’s a piece of what we’re carrying, right? We are carrying information from other generations that’s unresolved. So we have unresolved trauma in this lifetime and we’ve got the stuff that we’re carrying from other lifetimes. So that’s kind of, I started in chronic pain. I worked my way back to trauma and then realized that,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (06:20)
Absolutely.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (06:40)
Well, we’re not like Dr. Gabbo Romante says, don’t ask why the pain or why the addiction, ask why the pain, right? So we see all this addictive behavior, but addressing it at its level is not necessarily as effective as working at it at the root level.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (06:47)
pain, right? Absolutely. Thank you. I have never heard chronic pain described in that way and it really opened my awareness because I it makes such sense that you know pain we know pain can be mental, spiritual, emotional, all those other realms financial as you mentioned. So often though we get focus and only think of the pain, the physical pain.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (07:36)
Well, that’s our, but you know, I love that you said that, that you pointed to that because you’re sharing, you’re showing us and reminding us all where we tend to look. We tend to look at the physical when we, when we are kids, right? And we’re in the playground or whatever and so somebody, right. There’s a collision or somebody falls down or whatever, what happens? The adults rush to the area and they try and make that pain go away as fast as possible. It’s usually physical. I say, what’s the message there? The message is, pain is bad. We’re at war with pain. And usually it’s that physical thing. If there’s emotional pain,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (08:16)
They look over the body. Where’s the scratch?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (08:34)
And somebody, at least for me, in my experience, when kids were acting out and I didn’t dare act out, I kept all that stuff inside because I got in so much trouble at home. It was just like, anyway, I was trained different. But when the, when the, some of my classmates would act out, they got, I remember one of my friends, one of the boys in my class who was a good friend of mine, you know, he said whatever he said on him or what it was, it wasn’t that bad. And the teacher got so mad, he ran over to him and picked him up and stuffed him in the trash can. I’m like, who does that? Right? And, all right, so this guy had, he was coming from a mental emotional space, right? There was no kind of understanding about, you know,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (09:15)
my goodness.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (09:30)
When we’re little, we don’t know how to regulate our emotions. And so if the adults in the room have to do that for us, there was no understanding around that. So the mental, the emotional, the spiritual really didn’t get, we’re not focused on that. We’re focused on the physical. So no wonder when we think about pain, we think about chronic pain especially, we think about the physical part.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (09:38)
Great. I mean the whole message then is if we never check in and model that we need to take a look at our other types of pain, that that other type of pain doesn’t matter then. Why, you know, the kid or even the adult, why shouldn’t be feeling this way? I should be fine, right? I didn’t break any bones, you know, so yeah, may have been the most terrifying and life -threatening experience I’ve ever been in, but I’m physically okay. So therefore, I should not be having this internal turmoil.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (10:29)
Exactly. Yeah.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (10:31)
And so thinking then about pain in that way, you know, you mentioned from a historical perspective at carrying on and I picture the weight on someone’s shoulders. How can that impact? I mean, when we have a pain within us that isn’t being acknowledged, how does that manifest?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (10:54)
Well, it usually manifests in behavior, one way or another, if we repress it, it’s still gonna come out in behavior, it’s just gonna come out sideways. So example, when I was little, like four years old, I knew I couldn’t put words on it, but I felt it. I knew that there was something very dark in my family, my immediate family. There was something very dark. And I, because my family, the way they handled things, anything that was unpleasant, they just swept under the rug. I didn’t talk about it, but I felt it. And I didn’t talk about that I felt it. Nobody wanted to hear from me. So, but I felt it.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (11:50)
All right.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (11:55)
And I didn’t know, and I carried it because this is what we do as kids. We feel, well, yes, it’s not just me. This is what we do, right? So we sense something as when we’re young and pardon my throat.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (12:04)
Mm -hmm.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (12:12)
And we see a parent or both parents are distraught about something. And what do we do as children? Automatically, we try and take it on. So if we can relieve the burden from them, then they can take better care of us. It’s very self -focused, right? But that’s…

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (12:28)
Yes. Great.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (12:39)
It’s not just me. It’s like it’s what we do. It’s how we survive in the world. And I didn’t know until I got into the ancestral clearing modality many years later what that was and had to release that burden because I carried it for years. No wonder I had a bad back. Right. So and my mother had suffered with the

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (13:00)
Right.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (13:07)
with spinal issues and she had undiagnosed bipolar disorder, undiagnosed and untreated by bipolar disorder and alcoholism. So my mom and dad both died proximally from alcoholism. So they were carrying a burden and…

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (13:32)
Right.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (13:33)
And my brother handled it a little bit differently than I did, but he still felt it. He kind of, instead of kind of feeling it and doing this holding it thing, he actually kind of had a different trauma kind of, that’s a trauma response. He had a different kind of trauma response, which was, I’m just going to go numb inside. But we’re all familiar with all of these. It just depends on what strategy we’re using in the moment.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (13:55)
Mm -hmm. Absolutely. And thinking of chronic pain and that desire to fix it, the parent that rushes over to the kid or in any situation we have our, we want to fix it, right? We don’t want there to be any discomfort or anything. And so there is certainly a presence of, you know, let’s write a prescription, like let’s do like going to a doctor, even whether it’s emotional, mental health pain or physical pain, there is that almost first thought of what prescription can I write? Have you seen that as having a role in how we need to better approach healing pain?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (14:52)
Well, I’ll say this, opiates and other pain medications have their place. I remember going to the hospital with a four millimeter kidney stone and the pain was just, it had me to my knees. And they gave me a shot of Dilaudid that handled the pain. And that was the last, that was it. It was over. Like it was this kind of one and done kind of thing. So I was at a level at that point where I was in so much pain I couldn’t even rest. There was just no way. So, and when you’ve had trauma, you’ve been in a car accident or whatever, you’ve had that kind of physical trauma. Opiates are very helpful, but they don’t heal chronic pain. And that’s been the issue is they actually don’t heal the changes that happen in the brain.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (15:31)
Hmm.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (15:52)
as a result of chronic pain. Like I said, we have this negative, it affects the emotions, so we get quite negative. We get brain fog. The brain doesn’t process pain the same. And so there’s a lot of confusion there. The mind gets very agitated, can’t rest. And opiates and benzos don’t help with that. That’s what they did for me. They…They, and there were many other people like me, because I met them. The doctors in my case, I had a back injury that, a broken bone in the base of my spine, which I got when I was 14. I didn’t really realize that it was a problem until about 14 years later, I had to have surgery. And they tried to do a bone fusion, it took three tries to do it. And then we had to have a corrective surgery after that. And as soon as just going into the first surgery, they started me on benzodiazepines, anti -anxiety medicine and the opiates. What I didn’t see, that was a problem, but I ended up on those for 31 years. And before I found a doctor that could take me off them and actually could help me heal chronic pain.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (17:08)
wow.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (17:12)
All the doctors that I worked with, they didn’t understand really the nature of product pain. And their only answer was, here are your opiates and your benzos. This is the best quality of life that we can give you. You’re not going to heal and I have a science background and I was trained as a research scientist. So I was kind of taught analytical thinking and how to design experiments and things like that. And when I heard that, I thought to myself, what are the assumptions under this diagnosis, the prognosis that I’m not going to heal? Well, that doctor is talking about a healing model that has framework. And he wasn’t allowing, none of them were allowing for the fact that that model could change and that maybe their model was short sighted and maybe missing some aspects. So I knew that they were telling me more about the limitation of the model they were working with than they were telling you about my ability, the body’s ability to heal.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (18:21)
Wow.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (18:22)
So that was a saving grace for me. Anyway, I finally, that was their only answer. And I brought in other modalities and stuff. I had the last 15 years of those 31 years was Ativan and Fentanyl. So it’s kind of amazing that I’m even here.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (18:41)
Wow.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (18:44)
I got off all that stuff and a year after I got off all that stuff, the LA Times did an investigation because part of the opiates that I was on was Oxycontin. The LA Times was doing an investigative report. They broke the Purdue Pharma story. I was Dr. Preskoff who took me through his treatment program and he talks me. He suggested that they talk that they…

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (18:57)
Hmm.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (19:13)
they talked to me, just they interviewed him and he said, you need to talk to Elizabeth Gibb. Anyway, so I’m sitting in Cafe Gratitude in West Hollywood talking to this LA Times reporter about my experience. And she’s asked me very pointed questions. When did you do, what was the prescription, when did you do all these different questions? Very careful questions. And I just told her my experience. She was just asking what my experience was and I told her. I told her my experience. And I was about six months, six months to a year after I’d gotten, gotten clean from all this stuff. So still pretty wound up, right? My nervous system still recovering, right? Wound up for so many years. So I mean, I’m still, I’m better, but I’m still, I didn’t have any pain or anything, but I,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (20:00)
Yes, absolutely.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (20:07)
My nervous system still wrapped up. And at the end of the interview, after I finished answering her question, she said, you know, we’ve discovered that Purdue Pharma knew that this Oxycontin wasn’t a 12 hour drug. They knew it was this short acting drug. And I’m telling you the level of betrayal that I felt in that moment, and I’m sitting in public, not even in my own home with somebody who I’ve just met, right? And I was just like, what? I was just, I was very, I felt betrayed and I’m now a betrayal, trauma recovery coach, by the way, right? But I felt betrayed on like some level I can’t even explain. Anyway, I,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (20:59)
Absolutely.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (21:04)
I had to learn how to handle that. And because I just felt the injustice of that, which was just really hard. And I thought to myself, well, you know, I can get really angry about this and I can go and fight with Purdue Pharma and I can jump on the bandwagon and, you know, try and get in the…because there’s a big lawsuit, there has been all that stuff. And I thought, but I only have so much energy.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (21:34)
to settle in.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (21:40)
What would be the best use of my energy? And the best use of my energy was to clear the charge around my own reaction to their, because it wasn’t what they did was not personal to me. It was personal, but it wasn’t, I’m just saying like I had to change my perspective on how I was experiencing this relationship I had with this drug company to try and,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (22:07)
Yeah.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (22:10)
come to some kind of peace with what had happened to me and drop into the gift of the experience rather than the betrayal that I felt. Like, how am I going to spend my energy in this space? Like, what’s the best use of my energy? So I did that work, right? I did that work. And I’m glad I did because…I feel like I got to a level of inner peace faster in my recovery than I would have otherwise.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (22:45)
Just 31 years of opioids and you mentioned benzodiazepines as well. For anyone who isn’t aware, even if you are taking it exactly as prescribed, that will cause a dependence in the body. You mentioned the impact on, you know, neurologically as far as like the chemicals in our body and how our brain functions is impacted again, even if you take it exactly as prescribed. Then going through the detox and tapering off, your body is now learning how to function without those chemicals in your body and having to rewire pathways. You hear or you learn that, you know, certainly like you said, it wasn’t Purdue didn’t say I’m going to target Elizabeth. it was presented as a valid treatment model at the time. And then you learned that they knew really that it was likely going to result in significant dependence and you were able in that pain again pain to target where your energy went. I’m just blown away by that because I don’t think the majority of us are able to separate from that in emotional response or reaction. Maybe I should say reaction instead of response.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (24:17)
Well, thank you for seeing that. Yes, I took those medications exactly as prescribed. Still got in trouble with them. Funny enough, it was harder for me to get off the benzodiazepines than it was the opiates, by the way. My nervous system took longer to detox from them. I mean, just the fallout from the benzos was just phenomenal.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (24:36)
No, I’m short.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (24:48)
I have to say that I had a few things going for me. I had wonderful mentors and teachers and people around me. I had the rooms where I found my voice. I literally was not used to being able to sit in a room and share with anybody without anybody coming back and saying, say it like this, or interrupting me. I just like, that was amazing to me that they said they.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (25:12)
I’m going to go ahead and close the video.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (25:17)
wow, it was amazing, right? So anybody says to me now, you know, if I say something and say, say it like this, I’m like, I said it the way I said it, because I meant it. I’m just saying. So I had I had a lot of support. And I also came in with this gift. One of the we come in with the gifts and the burdens of our ancestors.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (25:26)
Hahaha! Absolutely, I love that.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (25:45)
I came in, I swear, I came in with the gift of gratitude. So I already had this perspective of when it hit the fan in my life, it’s like, okay, yeah, I’m at a low point, what’s the opposite high point? So I kind of understood there’s this equal and opposite reaction in life and it was gratitude was always the high point. So I kind of had that kind of deal going on anyway. So it was something I practiced my whole life. There was that. And then the other part was I did a lot of, I got into ancestral clearing, which was a modality that John Newton of Health Beyond Belief offered as part of Dr. Peter Prescott’s pain management program at the Betty Ford Center. And in treatment when I was there, he was a wellness practitioner, he brought it there. And it was very helpful to me because it helped me. So if we’re having a reaction to the present moment and it’s a big, you know, we feel a big charge in the body, there’s an expression in recovery rooms, if it’s hysterical, it’s historical.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (27:02)
Wow.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (27:03)
So I knew when I lit up like a Christmas tree in Cafe Gratitude in West Hollywood with this reporter and this news, I knew it wasn’t about that. I knew it had a root in the past and I did the work, right, to clear that. And it had this beautiful effect on clearing the present, right. So those are the kinds of things that help guide me through that.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (27:35)
And just to tie it to what you were saying earlier, when you said you knew it was something from the past for you, whether it’s your past or past on through prior generations, you had earlier talked about when we treat pain, we are not, or same with addiction, look for the pain, we aren’t actually treating the cause of it. With medications especially, we are just kind of numbing it and not saying, okay, what’s the source of it? So you, in this time, recognize it sounds like that Purdue doctors were not the source of that feeling that you had. You went and said, where’s the original source and let me heal from there.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (28:23)
Yeah. Yep, exactly. Yeah.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (28:28)
that that’s powerful to be and I imagine then as a result there are other areas of your life that healed not just to be able to come to a place of peace with the you know opioid scandal really but if you go back to the root cause they’re gonna it’s gonna have an effect on many things I think. Is that right?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (28:56)
You cut out there for just a moment, but I’m pretty sure I got the gist of it. Yes, that’s right. And I can say, I can take you, I know enough about my own family history to give you a hint about where the root of it was for me and my lineage, right? So on my mother’s side,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (28:59)
I’m sorry.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (29:23)
we actually have records that go back like 12 generations. So we actually know what kind of went down. We know it kind of enlarged, we know if in certain events the family was involved in certain events. And so one of the things that happened was King Louis XIV decreed, made this, said that the Catholics had to renounce

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (29:32)
Yeah.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (29:51)
see, no, so the Protestants had to renounce their Protestant ways and become Catholic or they’d lose their land. And so that was the Huguenots, right? They got, so there’s a historical thing. So my family got, were Huguenots and they got caught up in that. So just in that little part,

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (30:17)
Wow.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (30:21)
of the family, there was this religious persecution. So that was unjust, it just kind of seemed like a political whim, like it was kind of a land grab thing going on. It wasn’t actually religious, it was actually a land grab. So, right, injustice. So you can see that that’s going to create a charge in somebody. And if you don’t resolve that, it’s just going to get passed down in the lineage.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (30:44)
Yes. Right.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (30:49)
which I could get into the science of that, but I’m not sure we want to go there.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (30:53)
We may have to just do another episode and talk about that. Because we, you know, we parent how we were parented and we have values that we pass along from generation to generation. So it makes sense. And this is just amazing. I really am not familiar with this work and I’m so glad that I got to learn about it and that our listeners do too. And if they want to learn more, if they want to work with you, how…how do they connect with you?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (31:23)
you can find me at my website, which is elizabeth-kip.com. You have to put a hyphen between my first and last name. Otherwise you’ll find elizabethkip .com is a web designer and a photographer and she’s amazing, but she’s not me. Elizabeth -kip .com. You can book a session there. There’s lots of free resources. There’s a blog.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (31:42)
Nice. wonderful.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (31:51)
check all my interviews. There’s lots of stuff on the website so you can find me there or you can find me anywhere on social media as well.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (31:59)
Okay. And you have a book, I know. So we, someone can use also get that. And I imagined, the way through chronic pain. Love that.

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (32:06)
Yep. That went in. And by the way, Dr. Peter Preskop, who had his beautiful pain management program at the Betty Ford Center, it’s not there anymore, but it was there when he was there, Conquer Chronic Pain and Innovative Mind -Body Approach. It’s a beautiful book. These two books together are a great resource for healing chronic pain. Peter passed away in 20…2015, 2016, I can’t remember now, but he left us this beautiful book. So.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (32:39)
Great, well, we’ll make sure that we link to it. And so before we go, I would love to ask you the question that we ask everyone, which is if people take one thing away from our discussion today, what would you like it to be?

Elizabeth Kipp, Stress Management & Historical Trauma Specialist (32:55)
I would like it to be that the greatest healer in your life lives within you. The doctor can set a bone and stitch up a wound, but it can’t tell the body how to heal. Only the body knows how to, the mind -body spirit knows how to do that. So check your reference point.

Whitney Menarcheck | she/her (33:13)
Wow, that’s a great way to a great message to take away from this. Thank you Elizabeth so much for taking the time to speak with me and share your knowledge and awareness of really the power to heal from within with all of our listeners. And if you are finding this as exciting of a conversation as I am, please be sure to like it and share it with someone who can benefit as well. The more we get these messages and stories and resources out there, the more we can reduce the stigma. Thank you.

Elizabeth Kipp, a stress management and historical trauma specialist who has overcome chronic pain herself, discusses her holistic approach to healing. Chronic pain, defined as any pain lasting more than 15 days a month for over three months, can manifest physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually or financially. Elizabeth believes the root cause can be a […]

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Text that says Pride Month on a rainbow colored background that looks like multicolored smoke. LGBTQ+

Celebrating PRIDE: Lifting Up and Supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ Community

Every June, the world explodes in a vibrant display of rainbows as Pride Month takes center stage. It’s a time to celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) – their rich history, their diverse identities, and their ongoing fight for equality. But Pride Month is more than just parades and parties. It’s a crucial moment to raise awareness, dismantle harmful stereotypes, and advocate for a world free from discrimination, including addressing the specific mental health and addiction needs of this community.

A Spectrum of Identities:

The 2SLGBTQIA+community encompasses a beautiful tapestry of identities. Here’s a brief breakdown of some key terms:

  • Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
  • Gay: A man who is attracted to other men.
  • Bisexual: An individual attracted to more than one gender.
  • Transgender: An individual whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
  • Queer: An umbrella term for individuals who identify outside of the traditional gender binary (man/woman) or heterosexual orientation.
  • Intersex: Individuals born with sex characteristics (chromosomes, genitals, or hormones) that don’t fit the typical definitions of male or female.
  • Asexual: Individuals who experience little or no sexual attraction.
  • Two-Spirit: An Indigenous North American term for individuals who embody both masculine and feminine spirits.

Unique Challenges, Unequal Outcomes:

The 2SLGBTQIA+ community faces a unique set of challenges that contribute to higher rates of mental health concerns and addiction compared to the general population. Here’s why:

  • Discrimination and Stigma: Constant societal pressure to conform, experiences of prejudice, and lack of acceptance can lead to anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation.
  • Minority Stress: The chronic stress of navigating a world that may not be accepting contributes to mental health challenges.
  • Limited Access to Affirming Care: Finding healthcare providers who are culturally competent and sensitive to 2SLGBTQIA+ issues can be difficult.
  • Family Rejection: Rejection from family members due to sexual orientation or gender identity can be devastating and contribute to mental health problems.
  • Violence and Victimization: 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are more likely to experience violence and victimization, further impacting mental health.
  • Potential Loss of Rights: As of 5/28/24, there are 515 bills in state legislation across the United States that threaten the rights and freedoms of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Substance Use as a Coping Mechanism:

Unfortunately, some individuals in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community may turn to substance use as a way to cope with the stress, anxiety, and depression they experience. This can lead to a cycle of addiction that can be difficult to break without addressing the underlying mental health issues.

Addressing the Disparity:

Creating a more supportive environment and promoting mental health and addiction recovery within the LGBTQIA2SL+ community requires a multi-pronged approach:

  • Increased Access to Affirming Care: Training healthcare providers on 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and creating inclusive healthcare spaces is crucial.
  • Mental Health Awareness Campaigns: Openly discussing mental health within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community can normalize seeking help and reduce stigma.
  • Support Groups: Providing safe spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals to connect with others who understand their struggles can be immensely helpful.
  • Culturally Competent Treatment Programs: Addiction treatment programs that cater to the specific needs of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community can lead to better outcomes.

Celebrating Strength and Resilience:

Despite facing numerous challenges, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community possesses incredible strength and resilience. Here are some ways to celebrate that spirit during Pride Month and beyond:

  • Highlight 2SLGBTQIA+ Mental Health Advocates: Recognize community leaders and organizations working to break down stigma and provide support.
  • Promote 2SLGBTQIA+ Mental Health Resources: Share information about hotlines, support groups, and treatment centers specializing in LGBTQIA2SL+ mental health.
  • Focus on Self-Care: Encourage self-care practices within the community, such as mindfulness, healthy relationships, and physical activity, all of which contribute to well-being.

Beyond Pride Month:

Pride Month is a powerful catalyst for change, but true inclusivity requires sustained effort throughout the year. Here’s how you can be an ally in supporting the mental health and addiction recovery needs of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community:

  • Advocate for Inclusive Policies: Support policies that promote 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and access to healthcare.
  • Challenge Discrimination: Speak out against discrimination in healthcare settings, workplaces, and social environments.
  • Educate Yourself: Continue learning about the specific challenges faced by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community regarding mental health and addiction.

By celebrating diversity, dismantling stigma, and creating a more supportive environment, we can work towards a future where all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community can thrive – mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Connect with a 2SLGBTQIA+ supportive peer specialist:

Every June, the world explodes in a vibrant display of rainbows as Pride Month takes center stage. It’s a time to celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) – their rich history, their diverse identities, and their ongoing fight for equality. But Pride Month is more than just parades and […]

Continue reading "Celebrating PRIDE: Lifting Up and Supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ Community"
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