An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs by Kim Rosenthal, MD

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

Table of Contents* Introduction……………………............................................................................... 3

Why quit?........................................................................................................ 4

What’s Drug Treatment About?………………………………………………………………….. 5

Serious Addiction Quiz with Some Ridiculous Stuff……………………………………… 7

Crossword Puzzle………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

You Might Be an Addict If……………………………………………………………………………. 9

Stages of Recovery……………………………………………………………………………………….10

“Ten Excuses to Stop Using” Word Search.………………………………………………….. 12

About the Author……………………………………………………………………………………….…13

Answers to Puzzles………………………………………………………………………………………. 14

* Most of the pages listed above are not included in this preview. To see the full version, check out

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

So you’re trying to stop using? Simple

enough. Just follow the arrows.

About Drug Treatment, Sorta (Part 1)

What treatment is available?

Here’s a list of recommended treatments from the

National Institute of Health (NIH). Check those

that (a) you’d like to try or (b) have helped you in

the past.

Medical treatment of withdrawal symptoms

General counseling (support, learn new skills)

Behavioral counseling (change attitude and

behaviors related to drug use)

Cognitive therapy (recognize, avoid, and cope

with thoughts that trigger cravings)

Relapse prevention counseling

Seeking Safety (for people with substance

abuse and history of trauma)

Therapeutic community, residential treatment,

recovery housing, Matrix Model

Medications and devices

Psychiatry and primary care treatment for other

medical and psychiatric disorders

But really, that’s all there is?

No, no! Here’s stuff to add to the NIH list.

Check those that (a) you’d like to try or (b) have

been helpful in the past.

12-step program

Access to day-to-day life skills training (how

to cook, set up a schedule, write an Excel

spreadsheet, etc)

Assistance dealing with the aftermath of

addiction (guilt, isolation, consequences of

bad choices)

Legal services for charges, DUI’s, etc

Family therapy and support

Medical services (care for common illnesses

like diabetes or high blood pressure)

Vocational services (assist with job

application, interview, and placement)

Educational services (help apply to and stay

in school, assistance with homework)

What’s the goal of recovery?

Come on, what a question.

Goal = to stop using over the long haul and create a

new clean and sober version of yourself. That

means fulfillment, future, and fun.

What’s addiction, you ask?

The formal version: Addiction is a chronic

disease characterized by compulsive and

uncontrollable using behavior despite harmful

consequences. It can produce long-lasting

changes in the brain. Addiction is often a

relapsing disease.

The informal version: Addiction messes you up,

messes your family up, messes your life up. It

takes away your future and dreams.

Next page

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

Serious Addiction Quiz

with some ridiculous stuff Choose the correct answer.

True or False Questions

1. Tolerance happens when you need more drug to get the same

response. It means you’ve built up a tolerance to its effects.

2. In the body, cocaine is changed into Beta-3-cocaine dehydrogenase,

a kind of poison that kills possums but not humans.

3. Mixing alcohol and benzodiazepines (like Xanax or Klonopin) can

be deadly. Mixing opioids (like heroin or pain killers) and

benzodiazepines can be deadly. Mixing alcohol and opioids is also

dangerous. It’s all dangerous!

4. There are phone apps that can help you stay clean; they read your

mind and give you a shock each time you think about drugs.

5. Alcohol dehydrogenase is a chemical in the body that changes alcohol into a toxic substance; this

toxic substance causes hangovers.

6. Mixing alcohol and Tylenol together doesn’t cause liver problems.

7. Painful toenails are the worst medical problem you can get from cocaine.

8. Methamphetamines can cause permanent brain damage.

Bonus questions

9. What is withdrawal?

a. Mental and physical problems you can get when suddenly stopping drugs or alcohol after long-

term heavy use

b. Backwards “withdrawal” is spelled “lawardthiw”

c. In Spanish, “withdrawal” translates to “withdrawo”

d. A is the right answer

e. All of the above

f. A is the right answer, we promise. Okay, D too.

10. To quit drugs, which of the following must be true?

a. Somebody must want you to quit

b. You need to want to quit

c. You must own a dog that wants you to quit

d. You must live next to a DEA agent

e. You must use or have used drugs.

Answers.

1. True. 2. False. There’s no such thing as cocaine dehydrogenase, and it has nothing to do with possums.

3. True. 4. False. Apps can’t read minds. Not yet. But we know what you’re thinking. 5. True. 6.

False. Alcohol and Tylenol are a bad mix and can cause instant liver failure. 7. False. Cocaine can

cause strokes and heart attacks, among other things. 8. True. 9. A,D, and F are all true. 10. B and

maybe E.

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

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An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

About the Author

When not writing, Kim Rosenthal practices life as a physician. Dr. Kim’s career as a travelling psychiatrist has led her from countryside to big cities to places where no one speaks English. The author attended medical school in Texas, is board-certified, has licenses in Hawaii, Maine, and North Carolina, as well as a medical degree equivalency in Spain. Over the past 19 years, she has helped thousands of people deal with and get past mental illness and embrace a positive future. Dr. Kim believes that mental health is more than surviving bad moments. It’s remembering what makes life worth it. These days the author works as an attending psychiatrist at Broughton State Hospital in North Carolina.

The author is currently working on a clinical publication for recovering addicts. It’s called the Wacky and Wonderful Recovery Workbook and features worksheets about alter egos, inventions, poetry, art therapy, puzzles, strange scenarios and… you guessed it, dozens of cartoons.

If you want to read more by Dr. Kim, check out kimrosenthalmd.com. The site includes

more than 110 mental health posts plus information on the Wacky and Wonderful

Recovery Workbook.

An (Unusual) Intro to Quitting Drugs – Kim Rosenthal, MD

Kim Rosenthal, MD

Copyright 2019