For National Recovery Month, the Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group participated in Statesboro's Mobilize Recovery event on the Georgia Southern campus!
For this event, we prepared a handout discussing the relationship between disability and substance use disorder. You can find a handout of the PDF attached below, and read further in the blog for its contents in text format.
Empowering Recovery: Peer Support In Disability And Substance Abuse
Understanding the Intersection
Written by Executive Director Jill King
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has found that the disabled community has higher rates of both substance abuse and serious mental illness, as well as lower treatment rates compared to their nondisabled peers (SAMHSA Advisory, linked here).
Alongside those with physical and cognitive disabilities having higher rates of addiction, the opioid crisis has greatly impacted those disabled by chronic pain conditions. This has been linked to overprescription, misuse, and self-medication (Boston University, linked here). The latter two are indicative of a larger issue; inaccessible healthcare.
Research on substance abuse, serious mental illness, and the disabled community has shown the power of peer support (Nicholson, et al. Linked here) and collaborative care (Ee, et al. Linked here). Peer support is a staple in both recovery and disability justice, securing social support and connection. Collaborative care ensures care for the whole person and their environment, working towards long term recovery for disabled patients.
Resources for Recovery
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (gasubstanceabuse.org/resources/)
Georgia Southern Center for Addiction Recovery (jphcoph.georgiasouthern.edu/addiction/)
Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network (gmhcn.org/resources)
Further Education
NOVA: Addiction (Documentary available on Kanopy, linked here)
My Brain Works Differently: Autism And Addiction (TedTalk available on Youtube, linked here)
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