I’m sure there’s a healthy amount of skepticism about my mental state given that in my corporate job I was traveling to places like Hawaii on a regular basis and had a great team of people working for, and around, me. I was at the stage in my career where I wasn’t afraid to speak up, disagree, be passionate, fight for my clients, and my team, and from the outside had that “glamorous” job that people might strive for.

Today, Aug. 31, is International Overdose Awareness Day, and for those of us with a loved one who has experienced the horror of an overdose, it's an important time to let others know what's happening and why. For context on the number of people we lost in 2017, see the below chart that compares overdose deaths to things like car crashes, breast cancer, AIDS and even the entire Vietnam War (spoiler alert, OD deaths surpass them all by far)

…agents allegedly found fentanyl [the drug] in four packages concealed in the passenger-side rear quarter panel of Peraza’s car. The [20,000] pills were designed to resemble M30s, or Oxycodone tablets, officials said.

"He's manipulating you."

"You know he's lying right to your face!"

"If you do that you're just enabling him."

"He said he would never do that again, and there he goes..."

How do you not give up?

One day we went to a sandwich shop to grab lunch and a song came on in the cafe while we ate. As soon as the song started my new boss's entire demeanor changed in a heartbeat, his smile disappeared and he started actually crying. For context, this was a very successful and highly professional/together man in his mid-fifties, I was early 20's, and had never experienced anything like it before - sitting in public eating a sandwich with your boss and he completely loses it and starts sobbing....one of those "what do I do now" moments.

Currently, Xanax is the tranquilizer drug of choice for 12th graders, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Additionally, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that young adults were the most likely to have used Xanax or the related drug lorazepam for non-medical purposes. In fact, more than 10 percent of adolescents ages 18 to 25 abuse Xanax. This is nearly double the rate of people ages 26 and over.

The cost of treating opioid addiction and overdose – stemming from both prescription and illicit drug use – among people with large employer coverage has increased sharply, rising to $2.6 Billion in 2016 from $0.3 Billion 12 years earlier, a more than nine-fold increase.

….dentists and oral surgeons are the number one prescribers of opioids for adolescents aged 10-19. Parents need to be aware and ask for alternatives.

Transportation is the largest barrier for people seeking and receiving addiction treatment. A walk to the bus stop might be dotted with temptations. Harsh winter temperatures could dissuade someone from making the trek. A chaotic trip back could take away from time to reflect on what they’ve learned in treatment.