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“I didn’t want to go detox … When I got there, I thought,‘ What am I doing here? “” said the Secretary of Labor in an interview with CNN during National Recovery Month, which has taken on an additional level of relevance as Covid-19 fuels concerns about an increase in addiction in the United States.
The interview comes as the Biden administration seeks to address addiction issues in the United States, which appear to have reached a boiling point amid the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded more than 93,000 deaths from U.S. overdoses last year and it appears that alcohol consumption among American adults has increased.
Walsh joined the program in 1995, years before landing in the political world. He said his relationship with alcohol at the time seemed like a “love story,” such was the power of addiction. But “the fun started to go away and then they started going off.”
“Then problems happen,” Walsh said.
During the pandemic, there has been more stress caused by job insecurity, occupational hazards, illness and the death of hundreds of thousands of loved ones. There has been less capacity in addiction treatment facilities. And the most common, Walsh argued, is that people have felt more isolated.
The spread of coronavirus “hasn’t challenged my sobriety, but I think the pandemic has forced a lot of people to move away from the traditional Alcoholics Anonymous and move away from the traditional supports they have,” Walsh said. “And even I escaped meetings. I was in Zoom, but I escaped meetings.”
Overdose deaths are maximum. And alcohol consumption by American adults appears to have increased during the pandemic, with nearly 1 in 4 adults reporting drinking more to cope with stress in a survey by the American Psychological Association.
“I’m sorry,” Walsh added. “I didn’t want to drink it. But you just feel it inside you; it’s like you’re nervous or you don’t feel it. You don’t have problems with situations and problems going on around here.”
Ultimately, Walsh said, he largely decided to commit to the program more than 20 years ago to address how his relationship with alcohol was affecting his mental health.
“I felt like I was sad, depressed … maybe I wasn’t definitely clinically depressed, but I was depressed and had that pit in my stomach,” Walsh said. “And I wanted to get rid of it. I haven’t had that pit in my stomach for over 20 years.”
Break the stigma
Walsh’s recovery has become a central part of his political identity.
Two years after going into detox, he became a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. It was at the state house, he said, that he decided to talk about his recovery after hearing his mentor Kevin Fitzgerald, a former Massachusetts state lawmaker, talk openly about his own recovery.
When Walsh rose through the ranks of politics and became mayor of Boston, he remained candid about his recovery journey, opening his 2016 speech at the Democratic National Convention by saying, “My name is Marty Walsh and I am alcoholic “.
“I think it’s important to break the stigma and let people know that it’s okay to admit that you don’t have power over alcohol, that you don’t have drugs, and that you can get help,” Walsh said.
While Walsh was the mayor of Boston, the city launched several initiatives aimed at helping people suffering from addiction, including the Office of Recovery Services. Boston also started a 24-hour recovery hotline and demanded that all public safety vehicles in the city be equipped with naloxone, a drug that can turn some people into opioid overdoses.
Since becoming secretary of labor, Walsh says he has held talks with various federal agencies about recovery-related programs that have followed the model of his job as mayor.
He also stressed the importance of having under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor the implementation of the Parity Equity and Mental Health Addictions Act of 2008. Under the Biden administration, the federal government has shown renewed interest. to enforce the law, which requires that insurance coverage for mental health disorders, including treatment for substance use disorders, be no more restrictive than coverage for medical benefits.
“Presidentbvidly, President Biden is also focusing on this. I have had good talks with President Biden about the recovery and the need for more programming,” Walsh added.
But he warned that “we can have all the programs in the world, but if people are not willing to get into it, that’s a problem.”
“When someone needs a bed, we have to have a bed for anyone who wants it,” Walsh said.
The pandemic creates a nightmare of addiction
The conditions caused by the pandemic have apparently created a perfect storm of addiction and relapse, which has led to isolation, stress and labor shortages in some sectors of the economy.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policies said in its one-year policy priorities that while there are some protections for people with a history of substance use disorders under the White House Americans with disabilities in 1990, “employers are often reluctant to hire a person with a history of substance use disorder,” arguing that the federal government should find ways to “remove barriers to employment and create employment programs.” employment for people recovering from addiction. ”
Asked about the role the federal government plays in reducing recruitment stigma, Walsh said, “I think the federal government can tell the story of recovery and giving people second chances and maybe a third chance.”
“You’re talking to the secretary of labor of the United States of America, who is a recovering alcoholic. Someone gave me a second chance,” he added.
If you or someone you know needs help dealing with a drug or alcohol addiction, call the substance abuse and mental health services hotline at 1-800-662-4357.
[ad_2]Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/politics/marty-walsh-national-recovery-month/index.html [ad_2]
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