Addiction in the Veterinary Population

Addiction has been described as an inappropriate and dangerous way of resolving mental pain or stress. Just as we vets, for all sorts of reasons, can suffer from stress, anxiety and depression, many of us turn to addictive substances or processes to give ourselves a break. Unfortunately, this leads to more problems in the longer term.

We, along with other health professionals, are often addicted to more than one substance. Some of these are alcohol, ketamine, benzodiazepines, opiates, street drugs (cannabis, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy) and nitrous oxide.

Addiction can affect all aspects of our lives including home life, working relationships, professional competence and business competence.

The good news is that with intervention, and a one-to-one individually tailored therapy programme, a high proportion of addicts will return quickly to work and to normal family relationships.

The author has personal knowledge of a number of addicts in recovery. When tailored solutions are not, for whatever reason, possible he is impressed with the various 12-step programs available (see under Addiction – Resources).

We intend to further update and upgrade these pages shortly.  

Advice from a Colleague

A colleague who works in the field of addiction asked the author to make some important points.

• Addiction to drugs and alcohol is not something which is limited to a particular profession or type of person. Addiction does not discriminate. 
• With support, addiction can be overcome, people can and do recover – this is often speeded up when support is available.

Support

Support comes in a number of guises:

• Professional help from a GP

• Professional help from a substance misuse practitioner (see Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme)

• Residential rehab

• Quasi residential service (access on a daily basis)

• Mutual aid groups such as the 12-step programs

All services are confidential and many can be accessed free of charge as they are provided by local authorities, the NHS or third sector organisations.

Recovery from addiction is contagious.  Spending time with other people who are recovering from addiction, those on their own recovery journey, is useful because other recovering addicts are often the best placed to help.  This is why mutual aid groups such as AA and NA are beneficial.

People can and do recover

Signs in Others Which May Point to Addiction…

• Being withdrawn and not associating with former friends

• Inappropriate dispensing and drug ordering

• Keeping large stocks of controlled drugs in the surgery

• Deterioration in general health

• Increased visits to the doctor

• Reduced fee income

• Cancelling appointments without warning, especially on Monday mornings

• Being secretive about income and debts

• Smelling of drink or appearing unsteady

• Evidence of domestic problems

• Increased/numerous client complaints

• Prosecution for drink driving or other infringements of the law

• Deterioration in appearance or personal hygiene

• Loss of interest in hobbies

• Correspondence neglected and bills not paid

• Personality changes and mood swings (nurses often notice this)

See also:-
Anxiety, Stress & Depression
Sickness & Disability Rights & Support
Vets & Debt 

Alcohol Addiction

Are you addicted?

Here are 10 questions that may help you to decide whether you have a problem with alcohol:

1. I continue to use alcohol in spite of increasingly serious negative consequences.

2. I have made attempts to cut down and control my drinking with little or no success.

3. I feel very guilty after I have been drinking.

4. I have had financial difficulties as a result of my drinking.

5. Alcohol is a cause of domestic difficulty.

6. I often have to take other drugs in order to cope with the effects of the alcohol.

7. I have missed or avoided work or school because of alcohol use.

8. I have had had legal or financial problems as a result of alcohol use.

9. The thought of living without alcohol frightens me.

10. I feel that I must have alcohol in order to interact with other people.

(Source: Lifeworkscommunity.com)

Here is a questionnaire which will enable you to further evaluate whether you're alcohol consumption is harmful.

You Alone Can Do It But You Can't Do It Alone

See the Addiction – Resources page for more addiction and alcohol information.

Quick links for Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol Concern

Alcohol Concern home page

A national agency on alcohol misuse – a comprehensive website. Provides factsheets, publications and an online library database.

Action on Addiction

Action on Addiction home page

A national charity with treatment centres throughout England – a very comprehensive website.

SMART Recovery UK

SMART Recovery UK website

A new approach for the UK – abstinence oriented and meeting based mutual support for recovering addicts – based on a number of pooled scientific approaches including CBT rather than the more spiritual base of the 12-step programs.

Wired in to recovery

Wired in home page

A forum for people to share their experiences, ask for support. It can all be done anonymously under a pseudonym. A very popular site.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous home page

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

Al-Anon

Al-Anon home page
Worldwide 12-step fellowship* open to anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking. They believe alcoholism is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery.

*See 12-step programs under Addiction – Resources

Drug Addiction

Are you addicted?

12 questions that may help you to decide whether you have a problem with drug misuse:

1. Have you made attempts to cut down or control your drug use with little or no success?

2. Have you substituted one kind of drug for another, hoping that this would solve your problem?

3. In the past three months, have you used drugs to wake up or fall asleep?

4. Have you ever taken a drug without knowing what it was or what it might do to you?

5. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about using or planning your next fix?

6. Have you ever taken one drug to deal with the effects of another?

7. Have you missed or avoided work or school because of drug use?

8. Is your drug use a cause of domestic difficulties?

9. Have you ever overdosed on drugs?

10. Have you had legal or financial problems as a result of drug use?

11. Do you continue to use drugs in spite of increasingly serious negative consequences?

12. Does the thought of living without drugs frighten you?

(Source: lifeworkscommunity.com)

Quick Links for Drug Addiction

National Drugs Helpline – 0800 776600

National Drugs Helpline home page – an independent government funded website which offers telephone and e-mail contact as well as a lot of information – not only for users but for family and friends.

DrugScope

DrugsScope home page – the leading independent centre of expertise on drugs and drug use – this is an independent charity. Again a very comprehensive website.

12 Step Groups:

Narcotics Anonymous – 0845 373 33 66
The NA Helpline is often the first point of contact for people needing support and advice about the nature of drug addiction. Anyone from the using addict, their friends and family members through to drug workers and the press are welcome to call.

The helpline is manned by recovering addicts, many of whom called the Helpline themselves at some point and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but if, for some reason, an answer-phone is reached, callers are asked to leave a message and are later contacted discreetly.

Cocaine Anonymous – 0800 612 0225
12 step programme for cocaine abuse.

Helpline is answered from 10:00 until 22:00 every day.

See the Addiction – Resources  page for more addiction and alcohol information.

Gambling Addiction

Are you addicted?

12 questions that may help you decide whether you have a gambling problem:

1. Do you continue to gamble in spite of increasingly negative consequences?

2. Have you ever borrowed money to finance your gambling?

3. Have you ever gambled for longer than you had planned?

4. Have you ever considered breaking the law to finance your gambling?

5. Do you regularly suffer remorse or guilt after gambling?

6. Is your gambling a cause of domestic difficulties?

7. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about gambling or planning your next session?

8. Have you ever taken or sold anything to finance your gambling?

9. Have you ever missed or avoided work because of gambling?

10. Have you ever gambled until all your money was gone?

11. Have you had legal or financial problems as a result of gambling?

12. Have you ever though of suicide as a result of gambling?

(Source: lifeworkscommunity.com)

See the Addiction – Resources page for more addiction and gambling information.

Eating Disorders

Two personal accounts

Two veterinary surgeons have generously agreed to share their personal experiences of eating disorders and the steps they have taken to recover in the hope that it will encourage others to seek help:

Download a vet's personal account of dealing with anorexia

Download a vet's personal account of dealing with bulimia

Signs which may point to an eating disorder

• Rigid or obsessional behaviour attached to eating, such as cutting food into tiny pieces

• Mood swings

• Restlessness and hyperactivity

• Wearing big baggy clothes

• Vomiting; taking laxatives

Prevalence of eating disorders

The UK vet schools estimate that 10% of their students are suffering from eating disorders and that the disorder has usually started before they come to university. Statistics for the veterinary profession itself are not available. In the general population 6.4% of adults displayed signs of an eating disorder (Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 2007).

Do you have an eating problem?

12 questions that may help you decide if you have a problem:

1. Do your friends and family tell you that you are too thin?

2. Are you extremely anxious about gaining any weight?

3. Do you look at yourself in the mirror and see an overweight person even though weight charts say that your weight is average or below average?

4. Does your self-esteem depend on what you weigh?

5. Do you vomit in order to purge yourself of food or use exercise?

6. If you are a woman, have you stopped having periods?

7. Do you use laxatives, diuretics or enemas to lose weight?

8. Do you lose control of your eating by binging a couple of times a week?

9. Do you have health issues related to food such as worn dental enamel, hair loss, hypoglycaemia or osteoporosis?

10. Are you afraid of losing total control of your weight and eating?

11. Are your eating habits a cause for concern to others?

12. Is the quality of your life dramatically affected by your relationship to food?

(Source: lifeworkscommunity.com)

Getting Help with an Eating Disorder

• The first step for help would usually be your GP or your university health centre or counselling department – click here for a contact list of student support services. 
• The Veterinary Surgeons’ Health Support Programme is available to provide completely confidential professional help with alcohol, drug, addiction & mental health issues and can direct you to more specialist help for your eating disorder. Contact the National Co-ordinator on 07946 634220 or at VSHSP@vetlife.org.uk.
• Vet Helpline offers an empathetic listening service. You can speak to someone with personal experience of the veterinary profession about whatever is troubling you.
  Tel: 07659 811 118 (local call rates apply, 24hr rapid response answer phone).

• b-eat the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, offers information and help on all aspects of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and related eating disorders. They provide a Help Finder Directory and also run a network of self-help groups which you could use if you are not yet in treatment and want some extra help and support to take the first step (or if you are getting treatment but need extra support). The groups can provide you with an opportunity to meet other people who may be in a similar situation to yourself, and to share experiences or just to listen to others. They also offer support groups for carers, who may be looking after an individual with eating distress. 
  They have a Helpline – 0845 634 1414 
  Email: help@b-eat.co.uk
• Associated Addictions – Many people with eating disorders may find that they deal with the difficult emotional issues in their life by turning to alcohol or drugs to help boost their confidence or self-esteem. At least partial rehabilitation may be necessary before treatment for the eating disorder can start. Again, contacting the VSHSP National Co-ordinator on 07946 63422 or at VSHSP@vetlife.org.uk could help you to start the recovery process.
• Overeaters Anonymous - 07000 784 985 – a 12-step fellowship for compulsive overeaters. This is a peer-based support system based on the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous. Read more about these 12-step systems under Addiction – Resources

See the Addiction – Resources page for more information on addiction and eating disorders.

Helping Someone Else with an Addiction

Often people with an addictive problem don't recognise that they have a problem or delude themselves that they can "handle it". Family, friends and colleagues are often the first to realise that someone is ill and needs help.

Others who perceive the problem and recognise that a person is incapable of asking for help often need to intervene.

Some things you can do…

• Contact the Veterinary Surgeons’ Health Support Programme (VSHSP) on 07946 634220 or VSHSP@vetlife.org.uk. This contact will be completely confidential and will set in motion the procedures for that person to be offered professional help.
• Support is also available for family, friends and colleagues who are experiencing difficulties dealing with an addicted person from the Vet Helpline.
• Contact your GP.
• Contact a private treatment clinic. (The VSHSP National Co-ordinator is available to advise on the choice of a suitable clinic at VSHSP@vetlife.org.uk).

Follow the specific links in the Addiction – Resources page

Support for the Families of Addicts

These problems not only affect the individual, but also everyone around them, so it is normal for families to need support.

Many residential treatment programmes will offer help to the family as part of their care package.

As a first step, call our own VBF charities the Veterinary Surgeons' Health Support Programme and Vet Helpline. They understand the impact on family, friends and colleagues and can point you to further help.

Quick Links for Support for Family and Friends

These and other links can also be found on the Addiction – Resources page

Adfam

Adfam home page
Adfam is a national charity working with families affected by drugs and alcohol and is a leading agency in substance related family work. Lots of publications and resources for families about substances and the law including an online message board and a database of local support groups.
Tel: 020 7553 7640

Families Anonymous

Families Anonymous home page
Worldwide 12-step fellowship of relatives and friends of people involved in the abuse of mind-altering substances, or with related behavioural problems. Many local groups across the UK.
Tel: 0845 1200 660

See the Addiction – Resources for more detail on 12-step programs.

Al-Anon

Al-Anon home page
Worldwide 12-step fellowship open to anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking. They believe alcoholism is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery.
Tel: 020 7403 0888

See the Addiction – Resources for more detail on 12-step programs.

Beating Eating Disorders

b-eat home page
The adult helpline is for people over 18 in the United Kingdom who wish to talk about eating disorders and to obtain information about help available in their locality. About a third of the calls are from people with an eating disorder and a third from friends and relatives (the rest are a mixture of professionals and students).
You can contact the helpline service by e-mail at help@b_eat.co.uk
Tel: 0845 634 1414

See the Addiction – Resources page for more information on getting support.