Blog #1 - Voices for Wellness

Hi there, and welcome back to Voices for Wellness!

To reintroduce myself, my name is Samara - advocate for AES. I want to kick off my first post for Voices for Wellness by sharing a little bit about my experience with addiction. My education on addiction did not begin during my summer internship at AES - it started much earlier. Growing up, I was exposed to the ups and downs of addiction through the experiences of several loved ones within my family.

My parents were often the emergency call for people at their lowest points with addiction, the closest being my Uncle. When I was old enough to understand, they explained addiction as a disease, comparing it to cravings for sugar - the pull, the rush, the crash, and the return of the craving the next day. It made sense to me then; any child understands wanting something sweet. Still, I couldn’t grasp why my Uncle couldn’t just stop. If my teeth were truly falling out from sugar, I knew I would. So why couldn’t he, when his addiction was clearly destroying his life?

Throughout my life, I have watched not only my uncle but others in my life move through cycles of relapse, moments of recovery, and then relapse again. This was incredibly difficult to witness - not only because it was painful to see people I loved struggle, but also because I could not understand why they couldn’t simply stop and get better. I think this is something many people experience when watching a loved one battle addiction, especially if they have never experienced it themselves.

If there is one thing watching addiction and recovery up close has taught me, it is that recovery is not linear and addiction is deeply complex. From the way the brain is wired, to environmental influences, to underlying mental health challenges, addiction cannot be reduced to a lack of willpower or poor decision-making. Instead, it can be understood as a powerful disease - one that does not come with a simple or universal treatment plan.

The more we, as a society, work to educate ourselves about addiction, the closer we come to breaking down harmful misconceptions and reducing stigma. When we begin to view addiction through a lens of understanding rather than judgment, we create more space for compassion, effective support, and meaningful recovery.

Over time, these experiences pushed me to look deeper into why addiction can be so difficult to break and why recovery often looks the way it does. What I came to realize is that addiction rarely exists on its own. For many people, it is closely tied to mental health, which led me to learn more about what is known as dual diagnosis.

In short, dual diagnosis refers to when a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder occur at the same time (Greenstein, 2017). What surprised me most was how common this experience actually is. According to SAMHSA (2024), nearly 40% of individuals living with addiction also have a mental illness. This statistic alone highlights just how deeply interconnected substance use and mental health truly are.

While there is no definitive way to prove that one causes the other, it is not difficult for me to understand why so many people experience both substance use and mental health challenges. For many individuals, substances may begin as a way to cope with overwhelming emotions, anxiety, trauma, or depression. Over time, however, this coping strategy can evolve into something far more harmful, especially when the underlying mental health struggles remain unaddressed.

This can develop into a difficult cycle in which substances are used to manage mental health symptoms but ultimately make those symptoms worse, increasing reliance on the substance. Part of this cycle has to do with how drugs affect the brain’s reward system. According to How Addiction Takes Hold of the Brain, drugs create intense surges of dopamine - the chemical responsible for feelings of pleasure and motivation - that far exceed what we experience from everyday activities. With repeated use, the brain becomes less responsive to natural sources of joy, such as relationships or hobbies. As a result, substances may begin to feel like the only source of relief or pleasure, reinforcing continued use and further complicating mental health challenges.

Learning about dual diagnosis has helped me better understand the patterns I witnessed growing up - the relapses, the moments of hope, and the setbacks that followed. More importantly, it has reshaped the way I approach conversations about addiction, both with others and within myself. When we recognize the strong connection between mental health and substance use, we are better equipped to respond with empathy rather than judgment.

I hope that this space can continue to foster learning, reflection, and honest conversations about addiction and recovery. The more we educate ourselves and challenge stigma, the more room we create for understanding, healing, and meaningful support - for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for anyone navigating their own journey with addiction.

Thanks again for being here, and stay tuned for next month's post!

Samara - Advocate for AES :)