Drug access is part of ‘perfect storm’ fueling addiction
As the number of overdose deaths in B.C. increases, a family physician says proper parenting will help address the root of the problem.
The drug epidemic “is a huge problem that has many faces,” said Dr. Tamás Ungar, a family practice doctor at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, Wash. “Parents need to protect their children from potential addiction by doing something that is very intrinsic to parenting.”
Parents “need to hold their kids close, especially in their first months of their life, which is a critical period in their development,” Ungar told about 30 people attending the Catholic Forum presentation “Drug Crisis: Saving our Children from the Snares of Addiction.” The event was at St. Mary’s Church in Vancouver March 21.
Last year more than 900 people died from drug overdoses in B.C., the B.C. Coroners Service reported.
“Part of the problem is the supply of these drugs,” he told The B.C. Catholic. “It has never been easier to get a hold of this medication; but the other problem is the demand for it as well. It’s the perfect storm.”
The issue stems from several factors. With new drugs discovered and marketed by pharmaceutical companies in the 1980s, a new class of drug addicts who Ungar dubs “drug seekers” emerged. The addicts seek to reach new highs in a whirlwind of increasingly risky behaviour until they no longer fear for their own well-being.
The addicts “look at themselves and don’t like what they’ve become,” Ungar said. They stop caring about their own health, focusing on feeding their addiction. “They will look at their own wounds and be not afraid. Their only meaning in life is to get that drug. Nothing else matters to them.”
In order to reduce the number of overdoses, Ungar posed a question: Why are some people more prone to addiction than others? “Adverse childhood events are one of the strongest predictors to later addiction,” said Dr. Paul Ungar, one of the forum’s organizers and Ungar’s father. “These could include many things like divorce, grief, abuse, poverty, etc.”
The best way to prevent addictive personality and therefore reliance on drugs is through the “psychological benefits of nurture,” Tamás Ungar said.
“During the first three years of their lives, a child’s brain develops about 80 per cent of the adult brain,” he said. “There is a tremendous growth spurt where the core of personality traits, moral decisions, reasoning, and most importantly, resiliency to stress develop.”
He suggested bonding with young infants through eye contact, frequent smiles, and physical proximity and communication. “When the infant brain receives these joyful stimuli, which trigger dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin, this bonding process acts to form the brain,” he said. As a result, a child raised in a loving home with empathy and compassion will be less likely to fall prey to an addictive personality.
Ungar also noted an overexposure to technological screens on cellphones and televisions could interfere with this process, warning it could potentially distract the infant from proper bonding.
“The joyful bond communicated between the mother and infant stimulates brain growth, and builds resilience,” said Paul Ungar. “No family is perfect, but that’s what should bring us together as a community under the Church.
