Young people don’t see the dangers of narcotics

FALLS VILLAGE — Young people seem to be unaware of the danger of the most addictive narcotics, especially heroin, according to counselors at the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau (HYSB).

The bureau was founded in 1991 and offers free counseling and other services to families in the six-town Region One School District.  It is in a building on the campus of Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

The Centers for Disease Control this year came out with a report on heroin use in which it said that heroin use is on the rise across America, and that many people are becoming addicted to pain killers and then switching to heroin because it is less expensive and easier to get.

Anxiety and depression

Experts on addiction in the Northwest Corner have also said that some heroin users are self medicating to try and make themselves feel better when they have intense anxiety and/or depression.

Rebecca Sakl, a clinician and licensed marriage and family therapist who sees young people at the HYSB, said that she sees very high levels of anxiety among her patients, and that the anxiety is almost always accompanied by depression.

Because she is not a psychiatrist, she does not prescribe medications for anxiety and depression. She noted that there is a shortage of child psychiatrists in the area and that many families are getting their prescriptions from a physician or pediatrician.

“They’re doing a good job and we are thankful they are there, but child psychiatry is a specialty area,” she said. “A child psychiatrist is framing it differently, they are looking at psychology as well as neurobiology.”

The HYSB counselors also consult with Dr. Sabooh Mubbashar at Sharon Hospital, who is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist.

Part of the problem for young people is that they are not getting the medications that might help them and are instead turning to medications they find around their home.

Sakl said that most of the young people she sees are not in fact self-medicating. She noted, though, that many parents don’t think their children are at risk or already doing drugs. She and other staff at the Youth Service Bureau cautioned families to either lock up or dispose of unused painkillers, whether or not they think their child might be tempted to take them.

In an interview at the Youth Service Bureau office last week, Sakl and Executive Director Nick Pohl and clinician Shalyn Sheldon said that they aren’t seeing or hearing about  a lot of heroin use among their patients. 

However, they find it worrisome that so many of their young clients feel that there is no danger to using narcotics. They seem to be more concerned with the potential damage that cigarettes can cause. 

Sheldon said that many young people tell her they are not worried about the dangers of marijuana (which the Youth Service Bureau team referred to as a gateway drug) because it is now legal.

She said she reminds them that alcohol and cigarettes are also legal, but they are considered two of the top causes of untimely death in America.

20-year-olds at risk

The recent increase in heroin deaths and overdoses seems to be in young people in their mid-to-late 20s, they agreed. 

“It’s the age group we refer to as the doughnut hole,” Pohl said. 

These young people are legally emancipated and can not be required to come in for treatment or counseling. Also, many of them are living on their own and do not have health insurance.

Pohl said, “This is just a theory, but I wonder if a lot of the use of heroin comes from young people who are doing hard physical labor, such as landscaping. If they hurt themselves, they need to take pain medication so they can get up and go to work the next day.”

As pain becomes chronic, there is a temptation to switch to heroin, which is less expensive and doesn’t require a prescription. Many laborers are also uninsured. Adding to those problems is the sense that young people have that heroin is not a dangerous or addictive drug.

The Youth Service Bureau is starting a new drug prevention program in partnership with the McCall Foundation in Torrington. This initiative grew out of the HYSB’s youth philanthropy program.

The young people participating in that program said they wanted to target drug use and abuse as their issue for this year.

The McCall Foundation has been invited to make presentations to every age group at Housatonic Valley Regional High School as part of the required health classes. The presentations consist of a video and a PowerPoint presentation, but also there is a discussion component that seems to help students understand that this is a problem that affects them and their peers. 

“Knowledge is key,” Sakl said. “We want to let kids know that help is available. And part of the reason we do so many programs in schools and communities is so that when a child or family has a problem, they know we are here and they are comfortable reaching out to us.”

To learn more about the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau and its programs, go to www.hysb.org.