National Addictions Awareness Week

November 19-25th is National Addictions Awareness Week.

Addicition is the continued use of a mood altering substance or behavior despite adverse dependency consequences, or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors.
(Source Wikipedia)

Addicition is a long road where someone abusing a substance cannot find the original "high" or euphoric feeling they got the first, second or third time they tried it.  The dosage becomes higher, it becomes more frequent, and while said individual is on the search for that feeling, their world around them is falling apart.

• They may have started isolating themselves from family & friends
• They may be burning through bank accounts and savings to pay for the addiction
• They may be stealing from others to pay for the addiction
• They may be owing a lot of money to their drug dealer(s)
• They may be having trouble thinking clearly or solving easy problems
• They may start dealing with anxiety, depression, or irritation
• They may start blacking out, forgetting where they are or leaving where they are without knowing it
• They may start having legal issues like being arrested
• They may not see the danger in driving or working under the influence
• They may not see any of the above, or realize they have a problem
• They may start seeing their addiction of a way of suicide

So how do you help?

One of the best ways you can help is to be there to encourage a treatment plan.  Changes like breaking an addiction have to come from the person that is addicted.  They need to make that choice for themselves.  Even going into a treatment plan has to come from the individual, unless court ordered.  Many addicts will lose a lot of their support during their addiction, making it hard to see the treatment options.

There are many resources are available in our areas including:

Centre for Addiction & Mental Health

Amethyst Women's Addiction Centre

Rideauwood

Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre

This list is certainly not exhaustive.  At the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region, we have many more resources for yourself or for another person.  Do not hesitate to call and ask for a resource from us at 613-238-3311.

Addictions can happen at anytime to anyone.  The person does not need to be facing a terrible trauma in their live to become addicted.  Some people simply experiment due to peer pressure, and they get tangled in the mess.

Addicitions are not always drugs either.  They can range from smoking, alcohol, gambling, sex and more. 

Make yourself aware of what addictions are out there, and if you ever feel the need to talk to someone about yourself or some one else in your life, please call us.  We're here for you.

613-238-3311

Anxiety

Imagine your every day being a struggle in terms of fear, shortness of breath, panic, phobia of being around people.  Even going to get a coffee can cause an attack.

Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental disorders in the general population, affecting 10-15%.  Anxiety can range from mild uneasiness to a panic attack - that feeling where the world is crashing down around you, completely falling apart, yet nothing is happening.  Anxiety can last for a few moments, days, months or a lifetime.

Most likely, you have experienced a form of anxiety in your life.  Buying a house, studying for an exam, a loved one being sick, driving in bad weather.  These are all mild cases of anxiety examples, but at any given moment, these examples can become full blown panic attacks, where you just lose complete control of yourself.

People with anxiety often describe symptomes such as: feeling "on edge", difficulty concentrating, irritability, physical symtoms such as trembling or sweating, sleep disturbance, uncontrollable worry that is disproportionate to source and interferes with day to day living.

Anxiety often produces frightening physical sensations as well - shortness of breath is one that can be very scary as people try to breathe, and can't seem to exhale.  Tactics our volunteers take on the phone with callers, are breathing exercises.  "Let's take a deep breathe together, and count to 5".  Often this is helpful for the caller to gain control of how they are feeling so that they are able to talk about what is causing the anxiety.

Another way to cope with anxiety or attacks is focusing on strategies that have worked in the past.  Does going for a walk help you?  Does cooking or baking help you?  Does cleaning help?

Anxiety Disorders are diagnosed by doctors, and can include:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Phobias
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Operational Stress Disorder (This is a fairly new disorder, focusing on Military, Police, etc)

A great place to start if you're thinking you are dealing with an Anxiety Disorder, is to visit your family doctor, or a clinic nearby.  We have such amazing resources in the city for our use.

As always, if you are experiencing something you need to talk about, call and speak to one of our amazing Distress Line volunteers.  613-238-3311.

The Stand Up Kid

Yesterday, we blogged about the pressures of being a student and how it can affect you through your years in school.

I came across this video today on the Canadian Mental Health Association's - Peterborough Branch Facebook Page, and I had to share. 

If we continue to raise the stigma of mental health and depression in our schools, we would be able to help so many more students.

Share this blog post with everyone you know, and you're helping to take a stand.

Monthly Donations

If you weren't aware, the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region is a Not-For-Profit organization.  This means, that with the assistance of our donors, and community supporters, we are able to continue on with what we do here at the centre.

A great way to suppor the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region, is by becoming a Monthly Donor - especially if making a lump sum donation isn't in your budget.

Some of the benefits to becoming a Monthly Donor include, but are not limited to:

• Ability to spread out your donations by making smaller contributions over the year.  If you're able to spare $5 a month, you'll donate $60 over the year.  Double that to $10 a month, and you've donated $120 for the year.  If 250 people donated $10 a month, we would raise $30,000 in a year!

• Smaller gifts make it easier to incorporate into your budget. 

• Easy initial set up!  You can either contact our office directly to set-up your monthly giving schedule by calling 613-238-1089 x 223 or you can set it up yourself online at www.CanadaHelps.org

• Donating will also give you a break on your income tax return.  You'll receive one consolidated receipt from your donations to the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region in preparation for your tax return.

• Your donation is confidential on our end.  We will never trade, sell, or rent your contact information, or make your personal information available to other organizations.

• With your donation, you will automatically receive our bi-annual newsletter entitled "On-Call" where you will see what's going on at the Distress Centre, and how your donation has helped us.

• You'll also receive advanced notice for all upcoming Distress Centre events, such as the delicious Festival of Chocolate!

Thank you for taking the time to consider setting up a monthly donation to the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region!

New Blog

Welcome to the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region's new blog!

You've most likely landed on our blog through our website or from a search engine.

You may be asking yourself, what exactly is the Distress Centre of Ottawa  & Region?

We are the people who are here, day or night, 24/7, to answer the calls from those who are reaching out for help. Callers may have simple questions. Or they may be in crisis. Either way, with more than 150 volunteers answering over 37,000 calls a year, we provide an integral, important and vital service in the community.

In short form, we're here to help. 

Maybe you landed on our blog, because you're searching for volunteer work in Ottawa.

We count on our volunteers, who have been trained to answer the calls that come in. 

We provide training, not only for our own volunteers, but for other groups as well, including colleges and universities, social service agencies, businesses, government departments and police staff.  OUr professional trainers, renowed for their expertise and knowledge, have trained on topics as diverse as conflict management, communication skills, stress management, sucicide prevention, crisis intervention and more.

If you're interested in becoming a volunteer for the Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region, your next step is to fill out an application form, which can be found here. 

Maybe you landed on this page, because you're just looking for more information in general about crisis, suicide, stress management, or other issues. 

You're in luck.  Bookmark our blog, because we'll be updating with information from our professionals once a week.

Oh, did I forget to introduce myself?

My name is Leslie, and I am the Community Relations Coordinator here at the Distress Centres of Ottawa & Region.  Nice to meet you! 

I hope you've gained some knowledge from today's post, and there will be many more to come.