痛苦难耐之际， 我也曾动过滥用药物的念头

 

 

我生第二个孩子后被诊断患有产后抑郁症。作为一名精神疾患幸存者，我对这类疾患给人类所带来的痛苦有了第一手之体验。在许多失眠之夜，我曾在绝望之中哭泣，被失落，悲伤，焦虑和恐惧等各种负面情绪深深困扰。当时脑海中浮现各种快速摆脱痛苦之想法，滥用药品显得那么具有诱惑力。 

As a mental illness survivor, who was diagnosed with postpartum depression after I gave birth to my second child, I had the firsthand experience of what agony that the illness would put patients through.  During numerous sleepless nights, I was weeping in despair, gripped by a flood of negative emotions – from emptiness and misery to worries and fear. Bad thoughts raced through my mind, as I desperately sought quick solutions to end the pain. At the time, abuse of drugs seemed extremely tempting.

随着药物上瘾危机席卷北美，滥用药物不仅是穷困潦倒者的专利，也威胁着我们自己和亲人，让我们的生活深陷困境。 纽约州专业中产人士萨洛莫尼夫妇的19岁的儿子贾斯汀因过量服用处方药而丧生,而这对夫妇为提高人们对滥用药品危害之认识而成立一个称为“药品危机威胁我们家庭”的组织，该机构吸引了大批因亲人滥用药物而丧生的受害者。

 As addiction crisis sweeps through North America, drug abuse has not only affected the losers and those live a low life but also can occur at our backyard, wrecking the lives of our own and our loved ones.  After their 19-year-old son Justin died of prescription drug overdose, Susan and Steve Salomone, both had a professional career and lived typical middleclass life in NY, formed an organization “Drug Crisis in Our Backyard”, trying to help fight the epidemic through raising awareness. The agency has gathered a flood of people who have gone through the tragedy of losing their loved ones to the abuse. 

在北美，滥用处方阿片类药物（也称假鸦片），中枢神经系统抑制药和兴奋剂对百姓健康造成严重危害，其危害程度超过了包括流感或艾滋病在内的人类历史上任何其他流行病。滥用药物危机已经席卷北美许多城市，每年夺走数千人的生命。作为加拿大滥用药物最严重的卑诗省，平均每天有四人因服药过量而丧生，导致全省处于紧急药物危急状态。

Misuse of prescription opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants is a severe public health problem in North America, creating an overdose crisis worst than any other epidemic in human history -- including influenza or Aids. The outbreak has engulfed many cities, claiming thousands of lives each year. In B.C. the hardest hit province by drug abuse, an average of four lives are lost each day to the overdose, leaving the area taken over by the crisis.

根据美国滥用药物预警网络（DAWN）的报告，2011年，美国超过120万人因非滥用处方药物而寻求急诊治疗，约占滥用药物总人数的一半。这些看急诊的人当中，近40％的人是因服用了阿片类止痛药。 另外，服用Xanax和Ambien，一种流行的、非苯二氮卓助眠处方类药的人数也急剧上升。

 

According to the report from DAWN (The Drug Abuse Warning Network) in US, more than 1.2 million ED (Emergency Department) visits in 2011 could be attributed to nonmedical use of prescription drugs, representing about half of all ED visits related to drug misuse. Nearly 40% of the visits involved prescription opioid pain relievers. Cases of Xanax and Ambien overdose -- a popular prescribed non-benzodiazepine sleep aid, were also on sharp rise. 

包括医生，律师，警察和电影明星在内的许多许多专业人士和名人也成为滥用药物的受害者。虽然滥用药物在医生，特别是那些易于接触这类药物的麻醉师中并非罕见，法律界专业人士滥用药物者也大有人在。美国律师协会2016年的一份报告发现，法律界人士滥用药物 - 从处方药到阿片类药物，可卡因和霹雳可卡因都在大幅上升。据媒体报道，多伦多警察局打击贩毒小组这一专门将毒贩送入监狱的机构中的一名警员自己却因为服用芬太尼过量的而丧命。

Many professionals and celebrities – such as doctors, lawyers, police officers and movie stars have also become the victims. While drug abuse by doctors, especially anesthetists who have an easy access to it were not rare incidents, it is also a common place in the legal profession. A 2016 report from the American Bar Association has found that cases of substance abuse – from prescription medication to opiates, cocaine and crack – have soared.  According to media report, an investigator from Toronto drug squad – the agency that put drug criminals in jail, has become a latest victim to fentanyl overdose. 

虽然滥用处方药影响许多北美人士，但青年，老年人及妇女滥用现象尤为突出。虽然目前男性滥用药物的人数比女性多，但女性服药过量事件的上升速度高于男性。

Although misuse of prescription drugs affects many North Americans, specific demographics such as youth, older adults, and women may be at a particular risk. In addition, while more men than women currently misuse prescription drugs, the rates of overdose among women are increasing faster than among men.

鉴于人类的大脑和身心健康之错综复杂性，很难找出造成广泛的滥用药物现象的根本原因。但这类药品的一大作用是可帮助人类短期内摆脱其精神痛苦。一位业内人士表示：“滥用药物不仅仅是为寻求虚幻中的快感，而是让自己在难以忍受的痛苦之际获得临时解脱。”

While no easy answers can be found for the widespread abuse -- given the physically and emotionally complexed human nature, one of the leading causes drugs are used for is to temporarily kill psychological pain. ”They’re not just about taking something to become euphoric, they’re often escapes from one’s experience of unbearable pain,” said an insider. 

华人社区一直对滥用药物者持歧视态度，这使得华人不愿触及这一话题并在危机情况下寻求帮助。和任何一种疾病作斗争一样，提高对滥用药物的危害性的认识是降伏这场危机的关键。虽然过量服药可以即刻缓解一些痛苦，但一时的逃避会带来后患无穷，给你造成更大的身体和精神损害，让你陷入恶性循环的怪圈之中难以自拔。为此我终于放弃了滥用药物的想法，决定选择更健康的途径来解决我的痛苦 - 包括打坐，健康饮食和体育锻炼。

Drug abuse is a cultural stigma in the Chinese community, which discourages members from taking about it or seeking help. But like any battles to fight an epidemic, awareness is the key. While overdose can instantly relieve the pain, the temporary escape will bring more devastating and long-term consequences. It will cause more physical and mental harm, leaving you to be caught up in a full-blown vicious cycle that you may never break out from. The knowledge about the risks of addictions had led me to kill the thoughts of abuse, deciding to choose more healthy avenues to address my pain – including meditation, healthy eating and exercise.