Change the System
How can I make a difference, try to stave off the number of people self-medicating with pills, alcohol, pot, and gas station ‘herbal remedies’?
Every 5 Minutes is a website that raises awareness by honoring those lost to opioid addiction. This week they featured my Nicholas, one of the every five minute deaths, on September 17, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HpfCpHVvy/
In trying to find my voice and my agency in this space of addiction, I found a few nuggets of hope in this article, 5 graduation speeches with truly helpful tips for living your life - https://wapo.st/4uNxH9R “Donovan Livingston quote, “Injustice is telling them education is the key while you continue to change the locks,” taps into the systemic racism and classism which reminds me how analogies really do the heavy lifting. While Steve Carell said, “Remember the little things like being kind, and that you’re not alone. Take care of one another. Remember to laugh when you have the opportunity,” And that is the rub, isn’t it - taking care of one another. How do I do that without becoming disheartened?
Harrison Ford came to ASU and said, "Your generation has far more power than you may realize," and God, I hope he’s right because my generation has done a real job in messing things up.
Speaking of that generation, I was with a friend, and I was reflecting that I am in awe of my youngest two sons.
And that friend asked a delicious question, “Who would Nicholas be today, if drugs hadn't taken him? Would he be more like Max or Joey?”
Bitter-sweet questions like this can take hours to unwind. Once it’s all spooled out, I’m left with miles of yarn.
I hope Nicholas would have Max’s endless compassion and Joey’s drive to swing for the bleachers. Mostly, I hope he’d be truly himself.
Who would I be today if drugs hadn’t stolen Nicholas?
This new me has land mines of anger -
At the doctor and the two companies that sold my son an opioid and an anti-anxiety pill a day for three years. Purdue Pharma, which makes the drug OxyContin, and Pfizer, which makes Xanax, both have ensured that kids like Nicholas get mowed over by their profit engine.
At the mindboggling injustice of gas station "supplements" like kratom, which he was allowed to use in rehab. This “herbal” remedy is an opioid and, if taken in high doses, will give the same effect as morphine. It is not a controlled substance, and I’ve been meeting more and more mothers whose kids died from an overdose of kratom. If you want to learn more about gas station heroin, kratom,
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/may/04/john-oliver-gas-station-drugs
At the rehab industry, which is filled with well-intentioned people with mediocre to terrible products. I wonder if spending your money on a trip to Guam would be better than most rehabs - relapse rates for people on opioids are well above 70%.
At the fact that fentanyl is still killing kids.
I don’t want to be the angry mom who spends her time burning up with injustice, unable to change the fact that her son is gone, no matter what.
AA and Al-Anon groups have a question, “How free do you want to be?”
My answer is always 100% free.
We are poisoning our kids.
The S O B E R Method has a beautiful reflection on guilt
Observe one moment when shame or self-blame arises—about your own past or someone you love.
Name it without judgment: “This is the disease speaking, not the truth about me or them.”
Choose one small, esteemable act of self-compassion or connection.
Execute it at least three times this week and notice how it shifts what you are carrying.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed on Living the Dream with Curveball here https://open.spotify.com/episode/68FdC0vsOTR2qqZ9KuGT0A?si=ve4twY6FSWK1R512tcKZXQ&nd=1&dlsi=e85a48dfc3bc43b0
To see all my podcasts and articles - https://www.katierizzo.com/media
