An ode to joy
BUTLER TWP — Steve Treu knows the cure to opioid addiction.
Endorphins, he told a crowd of about 200 Tuesday night at Butler County Community College, is the cure.
“Everyone who has ever beaten addiction, whether they know it or not, has done it with endorphins,” he said.
Treu, an author and drug and alcohol counselor with Quantum Revolution Counseling in Cranberry Township, spoke as part of the kickoff event for BC3's “Reset Your Brain” initiative, which also will include a series of classes this spring based on Treu's writings.
In his presentation, he explained the chemical changes that happen in a person's brain when they become addicted to opioids and talked about how he counsels addicts to get clean through medication and getting them to naturally produce endorphins again.
The human brain is like a pharmacy in that it is loaded with natural chemical counterparts to drugs such as alcohol, marijuana or heroin, he said.
Taking opioids creates a pleasant rush of endorphins in the brain. As a person continues to use opioids, their brain starts to grow more endorphin receptors and they start to have a higher tolerance for the drugs.
This chemical change “hijacks” the brain, Treu said. The change occurring on the cellular level is why medical experts have classified addiction as a disease.
“Most people think it's a free will thing. 'They should just choose to stop using' — but they don't know what is going on inside the brain,” he said.
Once a person is addicted to opioids, it is like their brain goes into hibernation. It no longer produces endorphins on its own from experiences such as exercise, spirituality, laughter, eating certain foods and meditation.
Treu said the key to overcoming that hibernation is to focus on the positives in a person's life to get them producing endorphins on their own.
In the meantime, he advocates the use of buprenorphine, one of the chemicals in Suboxone, which prevents withdrawal by filling endorphin receptors for 36 to 48 hours.
Suboxone, though often stigmatized, should be thought of as a crutch while a person is recovering from an ailment. A person with a broken leg would never be criticized for using crutches to walk, he said.Treu said he believes taking a more positive approach with addicts is the answer.Finding sources of hope and joy is the ultimate, natural source of endorphins, he said.“Joy is its own drug,” he said. “It's a more sustainable high.”Before Treu spoke, two of his patients gave testimonies about their recovery from addiction.Sean Bernick said that he went from being a heroin addict to a volunteer firefighter with a baby son by focusing on endorphins and having hope about his future.“To feel like a human being again, one that contributes to society, is one of the greatest joys of getting clean,” he said. “I'm going on two years without heroin and I'm proud to say my life has made a 180.”Shannon Gaiser, who is now an addiction counselor, said she was in and out of rehabilitation clinics for five years before getting clean for good in 2002.The key for her also was focusing on being fulfilled and doing positive things, while taking methadone.“I was able to fix my life, while living my life,” Gaiser said.The program also included musical performances by David Hawkins, a video made by members of the Rho Phi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and a performance that included the Shelor School of Dance, the Butler Art Center, Yoga on Main, BC3 Pioneer Players and Scott Dittman.
