lightseeker

I found an interesting web site that depicts images of the brain regarding abuse. I don't believe that it is anything that will stop an active abuser but I believe that it is a great educational tool for teenagers - before they might use. Also, I think that it will help many of us understand that we are not dealing with someone that has full use of their brain. http://www.studentdrugtesting.org/15.%20Chapter15.PDF

I superimpose that because I think a certain way that my RAH must think along those same lines. I'm realizing that is not true - no matter how far into recovery he gets. At least I know what I am dealing with.

BigSis

I remember seeing some of these pictures at my daughter's outpatient program. They scared the bejabbers outta me - without having much of an effect on her. At the outpatient one, the meth brain was as damaged after 18 months of use as the heroin brain after years of use.

Those kids all knew it - they talked about meth making "holes in your brain"... but it didn't matter to them anymore than the "faces of meth" made a difference. They are beyond that sort of thing during their active use, and I don't know if it is helpful after they quit to see the damage they've done.

As an aside, when my mom quit drinking, she noticed some cognitive problems in the first years, but either she developed some coping skills, or perhaps she regained some of the thinking ability with years of sobriety - today, she seems as bright and sharp as she ever was. Thank goodness!