#druguse — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #druguse, aggregated by home.social.
-
«Decriminalise Our Lives!»
International Women's Day: Shared Vision for Feminism.
Statement by ESWA, EuroNPUD, S.A.F.E. and Equinox Initiative.
[I cannot agree more with it. ❤️🔥😍 💯]
-
‣ Criminalisation should NEVER be the first response to social and healthcare issues!
3 years ago, the 8 March Principles were launched - to provide a new model on how we see justice.
This International Women's Day, we're calling for care over carceralism, on issues including sex work, abortion, harm reduction, racial justice and poverty.
We advocate for a feminism that is rights-based, not punitive.
-
‣ Rights not rescue: sex work is work!
Criminalisation, including the criminalisation of clients, is a massive driver of violence against sex workers.
It drives sex work underground, into more danger and stigma, creates barriers to healthcare, housing, and justice.
The 8 March Principles emphasise that consensual sexual activity between adults should never be a matter for the criminal legal system.
Decriminalisation of sex work prioritises the safety, human and labour rights of sex workers.
-
‣ Criminalisation has never stopped abortions from happening. It only makes them less safe.
Under the 8 March Principles, reproductive and bodily autonomy are recognised as fundamental human rights.
We demand the removal of all punitive barriers to healthcare. When we treat abortion as a crime, we violate the right to health, privacy, and bodily autonomy. It is time for a legal system that trusts individuals to make decisions about their own bodies without the threat of a prison cell.
-
‣ Support, don't punish! Harm reduction saves lives. Criminalisation destroys them.
The “War on Drugs” is a war on all humans. In practice, it disproportionately impacts women, caregivers and communities already marginalised.
The 8 March Principles advocate for a shift from criminalisation to harm reduction. Drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal one. By redirecting resources from policing to community-supported healthcare and safe consumption services, we can transform our societies for the better.
Lived experience is knowledge.
-
‣ Carceralism vs. Racial Justice.
The legal system isn't “neutral”.
It disproportionately targets and penalises Black, Brown and racialised communities.The 8 March Principles remind us that justice cannot be achieved through a system built on systemic bias. We must dismantle the structures of over-policing and invest in safety measures that are led by and for the communities most affected by state violence.
Anti-carceral feminism is essential to realising racial justice.
-
‣ The Shared Vision - Our Demands:
• Decriminalise abortion, sex work, drug use, and activities associated with poverty.
• Redirect resources from the carceral state to community-led safety, health, and housing.
• Adopt the 8 March Principles globally to ensure that human rights, not moral policing, guide our legal systems.
• Center lived experience as expertise: policies are stronger when shaped by the people most affected. Amplify community voices, recognise peer support, and treat people with dignity and autonomy.
-
‣ Poverty is not a crime!
In many places, being poor or homeless is effectively treated as a criminal offense.
Laws targeting activities like loitering or sleeping in public punish people for simply existing.The 8 March Principles state that the criminal law should never be used to address social and economic exclusion.
We cannot jail our way out of poverty, and should never criminalise the means by which the poorest survive.Resources belong in housing and healthcare, not policing and prisons.
-
‣ Further reading:
🌐 S.A.F.E. https://supportingabortions.eu
🌐 EuroNPUD: https://euronpud.net
➕ SisterWUD: https://euronpud.net/project/mobilising-women-who-use-drugs-and-combating-gender-based-violence-gbv/🌐 European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance: https://www.eswalliance.org
🌐 Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice: https://equinox-eu.com
🗄📄 8 March Principles: https://web.archive.org/web/20230311063011/https://icj2.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/8-MARCH-Principles-FINAL-printer-version-1-MARCH-2023.pdf
-
A safer world is possible when we stop using the law to punish and start using it to protect.
When we remove the threat of criminalisation, we create space for autonomy, safety, and dignity for all.
It also makes space for well-being and pleasure: safer choices, informed decisions, and self-determination.‣ LET'S BUILD A FEMINISM THAT LIBERATES EVERYONE, SPECIALLY THE MOST MARGINALISED.
#8M #M8 #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #Europe #ESWA #SAFE #EuroNPUD #EquinoxInitiative #SexWork #HarmReduction #SRHR #Abortion #DrugUse #Decrim #DecrimNow #Decriminalization #Feminisms
-
Beyond Willpower in Addiction: 4 Powerful Lessons
Originally Published on November 11th, 2025 at 08:00 amWe often think of addiction as a private, grueling battle of willpower.
Whether it’s a dependency on a substance, a behavior like gambling, or even an unhealthy pattern in a relationship, the prevailing narrative suggests that breaking free is a matter of pure, individual strength.
If you just try hard enough, you can overcome it. If you fail, it’s a personal failing.
But what if this framework is fundamentally flawed? A recent, year-long study offers a more structured, hopeful, and evidence-based path to recovery.
Researchers applied a specific form of therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to individuals struggling with a range of addictions and discovered that the right tools can do more than just help people cope; they can fundamentally transform their lives.
It’s about building a life so full and satisfying that the addiction no longer has room to thrive.
This year-long study is particularly significant because it was conducted in Kazakhstan, a region where evidence-based psychotherapy is still emerging and social stigma can be a major barrier to recovery.
This article distills the four most impactful takeaways from this groundbreaking research. It reveals how a systematic therapeutic approach can lead to profound, measurable life changes, challenging the myth that recovery is simply a matter of gritting your teeth and pushing through.
Lesson 1: The Change to Isn’t Small, It’s Transformative
While we might expect therapy to offer some benefit, the sheer magnitude of improvement seen in this study was extraordinary.
Participants who received Cognitive Behavioral Therapy didn’t just get slightly better; they experienced a dramatic and measurable enhancement in their overall well-being.
The study used the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF), which measures well-being across four key areas. The results were staggering.
On average, the experimental groups saw their quality of life scores jump from the low 40s to the mid-70s on a 100-point scale. To put that in concrete terms, participants with alcohol use disorder went from an average score of 42.31 before therapy to 74.47 after one year.
This isn’t just a number on a chart; it represents a profound shift from a life constrained by addiction to one filled with new possibilities and well-being.
Meanwhile, the control groups, those who did not receive CBT, saw no meaningful improvement in their quality of life, with their average scores remaining essentially unchanged.
This powerful contrast repositions recovery as a genuine opportunity to build a measurably better and more satisfying life.
It’s about building a life so full and satisfying that the addiction no longer has room to thrive.
Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.
Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire
Beyond Willpower Lesson 2: The Same Tools Can Fix Different Problems
One of the most compelling aspects of the study was its breadth.
Researchers applied the same core therapeutic model, CBT, to four very different challenges:
- Alcohol use disorder
- Drug addiction
- Gambling disorder
- Codependency
The key finding was that CBT was highly effective across the board.
For every single group that received therapy, there was a statistically significant reduction in the severity of their addiction. The data paints a clear picture of this versatility:
- For drug addiction, the experimental group’s average severity score dropped from 7.96 (signifying harmful use) down to 3.14 (representing low-risk or minimal use).
- For gambling disorder, the average severity score plummeted from a “severe” 39.55 to a “mild or moderate” 14.36.
This suggests that no matter the substance or behavior, the underlying challenge is often the same: learning to recognize triggers, challenge automatic negative thoughts, and develop new, healthier coping strategies.
CBT provides a toolkit for rewiring these exact processes, effectively helping people move from a place of denial or ambivalence into decisive action and long-term maintenance.
Do you have enough hours for your LPC renewal? Are you in need of continuing education, but bored with the current offerings? Check out Dr. Weeks’ course on Cannabis Use Disorder, and other unique courses on her practice website.
Sexual Addiction Treatment Services has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7250. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Sexual Addiction Treatment Services is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Lesson 3: Codependency Isn’t Just a “Relationship Problem.” It’s Treatable.
The study took the significant step of including codependency, an excessive emotional or psychological dependence on a partner, often linked to that partner’s addiction, alongside clinical addictions. While codependency is not formally classified as a standalone diagnosis in major manuals like the DSM-5-TR, the researchers recognized it as a clinically significant phenomenon that is actively addressed in rehabilitation.
The results were a powerful validation of this approach.
The experimental group for codependency saw their average severity scores drop from a “high level” of 69.12 to a “moderate or low level” of 31.44. The control group, in stark contrast, showed no significant change.
For anyone who has felt trapped in a dynamic of supporting someone else’s addiction at the expense of their own well-being, this finding is a beacon of hope.
This is a crucial takeaway.
It frames the struggle of codependency not as a character flaw or an intractable relationship dynamic, but as a treatable condition. It offers empowerment and a clear path toward building greater independence, self-esteem, and healthier relationship dynamics.
Beyond Willpower Lesson 4: Recovery Isn’t Just Stopping, It’s a Total Life Upgrade
The study’s design was brilliant in its simplicity: it measured success in two ways. It tracked the reduction of the negative (addiction severity) and the increase of the positive (overall quality of life). The results showed that these two things are deeply intertwined.
The “quality of life” assessment wasn’t a vague feeling of happiness; it was a concrete evaluation of four essential domains of life:
- Physical Health: Including energy and fatigue, quality of sleep, and even physical mobility.
- Psychological Health: Covering everything from positive feelings and self-esteem to the ability to concentrate and learn new things.
- Social Relationships: Examining the quality of personal relationships, the strength of social support networks, and even sexual activity.
- Environment: Looking at practical, real-world factors like financial security, physical safety, the comfort of one’s home, and access to healthcare.
The participants who underwent CBT saw significant improvements across all of these areas. This demonstrates that effective treatment doesn’t just happen in a therapist’s office. It radiates outward, improving every facet of a person’s existence.
True recovery, as this study shows, is about building a life that is so robust and fulfilling that the old addictive behaviors no longer hold the same power or appeal.
Conclusion: A New Framework for Change
The findings from this study in Kazakhstan provide a powerful, evidence-based roadmap for recovery that moves far beyond the limited concept of willpower.
It shows that addiction, in its many forms, is not a moral failing but a condition that responds remarkably well to structured, compassionate, and science-backed intervention.
By focusing on cognitive and behavioral strategies, individuals can achieve not just abstinence, but a transformative and holistic improvement in their lives. The tools exist, the evidence is clear, and the potential for change is immense.
This research leaves us with a vital question to consider:
If we can treat these complex issues so effectively, what does that change about how we should approach mental health and personal growth in our own lives?
Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!
Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.
Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.
#addiction #addictionRecovery #addictionTreatment #alcoholAbuse #alcoholRecovery #alcoholUse #alcoholUseDisorder #cbt #cognitiveBehavioralTherapy #drugAbuse #drugAddiction #drugAddictionRecovery #drugUse #evidenceBasedTherapy #gambling #gamblingAddiction #kazakhstan #therapyOutcomes #willpower