Co-Existing Problems: A Look at Mental Health & Addictions with Peter Thorburn

Mental health and addictions often co-exist due to a myriad of different factors: intergenerational trauma, lived experiences, biological, social/environmental, spiritual, etc. An imbalance in any of these points of life is why people turn to alcohol or drugs as a form of coping. From a young age, if we’re fed negativity it can have a terrible influence on our lives. However, when given the tools and knowledge, people can often self-heal and become beacons of hope in their own whanau and communities. By removing the stigma of mental health and addictions, we can better serve our whanau who are in need.

We wrapped up our 2021 trainings with Peter Thorburn on the 8th of December looking at mental heath and addictions. Not only did he share how addictions can start, but also why alcohol and drugs are addictive. We need to treat dependency as a health issue, and not a legal issue. How we can utilize indigenous frameworks like Te Whare Tapa Wha as a guide as well as integrated addiction and mental health services when in the field, or with friends and whanau.

We cannot expect to help whanau with a top-down approach when those in power need to meet the needs of our most vulnerable. Acknowledging the link between mental health and alcohol and drug addiction can help us find better solutions. Removing stigma, holding judgement-free and safe spaces, and identifying what’s the root cause of these issues can play a huge part in the intervention of those in the thick of it, and the preventing these cycles from repeating.