National Prevention Week

Today marks the end of National Prevention Week. The focus of the week is preventing substance abuse and promoting positive mental health trends. This is an important approach because mental health conditions often co-occur with substance abuse issues. This is particularly true in the legal field.

Many discussions surrounding co-occurring conditions in the legal profession include concerning statistics about how many attorneys misuse alcohol or other substances. Yet instead of doing that, we want to do something that isn’t as common, which is to go beyond just stating the problem. We want to discuss actual solutions.

There are certainly traditional resources, such as those offered by SAMHSA. However, prevention goes beyond those traditional resources.

For example, support networks are important. This is one of the reasons sobriety programs often include a sponsor to help someone through the challenges of preventing substance abuse. Similarly, seeking out the support of peer support programs, like the one we offer here at The LegalMind Society, can help develop strategies that work for you.

One common strategy that our peer support program discusses are SMART Goals. SMART Goals are goals that are: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. For example, thinking about never using substances again can seem impossible and overwhelming. Breaking it down day by day or even hour by hour can help.

Doing this can also involve things like wellness plans, which involve developing the skills to recognize when you might be heading for a crisis, and brainstorming tools and a social network that can help you avoid a crisis. This is another frequently referenced recovery tool in The LegalMind Society’s peer support program.

However, perhaps the most important part of National Prevention Week, a part that comes before the tools we discussed above, is the recognition that substance abuse is a health condition that often co-occurs with other mental health conditions. It is nobody’s fault and certainly not a weakness of strength or character.

Recognizing this reality is an important step towards ending the stigma surrounding these issues, not just in the legal profession, but everywhere.

If you need help with a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health condition, do not hesitate to reach out to us at The LegalMind Society. We are here to help. You are not alone.