The family of Emmett Scannell is hoping to bring together families who have lost a loved one to overdose or who are dealing with a loved one who is battling addiction. A remembrance event is set for Sunday in Bridgewater.

By Sarah Cline

Posted Jan 26, 2017 at 5:08 PM

Updated Jan 26, 2017 at 5:14 PM

BRIDGEWATER – When Aimee D’Arpino and her family were doing everything they could to help their son, Emmett Scannell, beat his battle against substance use disorder, she said it was a very isolating experience, and at times felt her family was alone.

D’Arpino doesn’t want anyone else who is fighting against drug addiction or has faced it to feel that way.

And on Sunday, Jan. 29, they won’t have to.

The Trinity Episcopal Church, 91 Main St., Bridgewater, will be holding a National Day of Remembrance event which honors, helps and brings together community members and families that have lost loved ones to drug addiction.

“It is a completely open event, everyone from anywhere is welcome,” said D’Arpino, who has been involved in putting together the event.

The event, which begins at 5 p.m. at the church, will have a service that includes three families sharing their story about loved ones the lost to substance use disorder, a men’s choir from a men’s sobriety program in Brockton and a candle passing.

After the service there will also be a dinner and information on resources who are actively dealing with addiction, or helping a loved one who is.

“This is a way not only to help support families but also to give them resources,” D’Arpino said. “At the event people will get to meet others who are going through what they went through.”

The National Day of Remembrance, which is occurring all over the country, was initiated by the Addiction Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., and its #129aDay Campaign.

According to the campaign’s website, the #129aDay represents the number of individuals who die each day from a substance use disorder, which in 2014 was 129 people each day.

To honor those individuals who died from addiction, for 129 days the campaign shared a different individual’s and family’s story each day.

One of those stories was of Emmett Scannell, who died from a heroin overdose in 2016 at age 20.

“It was not something people wanted to talk about,” D’Arpino said. “People didn’t want to hear my son is a heroin addict but it had to be put out there because it can happen to anyone.”

Following Scannell’s death the family decided to share his raw and honest story right away, beginning with putting it in his obituary.

“On April 20, 2016 our 20-year-old son, Emmett J. Scannell, lost his battle to Substance Use Disorder and died due to a heroin overdose,” the first line of Emmett’s obituary read.

“You see Substance Use Disorder is not something to be ashamed of or hidden,” the obituary stated. “It is a DISEASE that has to be brought out into the light and fought by everyone.”

Since Scannell’s death his family has continued to share his story and will be doing so again at the National Day of Remembrance event.

“There are too many obituaries where young people have ‘died suddenly’ when that is not the case,” D’Arpino said. “It is not sudden. For Emmett it had been 18 months. We need to know that and share our stories to help the community know they are not alone.”

Of the service she said, “I hope that people leave knowing that there is a little bit of hope, whether that is that the epidemic can turn for the better, whether that is us reducing the stigma of addiction or whether that is making connections with someone else in similar positions.”

To learn more about the #129aDay Campaign visit www.addictionpolicy.org.

“If Emmett were here I know he would be proud of what we are doing,” D’Arpino said. “I just know he is in a much better space now.”

http://bridgewater.wickedlocal.com/news/20170126/national-day-of-remembrance-for-overdose-addiction-to-be-held-in-bridgewater

By Topher Avery January 15, 2017

A study released last November suggested that the sex of an individual does play a role in determining susceptibility to addiction. However, the effect that sex has on the likelihood of addiction is more complicated than initially believed. As additional data is gathered, it becomes clearer that many factors come together to determine how susceptible a person will be to addiction.

Historically, addiction research has been problematic, often neglecting issues related to sex and gender. Addiction was, at one point, considered to be a ‘male’ problem, creating a scarcity of available data on female addiction. In more recent years, efforts have been made to compensate for this deficiency.

In October 2014, the National Institute of Health rolled out policies that required any preclinical study it funded to include a balanced number of male and female cells or animals as part of a comprehensive plan to increase sex and gender inclusion in scientific research.

Common sex-correlated trends

Research has demonstrated that sex does have an effect on substance abuse. Women tend to have a shorter amount of time between their first experience with a substance and addiction, for example.

The November 2016 study explained that this behavior may have roots in neurobiology. According to the study, when the pattern of dopamine activation shifts from one location in the brain (the nucleus accumbens) to a different location in the brain (the dorsolateral striatum), behavior shifts from casual use to addiction. Among females in rat and human population samples, this shift occurs more quickly than in males, meaning that females begin showing compulsive substance intake sooner than their male counterparts.

The study urges against the conclusion that the differences in addictive behavior between sexes are determined solely by neurobiology, however, emphasizing that there are also sociocultural influences that must be considered. For example, the study explained thatwomen face a greater stigma than men when it comes to addiction, and men are provided with more social support during recovery, which might contribute to a higher rate of relapse for women.

A more complex spectrum

However, the study cautioned relying too heavily on a bimodal gender model, when considering addiction, will lead to an inaccurate understanding of the difference in addictive behaviors among sexes. In particular, it emphasizes a better understanding of what scientists mean when they say that there are differences between the brains of women and men; they do not mean that a person’s brain must be categorized as wholly “male” or “female.”

The study explains that many of the sex differences in the brain do not exist in a bimodal distribution, but instead are arranged along a spectrum. There are many different areas of the brain, and a certain area might display characteristics that are typically more closely associated with femininity or masculinity.

However, research revealed that each person’s brain is a collection of distinct brain areas. Depending on the individual, some of these areas tend to be more feminine, while others are

more masculine. In other words, even within a single person, classifying a brain as “masculine” or “feminine” evokes a binary understanding that does not reflect the actual complexity of gender-associated characteristics, behaviors and categorizations.

A tapestry of components

Ultimately, the study suggested that addiction is best understood as an outcome that is determined by a variety of interacting factors. No single dispositive element can determine whether or not someone will become addicted. Even when a person is categorized as female or male, their susceptibility to addiction must be determined by how this single variable interacts with a variety of other variables, including myriad social, economic and biological factors.

The study also stated that even singular factors, such as sex, must be understood to be more complex than a simple binary. With more research – especially research involving diverse samples of people – a better understanding of the intricate tapestry of variables that determine whether or not an individual will be susceptible to addiction may be achieved.

https://www.addictionnow.com/2017/01/15/susceptibility-addiction-sex-gender/2/