WMAR-2 News Mark Roper is talking Men's Health this June.
He sat down one-on-one with Patrick Hurley, Behavioral Health Technician Supervisor with Foundations Recovery Centers in Woodlawn to talk about alcoholism and addiction.
The pandemic took a toll on many, and was especially hard on people facing addiction, Hurley says he has seen many people restart the cycle of addiction, "Now that these meetings are opening back up a little bit, big part of recovery is going to a 12-step meeting or fellowship, or there are other outlets. There we can find a sense of community, people that are just like us, that suffer from the same disease as us and it helps us stay connected."
Hurley says he also lost people he knew in the past 15-16 months, people who thought they had beaten addiction, but it came back, "I wouldn't completely blame it on the pandemic because because there are millions of people who got through, by staying connected, but it had a lot to do with it."
"Mental health and addiction go hand-in-hand. So, when I start to isolate I become disconnected from what I believe in. I become disconnected from men. I become disconnected from women. Disconnected from nature and with my disconnection comes depression and then once I become depressed I'm left with very little outlets, I start to feel hopeless, and alcohol seems like a good idea at the time. That's the story we tell ourselves in our brain."
Watch the full interview below. For more help with addiction, no matter where you live, click here.
