PICK Awareness
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Important Phone Numbers
    • For Parents >
      • Letter to a Friend
      • Grief and Recovery
      • Child Abuse/ Human Trafficking
      • Bullying & Cyberbullying
      • Internet Safety
    • For Friends/ Teens & Adolescents
    • For Senior Citizens
    • Drug Court, Reentry, Job Resources & Housing >
      • Gang Awareness
    • Substance Abuse >
      • "KUDOS" to These N.J. Treatment Providers
      • Hiding places
      • Meeting locations
      • Prescription Drug Drop off Locations
      • Underage Drinking
      • Heroin, Opioids, NARCAN
      • 12 Steps & 12 Traditions of Alcohol Anyomous
      • Faith-Based Recovery
      • Performance Enhancing Drugs
      • Tobacco, E-Cigarettes, Marijuana & CBD's (HEMP)
    • Healthy Lifestyles >
      • Wellness and Nutrition
      • Food Pantry/ Soup Kitchen Resources
    • Mental Health >
      • College student resources
    • Veterans and Military
    • Women's Issues >
      • Domestic Violence
      • Pregnant and Low Income Resources
    • Teacher Data Sites, Realtor and Pet Med info >
      • Pet Medications
      • DATA SOURCES
      • Expressive Creative Art Therapies
      • Realtors
  • About
    • Testimonies
    • Donna's Bio
    • Laura's Blog
  • Contact
  • Donate

Parents In Connection for Kids Inc.
​
​P.I.C.K. Awareness

Recognizing Signs of Relapse

7/27/2016

0 Comments

 
When someone is in recovery from a substance use disorder, aka "addiction" we hope and pray that it will last for ever. The truth is that just like with many other illness, it might not. 60% of people in recovery experience a relapse in some point of their lives.
A great friend once told me that if someone relapses, you can't discount all the work and time it took to stay in recovery in the first place. She said it was like going on a diet and losing 100 pounds, but eating a box of cookies over the weekend and gaining 10 back…..YOU CAN'T discount the fact that you still lost 90 pounds! You just get back on track!
Having a strong network of friends and family to provide love and support is so important!

Here are a few warning signs that you and they can watch out for. 

  • Romanticizing or longing for the old days
  • Believing you are strong enough to use again without falling back into addiction
  • Starting to reconnect with old friends from your addiction days
  • Becoming defensive and no longer able to accept constructive criticism
  • Beginning the pattern of denial that was present during the addiction
  • Changes in attitude or behavior
  • Sudden feelings of depression and loneliness
  • Breaking down of social relationships
  • Beginning to feel extremely stressed out and constantly tense
  • Resenting those who are trying to help
  • Withdrawal symptoms suddenly start to reappear
  • Loss of belief of their recovery program.
  • Thinking "only one drink" won't hurt
Remember treating someone with respect, speaking to them like the human being they are, telling them you support them if they need help (just as you would with any other illness) instead of yelling and judging will be more productive and you'll get better results.
0 Comments

How Long Do Drugs Stay In Your System?

7/25/2016

0 Comments

 
The most common form of drug screening is done with urine, but tests can also be performed by taking a saliva or blood sample. Hair samples can also be used and are nearly impossible to cheat because nearly all drug residue can remain in follicles for as long as 90 days. The presence of illicit substances and how long they stay in the blood system depends largely on the frequency of use and amount used, along with other factors, such as bodyweight.
How Long Do Commonly Used Drugs Stay in the Body?
  • Marijuana – 2 days to 40+ days
  • Cocaine – 2 to 4 days
  • Heroin – 2 to 4 days
  • Methamphetamine – 2 to 5 days
  • Amphetamines 2 to 4 days
  • Ecstasy (MDMA) – 2 to 4 days
  • Alcohol – 6 to 24 hours
  • PCP – 3 to 14 days
While there are ways for a person to “flush” their system out before a drug screening, they are chancy at best. Professional screeners have seen it all, from detecting bleach in someone’s urine to being handed a cold, purple colored urine sample. To reduce the likelihood that an individual will substitute their urine sample with someone else’s, many labs require that a test administrator be present as it is being taken, which ensures the origin and purity of the sample.
In 2013, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimated that 9.4 percent of the population, nearly 25 million people, had used drugs in the past month. Continually failing drug screenings or being unable to stop using an illicit substance in the case of an impending test might be a signal of a greater issue, one of dependency or addiction.
Source: www.inspiremalibu.com and NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse


0 Comments

Teen Text Lingo and #Hashtags

7/24/2016

0 Comments

 
There are lots of ways to stay one step ahead of what your teen is doing on their cell phone and on social media platforms. Learn about the codes of net-lingo or text lingo on cell phones and hashtags. You'll be shocked to see what some of these mean.
Here are some that I have found:
  • GYPO – Get Your Pants Off
  • GNOC – Get Naked On Camera
  • ASL – Age/Sex/Location
  • GKY- Go Kill Yourself
Hashtags are sometimes used to follow communities that promote problematic behaviors like suicide, drugs, cutting, sex….. etc. Searching for certain hashtags on Instagram will pull up millions of pictures, not all of them positive. 
I found these #hashtags for Self Harm and eating disorders:
#ana, #mia, #cuttingCheck out the below resources and remember that information is powerful:
Text ingo-  www.helpyourteens.com/text-lingo-secret-language-of-teens/
Hashtags- blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/teen-hashtags-every-parent-know/

0 Comments

Prevention Partners

7/20/2016

0 Comments

 
Thank you to the Partnership of Drug Free N.J. for adding our website to their resource list and for mentioning us in their blog. Your organization works endlessly to prevent substance abuse disorder in or state. It's an honor to work with your amazing team.
http://www.drugfreenj.org/blog 
0 Comments

Everyone's Pain is Real

7/20/2016

1 Comment

 
When you've been through a not so great journey and you've survived it, you sometimes have insight to feel and see other peoples pain. My daughter Laura wrote the following post:
​
There are always people that are going through things way worse than you. But that doesn't mean your pain isn't real. Everyone is entitled to their feelings. They're feelings, its not something we have a choice about.

So if someone you know is going through something, and its causing them pain, remember the feeling you had when you went through the worst time in your life. That's how you relate.

I hate when people say that. Everyone's pain is real, and even though it may be something silly to you, to them its real. You never know what someone is going through, Or what kind of day they're having. Be nice to everyone, even if you don't want to be. If someone is nasty to you, maybe they're just going through a bad time. Maybe try to give someone a reason to smile, instead of another reason to be mad. Just saying..think about it.

1 Comment

Another Senseless Overdose

7/18/2016

0 Comments

 
Last night my husband and I lost a great guy to another senseless overdose, We've known him since we were kids. He was my brother-in-law's brother. He worked for my husband over the past few years. and was doing very well.  He has an amazing adult son who will miss him. 
As much as I try to do do to help people get treatment, find recovery and stay well, I really wish that I could have helped this one. He always had a smile, sensitive and was good hearted. 

​My daughter Laura wrote the below post on Facebook out of frustration:
​

I'm so sick of drugs taking people I love from me. Once again I lost someone in my family to drugs. The shit that's going around right now is worse then you think. So if your planning on doing drugs, please just stop and think about this. My family is going to be forever affected by this. And someone in my family just lost their life. Their LIFE.
​So next time

Read More
0 Comments
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Donna DeStefano
    Passionate parent, prevention professional and activist

    Categories

    All
    2016
    ACE Score
    Addiction
    Antonio Pierce
    Assemblyman Sean Kean
    August 31st
    Awareness
    Barriers To Recovery
    Bill A268
    Bill A5061
    Bill S3552
    Bill S469
    Books To Read
    Break The Stigma
    Child Safety
    Circle BMW
    Cloud 9 & 10
    Compassion
    DEA
    Depression
    Designated Driver
    Disposal
    DMHAS
    Drug Abuse
    Drug Court
    Drug Free Kids
    Drug Free NJ
    Empowerment
    Eric Arauz
    Erik Coleman
    Express Scripts
    Families
    Family
    Fun Things To Do
    Girl Scouts
    Governor Christie's $200 Million Funding
    Governor Christie's Vigil 2016
    Governor Murphy
    Happy New Year
    Hidden In Plain Sight
    Hiding Places
    Homelessness
    Hope
    Housing
    Inside Edition
    Inside Edition Segment Link
    Jamie Wood
    Jesse Armstead
    Judgement
    Keeping The Mind Occupied
    Language
    License Plates
    Marijuana Pipes
    Mental Health
    Mental Illness
    Monkey Do
    Monkey See
    Mother's Day
    "My Two Cents"
    Networking
    New Jersey Coalition Of Auto Retailers
    Next Gen Group
    NJ Car
    NJ Fines And Penalties For DUI's
    NJ Support Recovery License Plates
    OCPO
    Opioid Crisis
    Overdose Awareness Day
    PHL17
    Play Safe
    Prescription Take Back
    Prevention
    Puzzles & Other Hobbies
    Raise Awareness
    Realtors
    Recovery
    Recovery Is Possible
    Reentry
    Relapse
    Rotary Club Of Toms River
    Self Help
    Senator Gopal
    Senator Robert Singer
    Sober Holiday's
    Sober Living
    Societal Cost
    State Of The State Address 2017
    Statistics
    Staying Sober During Holidays
    Stigma
    Substance Abuse
    Suicide
    Support
    Support Recovery
    Support Recovery License Plates
    Support System
    Surgeon General's Report 2016
    Sustainability
    Synthetic Drugs
    Take A Stand Vigil
    Testimony For NJ Support Recovery License Plates
    The P.I.C.K. Awareness Act
    Toy Association
    Toy Facts
    Tranquil & Quest
    Trauma
    United Recovery Project
    Vance Johnson
    #vigil2017 #beaface #Illbetherewillyou
    Volunteer To Get The Job You Want
    Ways To Stay Sober

    Archives

    January 2021
    January 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014

  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Important Phone Numbers
    • For Parents >
      • Letter to a Friend
      • Grief and Recovery
      • Child Abuse/ Human Trafficking
      • Bullying & Cyberbullying
      • Internet Safety
    • For Friends/ Teens & Adolescents
    • For Senior Citizens
    • Drug Court, Reentry, Job Resources & Housing >
      • Gang Awareness
    • Substance Abuse >
      • "KUDOS" to These N.J. Treatment Providers
      • Hiding places
      • Meeting locations
      • Prescription Drug Drop off Locations
      • Underage Drinking
      • Heroin, Opioids, NARCAN
      • 12 Steps & 12 Traditions of Alcohol Anyomous
      • Faith-Based Recovery
      • Performance Enhancing Drugs
      • Tobacco, E-Cigarettes, Marijuana & CBD's (HEMP)
    • Healthy Lifestyles >
      • Wellness and Nutrition
      • Food Pantry/ Soup Kitchen Resources
    • Mental Health >
      • College student resources
    • Veterans and Military
    • Women's Issues >
      • Domestic Violence
      • Pregnant and Low Income Resources
    • Teacher Data Sites, Realtor and Pet Med info >
      • Pet Medications
      • DATA SOURCES
      • Expressive Creative Art Therapies
      • Realtors
  • About
    • Testimonies
    • Donna's Bio
    • Laura's Blog
  • Contact
  • Donate