[ChefDenominator]

I watched a documentary about heroin addiction in a wealthy northeast U.S. town.

I recall being struck at how the parents of the addicts presented in the documentary (who were all young) talked about how all of their kids were always so happy as children.

Then, when interviewing the addicts, there was a clear recurring theme that they wanted to do drugs because they could not handle the pain of being off drugs.

I did not feel these things to be unrelated.

[pitt1980]

"So happy as little children" seems to be a recurring line in nearly ever episode of Intervention I've ever seen

I usually assume that the parents are pretty poor historians

Or that people aren't very good at figuring out when little kids aren't happy

I have trouble believing that happy childhood are correlated with later life problems

[ada1981]

As someone who has helped people get off heroin, booze,toxic relationships, etc.. That jumps out as a red flag that the parents were sending signals that the kids were ONLY allowed to feel "happy", so of course they would be primed for addiction, not having learned the beauty of their entire range of emotions.

[prawn]

Or that an unhappy childhood leading to later addiction might seem unremarkable and go unmentioned? (In general, not necessarily this documentary.)

[icantdrive55]

I was in therapy years ago.

I told by the Therapist, "I didn't have a bad childhood."

I was basically tired of talking, and just wanted a drug to calm my brain down.

She told me patients whom had bad childhoods, actually had bad/subpar childhoods, in many cases."

That's about all I got out of the sessions. She just got her MFCC, and was very honest, and seemed to care. She was pregnant, and in some sessions we would be both crying together. She was actually the only Therapist I liked. I think because she was young, and took her job seriously.

I look back, and I don't think I had a bad childhood. I had typical Irish American/Mexican parents. I was the oldest, and was expected to do things differently, but my chilhood wasn't terrible.

Anyhow, I did look it up, and supposedly children from tough backrounds tend to think they had great childhoods, with all the usual exceptions that accompany Psychology.

I will honestly never know in my case. I refused to blame my parents. My father was a piece of work though.

When I got older, I basically didn't want to turn into him, and I haven't yet.

[edblarney]

A) Most children are happy.

B) 'The pain of being off drugs' - for opioids is a deeply physical thing as well. Once they are 'hardcore' it's no longer a matter of 'getting high' it's 'getting back to normal' - i.e. they need heroin to operate normally. The body adjusts to having opioids, and when it doesn't get them it 'feels' miserable. That's the trap, apparently.

[ChefDenominator]

The tone of the parents "in comparison with" others. I am not arguing that they were good or poor parents, but I think it is arrogant to assume they were completely ignorant.

They were talking about well after the physical addiction aspects would have subsided. Their issue was that they could not stay off of the drugs, beyond just the issues immediately following quitting.

[edblarney]

I don't doubt for a second that the parents are disingenuous or self deluded.

I just believe that most parents, looking back at their children when they were young, would say 'they were such happy children'.

I do not believe that 'a happy childhood' in any way correlates with individuals likelihood of using/getting hooked on drugs - or their difficulty in 'getting off drugs'.

Opioid addicts in particular commonly indicate that once they are 'fully hooked' - that the drug stops become a thing of aspiration, rather, they need to take it to 'just feel normal' - and that without it, it's painful. This is the body's reaction to the drug. Being addicted to heroin sets a 'new baseline' for your bodies production of serotonin, dopamine etc. etc. which is unpleasant, and to feel normal, one needs ever more heroin uptake.

In a much smaller way - a similar thing happens with nicotine: the 'mini high' from smoking goes away after a while, at which point, without a nicotine hit - you feel uncomfortable. Getting the 'hit' reverts you merely to a relatively normal state.

[edblarney]

"I don't doubt for a second that the parents are disingenuous or self deluded."

Meant to say: "I don't think parents are disingenuous or deluded."

[jwdunne]

Those parents are probably in turmoil. Their kids addicted to drugs because of the emotional pain of reality would feel like total failure as a parent.

The other thing is heroin withdrawal causes intense physical pain. Heroin is a potent painkiller. It numbs both physical and emotional pain. Withdrawal goes in the opposite direction. I've heard the pain described as "deep within the joints and bones".

[jcoffland]

If the parents remembered their children as unhappy then it would seem their fault as the parent is generally assumed responsible for a child's happiness in their early years.

[BurningFrog]

"Low frustration tolerance" is considered a factor in several mental problems by some: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_frustration_tolerance

[s_kilk]

> I watched a documentary about heroin addiction in a wealthy northeast U.S. town.

Any recollection of the title?

My google-fu is failing me.

[ChefDenominator]

http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/heroin-cape-cod-usa