This is great news by CADDAC and Health Canada to create Adhd and substance use disorder peer-led support groups in the fall. They’re looking now for peer support facilitators now with lived experience who are willing to be trained and run them. Will be offered a stipend for their time.

Hope people with ADHD ask their MLAs to get provincial health departments to create ADHD and substance use disorder (SUD) peer-led support groups too.

ADHD people are 4-8 times + more likely to have SUD. Provinces should also require ALL rehabs to screen for ADHD.

Every BC rehab I’ve asked at community events in Vancouver does not:(

Also, all recovery homes should screen for ADHD.

Provincial governments should also demand all doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists and therapists to screen all patients with substance abuse disorder for ADHD too.

Many doctors etc are not properly trained in diagnosing and treating ADHD. The provincial governments in Canada (and provincial and state governments around the world) discriminate against the human rights of adults and kids with ADHD and violate the Canadian Medicare Act, access, by refusing to require ALL doctors to have #MandatoryCMECoursesOnADHD. Please explain to your MLA/MPP/MNA why this is important.

Because of this, there are huge rates of people with ADHD who are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety etc, and some of them are self-medicating their ADHD with dopamine boosting, and often deadly or disabling substance abuse in the age of poisoned drug overdose death crisis. Let alone alcohol deaths and diseases.

See

20-40% of people with substance use disorder have ADHD multiple studies show.

And in some cases, the numbers are even higher.  

55% of people with Methamphetamine substance use disorder in Japan had ADHD.

70% of Crystal Meth Inpatients in another study had ADHD

Only 5% of adults have ADHD.

IF ADHD is diagnosed and treated, it reduces substance use disorder, multiple studies show.

CADDAC (The Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada) will start running ADHD and Substance Use Support Groups starting in Fall 2023.

The Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada, is seeking Peer Support Facilitators for our upcoming ADHD and Substance Use Support Groups. As people with lived experience with both ADHD and SUD, the Peer Support Facilitators will support group participants while also gaining meaningful employment experience and opportunities for personal development. Training provided.

Must have lived experience with ADHD and Substance Use Disorder.

To view the full Peer Support Facilitator role description, click here.

If you wish to apply, please fill out our application form at the button below.

Apply – Peer Facilitator ADHD and SUD Support Groups

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

The Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada is launching ADHD and Substance Use Disorder Peer-Led Support Groups in fall 2023, with funding support from Health Canada.

Through these virtual group sessions, participants will receive emotional support and mentorship, critical education about ADHD, and strategies on how to manage some of the core symptoms that have led to substance use.

These groups will be offered in different time zones across Canada and will be peer-led by trained Peer Support Facilitators.

Do you know of any ADHD and substance use disorder peer-led support groups?

Want to start your own ADHD support group? See my

How To Start And Run Support Groups section.

6 pages of links to help you start your own support group, everything from one pagers to full manuals.

Here are some books on ADHD and substance abuse from my ADDCoach4u website, also have links to many studies and articles there on ADHD and SUD too.

Overload: Attention Deficit Disorder and the Addictive Brain

by David K. Miller and Kenneth Blum

“This fascinating collaborative effort explores many of the causes, cases and concerns surrounding ADD. With the insights of clinician Dave Miller and scientist Ken Blum, Overload gives an in-depth picture of what attention deficit hyperactivity disorder really looks like, how it’s related to addiction, and how it happens in certain people.”

The Twelve Steps–A Guide for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder

By Friends in Recovery

“A spiritual resource that applies the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to adults with Attention Deficit Disorder in a way that combines structure, self-discovery and the support of others with the proven spiritual principles of the 12 steps.”

The Link Between A.D.D and Addiction: Getting the Help You Deserve

By Wendy Richardson

“As many as 50% of people with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) use drugs, alcohol, and other addictive behaviours to self-medicate their ADD symptoms. Here’s what you need to know to get help or help others in this situation.

Includes:

• self tests
• checklists of symptoms
• practical solutions”

When Too Much Isn’t Enough: Ending the Destructive Cycle of ADHD and Addictive Behavior

By Wendy Richardson

“This insightful book takes a thorough look at the link between AD/HD and addiction and offers tips on how to combat its devastating effects.”

Please let anyone you know who has ADHD know about these ADHD and Substance Use Support Groups.

While most people with ADHD do not have substance use disorder, many do have it, and even those who don’t have it likely know some people who do.

Hopefully, people with ADHD who have lived experience with substance use disorder who are now in recovery and stable will check out this program and consider being peer leaders, being kind to others boost dopamine.

And karmic seeds expire, so you need to plant new good ones:)

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