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The Long Road To Recovery |
Executives tell of addiction, denial, reach for treatment
By Jay Greene
8/4/2008
Signs of addiction. How do you know if someone at work is struggling
with substance abuse? There are no hard and fast rules, but there are
warning signs.
Look for:
Major behavior changes or mood swings.
Short-tempered or angry.
Secretive or withdrawn.
Loss of usual interests.
Irregular work and sleep patterns.
Takes Mondays and Fridays off.
Change in eating habits with weight loss or gain.
Nose bleeds.
Needle marks on arms.
Unkempt appearance.
Sources: Dr. Carl Christensen, Wayne State University School of Medicine;
Tom Ghena, Henry Ford Behavioral Health-Maplegrove Center; Denise Bertin-Epp,
Brighton Hospital.
After 30 years in printing, Alex Maysura thought he'd honed an effective
business- development strategy.
“I would take customers out for a three-martini lunch and I would have
nine,” said Maysura, 56. “I found I had a talent for drinking. ... I closed
business deals that way. I did more business at the bar and the golf course
than I did any other way.”
Maysura, owner of University Printing Services, a 20- person shop in
Detroit, had lost touch with reality.
“You think you are in control with all events in your life. Drinking was
good for business, and I had a successful company. Once 9-11 hit, my
business went down the tubes. I was left with just my drinking.”
A 52-year-old executive of a major bank in Southeast Michigan who wishes to
remain anonymous developed his drinking habit over cocktail lunches with
clients. In the beginning, it was three times a week. Eventually it turned
into two to three drinks a day, which continued for the next 10 years.
By 2004, he was up to nearly a quart of Jack Daniel's a night.
“I always was one who suffered from stress,” he said. “As I went through a
job transfer and a promotion, the added job and social responsibilities led
to me to pour myself that additional drink or two at home.”
But like the other alcoholic business professionals interviewed for this
story, he was convinced that his drinking could be self-managed.
“I woke up one morning with the shakes. I needed to medicate myself or have
another drink to get through the day,” he said. “I didn't want to go to work
with alcohol on my breath, so I took antidepressants. I became
cross-addicted.”
"Even their dog knows'
Where to get help, Hospitals in Southeast Michigan with licensed substance
abuse facilities:
Brighton Hospital, Brighton: (810) 227-1211 or
www.brightonhospital.org.
Providence Hospital and Medical Center, Southfield: (248) 849-3000 or
www.stjohn.org/ services/addiction/.
Havenwyck Hospital, Auburn Hills: (248) 373-9200 or www.psysolutions.com/facilities/
havenwyck.
POH-Havenwyck Substance Abuse Treatment Center, Pontiac: (248) 373-9200.
Henry Ford-Maplegrove Center, West Bloomfield Township: (248) 661-6100 or
www.henryford.com.
University of Michigan Addiction Treatment Services, Ann Arbor: (734)
764-9190 or www.psych.med.umich.edu/ umats.
Source: Michigan Department of Community Health, Bureau of Health
Professions Like others suffering from addiction, executives struggle with a
loss of control. What sets them apart, though, is their common unwillingness
to seek and accept help, said Tom Ghena, administrative director of Henry
Ford Behavioral Health-Maplegrove Center in West Bloomfield Township.
Executives often delay care because they are embarrassed, worry treatment
will be discovered and the revelation will hurt their careers. Rather than
take the risk, they opt to manage the problem on their own.
“By the time many executives seek help, they've either been admitted to a
hospital for emergency treatment or told by their company to seek help or be
fired,” said Denise Bertin-Epp, president and chief nursing officer of
Brighton Hospital.
“There is not a lot of education around addiction, and many people don't
understand the issues surrounding it,” Bertin-Epp said. “There's a huge
stereotype. People believe they choose that lifestyle or they are weak.”
But addiction is a disease that can be inherited, Christensen said. As such,
people need a variety of tactics to beat it.
Treatment often includes an initial assessment, detoxification, outpatient
drug treatment and inpatient care that can range from two weeks to three
months, said Dr. Carl Christensen, an addiction medicine specialist at Wayne
State University School of Medicine.
Other options include 12-step programs made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous,
and counseling and aftercare.
Once executives realize they need treatment, they often fear the admission
process. Bertin-Epp and Ghena recommend executives first seek advice from
their primary-care physicians. They also suggest executives call them
directly.
In February, Brighton began a concierge service for executives who need
substance abuse intervention but are too embarrassed to make traditional
arrangements. Instead of calling a hospital's patient intake office,
Bertin-Epp offers her cell phone number.
Some 10 to 20 executives from around the country call per week, Bertin-Epp
said. They ask: “How could I have done this to myself? What will my staff
think of me? What will the board think?”
Bertin-Epp answers questions on why treatment is important, where an
executive can go, and how to explain an absence or educate the office staff.
It helps that Bertin-Epp has former addicts on her team.
Virginia June, Brighton's director of business development, began drinking
with her alcoholic father at age 9. She was rather proud she could “drink
him under the table.” But by 25, she was drinking a fifth of bourbon,
popping 30 amphetamine pills and snorting a gram of cocaine a day.
“It is amazing I am still alive,” said June, now 47. “When I was 12, my
mother used to buy me Boone's Farm. It was like a juice box.”
Dr. Mark Menestrina, director of Brighton's detoxification unit, has been
arrested 12 times and lost his medical license.
“Pretty much anything I could use, I would use,” said Menestrina, 55, who
has been sober 15 years. “The only substances I did not use were ones that
were not yet invented.”
It wasn't until his wife filed for divorce in 1987 that he realized he
needed help.
Over a 14-year period, Menestrina counted 49 times in which he had been in a
treatment program. But it was the 50th time that he realized he needed to
listen to the experts. In March 1993, he had his last drink.
Menestrina said many executives take elaborate steps to cover their
admission, but few believe their stories.
“Even their dog knows they have a problem.”
Still, executives have assistants who sometimes cover their addictions.
“Professionals can control their environment more, and that can make the
problem worse,” Ghena said. “My advice for subordinates is to talk with each
other” and find a peer to approach the superior.
But Christensen said co-workers sometimes don't know there's a problem. “If
you have a co-worker who is an addict and homeless, you might not even know
until they have lost everything. It is not uncommon for a person to have a
life completely destroyed but still show up at work,” he said.
Most people are relieved once they are in treatment.
“They have lied and made excuses to hide it,” Christensen said. “They want
help. It is just difficult taking that first step.”
"I needed to shut up and listen'
When his printing business tanked in 2002, Maysura started to increase his
drinking until he was up to a quart of liquor a day.
“I was having family problems, my parents were sick and my business closed.
I just couldn't handle the pressure,” he said.
Maysura searched the Internet for self-help solutions and finally decided to
seek professional help.
“I had a habit that I cultivated over 30 years, and I found you can't get
rid of it in 30 days,” he said. “It is a disease, but you also have to deal
with psychological traits, so it isn't easy to kick.”
After years of heavy drinking, the banker who wishes to remain anonymous had
a pancreatic attack.
“My doctor told me in April 2006 that if I didn't stop drinking I might as
well put a gun to my head because you can't replace your pancreas,” he said.
In May 2006, he asked his physician about checking into a treatment center.
“I couldn't sleep without having a drink or taking a drug.”
It wasn't until his third admission at Maplegrove in June 2007 that he
became receptive to the full treatment program.
“My way of thinking was not working. I needed to shut up and listen and do
what I was supposed to do,” he said. The key, he said, was attending
post-inpatient treatment meetings three to four times a week.
In October 2005, Maysura had his last drink. He has since gone back to
college and will graduate this year with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
He plans to earn a master's degree in social work to become an addiction
counselor for seniors. Right now, he volunteers at Maplegrove.
“I go to meetings once a week and feel comfortable because I am around
people who understand me and do not judge me,” Maysura said. “I am not
worried about hitting the bottle again. I have the knowledge on how to say
no to old friends who want to go have a drink.”
Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325,
[email protected]
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