Doctor shines light on opioid addiction and recovery
By Lookout Production on Nov 15, 2022 with Comments 0
Peter Mallett,
Staff Writer
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His journey with addiction began years ago, with painkillers prescribed by his doctor to treat back pain. It didn’t end until he graduated from fentanyl and survived a near-fatal, unintentional overdose.
Today, Dr. Darryl Jordan Gebien is a survivor of Canada’s opioid crisis, in long-term recovery, and admits he is lucky to be alive.
“I hope through this discussion we can learn from each other,” Dr. Gebien says.
Dr. Gebien is the next speaker in the MARPAC Health and Wellness Fall Speakers Bureau series. He plans on taking his audience on a journey of his epic fall and arduous rise from opioid use disorder with a discussion titled A Compassionate Lens of Addiction. The talk coincides with National Addiction Awareness Week.
In November 2014, Dr. Gebien, an emergency room physician from Thornhill, Ont., was arrested and eventually incarcerated for abusing his prescription-writing privileges.
Despite losing contact with his young family and career, Dr. Gebien pressed on in his recovery, frequently sharing at Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step meetings.
“Pain, stress, worry, anxiety and depression affect us all, but it is how we choose to deal with them that makes it easier to overcome,” he says. “Both physical and mental pain, as well as poor coping skills contributed to my addiction, and healing only began within the comfort of being with others after I surrendered.”
Dr. Gebien says he wants to share his 15 keys to happiness learned during his recovery.
“I am thrilled to share my story and interact with members of the Defence team from across the country,” Dr. Gebien said.
Dr. Gebien will share his experience on Nov. 22 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on MS Teams.
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