Smashed: Breaking the Cycle of Alcohol Use Disorder

Introduction

“Dr. Jeff Harries, the founder of the Canadian Alcohol Use Disorder Society, has been working to ensure that AUD be understand and treated as a medical condition.” He strongly believes that “people suffering from this disease should not be shamed or marginalized. His 20 years of experience in prescribing effective medications and spreading awareness of a more effective, compassionate approach has helped thousands of people to recover and heal.” Unfortunately, his work was derailed when he was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. He passed in 2021.

Quotes

“Alcohol Use Disorder is a chronic disease that affects the brain, not a moral failing. For too long we’ve been trying to get patients to quit or reduce consumption by shaming or berating them. I’m filled with hope that we can view this disorder with compassion.”

“The idea is that you can take a medication over a period of time, and that may actually be not for a long time, but it reduces the cravings, allows your brain to heal, and then you can move forward from there.”

“Jeff was one of the most kind and patients doctors I had ever spoken with. Before then I truly thought I was going to have to die with this disease and I was so embarrassed about it that I had some pretty bad thoughts. I had been shut down by other physicians saying, you know, ‘willpower and just stop drinking, get it out of the house’. But Jeff Harris gave me that first boost up on the whole ‘I could do this myself’.”

“People do things they just would not do if they weren’t under the influence of alcohol. We certainly are the frontline people – we see these people when they’re at their lowest, we see these people when alcohol has ravaged and caused so much destruction in their lives.”

“The Canadian Alcohol Use Disorder Society was formed about 5 months ago and it was really Jeff’s idea that we should put in place an organization that can help promote this understanding, provide hope and compassion for people in a different way that’s been happening in the past, and expand that understanding so that there isn’t this failure demand.”