December 20

THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
6 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
December 2020
www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
www.facebook/thevalleybusinessjournal
For questions, comments, or story ideas, please
e-mail publishertvbj@verizon.net or call (951) 461-0400.
EDITOR/PUBLISHER/CEO
Linda Wunderlich
Email: publishertvbj@verizon.net
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(951) 461-0400
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Helen M. Ryan
VP OF DISTRIBUTION
Dane Wunderlich
Addiction and Mental Illness is a
Public Health Crisis
by Matthew Taylor
Let me first introduce myself, my
name Matthew Taylor proud owner of
TaylorMade Counseling & Consulting.
Also, I am your Addiction and Mental
Health Rehabilitation Therapist. I am so
excited to be a new contributor and writer
for this great publication, The Valley
Business Journal.
Overdose is now the #1 cause of
accidental death in the United States,
recently surpassing car accidents. Every
four minutes a parent loses a child to
addiction, and the rising cost of addiction
now exceeds $400 billion a year.
Research shows that the stigma of
addiction keeps people from getting the
treatment needed and my goal is to help
change that narrative. This is a fact 1 in
3 families are impacted by substance use
disorder but only 1 in 10 ever seek treatment,
while we are looking at numbers let
me share one more number with you, well
a little more than one more number. It is
estimated to cost businesses more than
$193 million annually due to employee
substance use.
Not very long ago addiction was
considered a moral affliction. Addicts
were seen as bad people, devoted to the
pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification,
rather than individuals suffering from a
mental and physical affliction. After years
of research, we now have a more enlightened
understanding of addiction with the
current model revealing that addiction
is a chronic, progressive disease of the
brain. In fact, addiction is sometimes
alternately referred to as a substance use
disorder, which prompts comparisons to
conditions like Alzheimer’s disease or
dementia as frequently as illnesses like
diabetes.
In my opinion Addiction and Mental
Illness are siblings just with their own
different personalities. In terms of psychological
symptoms, individuals who
have developed addictions have a dramatically
disrupted hierarchy of needs,
suggested by their tendency to act against
their own self-interests. This is illustrated
by the habitual substance abuse behavior
in spite of the numerous consequences,
including a decline in overall physical
health and potential legal repercussions.
As such, addicts become incapable of
controlling their impulses, which is also a
symptom of many other mental illnesses.
Ok, it was not a mistake that I
launched my new company here in Wildomar,
California but I have one request
of you, please help to make a difference
in our communities.
Matthew Taylor, AODC, MHRT, CCFP
STAFF WRITERS/
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Gene Wunderlich
Ted Saul
Craig Davis
Stefani Laszko
Nicole Albrecht
Julie Ngo
Tom Plant
Esther Phahla
Steve Amante
Monique deGroot
Andrea Shoup
Gloria Wolnick
Dr. Drake Levasheff, PhD
Mort J. Grabel, Esq.
John & Christine Hamby
Brian Connors
Tristin Collopy
Dr. Pat Utnehmer
Bonnie Woodrome
Haley Munson
Criteria for Submitting Articles:
1. Since the publication of articles is an added public
relations feature for our advertisers, their articles will be
given first priority. Other articles will be published on a
space available basis.
2. Articles should be submitted as a Word document file.
3. Articles must be business-oriented and pertain to
the author’s area of expertise. A photo of the writer is
appropriate.
4. All submissions are subject to editing by the publisher.
5. Send completed articles by e-mail to: publishertvbj@
verizon.net
6. Article and advertising deadlines are the 15th of each
month for the next issue.
The Valley Business Journal is a California Corporation. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part, without the
written permission of the Publisher is prohibited. The publication is
published monthly. The opinions and views expressed in these pages
are those of the writer or person interviewed and not necessarily those
of The Valley Business Journal. The Valley Business Journal hereby
expressly limits its liability resulting from any and all misprints, errors
and/or inaccuracies any advertisement or editorial may contain, to
the credit of the specific advertising payment and/or the running of a
corrected advertisement or editorial correction notice.