Professor Dame Carol Black

Bryony Gordon's Mad World

The Telegraph

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's guest is on a mission to transform the way we view people addicted to drugs. This year, Professor Dame Carol Black led a government review into the way we handle drug addiction in this country - be that treatment and recovery, or even prevention. She called for a more health-based approach and more than £500 million investment over five years.

This Addiction Awareness Week, Bryony has teamed up with Action on Addiction and the Forward Trust to bring you a conversation each day tackling a different element of addiction. Because even though we are slowly breaking down the stigma around discussing mental health, addiction - sadly - remains a taboo, even though we will all know someone touched by it.

Dame Carol tells Bryony why alcohol is "just as dangerous" as other drugs, why she feels addiction should be treated as a chronic health condition, and explains why the current system is "broken".

You can read Professor Dame Carol Black's review here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/independent-review-of-drugs-by-professor-dame-carol-black |

Action on Addiction is a UK charity providing support to people who need rehab, as well as a wealth of resources for those battling addiction issues: https://www.actiononaddiction.org.uk |

You can find more information about organisations that offer free and confidential support at the end of this episode.

Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ |

For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld |

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/ |

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The telegraph. Podcasts.
0:07.0	Let's say I had diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
0:15.0	That's a chronic condition. I'll have relapses and remissions.
0:19.0	For me, that's what serious drug dependency is.
0:26.0	Hello, my name's Bernie Gordon and I want to welcome you to this special series of MADWELLD.
0:32.0	And I say special series because it covers a subject I know all too well.
0:37.0	Addiction.
0:38.0	Addiction Recovery and Mental Health go hand in hand and as many of you may know it's a journey I've been on and I'm still on.
0:45.0	So for this year's Addiction Awareness Week, the MADWELLD team have joined forces with the amazing charities action on addiction and the forward trust
0:53.0	to bring you a series of honest conversations about addiction. Be that to alcohol, drugs, gambling or something else.
1:00.0	We're slowly breaking down the stigma of discussing mental health, but addiction still sadly remains taboo.
1:05.0	Even though we will all know someone who's been touched by it.
1:08.0	Which means I'm especially grateful to my guests on this series for having the courage to speak to me.
1:13.0	On MADWELLD we believe that hearing people's personal experience of mental health is so important in battling stigma.
1:23.0	But it's also important to take a look at how practically we can improve the system of getting treatment for those mental illnesses.
1:31.0	So today we're going to hear from the woman who was tasked by the government to look at the way we handle drug addiction in this country.
1:38.0	She's Professor Dame Carol Black and she is on the most remarkable mission to change the way we treat drug addicts in this country.
1:48.0	Dame Carol, do you insist people call you Dame Carol? No, call me Carol. I'm going to call you Dame Carol.
1:55.0	You just, it befits you. Welcome to MADWELLD. Thank you so much for coming in.
2:01.0	The question we ask all of our guests, the first question is, how are you really right now?
2:07.0	I'm pretty good right now because I'm going away for a weekend with lots of my mates going to Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
2:15.0	Yes. How lovely. On a medical pilgrimage. I need to know about this medical pilgrimage.
	...

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