September serves as National Recovery Month in the United States to raise awareness and understanding of mental and substance abuse disorders.

On Wednesday, Dallas County Court Services held its own recognition of the month by holding the first of two educational events at the George P. Evans Reception Hall. Wednesday’s event was titled “Addiction and the Law” and was for criminal justice personnel, treatment providers and concerned citizens.

“I urge you to really think about changing our practice, about challenging the stigmas that we have about this population about what we think of substance abuse,” said Srivani Tangella, a program associate for the National Family Drug Court. “It could be any one of us.”

Theresa Lewis, a registered nurse and licensed alcohol and drug counselor, talked about what substance abuse does to the brain. She said when someone is addicted to a substance and then has it taken away during treatment, that person’s brain no longer produces dopamine, a chemical involved in movement, reward and motivation.

“Their behavior and their ability to have an emotion is pretty much stripped away for the time being,” Lewis said.

Lewis said in our society, we view heart disease, which is often preventable by eating correctly and exercising, differently than we view substance abuse, which is a brain disease.

She urged those in attendance Wednesday to change the way they look at someone affected by substance abuse.

She used slides to demonstrate how a healthy person’s brain looks compared to someone’s brain who is affected by substance abuse.

“Substance abuse is a brain disease and we need to treat it that way,” Lewis said.

Dallas County Court Services will host a second event Friday, Sept. 23 titled “Celebration of Recovery.”

For more information, contact Dallas County Court Services Director Miah Jackson at (334) 431-5556.