Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Assistance
Substance abuse is a festering sore in our society, and nobody knows that better than someone who has recovered from a drug or alcohol addiction. Theft, assault, domestic violence, auto accidents, disease, divorce; these are all too common of a factor in the life of someone using drugs and the consequences are passed on to friends, family members and taxpayers.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different types of treatment and recovery programs available for addicts today. Along with the numerous methodologies comes varying combinations of degrees, licenses, certifications and experience among the professional treatment staff. Some programs rely heavily on medical training and substitute drugs while others depend on subjective diagnoses mixed with individual and group therapy sessions with licensed therapists. However, through most addicts’ viewpoint, the pieces of paper tend not to matter as much as someone that can connect with them and help see them through their treatment and recovery.
This connection often comes in the form of a fellow patient or a staff member who has also recovered from addiction. The popularity of having a sponsor in a 12-step group is well known throughout the country in mainstream treatment and aftercare practices. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has established Recovery Community Services Program to offer support in this area. Of course, the program itself has to be successful in design and practicality in order for this method to have lasting effects.
Is addiction a disease?
Whether a person is genetically or bio-chemically predisposed to drug addiction or alcoholism is a controversy that has been debated for years within the scientific, medical and recovery communities. One school of thought advocates the "disease concept," which embraces the notion that addiction is either an inherited disease in that the individual is permanently ill at a genetic level, or that he has acquired the disease from other factors, such as continual drug abuse or modeling the behaviors of his family. Either way, to assign responsibility for alcohol or other drug addiction to a disease makes it very difficult for an individual to be in control of his life or to be successful maintaining long-term recovery, or experiencing long periods of sobriety.
Another philosophy argues that addiction is a dual problem consisting of a physical and mental dependency on chemicals, compounded by a pre-existing mental disorder (i.e. clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or some other mental illness), and that the mental disorder needs to be treated first as the primary cause of the addiction. A third philosophy subscribes to the idea that chemical dependency leads to "chemical imbalances" in the neurological system that hinders the recovery process
The fact remains that there is scientific research to support all of these concepts, but that none of these theories are absolute. Based on national averages we have a 16% to 20% recovery rate. The message is clear that we have a lot more to learn if we are to bring the national recovery rate to a more desirable level.
If addiction is not a disease, then what?
There is a 4th school of thought, which has proven to be more accurate. It has to do with the life cycle of addiction and recovery. This data is universally applicable to addiction, no matter which hypothesis is used to explain the phenomenon of chemical dependency.
The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, discomfort or some form of emotional or physical pain a person is experiencing. The person finds this very difficult to deal with.
The person experiencing the discomfort has a real problem. He feels this problem is a major situation that persists and he can see no immediate resolution or relief from it.
We have all experienced this in our lives to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between which one of us becomes an addict and which one does not depends on whether or not, at the time of this traumatic experience, we are subjected to pro-drug or alcohol influences via some sort of significant peer pressure when the problem is manifesting itself. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become a solution to the discomfort because the person experiences relief from the negative feeling associated with the problem. As soon as the addict experiences relief from the discomfort, he inadvertently attaches value to the drug or drink, because it helped him feel better. Even though the relief is only temporary, it is adopted as a solution to the problem and this assigned value is the only reason the person ever uses drugs or drinks a second, third or more times. At this point, it is just a matter of time before the person becomes fully addicted and loses the ability to control their drug use.
All recovery treatment is designed to ultimately increase the responsibility of the addict or alcoholic. Disease model programs want the recovering person to take responsibility for treating his disease. This becomes difficult when the user cannot fully agree with this model or feels that the disease is more powerful than he. Therefore, it is understandable that those programs that reveal the truth about addiction and do not rely on the mysteries of an illusive disease have, by far, more successful outcomes.
What then should I look for in finding successful treatment?
As you were reading the information above, you may have said to yourself that the description of the life cycle of addiction and recovery makes common sense and, of course, since it is the most truthful description of how a person truly becomes a drug addict or an alcoholic, it does follow sensible thought. Use that same measure against the programs that you evaluate when choosing effective treatment. Be careful not to relinquish your ability to know what is right or wrong just because someone with many initials after his names says something is a fact. Because the facts are, that addiction treatment is a very new discipline that is evolving and many of the existing models of treatment were created in reaction to a problem that had not been analytically examined or solved.
Addiction has a strong physical component that must be handled before a person is free of continual cravings. It also has a strong emotional component that must be confronted by the addict so that he won't turn to alcohol and other drugs to medicate his feelings. A program that addresses both of these components and then provides life-skills to help a person to live productively will lead a person to their best changes for a life time of drug-free, and more importantly, successful recovery. A good program should not require that a person needs to depend on support from others to handle his addiction and his decisions, but should restore or build ones ability to be in control of their lives and live successfully without the need of chemicals or exterior influences.
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