With drug death rates rising faster than ever, the disease of addiction is being studied and talked about more than in the past. Although there is still significant stigma around addiction, there is growing acceptance that substance use disorder is a disease, and growing knowledge that treatment works.
Last year, the Surgeon General’s Office released the first ever Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health. The report looked at the scope of addiction in America, but also outlined hope for recovery.
“Prevention, treatment, and recovery policies and programs really do work,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell, former secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in discussing the report.
However, finding the right treatment program can be intimidating. When someone struggling with addiction is ready to get help, time is of the essence. Finding the right rehab program quickly can help people maintain their motivation to seek sobriety and can save their lives.
One huge barrier to recovery is the fact that many people who seek rehab don’t finish their program. In fact, one Massachusetts study showed that fewer than half of people who sought opioid treatment in the state completed their program. A program that is a good fit can keep someone in treatment even when recovery gets difficult.
Many individuals with addiction and their families struggle to find a program that is a great fit. Today there are many options for recovery: inpatient versus outpatient treatment; wilderness programs; programs that treat co-occurring mental illnesses; and even programs for specific populations, like LGBT programs.
When choosing a recovery program, it’s important to speak openly about the individual’s goals, hopes, expectations and needs. Are you limited to a program that your insurance will cover? Are you seeking a short-term program or one that last longer? Do you wish to stay at home or would it be helpful and feasible to get away?
Another important thing to consider is what mental health supports the program provides. Since many people who struggle with addiction also have a mental illness or past trauma, having access to mental health professionals can help facilitate healing and set a person up for long-term sobriety. Drug and alcohol counseling can help people identify the underlying causes of their addictive behavior, develop health coping mechanisms, and redefine relationships that have been strained by addiction.
No matter what type of program you choose for recovery, you will likely encounter the 12 steps. The 12-step addiction treatment program was first developed by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935. Today, the steps are the foundations of many recovery programs, even those that also utilize scientific or medical-based approaches to treating addiction. Although the 12 steps mention God, many people who are not spiritual have benefitted from working the program, defining their higher-power however they choose.
Whatever treatment program a person chooses, it is essential to understand addiction as a disease, rather than a poor choice.
“For far too long, too many in our country have viewed addiction as a moral failing. This unfortunate stigma has created an added burden of shame that has made people with substance use disorders less likely to come forward and seek help,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an executive summary of last year’s report. “We must help everyone see that addiction is not a character flaw—it is a chronic illness that we must approach with the same skill and compassion with which we approach heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.”
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