Explain how substance abuse treatment works, what family interventions can look like. Alcohol and Drug Addiction · Behavioral Health Treatment. Explains how substance abuse treatment works, how family interventions can be a first step to recovery, and how to help children from families affected by alcohol and drug abuse. Yes, addiction is a treatable disorder.
Research on the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people stop using drugs and resume productive lives, also known as being in recovery. Doctors and their patients are often held to the same unscientific and shameful beliefs about substance misuse; these beliefs create barriers to treatment, 2 Angel's story conveys the feeling that her mother is being stigmatized by health care providers because of her illness. Lozano's intervention is an example of knowledge that dispels both stigma and pain. Physicians' fear of offending patients often leads them to avoid making the diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence, 3 Just as knowledge about the Mongolian stain allowed Angel's mother to free herself from her mistaken belief, so too can providers benefit from letting go of the unscientific and the harmful.
beliefs about substance abuse. Patients and providers should be aware that addiction is a treatable disease, not a moral defect. 4.A disease is a condition that changes the way an organ works. Chronic disease can be treated and controlled, but cannot be cured.
Addiction is a chronic disease of the brain, diabetes is a chronic disease of the pancreas, and heart disease is a disease of the heart. There are many ways to treat the symptoms of drug use and prevent drug abuse, but there is no definitive cure. There is no pill, no therapy that makes a person not addicted. Addiction is a lifelong illness, just like mental illness.
A person can learn to manage his illness and go into periods of sobriety, but the risk of relapse is always present. That's why it's important that former drug users don't experiment with substances other than the substance they sought treatment for. The first time people drink or take drugs, they do so voluntarily and think they can control their use. Over time, it takes more and more alcohol or drugs to achieve the same level of pleasure and satisfaction as when they started.
Seeking and consuming the substance becomes an almost constant activity, causing significant problems for them, their relatives and friends. At the same time, progressive changes in the brain drive compulsive and uncontrollable drug use known as addiction. Opponents also push the idea that considering addiction as a brain disease overlooks the fact that many people use drugs to cope, meaning there is an underlying condition that needs to be addressed, which is very important for designing individual treatments. Behavioral therapies help people being treated for drug addiction modify their attitudes and behaviors related to consumption.
When a person recovering from an addiction relapses, this indicates that they need to talk to their doctor to resume treatment, modify it, or try another treatment. Addiction is defined as a disease by most medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Society for Addiction Medicine. The stage of development of the person is particularly important, since adolescents who use drugs are much more likely to become addicted and remain addicted until adulthood. Treatment allows people to counteract the disruptive effects of addiction on the brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.
No matter how addiction is defined or what term is used, what is clear is that addiction is a huge problem in the U. Advocates of this way of thinking place much more emphasis on the social and environmental factors of addiction, one advocate states that addictions can be “cured” by locking addicts in a cell where there is no access to substances, rather than on brain changes that occur as a result of substance abuse. Whether you think addiction is a disease or not, everyone can agree that addiction is a serious problem that negatively affects the lives of people who use substances, as well as the people in their lives. Undoubtedly, if overcoming addiction were as easy as simply choosing to stop, the problem of addiction would be much easier to address and relapse would not be as common.
Like other chronic diseases, such as heart disease or asthma, treatment for drug addiction is not usually a cure. People who are admitted and remain in treatment can manage their addiction and improve their quality of life. Because addiction is usually a chronic disorder characterized by intermittent relapses, short-term treatment is usually not enough. Receive timely and useful news reports on top stories of addiction policy, combined with ASAM developments related to national and state advocacy of addiction medicine.
Prevention efforts and treatment approaches to addiction are often as successful as those for other chronic diseases. However, ASAM recognizes the continued widespread use of the acronym “MAT” in laws, regulations, academic literature, the media and the vernacular, and ASAM suggests that “MAT” be read and understood as “medication for addiction treatment.”. . .
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