The traditional model of treating addiction was simple: stop using. Go to a few meetings, possibly spend a month in detox, and just rely on your willpower to prevent any further use. If someone relapsed, then it was most likely because they didn’t want their recovery enough.
This approach simply did not work for the vast majority of people, and there are reasons for that. The reality is that addiction changes the brain of an individual in such a way that “just quit” makes it nearly impossible without an elaborate system of support. Any less and it will fail. So, then, how do you treat addiction?
The 21st-century model of addiction recovery looks absolutely nothing like what most people think about. It is less punitive, and more about healing. It is not simply a question of how to avoid use in case of a future relapse – it’s how to establish a life worth living that does not involve substances.
The Medical Discussion That People Miss
Addiction is a health issue, and treatment may often include medical treatment. For many, medical treatment begins with detox, but often that is not enough. The brain requires time to heal from all of the changes the chemicals induced on a social being, and the time can take months, and up to years.
Most individuals will also require medication for their recovery. In the case of alcohol withdrawal, for example, medication may be really useful and, in fact, sometimes may prevent severe and/or even fatal seizures. Likewise for individuals who are withdrawing from opioids, medications that do not get the person high, but decrease the craving could be effective. Lastly, mental health treatment is usually connected with substance treatment. An individual may have begun using substances because of their depression, anxiety, trauma, etc. Individuals may antedate the addiction development alongside it or both. In understanding today, it needs to be understood that successful programs approach all of the physical, psychological, and social aspects of a disease all at once.
Learning to Live Differently
Discontinuing the use of substances is easy in comparison to learning the live without substances. Many people have been using substances for years to handle stress, socially, when bored, or while experiencing other emotional pain. The difficulty is once using a coping mechanism, a need to be helped to learn new coping mechanisms has to happen.
This is the point in which therapy is very key eventually. How do you handle a long day at work, where your outlet has been to stop and have a drink? How do you socialize at an event when everybody else is using? How do you handle anxiety or depression when you don’t have substances to numb feelings?
A lot of families will eventually realize that their loved one basically needs to relearn how to be an adult. Basic functions of being a productive adult, like managing finances, growing relationships, handling conflict or falling back on recreating their daily structure in from of somebody who has been engaged in the use of substances for an amount of time will often be challenging.
The Social Rebuilding Process
Most patients need to completely rebuild their social world of engagement during treatment. Whether it’s the people they were using with, the places they were hanging out, or the things they were doing in a social situation, almost everything will have to change.
This can feel like one of the lonliest parts of recovery. Many people have to separate themselves from their entire social network, at least for a little while. And they will have to find new ways to have fun and socialize, without using any substances.
Family relationships will typically need repairing as well. Addiction harms the trust, communication, and emotional connection in family units; family therapy helps all of the family members learn to feel and interact differently.
What Does The Different Types Of Care Really Do
Modern addiction treatment is not just one experience. Residential treatment is for individuals that need high levels of support, or even just a space from their environment, 24 hours a day. Partial hospitalization programs provides the same type of daily support, that you would have in a residential treatment program, but you go home at the end of the day. Intensive outpatient treatment typically lasts 3-5 hours, a few times a week. This type of treatment provides great support, for individuals that have jobs or family responsibilities to attend to. Outpatient counseling typically is for one or two hours once or twice a week, and is useful for persons attending a more intensive treatment program.
Restoring the Body
Habitual substance use can severely affect several aspects of the physical wellbeing, including sleep, nutrition, exercise and live health. Restorative capacity can include restoring damage, forming better habits, or both.
It’s common for people to have sleep disturbances in the early stages of recovery. Many have been using substances to put themselves to sleep every night for years. Recovery can take some time to be able to sleep again without using medication.
Exercise and activity has always been a key component of treatment, but it seems to be a bigger part of treatment today than years ago. Exercise is helpful to regulate mood and stress, as well as general health overall. Exercise and physical activities can be used to cope with uncomfortable feelings, and be important within the process.
In the Big Picture
Most of the value from an addiction treatment program seems to only begin after the formal treatment has been completed. Relapse seems to predominantly happen in the first year of recovery, which is why aftercare is crucial.
Many people will go on to counsel, groups, and check-ins with medical professionals for months or years after completing their primary treatment. Not weakness, just receiver of chronic disease and still needing some ongoing care.
Preventing relapse is a skill. It is learning to identify the early warning signs, and strategies for coping with one is in high risk situations, as well as when to ask for help before a situation escalates beyond control.
The Value of Purpose and Meaning
Individuals are going to need to sobriety for reasons beyond just avoiding getting into trouble. Recovery is going to be able to promote wellbeing better when people are able create purpose, meaning, and joy in their sober lives.
This can mean going back to school, finding satisfied work, reconnecting with children, finding creative outlets, or helping others in recovery. The goal is to build a life that is fulfilling enough that one would not need to use substances, or avoids using substances altogether.
People often will say that recovery is not just to get their old life back, but to find out who they are, for a first time. Recovery is no longer just about healing, but about self-discovery.
Why it Takes Time
Brain changes from substances will take time to recover. Habits will take time to change. Relationships will take time to rebuild. Physical health will take time to restore.
The few people who do best with recovery are the ones willing to engage in the process, and not looking for answer now. More importantly, they will also be able to find a useful program that attends to all aspects of addiction (medical, psychological, social, spiritual). When their work is with the whole person instead of just substance use, they will at least have a much better chance for building a life not needing to escape from.
