Different approaches needed to drug abuse
Addiction has become a leading cause of death, and the spotlight has finally been placed on this pressing issue. This light can be luminous as the sun, but without a paradigm shift in how we approach treatment, it will burn out.
The ubiquitous foundation of treatment has been established by Alcoholics Anonymous. It enshrines abstinence and powerlessness. Why are we maintaining a systemic commitment to an eight-decade-old, antiquated approach? The abstinence and powerlessness at the heart of AA’s approach is conjuring more demons than it’s exorcising. Both abstinence and powerlessness are counterintuitive to human nature, and they do not coalesce with the mindset of addiction.
Would you expect a shopaholic to refrain from purchasing anything? Would you ask a sex addict never to have sex again? Would you ask an obese person never to eat? Any addict or professional living through this struggle would confirm that the most successful treatment for opiate abuse is a treatment approach that utilizes methadone or Suboxone.
Instead of concentrating on abstinence, we must address the actual issues. Substances are not the actual problem. Abusing them is only the symptom of an underlying issue. Active addiction is always an indication of existing degrees of pain, trauma or guilt.
Dealing with these issues and providing purpose in our lives will lead to a change in priorities as well as a change in choices. Most important is abandoning the guilt-laden and pressure-inducing mandates that are embedded in our current methods.
If you doubt the urgency in understanding this, please consider that the children of drug abusers are six times more likely to suffer from depression, 10 times more likely to inject street drugs, and 12 times more likely to commit suicide. The problem will continue to snowball if we refuse to choose a different path.
James Friel
Waynesburg