September is “Treatment Works” Month, and it’s time to acknowledge the important role treatment plays in reducing alcohol and other drug addictions. Treatment programs come in all shapes and sizes, long or short-term residential treatment hospitals, therapeutic communities, and Intensive Outpatient Programs to name a few, and the results are promising. Studies after studies, show that, in addition to individuals reclaiming their lives, participation in treatment reduces medical costs, prison entries, overdose deaths, DUI accidents, and less of a burden on the criminal justice system, families who bury their loved ones, as well as government and other private systems that are impacted by drug and alcohol addiction. In short, treatment makes good sense because it is effective and saves money.
The success of treatment programs is not limited to one particular part of the country or to one specific audience. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a recent report on the effectiveness of Substances Abuse Treatment cites numerous instances across the country where treatment is having a tremendously positive social and economic impact. Yet, it seems as if treatment’s effectiveness is addiction’s best-kept secret. Treatment for substance abuse problems should be as common a household word as chemotherapy is for cancer patients. The fact is that people don’t believe that addiction is a disease that needs to and can be effectively treated, just like any other.
Many people say, ‘Using alcohol and other drugs is simply a matter of choice.” That may be true for first-time use. Once addicted to drugs or alcohol, however, the disease takes over. Left untreated, this disease can affect everyone and everything surrounding drug users and/or alcoholics. Mentally, the drug/alcohol-addicted individual becomes obsessed with thoughts of using. Physically, they develop a compulsion to continue using–regardless of the consequences. Spiritually, they become totally self-centered in the course of their addiction.
Scientists, doctors, and researchers concur that chronic, hardcore drug and alcohol use is a relapsing disease, and anyone suffering from a disease needs treatment. In the United States, there are more than 18 million people abusing alcohol, and another 5 million people are abusing drugs other than alcohol. Twenty-five to forty percent (25-40%) of all people entering the hospital for care are admitted as a result of alcohol-related problems.
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