Sunday, May 8, 2011
Understanding Addiction and Recovery
By: Joseph Spencer
Most people, when they think of addicts tend to conjure up the quintessential image of a dirty, unkempt junkie wallowing in the gutter. But in reality that is usually not the case. It affects people of all social strata. There are many types of addiction. Drug and alcohol issues are the most widely recognized, yet there is gambling, eating, sex, and many others. Let us define the parameters of what constitutes addiction. We could describe it as any activity, lifestyle or manner of conduct that becomes so overwhelming in a person’s life that it evolves into an obsessive compulsive behavior (as well as a thinking process) which corrupts the very core of a person’s character.
Despite a measure of compulsiveness’, people with addiction issues can and often do, function in society with relative anonymity. It is only when they seek help that their “cover” (so to speak) is blown.
In many cases we interact daily with people suffering with serious addiction issues and never realize it. They are our family members, our co-workers, friends, clergy, and yes even our teachers, policemen, firemen, doctors and lawyers. The people that we look up to and admire the most have just as much of a chance at becoming addicts as the poor, uneducated from broken homes.
In many cases we interact daily with people suffering with serious addiction issues and never realize it. They are our family members, our co-workers, friends, clergy, and yes even our teachers, policemen, firemen, doctors and lawyers. The people that we look up to and admire the most have just as much of a chance at becoming addicts as the poor, uneducated from broken homes.
Addiction seeps into every facet of virtually every person’s life. Even if you do not have an addiction issue and no-one in your family or circle of friends (that you know of) have any issues, you are still affected daily on some level. Consider the drunk driver on the roads putting you and your loved ones at risk or to the warehouse worker who loses your package because he/she is too busy being wrapped up in the drug culture to pay attention to their job. Negatively and positively, we all affect each other every day. There is a theory in science by an Edward Lorenz called the Butterfly Effect. Essentially a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.
Addiction and recovery affect more than just our social interactions. There is an economic toll to be paid as well. According to estimates from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a combined $300 billion was spent or lost in 2009 on health care, lost productivity, premature death, crime and auto accidents related just to alcohol and drug abuse alone. Roughly 75 percent of all that money was paid for by public sources, which means American taxpayers are footing three quarters of the bill.
With 117 million taxpayers in the U.S., this means that the average sum paid by each individual taxpayer amounted to approximately $1,800. Auditors for a study conducted in September of 2009 for Price Waterhouse Coopers found that the average drug abuser costs taxpayers over$1.4 million in crime prevention, such as educational programs in schools or programs through organizations such as Crime Stoppers, heath care, jail and prison accommodations and treatment. Interestingly, they also estimated that this could be reduced to under 1/10 of the cost when a comprehensive in-patient treatment is provided.
According to the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) $721 million in funding continues to support core prevention, treatment and recovery services; expanded clinical services to support 2009 Paterson Drug Law Reforms; and allows for continued progress in a number of major initiatives currently under way throughout the OASAS system of 1,550 programs serving110,000 New Yorkers on any given day.
Here in Jefferson County it is estimated that roughly 13% of our population is currently struggling with one or more addiction issues. That translates into nearly 4000 people just in Watertown alone. That makes Jefferson County one of the highest concentrations of addicted persons (per capita) outside of New York City. These people are currently addicted to a substance/behavior that is destructive to not only them and their families but to all of us as well.
It is very clear that this is an issue that needs or attention at every level of our community. Addicts are not THOSE people they are OUR people. For years (locally and federally) addiction has been looked upon as an abhorrent behavior by law enforcement and as a disease with in the medical community. There is reason to lend credibility to both points of view. The police see the addictive behavior day in and day out in a person or persons who may seem erratic, violent and at times certainly unreasonable. While the medical community, on the other hand sees a person that is suffering from a compulsion to ingest a chemical or behave in a way that is clearly detrimental to their health. In some cases this behavior persists even to the point of death. There would seem to be an obvious pathology at work here.
Here in Jefferson County it is estimated that roughly 13% of our population is currently struggling with one or more addiction issues. That translates into nearly 4000 people just in Watertown alone. That makes Jefferson County one of the highest concentrations of addicted persons (per capita) outside of New York City. These people are currently addicted to a substance/behavior that is destructive to not only them and their families but to all of us as well.
It is very clear that this is an issue that needs or attention at every level of our community. Addicts are not THOSE people they are OUR people. For years (locally and federally) addiction has been looked upon as an abhorrent behavior by law enforcement and as a disease with in the medical community. There is reason to lend credibility to both points of view. The police see the addictive behavior day in and day out in a person or persons who may seem erratic, violent and at times certainly unreasonable. While the medical community, on the other hand sees a person that is suffering from a compulsion to ingest a chemical or behave in a way that is clearly detrimental to their health. In some cases this behavior persists even to the point of death. There would seem to be an obvious pathology at work here.
There have been many ways we have tried to fight the issue of drugs in our community. Most notably through the self help organizations of AA and NA. So far comprehensive treatment in a facility or out-patient program offering a wide range of modalities has shown to be the most successful method of helping addicts return to a more productive and healthy lifestyle. It is widely known in the treatment services industry that the majority of those with addiction issues also suffer from some form of mental illness. This may require expanded medication or psychological treatment to go hand in hand with education and support services.
As previously noted; even small changes in complex systems can have dramatic affects. Rather than scorn, shame and ridicule as motivators for addicts to improve their lives, the lives of those who love them, and indeed the lives of us all; perhaps to be treated as a person with a disease who deserves dignity and respect could be one small change (on all of our parts) that could improve one life, as well as all of our lives dramatically.
In future articles we will consider ways of treating addicts in such a way to foster a sense of pride in their own recoveries. We will cover the issues of mental health in its relation to addiction and recovery.
We will present the possibility of developing an in-patient facility here in the city.(We will discuss how we might improve our treatment programs ) We will also be weighing the pros and cons of different forms of treatment for all kinds of addiction issues. We hope to bring many more articles on these and other subjects as well. We will be looking forward to your thoughts on these and many more subjects in the future.
We will present the possibility of developing an in-patient facility here in the city.(We will discuss how we might improve our treatment programs ) We will also be weighing the pros and cons of different forms of treatment for all kinds of addiction issues. We hope to bring many more articles on these and other subjects as well. We will be looking forward to your thoughts on these and many more subjects in the future.
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