Addiction – to anything – can be a very confusing disease to grasp even for those who are suffering from it. When the active user or their loved ones are discovering what addiction is and learning to accept its presence in their lives, identifying an appropriate course of action to treat the addiction can be an extremely daunting task. Many people think that a typical 30-day inpatient treatment program from a 12-step based facility is the way to go. They think, “this is the magic bullet that will rid my loved one of addiction forever.” To their disappointment and surprise, when relapse might occur following the completion of a program, they blame the facility or in most cases, scold/shame/guilt their loved one for not being “able to just stop.”
Understanding addiction as a disease is imperative to treating it. Drugs become like food or water to those who are dependent upon them. In order to appropriately treat the disease, each person must be provided with the customized plan designed for them. So what do you do when 12-step is the common practice but not what is needed for you or your loved one? You consider what other options are out there. Understanding effective treatment addiction is the difference between seeing long-term, positive recovery results and experiencing a long and winding road of relapse and discouragement. Click here to read this article written by Jane Brody on this very interesting topic.
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