A Chronic Disease
Understanding the problem.
The way people think about, talk about and treat alcohol and drug problems makes a big difference.
The problem is often called everything from addiction to substance abuse to a
mental disorder. It’s even mistakenly considered a “choice.”
That misunderstanding is one reason guilt, shame and inadequate treatment and support can get in the way of recovery. It’s also a reason too few of the estimated 23 million Americans with a problem seek help.
A hopeful fact: this is a treatable chronic disease. Avera McKennan CEO Kapaska, D.O., believes that more people will get the help they need to recover if we better understand the treatable and chronic nature of substance use disorder.
Treating a chronic
disease
Substance use disorder is recognized as a chronic disease, similar to diabetes and hypertension. All chronic treatments, regardless of the disease, share
three important features:
1. Medical care
reduces symptoms, not the cause
Healthcare providers can usually remove or reduce the
symptoms of a disease, but cannot affect the root causes. Consider the example
of diabetes: beta blockers reduce blood pressure and insulin improves the
body’s ability to digest sugars and starches, as long as the affected
individual continues the treatment. However, these treatments do not return the
affected individual to “normal” health.
2. Lifestyle changes needed
All chronic treatments require significant changes in
lifestyle and behavior for a patient to maximize the benefits of
treatment. For example: even if a person with diabetes regularly
takes insulin as prescribed, this alone will not stop disease progression if
the person doesn’t also reduce sugar and starch intake, increase exercise and reduce
stress levels.
3. Ongoing care
needed
Relapses are very likely to occur in all chronic diseases
because of the complexity of factors that often lead to illness in the first
place, and because of the need for ongoing medical care and lifestyle change.
For these reasons, most contemporary treatment strategies in chronic illness
involve regular in-person and/or telephone monitoring of medication adherence,
coupled with encouragement and support for pro-health changes in diet, exercise
and stress levels. Increasingly, family members are being educated to provide continued monitoring and support for the behavioral changes
necessary to maintain symptom remission and sustain a good quality of life.
Source: www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2008WhiteMcLellanChronicDiseasePaper.pdf
Treating Addiction as a Chronic Disorder