A Chronic Disease

Understanding the problem.
The way people think about, talk about and treat alcohol and drug problems makes a big difference. Addiction often called everything from substance abuse to a mental disorder. It’s even mistakenly considered a “choice.”

The language used to describe addiction has to change. In fact, just about everything we think and do about addiction has to change to make headway against our nation's most pressing public health issue.

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. Medical leaders across the country (including Avera Health CEO David Kapska, D.O., below) say that better understanding this will help more people get the help they need to recover.

Treating a chronic disease

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 trained 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

Addiction is a Disease Infographic
Treating Addiction as a Chronic Disorder
Drug Dependence: A Chronic Medical Illness (JAMA)
Recovery Management: selected research by William White

And consider the links below: our nation’s most respected scientific and medical organizations have long recognized addiction as a treatable chronic disease—and not an individual’s “choice.” Understanding this, along with getting the right support, can help more people recover.

The American Medical Association defines drug dependencies, including alcohol, as diseases; endorses treatment as a legitimate part of medical practice; and encourages health professionals and policymakers to become better informed.

The American College of Physicians says alcoholism is a chronic disease subject to relapse and encourages doctors to engage patients in the recovery conversation.

The American Psychiatric Association classifies alcoholism and other substance-related disorders as diseases; noting that the alternative perception—as voluntary or self-inflicted behavior—has produced a powerful societal stigma. This despite the evidence that treatment as a disease is both effective and cost-effective.

The American Public Health Association recognizes alcoholism as a disease; supporting efforts to end discrimination against alcoholic persons in health insurance payments, and treat people in the same manner as persons with any other disease.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addictions as a treatable disease in its efforts to educate the public and policy makers.

The National Association of Social Workers recognizes alcoholism as a disease, noting how far-reaching the impact is across cultures, generations of families and relationships.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health, classifies alcoholism as a disease in describing its chronic nature and common symptoms.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, describes the symptoms—cravings, loss of control, physical dependence and tolerance—and the genetic and environmental aspects of the disease.

A Chronic Disease

Do you have this disease?

Share Your Story

Tell Us Here