High Hopes For a Smoother Journey to Alcohol Recovery
Written by Patricia Moreno
Edited by Charan Karthik
Jan 18, 2021
Edited by Charan Karthik
Jan 18, 2021
Alcohol addiction is a very complicated mental illness that requires multiple approaches with numerous roadblocks in seeking recovery. At one point in their lives, alcoholism affects approximately one-third of US adults, but there is a large treatment gap for alcohol use disorders (AUD). This can be due to many factors, with the most common ones being, refusal to seek treatment, high cost of services, and stigma. Currently, there are different recovery treatment options for people with AUD including medication, therapy, and self-awareness interventions. In spite of these services, this addictive substance continues to greatly affect the well being of those with AUD. Making sure that people have better access to treatment services will improve the lives of many, bettering our community.
To reiterate, alcohol addiction is a complex mental illness due to several underlying social, genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. These factors are essential in helping healthcare professionals properly determine the cause of this illness and find proper treatments for diverse communities. AUD is the fifth main cause of disability and death in the US. Apart from the physical, mental and social detriment this substance causes, it negatively impacts the economy by costing society more than $249 billion a year. Additionally, AUD leads to more accidents, loss of productivity in the workplace, and higher crime and violence rates. As a result, this drug can cause harm to both drinkers and others in society, which is proof that alcohol can be a very damaging substance. Because alcohol causes harm to both drinkers and the community, it’s critical for the medical industry and mental health professionals to offer their support, along with more behavioral and medication therapy options to those with AUD in order to treat alcoholism more diversely and effectively.
Now you might be asking, what kind of treatments are available to help those with AUD? Well, there are currently three FDA approved drugs to help those with addiction, known as disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone. These medications have been successful in helping many, but not all recover from alcohol addiction due to several challenges such as patient motivation, adverse side effects, and supervised administration. In addition to the pharmacological approaches to treatment, there are also support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and life skills, communication, and coping skills training. These wide range of treatments have proven to be effective in helping recovering individuals revert to absenteeism or controlled moderate drinking.
Will there ever be a cure for alcohol addiction? With all these treatments available, shouldn’t recovery be easy? Well, in a perfect world yes, but due to environmental, genetic, social and psychological factors taken into account with alcohol use disorders, it’s crucial to tackle alcoholism through a health approach, instead of a punitive one. We can start moving forward in properly helping those suffering from AUD by taking action in reducing the stigma, and providing more diverse effective treatment options for clinicians and patients through community support, public health efforts, and maintaining hope for successful recovery.
Works Cited
K.Witkiewitz, R.Z. Litten, L.Leggio. "Advances in the science and treatment of alcohol
use disorder." Science Advances Review (2019): 1-8.
Image Source: "Struggling with Alcohol Addiction" by Patricia Moreno