Overview
Drug addiction is a brain disease that occurs secondary to substance abuse, in much the same way hypertension occurs secondary to overeating and obesity. Drug abuse hijacks the brain’s dopamine system, which normally produces feelings of pleasure in response to spending time with friends and doing fulfilling activities. The brain releases dopamine to reinforce behaviors, but drugs cause large amounts of dopamine to be released quickly, reinforcing only drug use. Addicts end up being unable to enjoy normal relationships, work and leisure pastimes. Recovery offers a solution.
Hitting Bottom
One addiction myth is that you have to hit rock bottom for recovery to work. That myth has been shattered by the success of drug courts in rehabilitating drug offenders with a mandatory treatment or jail approach since the first drug court was introduced in Dade County, Fla., in 1989. According to The U.S. Department of Justice, by 1998 the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and 39 states were implementing drug courts. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) asserts that treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.
Intervention
Interventions that focus the determination of loved ones to stop enabling addictive behaviors can have the same effect as the court system because they pressure the addict to get help. Denial about the severity of the problems drugs cause in her life is a part of addictive disease. Bringing the body to treatment is a strategy to get the mind to follow. Once she admits she has a problem with drugs, recovery begins.
Time Frame
Addicts in recovery must learn to stop using drugs and deal with stressful situations in the family, at work and in society while maintaining a drug-free lifestyle. Because addiction is a chronic disease, addicts cannot simply stop using drugs for a few weeks and be cured. Most addicts require long-term treatment and the social support of others who are in recovery.
Relapse
At various points on the road to recovery, addicts might relapse. In most cases, relapse does not mean that recovery efforts have been ineffective or that treatment has failed. Chemical dependency creates changes in the brain that make users vulnerable to relapse. The good news is that, in the long run, more than half of drug addicts who receive treatment eventually reach a stable recovery, according to John Hoffman and Susan Froemke, editors of “Addiction: Why Can’t They Just Stop?” It might take multiple tries.
Families
Living with or loving an addict causes family members and friends to experience strong emotions: fear because many aspects of drug use are terrifying, anger and guilt for being angry. While the addict is obsessed with getting high, those closest to her are obsessed with helping minimized the damage, which might be counterproductive. Spouses, parents and children all suffer from shame; the addiction takes an immense toll on the physical and emotional health of family members. Beverly Conyers, in her book “Addict in the Family,” calls families the “hidden victims of addiction” and urges them to seek help for themselves.
About this Author
Mary Earhart is a registered nurse, a public health nurse and licensed midwife. Her articles have appeared in professional journals and online ezines. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from California State University at Dominguez Hills. She works in a family practice clinic, has a home birth practice, and her specialty is perinatal substance abuse.
