Why Stress Addiction Treatment is the Best (2023)

One of the things that makes people special.drugs and alcoholAddiction we are reluctant to seek out and acceptTreatmentIt's the fear of stopping using completely. Quitting drugs or alcohol not only causes withdrawal symptoms, but many people simply cannot drink or use drugs again. The end result of all this can be intimidating and overwhelming, which in turn can delay a person seeking treatment. While it may seem drastic, treating temperance addiction is often the most effective approach.

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definite withdrawal treatment

In addiction rehab, abstinence is the complete cessation of substance abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) describes it as the "safest approach for people with substance use disorders". [1] Abstinence is the most common form of addiction treatment in the country.

The surest way to prevent a relapse is to stop substance use altogether.

This approach, based on the disease model of addiction, assumes that people with substance use disorders are always at risk of relapse and that the surest way to prevent recurrence is to abstain completely from substance use. This strategy also eliminates unnecessary temptations from the patient's life.

The History of Temperance in America.

Although the withdrawal approach is centuries old, the modern version of the withdrawal recovery model used by most addiction recovery centers is based on the Minnesota model. Developed in the 1950s, the Minnesota model is based on ten core principles. Although this model was originally created for thealcoholism treatment, this approach is now used for all types of addictions:[3]

Alcoholism is an involuntary underlying condition that can be recorded and diagnosed.
Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disease.
Alcoholism has no cure, but the disease can be stopped.
The nature of the alcoholic's initial motivation for treatment, its presence or absence, is not a predictor of treatment outcome.
The treatment of alcoholism includes physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions.
Successful treatment of alcoholism requires an environment in which the alcoholic is treated with dignity and respect.
Alcoholics and people with other addictions are vulnerable to abuse of a wide range of mood-altering drugs. This entire group of mood-altering drugs can be treated with a treatment that defines the problem as an addiction problem.
Chemical dependency is best managed by a multidisciplinary team whose members develop close, less formal relationships with their clients and whose activities are integrated into an individual treatment plan developed for each client.
The central point of contact for implementation of the treatment plan is a designated primary counselor, usually a person in recovery, of the same gender and age group as the client, who fosters an atmosphere conducive to emotional self-disclosure, mutual identification, and mutual support.
The most effective treatment for alcoholism includes Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) counseling, expectation work, groups that combine confrontation and support, conferences, individualized counseling, and creating a dynamic learning environment.

The Minnesota model combines addiction healing therapists with psychological testing, therapy, family involvement, and follow-up care to help patients achieve long-term abstinence. It also focuses on the first five steps of the 12-step AA model:[4]

We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives were out of control.
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to health.
We decided to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood it.
We took a courageous and exhaustive moral inventory of ourselves.
We admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our mistakes.
criticism of abstinence

Most criticism of abstinence focuses on its difficulty. Approximately two-thirds of people who undergo a traditional addiction rehabilitation process relapse in less than a year. This fact serves as evidence to many that total abstinence can be very difficult for most people with addiction problems to achieve. This could also discredit people who relapse, especially after extensive and often expensive treatment.

Also, people may avoid the treatment entirely because they don't want to stop using it. It is estimated that only 10% of people who need substance abuse treatment receive it. Of those who chose not to seek treatment between 2010 and 2013, 24.5 percent cited an unwillingness to give up as the main reason for not receiving help.[6]This was the second most common reason why they could not afford treatment.

Another criticism is the strict adherence to the 12-step model followed by most abstinence-only treatment centers. It implies the existence of God or some form of higher power, a concept not easily accepted by everyone.

What is harm reduction?

There are two main approaches to combating substance abuse: abstinence-only treatment and harm reduction. The latter refers to a person who slowly reduces alcohol or drug use rather than stopping it completely. Many addicts have unknowingly employed harm reduction techniques in an attempt to self-manage their substance abuse. However, this approach didn't get an official name until the mid-1990s, when it became controversially popular.

Moderation Management was founded in 1994 by Audrey Kishline. The organization was founded as an alternative to pure abstinence programs, which have been criticized for being unrealistic and forcing religion on people. It is recognized as the country's first self-help group for harm reduction and mutual aid. Rejecting the idea that they were alcoholics who needed to stop drinking altogether, Kishline and a host of supporters focused on mitigating the "drinking problem". The idea was to help people who might not meet the criteria for alcoholism but still had a problem with drugs.

The movement gained incredible momentum in the 1990s, but it was short-lived due to the Kishline controversy. In January 2000, Kishline admitted that she was a secret drinker and that moderation was not working for her. Two months after Kishline changed her goal from recovery to abstinence and joined AA, she tragically met and killed a father and daughter in a drunken car accident. He served 3.5 years in prison and unfortunately committed suicide in 2014.[7]

Criticisms of Harm Reduction

Kishline's confession and the ensuing car accident severely damaged the harm reduction movement in the United States. His case was considered proof that people cannot "control" alcoholism while continuing to drink. One of the main criticisms of harm reduction practices is that they allow people with addiction problems to continue using. This approach forces alcoholics to control their own drinking, but many of these people have not been able to control their drinking in the past. Why should I change something without professional treatment?

There is also a lack of accountability when it comes to harm reduction. It's all about self-disclosure (and it's easy to lie to others and to yourself about substance abuse, as the Kishline case demonstrated), so there's no way to verify or deny whether or not someone is drinking and how much you drink. Furthermore, many harm reduction peer groups lack the stability, continuity, and richness of the 12-step groups. Every city in the US offers dozens of 12-step meetings and there are millions of members worldwide.[8]Moderation management groups are not as numerous and often not as well organized.

Furthermore, it makes little sense to apply harm reduction approaches to substance abuse. While there are acceptable levels for alcohol consumption, there is no acceptable level for drug use. You can't tell a heroin addict that it's okay to shoot up now and then, or a cocaine addict that it's okay to drop a few lines here and there. Even isolated cases of drug abuse can lead to overdose and death, making harm reduction an unwise strategy when dealing with illicit drugs.

Finally, how do you measure success or failure in harm reduction? Is the change from six to five beers a day a success? The arbitrary nature by which harm reduction strategies define success makes it easier for people to claim that they have made progress, especially when compared with withdrawal treatment, which requires complete cessation of substance abuse.

Comparative efficacy studies.

Because long-term success rates for stopping or reducing substance abuse are largely based on self-assessments, there is no truly accurate measure of the effectiveness of any of the recovery strategies. Although AA has undoubtedly saved lives and helped many alcoholics to control their addictions, reported success rates vary from source to source.[9],[10]

Furthermore, the failure of Kishline and others to moderate their substance abuse may serve as evidence that harm reduction is ineffective, but advocates of this approach can point to others who have been able to control their addiction without resorting to abstinence. its effectiveness. its viability.

One thing to remember about abstinence and any 12-step program is that active participation increases your chances of long-term success. About 40% of AA members retire in their first year.[11]This makes it difficult to track success or failure. Should members who discontinue treatment be counted as dropouts? Should those that remain count as successes? Furthermore, not all withdrawal or 12-step programs are created equal, making it even more difficult to determine an accurate success rate.

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Studies on the treatment of alcoholism:

In a 1997 study called "Project Match," over 900 problem drinkers were randomly assigned to one of three different types of treatment: 12-step therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy. The study found that the 12-step approach increased the number of alcohol-free days from 20% before treatment to 80% afterwards. Within a year, nearly 20 percent of people treated with the 12 Steps were completely sober for 12 consecutive months.

A 16-year study of problem drinkers found that a 12-step treatment at an AA meeting was far more effective than no treatment at all. Of those who attended AA meetings for at least 27 weeks during the first year of alcohol treatment, 67 percent abstained during the 16 years of follow-up. Of those who did not participate, only 34 percent abstained.[12][13]

There are no definitive studies on the effectiveness of abstinence or harm reduction programs for addiction recovery. Findings are often skewed depending on the approach advocated by an organization or researchers. Furthermore, many studies cannot isolate all the factors to show conclusively what was effective and why. This leads to an overabundance of untested hypotheses.

Many alcoholics have tried harm reduction and failed.

Methadone clinics, syringe exchange programs, safe driving for people who have been drinking, safe injection sites, and addiction education programs for youth are just a few of the common forms of harm reduction that exist in all or world There are several programs that accept that substance abuse in society is inevitable and seek to allocate resources to limit the damage it causes.

When it comes to harm reduction, which has to do with limiting drug or alcohol use, most people struggling with addiction have tried and failed. Very few people with addiction seek help right away. Often, the first step is to try to rehabilitate yourself and reduce your drug or alcohol use without help. Due to the chronic nature of addiction, these attempts often fail. When it comes to figuring out what's best for you or a loved one, honesty is the best strategy. You must ask yourself the following questions:

Have you ever tried to save something?
How successful have you been?
What difficulties did you encounter?
What, if anything, led to a relapse?
What damage has substance abuse done to your life?
Are you struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction?
Do you already have a mental illness?
Can you monitor exactly how much you're drinking?
Are you at risk of experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms?

In many cases, a person's attempt to moderate their alcohol intake creates a distorted gradient. The more you drink, the worse your ability to make informed decisions becomes. If you've had trouble controlling your drinking in the past, it would be difficult to change that trend without professional help. It would also be difficult to justify a harm reduction approach if the individual in question had not previously demonstrated the ability to effectively self-moderate.

If you're not sure what type of treatment you need, we invite you to speak with one of our industry experts at the Behavioral Health Centers. Our team of addiction treatment professionals have decades of experience and can guide you and your family to the best treatment.contact ustoday to find out more.