The Seriousness of Addiction Treatment

Many potential clients who call us lack a full understanding of the seriousness of addiction treatment. Those who’ve experienced serious consequences usually understand the urgency of treatment, at least for awhile, but, even with awareness of such consequences, after a few days of thinking about their situation, they mistake contemplation for action. When someone contemplates stopping drinking or using drugs, there can be a sensation of relief that feels like determination. The person might tell themselves they’ve had enough and are determined to quit for good this time. Someone they know might reinforce this positive vibe by telling them it’s mind over matter. Then going to treatment for 8 weeks seems unnecessary, especially since they’ve made up their minds to quit. This is usually a set up for the person, and, when the dust settles like after a sawdust revival, they’re shortly drinking or using again.

There’s a tendency for people to think of treatment as an improvement retreat of sorts, like taking a yoga class, or a self help course to improve positive thinking. For someone suffering from alcoholism/drug addiction, treatment might be the most important thing they’ll ever do. The reason is that if the person fails to recover from addiction, the addiction will negatively affect all other areas of their lives as time goes on. When I write “negatively affect” I mean it can destroy marriages, health, careers, reputations, friendships, spirituality, bank accounts, etc. I can’t stress enough how important it is for someone with a problem to think of treatment as life-changing. Not just the 4 to 8 weeks or so in treatment, inpatient or outpatient, but treatment as an ongoing series of actions that are incorporated into a way of life.

The Chinese have an old saying, “the same man will drink again”. If a women or a man doesn’t change, addiction will call them back over and over. Treatment’s about coming up with a plan that helps a person change their mind, body, emotions and spirit in order to resist alcohol, cocaine, opiates, whatever is the drug(s) of choice. So, when someone comes to us in need of help, then shortly after tells me they just don’t have the time or money to “do treatment”, I fear for them, because I know they haven’t done anything to deal with the problem, and that initial feeling of commitment to sobriety is fleeting. I usually show someone a large blank chalk board and ask them to imagine this blank board as their remaining life, then I put a dot of chalk on the board and tell them this is our 8 week outpatient treatment program. It’s nothing compared to the rest of their life, even if the person is older. I tell the person that although this time is comparatively short, they’ll develop a plan that can positively affect their life going forward — this short 8 weeks can change how they fill in that blank board.

Then, if it’s the topic of money, I ask a few questions to determine how much addiction costs them on a monthly basis, then show them that even if they don’t have insurance and have to pay for it, a payment plan can be made that’s about like buying an entertainment center or a used car. When you’re talking about life or death, or quality of life, priorities are important. If a person will not spend an amount of money on themselves to treat their addiction that’s equal to an entertainment center or a used car, then their priorities are way out of whack, and they don’t understand the seriousness of addiction treatment. Recovery requires long term thinking. It’s about dealing with fundamentals more than dealing with symptoms. If a person doesn’t take the time to deal with fundamental problems with fundamental solutions, and mistakes the temporary disappearance of symptoms as recovery, they won’t likely recover.