It Caused It! –
June 20, 2020 – One significant improvement that society could make is to stop thinking of addicts as addicts and start thinking of them as people with addictions. An addiction does not define a person–it affects them. There is much more to a person than whatever illness might affect them, but society sometimes has trouble seeing that. Changing that perspective would give people with addiction a better chance at recovery by encouraging a person-first viewpoint. While addiction is a lifelong problem, it does not need to be a lifelong sentence that suppresses all the other aspects of a person and the contributions that they can make to society.
It would also be a boon to treatment if society would learn to accept a wider range of treatments. Right now, many people think of nothing besides 12-step programs when they envision addiction recovery. But there is so much more in the way of new and innovative treatments that have proliferated throughout the country. More scientific research is necessary to explore what treatment methods work and how to tailor different treatment regimens to different drugs and personalities. Of course, not everyone can benefit from any kind of a treatment, but a holistic approach that incorporates elements of different traditions, therapies, and techniques stands a good chance at building a blend that can deliver a powerful solution with a higher likelihood of working.
