What Are Success Rates of Various Abstinence Recovery Programs that Drug / Alcohol / Smoking Addicts Go Through? (Essay Sample)

Position Paper
Name
Professor
Institution
Course
Date
What Are Success Rates of Various Abstinence Recovery Programs that Drug/Alcohol/Smoking Addicts Go Through?
The debate concerning the success rates of various abstinence recovery programs that drug/alcohol/smoking addicts go through is very far from its conclusion. This is evident from the fact that there are plentiful arguments raised by various stakeholders based on diverse outlooks. The first group of stakeholders are like the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that support the various abstinence recovery programs such as the 12-step program that are used to enable addicts quit addiction. The second group of stakeholders are well-wishers such as Szalavitz, a leading neuroscience and addiction journalist and author, who advocate for the natural ways of quitting drug abuse without any medical interventions. The third group of stakeholders are those advocating for the mergence of both natural paths to recovery and treatment programs to assist addicts quit substance abuse completely such as the National Governors Association Policy Academy on Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. The main issues of contention presented in the argument are the nature of substance addiction, how to address the multiple issues affecting the addicts, the issue on isolating the addicts from the rest of the society and how to prevent relapses that commonly occur. This debate is of crucial importance in the society today because young individuals are exposed to substance abuse threatening their future and therefore the debate looks into the best ways of managing drug addicts and helping them quit their habits completely. By looking at all arguments presented in the debate, drug, alcohol and smoking addiction can be managed successfully by combining evidence-based interventions offered by both the abstinence recovery programs and the natural paths to recovery that enable individuals abstain from substance abuse completely and be able to lead productive lives.
Drug/alcohol/smoking abuse is an issue of major concern in any society today because it mostly affects young individuals. As such, it affects their education, work and all aspects of life threatening their future and the future of the society as well (Donaldson and Gruber, 2015). This debate is therefore of great concern for each and every individual in the society. It is therefore imperative for effective and efficient ways to be sought to curb the problem and to convince everyone in the society that these ways can be relied upon. This has consequently led to massive research to determine what strategies can be adopted while looking at all outlooks that have ever been raised to deal with the issue. It is also worth noting that the society today focuses on the abstinence recovery programs alone but this discussion enlightens individuals into looking into other natural ways of abstaining, putting more emphasis on strategies that can prevent the recurrent chances of relapses that are often experienced by the addicts after treatment. This will go a great mile into assisting addicts recover fully and be able to contribute productively to the development of the society in all aspects. It will also direct the resources channeled towards dealing with drug abuse into more productive projects in the society.
The nature of drug/alcohol/ smoking addiction calls for both the treatment offered by recovery programs and the natural path to recovery. This is because it is the decision that an addict makes that motivates them to embrace the treatment offered to them. Proponents who advocate for the abstinence recovery programs view addiction as a remediable sickness that can be managed efficaciously just like any other chronic disease ( Knopf, 2015). They view addiction as a brain disease affecting brain circuits involved in memory, learning, motivation, reward and control over behavior (Filbey, 2013). This can only be managed through custom-made strategies that address each addict’s drug use patterns and drug-associated therapeutic, psychiatric and social difficulties (Stimmel). Stakeholders who advocate for the natural ways of recovery counter this argument by stating that most people with addiction grow out of it disregarding the idea that addiction is a chronic disease that requires treatment (Szalavitz). They hold on to the point that the process of substance addiction starts with the voluntary act of taking the substances. They therefore believe that it is a person’s choice to get involved with drug addiction, and it is all in their minds. It is therefore their choice to abstain from substance abuse completely sticking to the decisions they make. They support their argument by giving an example of a study conducted by the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) that analyzed data from 2001-2002 representing the US population and found out that majority of addicts quit on their own without any kind of treatment or 12-step involvement (Bolton, Robinson & Sareen, 2009). Considering these two arguments, it is therefore worth concluding that both the decision a person makes in their minds followed by treatment is the most effective way of achieving treatment. Addicts realize that their future, family, employment and relationships are greatly compromised by their behaviors and therefore ought to change (Miller, 2013). They further weigh the benefits of abusing drugs and quitting them coming up with a conclusion that the benefits of quitting outweigh the benefits of substance abuse hence choose to quit. Once an addict has made up their mind to stop abusing drugs as they started it, they will do all it takes to quit the habit. They will therefore embrace the treatment offered to them and work accordingly with the programs offered. This is because the decision motivates the addicts to stick to their aims of stopping to abuse drugs at all costs with the help of treatment. The determination and will they exhibit will assist them quit substance abuse completely. This is because a person may be forced into treatment without their consent or free will and such people will have difficulties quitting because they are not willing to comply with the treatment programs offered. Motivation and treatment therefore both work concurrently to manage substance abuse since both ways have worked for quite a considerable number of people.
Relapsing to drug abuse has been identified as a likely occurrence for substance abusers because of the chronic nature of addiction and therefore both treatment and natural paths to recovery can be combined to effectively get rid of it (Karch, 2010). Getting rid of relapse will not only ensure complete treatment for the addicts but also save resources aimed at treating relapses for other important societal development projects. Those who support the abstinence recovery programs acknowledge that treatment of addiction just like any other chronic illness should incorporate altering deeply entrenched behaviors and argue that relapse does not mean that treatment has failed but rather the treatment needs to be attuned or reinstated or seeking another type of treatment (Peck and Ranaldi, 2015). They believe that relapse can be treated as a trigger for renewed interventions and the treatment programs ensure that addicts remain in treatment for adequate time for monitoring purposes to prevent chances of relapses occurring. The abstinence recovery programs also monitor addicts drug use as a powerful strategy to enable them withstand cravings to use of substances and also as an indicator of whether the treatment is effective or not. The substances being abused disrupt the functioning and structure of the brain bringing about changes in the individuals that persist for long even after ceasing to use them. This is the main reason substance users are at the risk of relapsing after abstinence for a long time. Furthermore, stress, exposure to drugs and cues associated with drug experience are other triggers that contribute to relapses. Conversely, those advocating for the natural ways of quitting substance abuse counteract this argument on relapses by stating that for a strategy to be considered effective, there should be no relapses. They argue that once a person makes a choice to stop abusing the drugs and stick to them, they abstain completely from drug abuse. This is because it is a choice they have made and therefore ought to stick to them permanently. The natural ways adopt strategies to prevent instances of relapse which include shedding off friends that together with the addicts abuse substances, addicts restraining themselves from carrying excess cash that may lure them into purchasing these substances, seeking for support from constructive family members and friends, improving their nutrition and seeking spiritual programs to guide them. Taking into account these two strategies would help prevent any chance of relapse. This is because addicts will be completely restrained from accessing drugs when put in treatment plans under their consent no matter how long it may take. As such, resources garnered towards treating relapses will be reserved and directed elsewhere and the addicts will recover completely.
Addicts suffer from multiple issues apart from addiction alone. It is therefore important that the strategy adopted to manage them address these multiple problems for it to be considered effective and in this case would be combining treatment with the natural path to recovery (Miller, Strang & Miller, 2010). Those who support the abstinence recovery programs argue that these programs have gone out of their way not only to attend to drug abuse but also related problems such as medical, social, psychological, legal and vocational problems (Yang et al, 2015). They point out that many substance addicts also suffer from mental illnesse...