Saving Lives by Treating Addiction

April in its 11th hour and all of us at Whiteside Manor hope that you were able to take part of one of the many Alcohol Awareness Month events. Just because the month is coming to an end doesn’t mean we can give up the fight to reduce the stigma so often associated with alcoholism or addiction of any type. After all, millions of Americans harbor fears about seeking treatment and working programs of recovery, and for a good reason; society has not been a kind friend to people struggling with mental illness.

The battle to decrease and end the stigma of addiction is a year-round endeavor; it is a task that calls on everyone to take a long, hard look at mental illness. Those who look at addiction objectively soon realize that anyone is eligible for the disease. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center survey reveals that a majority of Americans report having experience with substance abuse of various types, and 13 percent have had a relative or close friend die from an opioid overdose. Even if you only consider the above statistics, you can see that addiction is not an isolated occurrence affecting “other” people.

The truth is that we all stand to gain from more people seeking addiction treatment. The economic and life-cost associated with addiction is almost too impossible to grasp. There are around 20.5 million Americans mired in the disease of addiction; approximately 88,000 die of alcohol-related causes each year and over 60,000 people died of an overdose in 2016. Substance misuse costs the United States hundreds-of-billions of dollars each year. We all can have a hand in reducing the terrifying figures above by encouraging more individuals to seek help.

 

Saving Lives by Treating Addiction

Whiteside Manor asks that you join the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and its partners in observing National Addiction Treatment Week, April 23rd through April 29. This week, you’re invited to take part in a number of events focused on research-verified, evidence-based addiction medicine. ASAM’s goal: raise awareness that addiction is a disease, evidence-based treatments are available, and more clinicians need to enter the field of Addiction Medicine in order to treat the nationwide epidemic.

“Raising awareness that addiction is a chronic brain disease, and not a moral failure, and qualifying more clinicians to treat addiction is vital to increasing patients’ access to treatment.” said Kelly Clark, MD, MBA, DFASAM, president of ASAM. “National Addiction Treatment Week supports ASAM’s dedication to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, and helping physicians treat addiction and save lives.” 

If you are unable to take part in one of the events this week, you can still use social media to spread the message about addiction and treatment. When people have the facts, they can understand better the gravity of the situation; and, as a result, are more likely to adopt a kinder opinion about the disease. When society treats individuals with more compassion, those afflicted are less likely to spurn treatment.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” —Mark Twain 

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If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, please contact Whiteside Manor. Our experienced staff can help you adopt a new way of living and give you tools for working a program of long-term recovery.