 | Dee Staudt, LMSW, LCAC is the director of Addiction Treatment Services for COMCARE of Sedgwick County. Dee has been working in the community as an advocate for social services and behavioral health for 18 years. If you would like to talk to a professional confidentially about addiction treatment, help is available by calling 316-660-7540 . COMCARE is the licensed Community Mental Health and Certified Substance Use Center in Wichita and Sedgwick County serving children, adolescents and adults. |
Health & Rehabilitation
2012-08-29 13:05:23
Recovery from addiction
Q- I did not go kicking and screaming into alcohol treatment. I knew, as most addicts do, that it was time to get help. I had lost everything except the ability to make more excuses and I was running out of those. Treatment and recovery helped me regain my sense of purpose; I am healthy again, have a group of friends who support one other and most importantly I have found hope. Do you need help?
A- In the United States, drug use is on the rise. Twenty-three and a half million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12, and sadly only 11 percent of those with an addiction receive treatment.
From January 1 through December 31, 2011, there were 3,297 adult admissions into publically funded alcohol and drug treatment programs in Sedgwick County. The primary drug of choice was alcohol, followed by marijuana. Four hundred sixty-six adolescents, age 18 and younger, were also admitted into publically funded treatment programs in Sedgwick County. The primary drug of choice for this group was marijuana followed by alcohol.
Today across the United States, there are more than 20 million people in recovery from substance use disorders. Recovery is a lifelong process. Through the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Recovery Support Initiative has outlined four major dimensions that support a life in recovery:
• Health: overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms—for example, abstaining from use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and non-prescribed medications if one has an addiction problem—and making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being.
• Home: a stable and safe place to live.
• Purpose: meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteering, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income and resources to participate in society.
• Community: relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love and hope.
• Recovery emerges from hope: The belief that recovery is real provides the essential and motivating message of a better future – that people can and do overcome the internal and external challenges, barriers, and obstacles that confront them. Hope is internalized and can be fostered by peers, families, providers, allies and others. Hope is the catalyst of the recovery process.
Recovery may be the best word to summarize the positive benefits to physical, mental and social health that can happen when alcohol and other drug-dependent individuals get the help they need.
National Recovery Month every year in September promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment, and the recovery from substance use and mental disorders. We celebrate people in recovery, applaud the contributions of treatment and service providers, and promote the message that recovery in all its forms is possible. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover.
