Introduction
Drug or substance abuse is a global problem which refers to the misuse of any type of drug for the purposes of altering normal functioning of the body and some of its processes. Drugs can be said to be good and necessary for medical reasons, at the same time they are evil when they become compulsive to an individual. Therefore, it would be true to say that drugs are a necessary evil all depending with the intention of the user.
Drug addiction has adverse effects to both family members and the society. The family for instance is deprived off its daily needs in the case of an alcoholic bread winner. Most of the family income is squandered in alcoholism. At the society level, drug related vices such as immorality invade the people and they become a way of living. As a result, it has emerged that there is need to rehabilitate those members of the society that have fallen victim to substance abuse so that their families can again rely on their effort and vices in the society can be reduced.
This writing discusses three ways through which the possibility of the rehabilitation of an addict can be achieved. However, these modes of rehabilitation are effective but not fully dependable. These methods are; through treatment, through natural recovery and finally through harm reduction and abstinence based recovery.
Treatment can be defined as any interventional efforts, after addiction has been achieved, to sustain the normal functioning of an addict’s body to its full potential. This could either be long term or short term therapy. Treatment takes place with the help of various constituents each of which is carried out to address a particular problem. It aims at fully restoring an individual to his/her potential of productiveness, completely stopping drug abuse and keeping the victim off the drugs. Various therapies are brought into play for example; counseling sessions, monitored medication and use of self help groups.
However, despite the success of this method critics have it that it denies the addict an opportunity to find his/her lost self. Treatment engages him/her in activities that keep him/her so occupied to assist him/her self recover (Winick, 1962). Also a patient could develop an addiction to his/ her medication depending with its role. Addicts have a tendency to over consume pain reliving medication when pain persists. Besides, addicts find themselves in a situation where members of society marginalize them and there is fear to this kind of stigma from the addicts’ ends. It’s always wise to prevent rather than to indulge in curing efforts, some conditions can’t be reversed.
Another of the methods is through natural recovery. It is said in physics that in every action there is an equal reaction force, the body has its own reaction force that fixes it in the event of destruction. This method engages the body to reverse all the consequences of addiction in the body by repairing the worn out tissues and more. Despite the success of this procedure it has its short comings. For instance, during detoxification the body could easily cause harm to itself especially when toxins accumulate in the liver. Also during the withdrawal phase, when the body is completely denied the drug it craves, symptoms associated with it could be unbearable and result to deeper problems. Like the case when the body is in the process of reducing acidity in its system. Besides this, the whole process is slow as it could take up to two years for the body to recover fully.
Finally, is the harm reduction and abstinence based recovery. Harm reduction refers to a scenario in which the negative effects of a drug to the body are reduced while the user continues to abuse the drug. This method doesn’t seek to discontinue the user from his/her practices of substance abuse. Abstinence based recovery is a traditional method in which the addict is advised to completely avoid the drug he/she craves for. Like the rest these methods reward greatly but also have their equal share of weaknesses. The harm reduction strategy advocates for drug abuse which is the reason for the negative effects. Therefore this can be seen as a move to empower the addict’s body as he/she constantly engages in substance abuse. Also, some of the treatment during the procedure could not go well with the drugs being abused. For instance, alcohol and drug just don’t get along in the body.
Abstinence on the other hand is quite a difficult expectation with regard to an addict. Few addicts are for the idea of completely avoiding drugs. Withdrawal symptoms come at a high price to pay. This method seeks to treat only he who has decided to quite his practices. Moreover, despite all the methods’ short coming, it is important to reduce the number of addicts in any society even if it means using either of the methods, or a combination.
Reference list
Rushing W. (1975). Deviant Behavior and Social Processes: William A. Rushing. Rand McNally College Pub. Co.
Winick .C (1962). The Narcotic Addiction Problem: Americas Social Health Association.
Gibson D. (1989). Treatment of Substance Abuse: Psychosocial Occupational Therapy Approaches: Routledge.
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