Is It Time We Recognized Addiction As A Mental Health Concern?
For many of us, addiction is a dirty word. It conjures ideas of dangerous substances and an underbelly that we’d rather not dive into. Hence why, as a society, we’ve gotten used to turning away from the desperate faces of those whose addictions have left them on the streets. Worse still, many addicts find themselves facing often severe prison sentences for the mere act of possessing the substance (whatever that may be) from which their addiction stems.
Worryingly, this guarded blame-culture remains unquestioned by many. Even the best efforts of notable public figures like Russel Brand who, off the back of his own struggles with addiction, has openly campaigned for the reclassification of addiction as a mental health issue, have failed to reach any real audience. This, despite an age where more of us than ever pride ourselves on understanding and supporting mental health struggles on the whole.
Yet, anyone can see that, given America's current opioid crisis among other issues, things need to change. The question is, how exactly can we begin treating addiction as a mental health concern at last?
It all starts with education
Previously dismissed cases of depression have thankfully now gained notice as genuine health struggles thanks to widespread education. Yet, barely anyone realizes that addiction works on the brain in much the same ways. Most notably, studies in 2016 revealed that drugs and other substances hijack dopamine pathways, often altogether changing brain function. Surprisingly, dopamine is the same chemical that’s often considered with regards to mental health. So, why do we treat addiction so very differently when, scientifically speaking, its impact on the brain isn’t all that different?
Taking judgement out of the equation
Even issues like depression were once treated with a ‘get over it’ mentality. Now, however, the vast majority of us would luckily rush to help a loved one experiencing recognized mental health struggles. Yet, when we learn of addiction, many of us still respond with a negative mindset, sometimes even cutting the individual in question off altogether. This perpetuates the problem, and is something that we can only address by approaching addiction, like any other mental health concern, with understanding and a willingness to listen.
Improving the standard of care
Existing one-time addiction treatments often fail to get to the mental root of the problem, meaning that they will never prove as successful as we hope. This much is evident from the relapse rates of current rehabilitation centers. Luckily, individuals like Marc Effron of Legacy Healing have spotted this issue, and are working to offer holistic healing that incorporates psychotherapy as well as addressing addiction in and of itself. To ensure such groundbreaking treatments become the rule rather than the exception, we as a society need to understand that, far from being a criminal act, addiction is a mental struggle like any other.
With levels of addiction ever on the rise, it’s clear that things need to change. The question is, what will it take to see that addiction is a mental health issue rather than a weakness of character?
