Addictions

Conventional Routes for Addictions

The conventional route for people who suffer with an addiction is a referral by a GP, which may gain entry to a psychiatric hospital if the condition is life threatening, or recovery unit if the condition is moderately serious. Often Accident and Emergency (A&E) is a point of reference if overdosing has occurred. Patients undergo various methods of treatment after an assessment from a medical practitioner.

From a psychological, behavioral or practical point of view, any investigation appears to lead to a common denominator; either the patient has lack of control, or is experiencing psychological and behavioural problems so complicated that further control and reprogramming appears necessary to bring the patient back into a socially acceptable structure; one which is satisfactory to the patient, their family and society in general.

Recovery and Hospital Environments for Addictions

A hospital or recovery environment generally employs medication and psychotherapy of some description. For alcohol and drug abuse a gradual decline in the patient’s preferred recreational drug and a prescribed replacement drug is offered. Fully registered and monitored drugs, such as methadone for drug addicts, plus a sedative such as diazepam, along with pain relief for alcoholics, will be administered for the duration of treatment.

The drugs will then be reduced until the patient is weaned off the prescribed drug. The National Health Service (NHS) rarely uses total abstinence, preferring a gradual decline of alcohol and drugs until the patient is off the substance completely. The reasons are varied; disruption in routine, costs of isolating patients, the possibility of heart failure, other health issues, or 24/7 one to one care, which is impossible. The gradual withdrawing of the substance is the only option for the NHS, along with some type of external help and support.

More Humanitarian Ways fo Addictions

The Sunday Mail (August 22^nd 2004) had a very interesting but brief mention about a successful centre run by nuns for twenty-four years! The programme was six weeks in duration, advocating absolute abstinence from all addictions. Late in 2003 the Home Office demanded that in order to reach ‘treatment targets’ a new authorization and mandate was introduced:

1. The programme was to be reduced from six weeks to three.
2. The intake of addicts had to be doubled.

The directive was to be based on a gradual withdrawal from the drug rather than total abstinence. The result was that no one was cured; however drug addicts took advantage of the free methadone on offer. Finally in January of 2004 the centre closed. “The Government’s targets were actually killing people, not preventing deaths,” said one successful ex-drug addict from the centre, who was extremely disappointed, and angered by the Government’s directive.

Eating Disorders as an Addiction

People with an eating disordered cause a dilemma because a certain amount of food consumption is necessary for survival and cannot be withheld. Plus an increase of weight is mandatory for anorexia and food control is required for binge eating. For people with an eating disorder, forced or coerced feeding is normal practice, with a concentration on dietary help with the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamins and minerals. Forced eating terrifies most people with a fear of food.

Naturopaths may consider the RDA supplements grossly inadequate for anyone with an addiction, as the body uses massive reserves when in a critical state. For an alcoholic, food is also vital, as many alcoholics are actually malnourished, substituting drink for food.

Guidelines for Addictions

The guidelines for treatment of addictions tend to be similar from one NHS environment to another; only in the private sector is there an element of flexibility offered, where complementary therapies may be considered as an addition to a conventional approach. But the only complementary therapy offered is usually massage which causes blind panic at the thought of showing an ugly body. Rarely are other techniques used and there are many, which would ease the desperation people with addictions, like eating disorders suffer with.