Addiction (including alcohol, food, gambling and sex) is a brain disease that is usually just a symptom of mental health illness or personality disorders.
It is misunderstood and many are willfully ignorant regarding the subject.
The process once an addict decides to become sober or abstinent is a difficult one to navigate and is often a vicious circle, especially without family support or a strong support system which many addicts lack.
Some addicts (alcohol, opiates and benzos) require detox first. The wait list can be a few days to a few weeks.
Once detox is finished, an addict should go to a residential treatment centre right?
Pffft, you would think so...
Wait times for residential treatment centres can be months to over a year (depending on the length of time the centre offers) unless your job or family can afford a private treatment centre and even then there is a wait.
It is worse for women because there are less resources for them and don't get me started on treatment for youth.
There are a few long term treatment centres in Ontario, but many are only 21 days long. They used to be 28 days long until the government shaved off a week.
Barely any offer treatment for mental health illness or especially personality disorders. There are no doctors, only counselors.
Here is where the vicious circle applies...
They keep you for 21 days which barely cracks the surface, then you get thrown back into the fire (the bad environment you came from) with open wounds - opened and not treated.
Proper treatment for addiction should be readily available and should look like this:
-Detox if necessary
-Immediate transfer to residential treatment that also treats mental health illness and personality disorders. Treatment should be as long as the individual requires within reason.
-After intensive treatment, the individual should go to a recovery home *usually 6 months* where they are given daily freedoms and monitored with counseling. This is where longterm plans are made for housing, a job, etc...
-Harm reduction medications should be used in conjunction with treatment if needed.
With this model, watch the longterm recovery rate skyrocket.
And before you try to argue my points or say that I don't know what I am talking about, I have personal experience as a severely addicted youth (began at 13) into young adulthood.
I am approximately 10 years clean currently.