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L i v e Yo u n g e r L o n g e r
About
What Do
For decades, addiction
was considered a moral
failing. A weakness of
will. A defect of the lower
classes.
Though untrue, such
blame-and-shame ideas
gave a social stigma to
addiction. To help clear
addiction of this stigma,
Melody Law, MD, who
specializes in addiction
medicine at St. Helena
Hospital Clear Lake, sheds
light on a disease that
affects 1 in 11 Americans.
&
A
Q
If addiction isn’t a
weakness or a failure
of morals, what is it?
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing
disease of the brain. By chronic,
doctors mean it lasts a long time
and doesn’t go away easily. Relapsing
means symptoms can return if it isn’t
treated every single day. So just like
people with other chronic diseases,
such as diabetes or high blood pressure,
people with addiction need treatment on a
daily basis for the rest of their lives.
A
Research has proven that drugs
and alcohol actually change the
way the brain’s nerve cells send,
receive and process information. These
changes affect the areas of the brain that
are crucial in judgment, decision making
and behavior control. The likely result: an
impaired ability to exercise the self-control
needed to stop using — even if someone
desperately wants to.
A
Q
Why do you call it a
“disease of the brain?”
When someone comes to the
outpatient clinic for addiction
treatment, we spend an hour
or so discussing what substance they
struggle with and how we can help. It’s a
nonjudgmental conversation — never a
blame game. For the patients, first steps
to recovery include:
■
Detox.
This rids the body of the
substance while managing withdrawal
symptoms with safe medications.
■
Counseling
— either individual or in
an intensive outpatient program (IOP).
IOP patients spend two to three hours
a day three times a week learning about
addiction and developing coping skills
to deal with their stressors (triggers)
instead of turning to chemicals.
We are lucky to have mental health
counseling services near us at the
hospital, where I can refer patients after
detox. Our clinic is also part of St. Helena
Family Health Center’s Live Well program,
which offers programs for improvement in
physical, social and spiritual well-being.
A
Q
How do you treat
addiction?