Opioid Addiction Essay

Addiction is an illness like no other. It may well be the only illness where there is fierce resistance for wellness despite the obvious damage it causes. This uniqueness requires a comprehensive treatment program utilizing a broad range of resources.

Eight sequential steps lead to a successful recovery as measured by sustained sobriety:

1. Accept that you are an addict by breaking through the barrier of denial. Denial is an insurmountable roadblock for recovery. Twelve Step support programs call it surrendering, but you can call it whatever you like—as long as you surrender. Chapter 16 addresses denial in detail.

2. Acknowledge that you need help to recover. What you are doing now is not working or is only making things worse.

3. Seek help

After all, what is there to recover from if you don’t have a problem?

Deep inside you know the truth. It’s like the person who drinks a case of beer every day yet denies being an alcoholic because “It’s only beer, not the hard stuff” or “I can stop anytime I want.” For the opioid addict, similar excuses are “It’s only pills, not heroin,” “I only snort, never inject,” or “All my friends use more than I do.”

You have an addiction because opioids control you and adversely affect most every aspect of your life.

You must first accept that you are an addict to have any chance of recovery. The time to do that is now. Accepting that you are an addict is long overdue.

Let’s look at where you are in the scheme of things. Are you wondering if treatment is the right thing for you or if this is the right time to do it? Are you seeking treatment because a family member, friend, employer, or the court is pushing you in that direction? I hope you want to recover for the most important reason of all—you are sick and tired of being on the addiction merry-go-round and you want to stop