The Unique Disease of Addiction

You know something’s wrong and you report the symptoms to your doctor. He runs tests and calls you into his office with his diagnosis. It’s cancer. As he explains the details of your illness, your obvious response is “what can we do to treat it?” A treatment plan is made and you immediately begin working toward recovery.

It would be the same if you had a stroke or cardiac disease or a broken bone. Pinpoint the problem and fix it. But when it comes to addiction, it’s never that simple. It’s the only disease that, when diagnosed by a professional, the one who is sick often denies there’s anything wrong and refuses to take the steps necessary to get better.

It’s this reality that makes the disease of addiction so unique. But as drug and alcohol abuse is viewed more as a disease and less as a weakness of character, the stigma of addiction will lessen.  As that happens, more people who need help may be willing to trust the professional evaluation of an addiction expert and see the diagnosis in the same way they’d see any other health problem. Until then, loved ones and friends can help by being understanding and removing the emotion from addiction. You wouldn’t get angry at someone for suffering from cancer, realizing it’s not helpful in their healing. The same goes for addiction. You can’t guilt someone into getting help. Being informed and focused on getting them back to health is the best course of action.

Treatment at La Paloma

If you or someone you love is battling an addiction, call La Paloma at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.