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Let`s solve problems cooperatively with other nations
When we talk about the addiction crisis in the United States, we could feel like we’re talking about an event that could happen only on our soil, where the characteristics of our society are solely responsible for this kind of disaster. Unlike many parts of the world, we received close to universal healthcare only recently, and that concept is currently threatened by the current administration. Many people are simply priced out of healthcare services they may need due to a lack of employer-provided insurance. Coupled with a long-lasting, controversial and double-edged war on drugs, it seems only natural that we incubated a perfect storm of people who need recovery options and don’t have access to them. With hundreds of thousands of people who were persecuted in the war on drugs in the U.S. and who faced an uphill climb in the labor force due to criminal convictions, we’ve left a huge margin of our country extremely vulnerable to substance use disorders but with limited resources to seek out help.
I recently gave a talk during a London addictions conference specifically about gender-specialized care for women. Despite the situation the U.S. finds itself in, the U.K. is facing its own epidemic. As one report states, “Deaths related to drug misuse are at their highest level since comparable records began in 1993.” Even though they have their own unique cultures and public policies, other nations face the same crisis we do. People suffering with addiction aren’t reaching the professional or peer-supported help they need. Thousands of entirely preventable deaths are happening year after year, and the numbers are growing steadily. Even though certain social factors in the U.S. might be influencing a substance use disorder crisis, there’s another universal factor more heavily contributing to the astonishing number of people who aren’t receiving care.
A unique opportunity for women
According to researchers, “Several studies have identified stigma as a significant barrier for accessing health care.” There’s a factor of shame involved with addiction that is not present with any other illness. There’s also a manipulation of the brain’s reward mechanisms that, when combined with the negative self-perception of being an addict, makes seeking treatment even more unlikely. For women, those self-defeating feelings can be merciless, with the guilt of raising children under the influence or being pregnant while being dependent on a substance.
However, having children also gives women a powerful motivation to seek out help. Women have a unique opportunity not only to recover from their addiction, but also to offer preventative care for their children by doing so.
Road ahead: Let’s cross the bridge
Our nations face such a similar historical fight with addiction, and we’ve shared a lot of powerful tools and techniques. The first AA meeting in the U.S. happened in 1935, between two men seeking to end the grasp alcoholism had on their lives. In London, the first AA meeting in the U.K. took place in 1947. A handful of strangers, men and women, got together to discuss the effects alcohol had on their lives, and how to move forward. Today, there are more than 50 meetings each week in London, and over 300 per week in New York City, and they range in diversity from religious communities to LGBT-focused gatherings.
Just as the women and families that enter the treatment center where I work need our help, we need each other’s. What we need now, more than ever, is to work together with other nations to truly understand the face of this epidemic. We need to better understand the women and children who are prevented in one way or another from receiving the care they need. What are the major impediments keeping our women from seeking care? Is it a fear of being labeled? A struggle to ask for help? A lack of resources for childcare? Are these elements unique to the culture of the U.S. or the U.K. due to our specific societal outlook? Or do women in both countries face difficulty overcoming similar obstacles?
Through the union of multiple care facilities in the U.S. in the form of various trade associations, I am able to see the tremendous amount of knowledge, best practices and wisdom that recovery centers can provide one another through their metrics, their understanding of their clientele, and the careful monitoring and examination of their recovery techniques. I can only imagine the amazing heights we would reach if we were able to create a union between nations and to share information freely on both our cultural differences and the similarities of our struggle.