The choice to seek help for addiction is momentous. Having made that choice, it is vitally important that you stay in control of your own treatment process. This involves understanding and asserting your rights, as well as building a team of supporters who can help you on your path to healthy recovery.
Recovery from an addiction is all about taking responsibility. Although physicians, psychologists, nurses and social workers, among others, may be crucial in assisting you, the real work will have to be done by you. It is likely to be difficult, forcing you to look at your situation more honestly than ever before. Although you may feel helpless and intimidated, you actually have full control over the process (unless you do something illegal).
To make things even more challenging, people with addictions are probably the most stigmatized, judged and disempowered patient group. There are understanding professionals out there, but often, you discover their attitudes only after sharing your story. It may take time to find the right supporters, but when you do, you will find it is worth it. They can advocate for you in many areas of your life in addition to medical care, particularly if you can establish a trusting relationship.
Know Your Rights
All patients have basic rights. Understanding these rights before seeking help can alleviate many of the fears you may have about seeking help for an addiction. While it is likely to be embarrassing talking with your physician about an alcohol, drug, gambling, sex or food addiction, it is your physician's job to direct you to the best course of treatment, not to judge or mock you. Being treated with respect is one of your most fundamental rights. At present, the medical establishment tends to view addiction as a disease, so your access to proper treatment should be no different from someone with cancer or diabetes.
The Choice Is Yours
While you can be strongly encouraged to enter the assessment or treatment process, you should first give informed consent. This is a very important right, meaning that you agree to have the assessment or treatment being offered. You may feel this is a formality and feel pressured in to consenting in order to access treatment, but you should take the time to understand what is involved and whether you agree to it. Once you have signed, that does not mean you have signed away your right to refuse or withdraw from any aspect of the treatment process.
Although you should stay in charge of the treatment process, it is important to follow medical advice as much as possible. This is particularly true when adjusting the amount of alcohol, recreational drugs or medications you are putting in to your body. This is a time for complete honesty with your physician, and not falling in to the trap of telling them what you think they want to hear and then doing something different.
If you are taking an addictive substance, such as alcohol, heroin or pain medication, the amount your body can tolerate will vary a great deal, depending on your recent intake. Therefore, it is extremely important if you are on a drug taper, have recently detoxed or if you are gradually reducing your alcohol or other drug intake, to follow your physician's recommendations precisely. You risk becoming very ill if you withdraw too suddenly, and if you suddenly take a larger amount after reducing, you run the risk of overdose (even though that amount may have seemed OK before you started cutting down).
Sharing Personal Information
Addictions treatment, whether provided to you as an individual or as part of a group, will involve you sharing some very personal information. It is necessary to share personal information in order for the treatment to be helpful, but you should never give in to pressure from professionals or from other group members to share information you are not ready, or may never wish, to share. As long as you are actively involved in working on your addiction, it is your choice to decide how much to tell.
Good Communication
Good communication is essential. You should be as honest as possible, bearing three points in mind:
Sometimes a physician or psychiatrist will ask you about feelings, when really what they want is factual information: how often you feel depressed or how sad do you feel on a scale of one to ten, rather than the content of the feelings themselves. In contrast, a psychologist, counselor or group facilitator asking about feelings will also want to know the content of what you are feeling: angry toward your boss, sad about the loss of your mother.
What If They Are Unreasonable?
Like any profession, physicians will vary in the manner in which they treat others. If you have an addiction, particularly one that has taken its toll and caused a lot of losses in your life, it can be particularly annoying to come for help and find you are facing an arrogant doctor.
If you are limited in your access to another physician, it may be helpful to see this person simply as a means to an end. Try not to take it personally, and simply ask for what you want (tests or a referral for treatment).
If you feel your doctor has crossed the line and is not respecting your rights as a patient, you may consider making a complaint or looking for another doctor.
Bear in mind, however, that it can be particularly difficult for people with addictions to access adequate health care.
