How do people recover from AOD problems

William White - an expert of AOD dependence and recovery, and author of the famous text “Slaying the dragon: The history of addiction treatment and recovery in America” - has published a fascinating article on his blog. Titled “Recovery song: Dragon’s lullaby”, William eloquently describes the spectrum of AOD concerns - at one end, people who have mild to moderate concerns, that are often transient and resolve through maturation or changes in personal circumstances. At the other end of the spectrum, are people with severe and persistent AOD problems - often in conjunction with a range of other psychosocial complexity and of long duration. William describes how different approaches for these two distinct groups can lead to inadvertent harms. People who’s problems are only mild can suffer when they are forced into intense forms of AOD treatment, like residential rehabilitation which may not be indicated for their lower intensity substance use disorders. On the other hand, people with severe AOD problems face stigma due to their inability to moderate their use.  Instead, William White asks us to understand the broad range of approaches that are necessary to overcome substance use disorders. People learn about what it takes for their own journey through substance use disorders, without the pressure of outsiders expecting or cajoling people to conform to a dogmatic view of what it takes to overcome problematic substance use.

Go to “Recovery Song: Dragon’s Lullaby”