“In the United States, only about one in five people with SUDs ever receives any help for this condition during their lifetime.”
“Yet if we ask them to tell us about ways in which alcohol or other drugs have caused hassles or harm, there is usually a list and sometimes a long one. The more important issue is to understand how substance use is affecting people’s lives, and what (if anything) they need or want to do about it.”
“By the time people are willing to accept specialist addiction treatment or are compelled to do so, their problems have often reached a severe level. Typically they have already been repeatedly in health care, mental health, social service, and/or legal and correctional systems for conditions directly or indirectly related to their substance use.”
(Miller et al., 2019, pp. 4, 23, 3)
“…But I’m glad to come over after!”
“Okay!”
She was thrilled about her speaking engagement and was seeing stars with him. Four months of stars, luxuries, and intermittent texts that tickled as unpredictably as the butterflies inside. She stuffed the disappointment that he wouldn’t be by her side at the big event.
The house was immaculate. A zhuzhed-up arrangement of leftovers from her event on the table for him. The candlelight. The perfume. The dress. And the exhilaration of going somewhere and sharing it with somebody.
She heard his car pull up. “Darling! I’m so happy you’re…”
“Babe, babe…babe…I need to tell you something,” he cried, “I really wanted to be there tonight, but…”
A DUI eight months ago after his last breakup. A re-opened court case. Exhausted expungement efforts and a breathalyzer installed in his car that afternoon. Sobs, wails. “Stupid judge, stupid lawyer, stupid state, stupid device, stupid…I can’t believe they did this to me!”
Twelve months of:
- Crouching below the dash every 15 minutes.
- Scanning every intersection for familiar faces.
- Turning the music up so the kids wouldn’t hear the beeps and breaths.
- Crumpling clothes over the device.
- Parking in far corners.
- Asking her, “Can you make sure your folks don’t come to my car when we get there?”
- and “How can you say to me that I shouldn’t have just one drink after a long workday?”
- and “Can you drive tonight, babe?”
What do you expect would happen at twelve months and one day, when the device is removed from the man’s car? At thirteen months? 24 months? Are his problems effectively addressed? What are the effects of his various decisions, and what do you think he wants to do about them? Do you know anyone like the man, and how would you help that person?
Reference
Miller, W.R., Forcehimes, A.A., & Zweben, A. (2019). Treating addiction: A guide for professionals (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
