Substance abuse in Missouri
What is Addiction? How Does It Affect My Community?
Substance use and the inevitable addiction that often results is not new to humankind. Communities large and small have been struggling with addiction and substance use disorders for decades. However, the “war on drugs” being waged across the nation has brought many of the various struggles with addiction to the forefront of the conversation. For many years, addiction was viewed as a choice. It was mistakenly believed by members of the medical community, mental health community, and society in general that someone who struggled with addiction did so by choice. They chose to take drugs, or they decided to drink alcohol. Additionally, it was also believed that someone with a substance use disorder could simply stop when they chose to. These misguided beliefs and an overall lack of understanding of how addiction affects the body led to decades of stigma surrounding addiction and treatment. Stigma itself, unfortunately, leads to a significant lack of potentially life-saving treatment for those struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol.
Across the nation, nearly 21 million people meet the diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder. Of those 21 million, some as young as age 12, only 10% will ever seek or receive treatment at an addiction treatment center like See Purpose, which serves Kansas City residents and others around the country who are seeking real options for lasting recovery.
Like so many other Metropolitan areas, Kansas City has not been spared from the impacts of addiction. Addiction is a disease that affects not only the addict but their friends, family, and the community in which they live and work. The fallout from addiction costs society millions each year in medical fees, legal fees, and societal struggle. Unfortunately, despite the efforts put forth by many government entities, struggles with addiction are still pervasive in many communities, including Kansas City.
How Addiction Affects Kansas City
Statistics of Addition in Kansas City
Across the state of Missouri, approximately 375,000 adults over the age of 18 struggle with substance use disorder. Like many large cities in the United States, the rate of opioid deaths has steadily increased in Kansas City and across the state of Missouri. In 2018, approximately one out of every 56 deaths reported in the state were related to opioid overdose. Throughout 2018, nearly 1200 people in the state lost their lives to opioid overdose. The opioid epidemic does not discriminate. It affects all genders, races, and age groups in both rural and urban areas of the state. Unfortunately, the impact of addiction is also multi-generational. Children born to parents who struggle with addiction are often born having been exposed to drugs passed through the placenta or breast milk or inevitably develop addictive behaviors.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) occurs when an infant is exposed to addictive substances either before birth. In 2018 nearly 500 infants were diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and another 1800 were potentially exposed to addictive substances in utero. As the impacts of addiction continue to grow, the burden on the health care system increases as well. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services indicates that the estimated cost of emergency room visits between 2016 and 2018 related directly to opioid misuse totaled approximately $117 million, most of which was paid for through government-funded insurance or other government-funded sources.
Find Personalized Solutions for Substance Abuse
What to Look for in a Drug Rehab Center Near Kansas City
Comprehensive addiction treatment and ongoing sobriety and recovery are crucial to helping defeat persistent patterns of addiction. Acknowledging a negative relationship with drugs or alcohol is often difficult. Many who struggle with chronic addiction attempt to protect their loved ones from the impacts of addiction by hiding or failing to acknowledge their addiction. This often leads to isolation, mistrust, and difficulties within the family. Consequently, when someone who struggled with drugs or alcohol for an extended time chooses to seek addiction treatment, it can be challenging to know where to begin.
When you are ready to begin your journey to sobriety, it is crucial to seek an addiction treatment center where the treatment model most accurately reflects your treatment needs and goals. There are many different levels of care offered in addiction treatment facilities across Kansas City and the state of Missouri. It is crucial to choose a program where the level of care is adequate to your treatment needs. If you struggle with a severe addiction, have completed treatment before and experienced relapse, or are addicted to alcohol or opioids, an inpatient residential treatment program is likely the best choice.
See Purpose provides a comprehensive addiction treatment program in Indiana that begins with medically supervised detox services. Depending on your unique addiction, it may be necessary to detox before transitioning into a therapeutic residential inpatient rehab program. Withdrawal symptoms can be intense and sometimes overwhelming when detoxing from certain substances. In a medically supervised setting, highly trained professionals provide care and support throughout the detox process to help reduce the severity and intensity of withdrawal.
It is also crucial to consider the need for dual diagnosis treatment. A dual diagnosis occurs when someone struggles with both a substance use disorder and symptoms of a mental health condition. It was once believed that substance use disorders and mental health conditions should be treated separately (at separate treatment programs). Unfortunately, this course of thought led many people to receive ineffective or insufficient treatment as their treatment programs were only partially effective. Addiction and mental health are often intertwined. Someone who struggles with mental health symptoms will often turn to substances to help dull the discomfort associated with their illness. This maladaptive coping often leads to substance use disorders. Conversely, some with a chronic substance use disorder often experience new or worsening mental health symptoms. Therefore, treating one condition without addressing the impacts of the other often leads to relapse.
How SEE Purpose in Indiana Can Help You Recover
How Our Treatment Center Near Kansas City is Different
Addiction is not created equally. Although many people struggle with addictions to similar or the same substances, the physical, psychological and spiritual effects each person experiences are their own. Therefore, addiction treatment programs must be uniquely designed to meet the individual’s treatment needs and goals. At See Purpose in the Kansas City area, our highly trained addiction treatment staff will work with you to create an addiction treatment program using traditional, evidence-based treatment models as well as alternative therapy options designed to address the whole person holistically. We understand that cookie-cutter addiction treatment programs simply do not work and often lead to incidences of relapse.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as many as 60% of those who complete an addiction treatment program will experience at least one incidence of relapse. The opportunities for relapse are far reduced when addiction treatment is centered around the individual’s needs, helping them learn more about addiction and how addictive behaviors and maladaptive coping strategies often lead to relapse and worsening symptoms.
As your treatment program comes to an end, your team of treatment professionals will work with you to design a comprehensive aftercare program that ensures access to ongoing therapy, necessary medical appointments, and vital community support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, as well as SMART Recovery meetings in the Kansas City area.
Your Path To Recovery Begins Today
Get Help at Our Alcohol & Drug Rehab in the Kansas City Area
The decision to seek addiction treatment is one of the most challenging decisions someone who struggles with substance use disorder will ever voluntarily make. Deciding to (even if only temporarily) leave behind the safety of home to seek addiction treatment can be a scary process. However, it is a vital step on the road to sobriety, health, and a life free of the pole of drugs and alcohol. If you are ready to begin your sobriety journey, reach out to the team at our drug and alcohol rehab near the Kansas City, MO-area, today. Let our caring and compassionate admissions team help you learn more about our treatment programs and how you can get help at our alcohol rehab in the Kansas City area today.
WE WORK WITH MOST INSURANCE PROVIDERS
At SEE Purpose, we work directly with your insurance company to verify what benefits will cover your addiction treatment expenses, in order to get the help you are seeking.
