Addiction Recovery Another Battle for the Disabled
Addiction recovery is difficult for those in reasonably good health, but for people with disabilities, addiction recovery poses a special challenge. According to CBS Chicago, the disabled population represents a disproportionate percentage of substance abusers.
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For instance, for those with brain injuries the addiction rate is over 60 percent. For those with mental illness, the rate is over 50 percent.
The alcohol addiction rate in the general population is 8 percent, but for the disabled population that figure is double. Addiction recovery is especially challenging for those with disabilities as generally multiple treatment episodes are needed for success.
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Depending upon the disability, other addiction recovery challenges become part of treatment such as special communication requirements for the deaf and hearing impaired, reminder calls for those with cognitive impairments and the ability to treat those with dual diagnoses for mental illness and conditions such as severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Many addiction recovery treatment centers are also reporting a vicious cycle of substance abuse in regard to people with disabilities. For instance, many drug and alcohol users are prone to having accidents such as car crashes or industrial incidents that leave them with disabilities. In order to deal with the pain or isolation of the disability, many will return to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.
The good news is that because of the rise of people with disabilities seeking addiction recovery treatment over the last 10 years, rehab centers have responded with increased staff training to handle those with special needs.
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