The road to recovery
Simon Antrobus - The Guardian

While celebrities may check themselves into an expensive rehab clinic for a 'miracle cure', recovery for most people struggling from an addiction is long and hard - which is why they need all the support they can get.

Singer Britney Spears checks into a rehab clinic

Ask any member of the public how to beat a drug or drink problem and, chances are, they'll say; you first check into an expensive rehab, you learn to abstain, you exercise, you eat healthily, and a few months later you emerge all fixed and ready to go and take your place in the world again.

This is the media story of the 'recovered' celebrity. Strong disapproval is dealt out to those in the limelight who are deemed to have 'failed' to get better. No recognition is given to the possibility that they may be struggling with an addiction.

And this is the reality for the many, the road to recovery is long and hard. People need a lot of support. It can take years for them to turn their lives around.

Treatment is inevitably a complex process

For it to work treatment is inevitably a complex process that is tailored to the individual. Each person needs committed and caring support as they move forward step by step. And they can at any point relapse and disappear but the hope is they will come back. There really is no simple, short sharp shock solution and there are no absolutes. Far too much talk about recovery focuses on the media celebrity model.

Until an open discussion about what recovery really means takes place - putting people with drug and alcohol problems in the driving seat - the media' s mythical one way route to salvation will remain.

The people we see and work with at Addaction have complex lives and their problems are not just with drugs and alcohol. They often have difficulties with relationships, family, education, employment, mental health or housing.

Some of these may be the cause of their drug use, others may have been caused by it – but for someone to truly recover, each of these needs to be addressed.

One of the first steps along the way is, without a doubt, to reduce the harm that someone's drinking or drug use is causing to their health, the way they live, and the distress to those around them. Some people can stop immediately, the majority can't; but that doesn't mean they can't still be helped.

In my discussions with services, users trust is a critical factor in this journey. People need to feel safe and supported in order to begin the journey to recovery. For many this first step is engaging with a service such as one of our 'needle exchanges' - all of which are part of community projects.

Like methadone and substitute prescribing this is not the goal it just a start. We run the risk of failing to truly support people if we do not have as our ultimate aim of getting people free of their addiction.

We owe it to everyone person who seeks our help, in what ever service, for whatever addiction the belief that they can recover completely and, on the way, rediscover the family, friends and relationships they once had.