Introduction
Statistics on mental health and addiction successful recovery rates in the United States remain high regardless of the state’s currently suffering from the nationwide opioid crisis. Most health institutions and drug rehab centers currently utilize different evidence-based treatment that is personalized in various means to assist patients in recovering from addiction. Various factors influence the management of mental health disorders among the population. Access to healthcare options that facilitate the healing process and availability of healthcare professionals who support the process. These two factors are critical in determining how addicts respond to their recovery journey. For people suffering from anxiety and depression, self-medication through substance abuse and drugs can be assumed as the most convenient alternative when they lack the necessary support from professional healthcare providers. Regardless of reported successful recovery rates on mental health and addiction within states remain high, there are numerous challenges and factors that hinder the successful recovery of patients, such as healthcare professional shortages, increased cost of Medicare, and present some of the best ways for successful recovery.
Mental health disorders and addiction often result in alcohol and drug dependency, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. Statistics from National Alliance on Mental Illness report that 39.9% of adults have reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, with 27% not being able to get appropriate treatment (Statistics from National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d). The analysis of this data indicates that a successful recovery or relapse depends on the availability of resources for mental health and the scarcity of healthcare professionals. While the success of recovery from any addiction is determined by the addicts’ willingness to access available resources, the lacking of these resources, such as the shortage of professional assistance, worsens the success rate immensely. At the same time, the country grapples with a nationwide shortage of healthcare professionals (Haddad et al., 2022). It can be expected that more people from Michigan that suffer from addiction continue to lack support from healthcare professionals. According to Statistics from National Alliance on Mental Illness (n.d), 4.2 million people in Michigan live in communities that experience a lack of mental healthcare professionals. This critical condition only adds to the overall statistics of people prone to relapse from any addiction. This implies that most people continue to experience sub-threshold mental challenges, which means the United States mental health has failed to reach the threshold for successful recovery.
COVID-19 is another factor that hinders the successful recovery of patients undergoing an opioid crisis. The government directives for people to adhere to social distancing largely changed the drug use patterns, such as higher rates of drug additions in isolation, thus, increasing the risk of a fatal overdose. The recent healthcare crisis posed by COVID – 19 pandemic only widened the gap of healthcare professional shortage from a priority perspective. Looking to contain the spread of the coronavirus amongst the population, there was a need to change the hierarchy of priorities at that particular moment. This change increased the vulnerability levels of people suffering from mental disorders or addiction due to the lack of healthcare professionals. Looking to adapt to the new changes in healthcare priorities, healthcare personnel became prone to mental health disorders influenced by the tough times during and after the pandemic period (Edwards et al., 2020). It is again impacting the levels of access to healthcare professionals for the diagnosed patients going through the recovery journey.
Professional shortages in healthcare influence the abuse of illegal drugs that affects the human brain, which cause a compulsion to use the drug and powerful craving for opioid to make it look like an impossible goal.The increasing factors that influence healthcare professional shortage influence the business equation in healthcare service delivery. The demand and supply ratio becomes highly inverted, raising Medicare’s cost. The cost of Medicare is another factor that influences the success or relapse rate of an addict’s recovery and treatment of mental health patients. Recent statistics from NAMI (n.d) show that due to cost, 38.4% of people did not access medical assistance. While the number of people who could access medical assistance due to cost was high, the number of uninsured at 5.8% raises the rates of relapse among mental health patients and addicts in the same measure. A recent study by Heun-Johnson, Machine, et al. (2018) on the cost of mental health showed a need to increase funding to support patients diagnosed with mental health disorders. While Illinois considers itself as a state with the lowest number of psychological disorder cases at 9.6% compared to Michigan State with 39.9% as of 2021, this scenario highlights the impact of Medicare cost in treating psychological disorders and addiction.
Settings remain a major factor that influences socio-economic disparities that are known contributing factors to opioid use, such as patient socio-economic status that include lack of health services, limited opportunities for medical advancement, lower educational levels, income inequality, unemployment, and low income. Financial constraints significantly influence the rate of recovery and relapse almost at the same ratio. Individuals on the lower scale of financial earning become causalities of Medicare costs since they cannot pay for insurance to access medical and professional assistance. It is a scenario that continues to significantly impact 5.8% of the population in Michigan State (Mischling, 2020). Financial status is crucial in determining at what level an individual can access medical assistance or seek professional help.
The cost of Medicare and individual financial earnings push patients to seek alternative treatment options, which act as their coping mechanisms as they await to become financially stable to acquire the proper medical and professional assistance. Substance abuse and the use of drugs as coping mechanisms have led to the relapse of many individuals in their journey to recovery. According to McCance-Katz, (2018), the reliance on substances such as opioids for mentally ill individuals is a critical issue that should be addressed to reduce the number of relapses and an increasing number of opioid drug addictions among the young generation. This study gives an in-depth analysis of how substance abuse and reliance on opioids have led to an increased number of individuals that relapse due to a lack of medical access or professional assistance. At the same time, the author gives essential tips on managing this social problem by Prioritizing the training of healthcare professionals, building a national system of technical assistance and training, funding innovative programs, and a new approach to severe mental illness.
The problem of substance abuse and reliance on opioids remains an impending factor that increases the number of people who relapse in their recovery journey. However, mental health and addiction recovery are not out of reach, regardless of how hopeless the patient’s situation looks or how many times they have tried to quit. The easy access to alcohol and drugs in society can be seen as an incentive that drives most addicts and people diagnosed with mental illness as a way of self-medication. Having no control over their addiction or mental illness, these individuals become victims of their health conditions, causing them to fall off the journey to sobriety or live near everyday lives by managing their mental disorders through medication. To conquer or manage their mental health status or addiction, self-initiative and determination play a more significant role in conquering condition.
Self-initiative and determination are key factors that act as the driving force for any individual diagnosed with a mental disorder or battling addiction. A recent post from Formica (2010) highlights the importance of these two factors and how individuals are diagnosed with a mental disorder or addiction. By taking up self-responsibility, an individual can beat the compulsive cycle that addiction and mental disorders hold people hostage. By describing the power of free will, the author can unpack how various intervention programs, such as the 12-step and AA, have either failed or worked successfully for people who enrolled to beat their alcohol addiction. Free will and self-determination are the main factors that push and allow one to go through the programs. Taking responsibility for their actions and needs allows them to understand the importance of the programs which support the process of breaking that addiction cycle. While addictions and mental health disorders are not conditions we wish to have, they are attributes of our circumstances that can or cannot be prevented (Stein, 2012). To initiate the healing process, the need to accept and employ the inner self towards the recovery or healing process; no program or medication is guaranteed to give the desired results to the person.
The choice to become a better individual lies within the inner self. Which employs attributes such as responsibility, acceptance, determination, and initiative, to mention a few. All these factors build the drive that an individual will require to stay consistent during the process by adhering to the required instructions. For people battling addiction, taking responsibility for their actions, including identifying trigger environments, means that they become aware of people and situations that promote the need to partake or engage in alcohol or other addictive drugs. Awareness of one’s emotions serves as a way of taking responsibility, encouraging one to avid conversions, people, or even places that act as trigger points to their mental status. Without determination, relapse will occur even after enrolling in relevant programs that seek to support one through healing and recovery.
Research on evidence-based strategies for mental disorders and addiction treatments in medicine has allowed for increased interventions. Even with evidence-based strategies, relapse cases continue to exist, as Formica (2010) highlights in his post about taking responsibility and the power of free will toward available resources. The responsibility of relapse is majorly dependent on the individual. Acknowledging the shortage of healthcare professionals who offer professional support during the healing process. The decision still lies with the individual undergoing the process, their willingness to put into action all incentives shared by the professionals, and implementing important aspects of the resources. The existence of relapse cases will continue to exist despite available free resources. Interpreting relapse cases influenced by a lack of medical and professional assistance can be said to affect the individual in the beginning stages of diagnosis and treatment phases. As Zaidi (2020) discussed, the role of social support shows how this influences relapse in individuals with addiction. While many factors can lead to relapse, it is essential to note the professional healthcare providers’ role during the healing and recovery process.
As designated guides on the recovery process, their lack or shortage of support greatly influences the rise or fall of relapse cases. Some resources have been made available at no cost for individuals battling mental or addiction health crises. It is upon an individual to explore relevant resources to initiate their recovery or healing process. Enrolling in free resources such as mental boot camps, AA, rehabilitation centres, 12 step recovery programs allows one to seek professional assistance without incurring any cost. Through these free resources, one can access the appropriate medical assistance and attention to initiate the process of recovery. The critical step is deciding to begin the recovery or treatment process. Through these programs, one is assured of getting relevant and professional guidance that will allow them to understand their mental and addiction cycles, integrating the lessons learned to improve their lives in general (Kelly, Humphreys, et al. 2020). The successful recovery or relapse depends on access to medical resources and the scarcity of healthcare professionals. This can be considered a valid statement viewed from an overview perspective of general healthcare conditions around the state and country. Acknowledging the individual’s role in implementing the process is essential despite the limiting factors. The use of the available free resources shows that there is a possibility for one to enroll and make use of the resources as they are and therefore gain similar assistance since professionals in their respective fields conduct all programs. With the newly found information about relapse due to medical access and lack of healthcare professionals, future studies should be conducted to highlight the role of an individual in breaking addiction behaviors and managing mental disorders.
In conclusion, opioid use has commonly been known as an inner-city and urban challenge. Nevertheless, the increased prevalence of opioid and drug use disorders and substance-linked mortality in different communities shows a growing global recognition of drug and other substance use problems. Mental health disorders and addiction often result in alcohol and drug dependency, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. Most health institutions and drug rehab centers currently utilize different evidence-based treatment that is personalized in various means to assist patients in recovering from addiction. Various factors influence the management of mental health disorders among the population. Different challenges and factors that hinder the successful recovery of patients include healthcare professional shortages and the increased cost of Medicare. The government directives for people to adhere to social distancing to reduce the spread of coronavirus largely changed the drug use patterns, such as higher rates of drug additions in isolation, thus, increasing the risk of a fatal overdose. By taking up self-responsibility, an individual can beat the compulsive cycle that addiction and mental disorders hold people hostage. While describing the power of free will, the author can unpack how various intervention programs, such as the 12-step and AA, have either failed or worked successfully for people who enrolled to beat their alcohol addiction.
Reference
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