It’s a tragic fact that people we all know—friends, coworkers, employees, spouses, kids—will suffer from addiction at some point during their lives. Unless they do something about it first.
But, sadly, about 90% of those who are in danger don’t get help for their problem. If they do, it’s normally after they have crashed, and they must then go through extended recovery to rebuild their life.
Why don’t people do something sooner?
Because they don’t understand the depth of their issue, or they are in denial. If they are aware they have a growing compulsion, they may not know what to do about it. And too many are deeply embarrassed—ashamed—about their problem, so they don’t to talk to anyone about it.
They don’t know that prevention can be learned. So they do nothing.
How Prevention Can Be Learned
It’s important to note that prevention can also be taught. Which means that we all have the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives. To turn stigma into opportunity.
It starts by developing an early warning system to detect problems before they reach the crisis stage. And by learning healthy lifestyle behaviors that bring us resilience. Then we can withstand—learn from—the issues we face, rather than using substances to feel better or dull the pain.
There is a methodology called PACES that provides principles and techniques that can help us understand and prevent addiction. The word “PACES” is an acronym that stands for: Preparation, Awareness, Connection, Education, and Steps:
Preparation: We can develop a healthy, wellness-based lifestyle by being proactive about how we choose to live each day. This will help prevent problems developing from emotional, mental, or spiritual issues that go unaddressed for too long. We can all help each other move in this direction by being encouraging about developing positive lifestyle habits.
Awareness: Some people may be slow to connect the dots that something they are doing has become a compulsive habit. Others are in denial and need a wake-up call to understand the negative consequences they are creating, often over and over. They need honest, humble self-awareness, and that may involve caring-but-real interaction from people who care.
Connection: Most people don’t talk to others about their problems. They are leery of joining a support group or seeing a counselor because they feel uncomfortable or ashamed. They need an encouraging voice to urge them to find people to talk to, someone who will meet them where they are and help them take the next right step.
Education: People may realize they have an issue but not know what to do about it. They need education, but they may be hesitant to ask for help from others or overwhelmed by the clutter of material on the internet. They can be helped by finding and using the right confidential, online resources that can help them learn what steps to take in the safety of their home.
Steps: When people have been trapped in repeated, negative behaviors for a while, they will need to become intentional about making a change. They need help developing a plan that includes simple, practical actions that can help them move toward safety and healing. The plan doesn’t have to be complicated, and the most important step is the first one!
Following the PACES methodology can help people better understand how to overcome the challenges of making a change in their lives and give them some simple steps they can take to move forward, one step at a time.
If Only Everyone Knew
Mike is a successful businessman who is unaware—or in denial—that his drinking has become a problem. Susan realizes her use of pills has moved beyond “pain management” into something more, but she doesn’t know what to do about it. Andy is 17, and his use of recreational drugs has taken him down a dark path, and he is scared, ashamed, and alone in his struggle.
Wouldn’t it be great if every adult and teenager knew how to detect the early stages of addiction and understood what they can do to prevent it? Just think how many lives and families could be improved, and sometimes saved!
Because we all have issues, and there are negative things we keep doing over and over. But there is hope; there are things we can do to get better. It’s harder to travel that path alone, so it helps if we have the support and encouragement of others.
The good news is that prevention can be learned. With preparation, awareness, connection, education, and steps, we can develop resilience to deal with life well—without substances or addictive behaviors. And if we know someone in danger, we can help. That “someone” could be your friend, coworker, employee, spouse, or kid. Or it could be you.
Together, we can move toward safety. We can turn addiction from a stigma into an opportunity.
