Some research on this topic, for the case of Iran: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32387885/
Support websites show it’s mainly faith-based recovery programs in Muslim communities:
https://www.addictioncenter.com/treatment/faith-based-drug-and-alcohol-rehab/muslim/
Honestly, it’s mostly faith based stuff almost everywhere. Secular programs are on the rise, but they’re still greatly outnumbered by things like traditional AA.
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Research has shown that people have the best results when they find a recovery program that they vibe with. If that is AA or NA, awesome. Have at it.
But if the god stuff or lack of self determination is not your jam, Life Ring and Smart Recovery are good alternatives. Harder to find meetings outside of the major metros, but they have lots of zoom meetings now.
Also, the best program is one where you also include a doctor. If your health insurance will cover a medical treatment program, that is also wise.
If your health insurance will cover a medical treatment program, that is also wise
I think stuff like methadone and/or suboxone works, but rehab is sort of a scam. Maybe because I live in what’s termed the “rehab capital of the world” but it has a piss-poor success rate and it just seems like a way to extract as much money as possible from insurance companies by unscrupulous companies.
and sure, fuck insurance companies, but we’re talking about real people here. people from all across the country come here, end up meeting a bunch of other addicts, get a bunch of connections to find drugs and end up addicted here in south florida. it’s a very common story
I have a friend of mine who ended up working as a therapist in a rehab, had a master’s degree in psychology and all that - he had gone to rehab over 10 times and was still struggling. He relapsed and lost his job last year.
My 2¢ as someone who has been volunteering to run some outpatient stuff in a large not for profit American HMO for a decade.
These days, inpatient recovery (what most people consider classic “rehab”) often deals with people who have the most severe disease. And with any disease, you typically have the poorest treatment outcomes when you’re dealing with the most severe cases. It’s not the treatment that’s the problem - it’s the disease progression and its level of severity.
These days the research has shown that the standard of care should be to start with outpatient care, then to dial up the level of care if the patient needs something more intensive. The hospital that I’ve been volunteering in has a spectrum of treatment options. Support groups, weekly outpatient stuff, once-a-night outpatient, all-day outpatient (IOP), all the way up to full on inpatient care and or living in an SLE.
how they give his own show to tad ghostal?
Having done NA to get clean from heroin nearly a decade ago, I’d just like to say it wasn’t really a religious thing at all.
One of the steps is “surrender to a higher power” but everybody explained to me at the time that it doesn’t have to be religious.
The idea behind the surrendering thing is that you must
a) realize that if you’re addicted you’ve been doing something wrong. Something about your habits and/or belief system caused you to get addicted. If you want to get clean, you must change something.
b) by surrendering you essentially say “OK. I don’t know everything. I will take a leap of faith and try something new”
I credit NA for my sobriety much more than expensive therapy.
And I’m not religious and haven’t been since I hit the age of reason.
Well said.
Although, I know people that really don’t dig the surrendering thing at all, and they’re looking for more of a self empowerment format like Life Ring or something.
My 2¢ is that it’s not one size fits all. Everyone’s Recovery program is going to be bespoke to them. Moreover, no single meeting or single doctor is a complete representation of a treatment program. It’s best to sample lots of different formats, meeting times, etc. until you find what clicks for you. Even within one program you’re going to find a lot of variance depending on attendees and conveners.
all valid points. an AA/NA meeting in an urban area is going to be fundamentally different than a meeting in a rural hillbilly part of the country.
I agree with what you’re saying. better to sample all sorts of different things. Really I just don’t want people to be scared of going to meetings because of the religious element. I like NA because you meet other people and you start to see patterns and get a sponsor and really dig into why you’re addicted, your life circumstances, etc as you follow the steps.
I went to 3 meetings a week for 6 months until I felt I didn’t need it anymore and I’ve been clean since. Doesn’t have to be the dramatic “90 in 90” that they recommend.
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I would imagine largely the same as narcotics recovery programs happen in places where narcotics are banned. The reason you think of AA as distinct from NA is because you live in a place alcohol is legal and easily obtained. If you’re in a place where it isn’t, it’s just another illegal drug, and there are recovery programs for illegal drugs. I would imagine it being banned simultaneously makes it harder to find recovery programs and harder to develop dependency in the first place, which sounds like it would roughly cancel out.
That’s an interesting way to look at it. But alcohol there is not just illegal, it’s a religious commandment and mortal sin (I believe), Much more serious.
So are narcotics elsewhere. This is a difference of degree, not type. Black markets exist everywhere. Again, I would suppose that the difficulty in acquiring alcohol and the difficulty in acquiring recovery aid largely cancel out. Alcoholism is much less pervasive in places without bars and liquor stores.
I would say yes it’s a matter of degree. I think alcohol in Muslim countries is looked down on much worse than narcotics in the West. Alcohol is a sin, a temptation, that you have to steel yourself against, that good Muslims don’t do and bad Muslims do.
Narcotics in the West is usually seen as a result of drug prescriptions, addiction, and the root cause/problem is commonly sympathized with. Something that society wants to help people out of. (I’m not sure how narcotics are seen in Muslim countries.)
Alcoholic recovery programs mostly don’t work anywhere anyway.
It’s interesting that for nicotine there are drugs that increase the recovery success by an order of magnitude, but for alcohol telling you not to do it is the best people can do.
That’s not what the contemporary research shows. For example, here’s some stuff on AA. (FYI, I’m not super into AA, I’m more of a fan of the other programs)
All in all, group therapy recovery programs are often quantifiably better than no support system. They lead to reduced consumption and reduced medical problems from substance abuse.
There are also some interesting studies (Google the PAL studies on addition) that are looking at alternatives to AA, and they also have some intriguing insights. All in all, the big book stuff is not the only game in town that has positive outcomes for people.
Many drugs that cause nicotine cessation also work for other addictive drugs, including alcohol. Off the top of my head…
- Chantix (and buproprion)
- NAC
- Tirzepatide and Semaglutide
- Buperenorphine
- Acamprosate
- Disulfiram (sp?)
- Psychedelics (if used properly)
While we’re on the subject, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W, said the help of LSD was integral to his development of AA.
Topiramate reduces alcohol cravings
I was prescribed anxiolytics (some form of benzos I believe) to help ; worked remarkably well in keeping me calm while going through withdrawal. It’s not that easy tho, since they in turn are addictive.
That’s because it’s basically alcohol in a pill.
They don’t
How does finding women work in Muslim countries where alcohol is banned?
How do armies work in Muslim countries where alcohol is banned?
How does the production of wooden beams work in Muslim countries where alcohol is banned?
;-)
