The despair lurking behind opioid use disorders (OUD)cannot be overlooked whentreating a patient. Indeed, in the Brooking Institution’s study on “The Role of Despair in the Opioid Crisis,” Carol Graham details the issue behindopioid use disorders. The first part of this two-part look at her study examines the problem.In the second part, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC)look at a potentialsolution.

Without a doubt, modernopioid antagonists are revolutionizing treatment for OUD. However, they do not address the despair behind opioid use disorders.Thus, Graham wants policymakers not only to recognize the root cause of despair.Beyond recognition, she realizes action is needed. Therefore, investment in greater prevention, education, and extended treatment options mustbe put on the table.

As a nonprofit mental health services and substance use disorder treatment provider, TTC is a leader in supplyingintegrated solutionsforOUD.A forerunner in using medicationsfor addiction treatment (MAT), TTC also emphasizes whole-person care. Thus, our mental health services help to address the despair behind opioid use disorders.

Recognizing theDespairBehind Opioid Use Disorders

Although medications for addiction treatment (MAT) like opioid antagonists are revolutionary, they are not enough by themselves. Thus,thechallenge for any policymakers is how to address the demand for the drugs that is the fuel behind the opioid crisis. Fuelingsuch demand, treatment professionals find the despair behind opioid use disorders.Without the demand in a multitude of populations, there would be no opioid crisis.Thus, how can policymakers address the social and psychological determinants of the opioid crisis?

However, in her study, Graham points out the difficulty in legislating despair. Thus, policymakers are tongue-tied when asked questions about root causes. When it comes to policy, the practice often fails when faced with underlying psychological issues.As she expresses with eloquence and intelligence:

“Addressing a crisis of desperation defies most standard policy definitions and policy prescriptions. Understanding differential resilience across population cohorts is even further from current policy discussions. Yet the root causes of the problem—which stem from the decline of the working class, the erosion of families, communities, and social capital, and an inadequate public health care system—are not going away and, even worse, are likely to spill over into the next generation.”

Addressing the Despair BehindOpioid Use Disorders

By instituting a well-being tracking index in the City of Santa Monica, Graham discovers the valueof investing in wellness. Moreover,wellness strategies demand community engagement. In a sense, increasing the roles of communities is an answer to the despair behind opioid use disorders. Thus, investment is essential to help boost community leaders. Hence, providing resources to directly handlethe opioid crisis in their neighborhoods.

Hence, federal investment to address the opioid crisis needs to be specific. Indeed, by investing in communities, you access professionalsin direct contact with the people in need. In the past, minority communities show a proven record past, of achieving this goal. By creating informal safety nets within their communities,theyhelpthe druguserswho are willing to be helped.

Hope and the Despair Behind Opioid Use Disorders

Finally, Graham presents a vision of hope that defies conventional expectations. As she explains, hope is not just an idea but an action. Like any action, it needs to be implemented.Moreover, hope also is a demonstration that fosters the possibility of identification. Thus, hope ignites when people followin thesuccessful footsteps of those who have come before.

Indeed, the key to addressing the despair behind opioid use disorders is not the reinvention of the wheel. People struggling need to see see how others recovered. Then, they can identify with what they see. Ifthey can imagine a potential path leading to their redemption, then the process of recoveringintegrity truly begins.

As Graham warns at the end of her inquiry, “Given the extent of the crisis in the U.S., it is time to do so. Federal efforts to support first responders and the provision of naloxone and other life-saving drugs, while key in helping prevent addicts from dying, are, in the end, a band-aid on a hemorrhaging wound.”

Thus, while taking advantage of opioid antagonists, Tarzana Treatment Centers focuses on whole-person treatment options. Hence, as Grahamrecommends, TTC’sintegrated programs address the despair behind opioid use disorders.Indeed, wewalked thispath of recovery for many years.