The rising cases of drug addiction in the United States have become a cause for concern. The government admits that deaths connected to substance abuse continue to increase. Such incidents have already surpassed the recently recorded fatalities blamed on gun violence and traffic accidents. The authorities are desperate for a solution.
Sovereign Health CEO Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, an author and mental health specialist, said drug addiction indeed is now at epidemic proportion, and he is offering an effective solution. In his January 2017 article for the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Sharma strongly proposed “fighting the addiction with medication.”
The key to stopping the plague is “the effective use of medication-assisted treatments, which include a combination of counseling, behavioral therapy, and expertly prescribed medicines,” wrote Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, who is a leading expert on behavioral care and substance use.
Stopping The Momentum of Drug Abuse
The government reported that drug addiction is now classified as a pressing national problem. Opioid use, for instance, has skyrocketed in recent years that deaths due to the overdose of the substance had overtaken crime-related loss of lives.
To be sure, alarm bells are ringing, and the government is hard-pressed to search for a lasting and effective solution. Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, a mental health specialist and author, said the first step to take in resolving the problem is to understand the root cause. He said that drug addiction is a brain illness that can be cured using medical science.
“This is a brain illness. Let us treat it with the respect it deserves and let us treat the illness like we treat the rest of medicine: in a manner that encompasses medication and non-medication modalities,” Dr. Sharma suggested in the LA Times article.
He explained further that medication-assisted treatment would attempt to gradually wean a person from substance dependency by curbing the pains of alcohol or drug withdrawal. Like in the case of opiates use, medication will be the alternative to prevent the body from developing strong reactions such as vomiting while in detoxification.
“You can decrease the discomfort … So, medication can be helpful in the detoxification stage, easing cravings and other physical symptoms that often trigger a relapse episode,” Dr. Tonmoy Sharma wrote.
He also emphasized the importance of combining the treatment process with counseling and behavioral therapies designed to reinforce the gains during the medication stage.
Sovereign Health Offers Broad Problem-Solving Solutions
Dr. Sharma’s Sovereign Health is a national behavioral health system that operates treatment centers in California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Utah. Strict state regulations cleared these facilities to handle patients, and they benefit from Dr. Sharma’s expertise that was widely acknowledged in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Sovereign Health is adequately equipped to provide specialty care for patients in all age brackets and nearly all circumstances. The company prides itself on providing specialized mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. Among the conditions that Sovereign can handle are trauma, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, cognitive deficits, and eating disorders.
