U.S. Surgeon General Issues a Call to Action on Addiction

 U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s release of Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health at yesterday’s Facing Addiction Summit was an unprecedented moment in our country’s fight against addiction and substance misuse. It is the first time in history that a U.S. surgeon general has issued a report focused on drug and alcohol addiction. The report comes at a time when more and more Americans are struggling with the effects of addiction to opioids and heroin. One person dies every 19 minutes from an opioid or heroin overdose. And, the statistics related to other addictions are no less grim. One in seven people in the United States will face a substance misuse disorder, and only 10 percent will get the treatment they need to overcome it.

Shame and stigma are typically major factors in preventing people from reaching out for help and finding treatment. That’s why it was especially encouraging to see Surgeon General Murthy make it clear that addiction is a brain disease and not a sign of depravity:

“We have to recognize (addiction) isn't evidence of a character flaw or a moral failing,” Murthy told USA Today. “It’s a chronic disease of the brain that deserves the same compassion that any other chronic illness does, like diabetes or heart disease.”

Treating Addiction as a Brain Disease

At The Meadows, addressing the neurological aspects of addiction alongside the social and spiritual aspects has always been a top priority. The Meadows Senior Fellow Dr. Shelley Uram often says that our approach includes both “Bottom Up” and “Top Down” therapies. To put it in the simplest of terms, the way your brain has been primed to respond to emotional triggers through your childhood experiences has an impact on the development of addictions and other behavioral health disorders.

Automatic emotional responses (fear, anger, disgust, etc.,) are deeply embedded in your limbic brain—the “bottom” part of your brain—which operates subconsciously.

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Special 40th Anniversary Offer from The Meadows

The Meadows is 40 years old this month! Our first patient was admitted on June 18, 1976 . We’re proud of how much we have grown and expanded in the years since, and of the thousands of patients and families whose lives have been forever changed by our programs.

The Meadows is 40 years old this month! Our first patient was admitted on June 18, 1976 . We’re proud of how much we have grown and expanded in the years since, and of the thousands of patients and families whose lives have been forever changed by our programs.

To celebrate, we’re offering a discount on all of The Meadows programs: The Meadows, Gentle Path at The Meadows, The Claudia Black Young Adult Center at the Meadows, and Remuda Ranch at The Meadows.

When you admit to The Meadows between now and June 30, you’ll pay $45,500. That’s 20 percent off the regular price. It’s a great deal for the quality and level of service you’ll get at one of the nation’s most established and well-respected behavioral health and addiction treatment centers.

Call 800-244-4949 today to take advantage of this offer. Spaces are limited.

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