The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3.3M people die every year from alcohol-related causes; more than malaria, tuberculosis or AIDS. Multiple researchers estimate that 80-90% of people suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD, the new term for alcoholism) do not seek treatment, due to the daunting prospect of what actress Claudia Christian describes as the “false assumption” that alcoholics can never drink again for the rest of their lives. She notes that for a 20- or 30-year old, this prospect might seem very daunting. Of the 10% who do seek treatment, 90% relapse within the first 4 years.
With roughly one person dying every ten seconds from Alcohol Use Disorder, Christian asks, “Is our current treatment system the best we can do?” She notes that The Sinclair Method has a 78% success rate and she asks us to imagine a world in which there are that many less failed marriages, abused children, accidents, missed days at work, etc.
Claudia Christian describes her own harrowing and expensive experience with AUD and her eventual recovery, using The Sinclair System, which she would like to see become the go-to option for curing for alcoholism.
TSM consists of taking an opiate-blocking drug, such as naltrexone, waiting for it to be absorbed by the body and then drinking alcohol. That doesn’t sound intuitive but what the patient will do over the course of weeks or months or however long it takes is s/he will drink him- or herself sober.
The opiate blocker blocks the endorphins from activating the part of the brain responsible for addiction, which is normally a progressive condition. Over the course of weeks or months, the disordered person’s neuro-chemistry is restored to normalcy. She finishes by saying, “Let’s give addicts the option they deserve.”
I’ve heard of antabuse drugs but I’d never heard that they were particularly successful. I’ve never heard of The Sinclair Method before, so I learned something new here and maybe someone out there will benefit from this information.
==>THIS is a great resource for seniors struggling with addiction.
