Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or marijuana, addiction can have devastating consequences. According to data, over 20 million Americans suffer from some form of addiction. Deaths due to drug addiction have tripled since 1990. Moreover, this addiction causes the US economy over $600 billion.
As someone living with an addiction, it can be hard to imagine life without drugs or alcohol. You may have tried to quit on your own before and failed, or you may be convinced that things aren’t getting better unless you go into treatment. Either way, technology has made it easier to find support and information about getting sober—and even more effective ways of staying sober once you’ve decided it’s time.
Technology Can Help Identify People at Risk of Relapse Before They Get There
Technology can help identify people at risk of relapse before they get there. By monitoring patients’ biometric data, like heart rate and blood pressure, technology can track their progress—and alert their treatment providers if something is off track. This is done with the help of wearables technology.
Wearables technology is widely used in healthcare. The $21.3 billion market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.1% till 2030. Deloitte predicts that 440 million units of these medical wearable devices will be shipped worldwide.
The ability to receive these alerts remotely means that treatment providers don’t have to wait for appointments or meetings to discuss patient progress. As a result, patients may not need as many in-person visits! This can reduce stress on the patient and the treatment provider, who no longer has so many appointments scattered across his or her calendar.
There are also other ways in which technology helps people stay on track with their treatment plan:
- It makes it easier for clients to connect with counselors from around the world; this allows them flexibility when planning what days they’ll log into therapy sessions each week.
- It provides tools for managing addiction triggers (like apps that allow users to identify when they’re stressed) so that clients don’t feel overwhelmed by everyday life while still being able to participate fully in recovery activities such as job interviews or meetings with teachers, colleagues, etc.
E-Learning Is Helping Bridge Skills Gap
E-learning is quickly becoming a popular way to bridge skills gaps in all industries, and addiction treatment is no exception. Thanks to e-learning, people in addiction treatment can now learn new techniques and strategies without leaving their jobs or traveling anywhere. This is a considerable advantage, especially given the fact that there is a growing skills gap in addiction treatment.
For example, if a healthcare professional wants to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to help with addiction treatment, he or she can do that through e-learning. This won’t need him or her to get out of the house or compromise with the job the person is already doing. There are many online LCSW degree programs that the person can find and enroll in. This will encourage more and more people to take up such online programs to get relevant skills and degrees that can help bridge the skills gap.
E-learning is also helping to close the gap between theory and practice. In the past, many people in the addiction treatment field learned about new techniques through textbooks or lectures. However, these methods often fail to provide real-world context. On the other hand, E-learning allows learners to gain hands-on experience with new techniques in a safe and controlled environment with the help of virtual reality. This helps them not only learn about new techniques but also to figure out how to apply them in the real world best.
Online Treatment Through Telehealth
Telehealth is a treatment modality that uses technology to deliver services. Telehealth can be used as a standalone treatment method or combined with in-person therapy and support.
Telehealth allows clients to receive counseling from therapists anywhere they have an internet connection. This means that people who are too far away from treatment centers or may not have transportation access can still get help without traveling long distances or paying for airfare each week. It’s also cost-effective: many insurance plans allow for the reimbursement of telehealth services, which is great news for those who want a convenient way to pay for their care but do not want to spend money on gas each week commuting from their home or work location!
Telehealth provides another option in addiction recovery; if you’re not ready yet for in-person addiction treatment programs, but know you need help managing your substance abuse issues, then telehealth might be right up your alley! Providing counseling sessions via phone or video chat instead of meeting face-to-face at an office weekly can give people time between appointments (if needed) without feeling like they’ve fallen off track with their goals.
Telehealth came to the rescue during Covid-19 when many people were isolated and feeling depressed. Use of telehealth during Covid-19 increased by 200% compared to the same period a year before the pandemic. Thus, telehealth can also help with depression and isolation, which are usually quoted to be one of the significant reasons leading to addiction.
Online Support Groups
Online support groups are a great way to connect with others dealing with the same issues. These groups can help you feel less alone in your struggle and can be a valuable resource for information and advice on managing your addiction. In fact, online support groups are just as effective at helping people overcome their addictions as traditional face-to-face meetings.
You can find online support groups on social media, forums, and websites to find daily support. In addition to connecting with other group members through text messages or chat rooms, these sites allow you to share information about what works best for you when overcoming addiction.
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt that technology will continue revolutionizing addiction treatment, and we can only imagine what it will look like in a decade or two. But one thing is sure, as more people use these tools, they will have access to powerful resources that help them recover from substance abuse disorders.
