How to Keep a Handle on Addiction Management as the Post-Pandemic World Reopens
Addiction management is tough even in the best of times. But many people have faced unprecedented challenges over the past year. Interrupted access to physical and mental health care, loss of in-person support from specialists and loved ones, and the postponement of treatments deemed elective left many people to manage pain and addiction on their own.
Just as quitting cold turkey can be an unrealistic strategy, going it alone when it comes to addiction management can feel like an unreasonable prospect. Isolation can augment anxiety and depression, and the physical and social impacts of the pandemic have also had a profound impact on mental health.
For those dealing with addiction and pain management, isolation and the pandemic’s impacts on physical and mental well-being may have compounded to an overwhelming degree. Deaths from opioid overdose increased during the pandemic, proving it has been an especially difficult time for managing addiction.
Even as some in-person activities have resumed, the pandemic’s future is uncertain. Telehealth interventions, like those offered by Lucid Lane, have been a vital resource to provide people the professional support they need. Connecting with providers and support groups online isn’t just a stop-gap measure, it’s the future of comprehensive mental health care.
Heading back into the world, to whatever degree, may present a new or different set of challenges for addiction and pain management than isolating during the pandemic. No matter the hurdles ahead, Lucid Lane can help keep addiction and pain management within reach.
Social situations can present familiar foes.
As difficult as isolation can be, resuming in-person interactions can present its own challenges, from social anxiety to agitation of chronic pain. While many may have experienced these difficulties in the past, it’s natural to struggle with them anew after so much time away.
It’s important for people to remember that they’re not alone. Many have continued to struggle, or faced new barriers, even as pandemic conditions have evolved to allow for more in-person interaction. Maintaining close contact with mental health professionals and peer support groups is key to ongoing addiction management. Lucid Lane offers comprehensive strategies, including regular check-ins and 24/7 availability, to ensure our members have essential support.
Even supportive peers can add a layer of pressure.
Alcohol use is an integral feature of many social settings, from an evening in a friend’s living room to a meal at a nice restaurant. Abstaining at home may be easier for some than making the same conscious choice more visibly and surrounded by peers. Hopefully, many or all of those people around the table are allies, but even so, managing addiction in social settings can feel like a different ballgame.
These are the sort of experiences that people take comfort in sharing with others in the same boat. Whether you’re inclined to join in-person support groups or not, online meetings offer a certain flexibility that many have grown accustomed to over the past year. Connecting with peers or professionals online, either to share anecdotes or discuss medical treatment, can remain a regular part of addiction management moving forward.
Medication-Assisted Treatment can be an essential lifeline.
Tapering and Medication-Assisted Treatment are strategies with proven efficacy for long-term and sustainable addiction management. Ceasing opioid or benzodiazepine use without tapering can result in withdrawal symptoms that are themselves very difficult to manage. Tapering with the help of supplemental medication can also ensure pain and addiction management continue sustainably over time.
Medication-Assisted Treatment has a long, proven history of success helping patients rebuild their lives and stop their opioid use. And it’s not just a short-term strategy, but one that’s best maintained with targeted medical assistance. Resuming some aspects of life placed on hold over the past year can be valuable motivation to start a treatment plan that’s designed to go the distance.
Even as our environments and contexts change, the relationship we have with our physical and mental health can maintain consistency with smart and strategic interventions. Telehealth visits, regular check-ins and self-assessments, and the assurance of 24/7 support can mean the difference between surviving and thriving.
Visit us at Lucid Lane, where we empower people to prevent and stop anxiety, pain, and medication & substance abuse with professional, licensed, and vetted counselors you can trust.
