Widespread Wellness Consulting

See the big picture of addiction and get CEs with Impact CE. Check out my article just published in The Catalyst. Course launches June 4th!

Addiction: What's Society Got to Do with It? Addiction is not just an individual problem. Dr. Sophie Nathenson examines the overlooked societal forces driving the crisis.

I have loved working with ContinuEd for the past few years creating continuing education content outside the clinical box!

Check out their video/blog to learn more about what myself and others share in our webinars and why we do what we do!

Continued Conversations: Medical sociologist Dr. Sophie Nathenson Continued presenter explores connections between culture, community, and well-being

Addiction and pain, like any other health condition, are multifactorial. Not only do biological, genetic, psychological, social, and environmental factors impact the manifestation of health and illness--these factors also affect each other. Even our genetics are influenced by our experiences.

From a sociological perspective, we see that social conditions are underlying, fundamental causes of health and illness in our communities.

Poverty, exposure to violence, abuse, social isolation, physical displacement, racism and discrimination, traumas, and other social stresses in our petri dish allow addiction and premature death to thrive. Our genetics and psychology influence our individual risk of the brain disease of addiction. Rather than a moral failure, drug use in society is both biological, and can serve as way to cope with a lack of basic needs such as food, shelter, water, and adequate sleep. It can address emotional and physical pain, even replace or facilitate human connection and a sense of belonging.

Our societal paradigm reflects a desire to numb and eradicate pain—and often the biomedical model obscures the psychosocial factors in pain, the complex nature of addiction, and the root causes of social and health problems. The lack of services for treatment and behavioral health threaten recovery, but drug crises are not caused by a lack of treatment.

One-on-one support is much needed, and expanding programs that can prevent and treat addiction and drug poisoning are vital. Bigger picture…the only way to make a true dent in the problem is to invest upstream, treating the social and economic conditions that continue to promote needless suffering.

Yes, we need to keep mopping up the floor—it’ s a matter of life and death—but once we clearly see the faucet, isn't it time to turn it off?