Recently, I was hired to work as an addiction counselor for substance use disorders. The official title is Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor (CADC) intern, or a Substance Use Disorder counselor (SUD). I wanted to explain why this is a meaningful field to work in.
When looking at the statistics for substance abuse in the U.S., the numbers are significant, yet they don’t or can’t tell the entire story. These stats are gathered mostly from the self-disclosure of people being surveyed or screened/treated for substance abuse; this means the stats exclude people not screened or treated, and include people being dishonest about their answers.
A few interesting stats (U.S. population: 347 million):
- 29.8 million individuals have an Alcohol Use Disorder in the U.S (NCDAS, 2023).
- 134.3 million individuals have used alcohol within the last month (SAMHSA, 2024).
- 16.5% of Americans have taken mind-altering prescription drugs in the last year (CDC, 2020).
- 51.2% of people 12 and over have taken an illegal drug at least once (NCDAS, 2023).
Experientially, we can think about our personal lives and the number of people using legal or illegal substances around us. I would estimate that the vast majority of people in America use some sort of substance, whether prescribed or not.
Likely, the true percentage of Americans who use alcohol and/or drugs is somewhere around 95%. There might be 5 out of 100 people who don’t drink alcohol and who don’t take either mind-altering prescription or illegal drugs.
Now, consider how many of these people are dependent upon these substances in their daily lives; then consider how many are actually suffering from an addiction to these substances. It becomes an addiction when using the substance becomes destructive in people’s psychosocial/economic lives, and they still can’t or won’t quit.
Essentially, the impact alcohol and drugs have on our society is at epidemic levels. While using these substances is a symptom of deeper core problems and issues, the prevalence of their use and abuse is alarming.
Just consider the negative impact on individuals, relationships, families, and communities. Society as a whole is being destroyed by the negative effects of substance abuse from the individuals within it.
Substance abuse weakens and destabilizes the addict; other people have to be the strength and stability for them, and this puts a strain on the strongest among us. Our society has reached a point where there are too many weak people for the strong to support; therefore, we are seeing a disintegration of the fabric of society.
Like I said before, substance abuse is a symptom of deeper core issues, yet these issues can’t be resolved until the abuse ceases.
This is why I believe being an SUD counselor is meaningful in modern America. Helping individuals become sober and resolve these core issues means there will be more people with strength and stability in our communities and society. The balance of problems vs. solutions, weak people vs. strong, can be evened out.
Maybe this is a crude way of thinking about the subject, yet we have to admit, having an addiction is a weakness, even if it is considered a disease.
I’ve suffered from addiction myself, so I know it makes us weaker than when we are sober. The choices people make when abusing substances are more impulsive and distorted, creating more crime and dysfunction in their lives and society as a whole.
Drug and alcohol abuse destabilizes people, often rendering them unable to work consistently, which then leads to criminal activity so they can survive. It also means they will likely end up homeless and on the streets, creating even more issues for themselves, their families, and the communities they live in.
Another destructive characteristic of alcohol and drug addicts is their self-centeredness or selfishness. The constant focus on feeding their addiction and dealing with the troubles the substance abuse causes makes them unable to think about other people in their communities and lives. This means children are neglected, parents are overburdened, and everyone in their lives is slighted by their selfish nature.
Essentially, substance abuse is a holistic problem in the U.S and the world, maybe the biggest problem we face sociologically. That’s why I’m grateful God has put me in the addiction counseling field; it is a meaningful battle to fight for individuals and our communities.
My goal is to become effective in the addiction field as a counselor, in order to help people live sober lives and come to the faith of Jesus Christ.
I know the secular field of human services, addiction counseling, and psychology doesn’t put any emphasis on having the faith of Jesus Christ as a solution, but from my experience, it is the best treatment plan of all. Regardless, using both secular and spiritual treatment techniques is beneficial to help people achieve sobriety, and that alone is a huge victory for each individual, their families, and the communities they live in.
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