Addiction In Canada

Throughout Canada, we find an increasingly pragmatic and common sense approach toward addiction and alocoholism treatment - both in the culture and in federal and provincial responses to the problem. In most parts of Canada, the population is far ahead of the rest of the world in coming to understand addiction and alcohlism as diseases instead of moral failings.

Sadly, the stigma still connected with addiction deters many from seeking effective treatment. In part, this is based in a lack of effective education about the nature of the illness and its treatments. In addition, the media's chronic portrayal of sufferers as indolent, self-seeking, anti-moralists has contributed nothing toward delivery of effective addiction treatment.

Nature of Addiction
Addiction is a disease of obsession and compulsion; the idea that a true addict or alcoholic can "just say no" has been disproved by every eminent researcher in the fields of addiction and brain chemistry. Even so, after centuries of perceiving the drinker or user as morally deficient, the public are slow to change their minds - and even slower to embrace the notion that effective treatment is available. Those who work in treatment know the solution is right here, and that knowledge is gaining public acceptance, but culture changes slowly.

Addiction in the Media
Attention devoted to the celebrity/addict puts the public onto the idea that "addiction" is a game played by spoiled brats in a diamond-filled sandbox. We see a famous (or infamous) person arrested for drugs or drinking and our response has become quite jaded: "I wonder if we'll see a nipple fall out of a blouse or a little something more as she exits the car or the rehab." This is not the response of a civil people; it's the Roman plebes as Christians were thrown to lions. Our nobler, humane responses have been - and continue to be - devalued and stunted.

While culture is slow to change - and while the federal and provincial governments have made strides toward providing treatment - our clients are people who find the typical treatments have not worked. Canadians seeking an additional level of support and continuing care now can seek help from Sober Champion of Toronto. We have been doing this in the UK and the USA for almost a decade. Our growing staff in Toronto is ready to provide the customized and personalized level of support you require.