The government of the UK released statistics on adult substance misuse treatment for the years 2020 and 2021. As services such as Substance Rehabilitation UK faced a rise in addiction treatment requests, the government claims addiction is under control. However, while these statistics do provide valuable data, they are not very valid in terms of what they aim to measure. There are several reasons why these statistics are skewed, as noted below.
Help Isn’t Easily Available
Despite the data showing a slight change as compared to the previous year, there is a big problem relating to the availability and accessibility of help. When it comes to the NHS, getting a spot on the list and then waiting until the time of the appointment is not quite practical for substance misuse treatment.
Many individuals situated in the United Kingdom have found themselves in a state of confusion after they reached out and yet either did not get the help they deserved or were backlogged on the schedule.
Furthermore, due to COVID-19, many services were temporarily discontinued. Not only was there a major health risk to the lives and immune systems of the individuals, but also the healthcare workers and practitioners.
As trade came to halt, medicines and treatments required to help those with substance misuse were not as readily available as they once were.
Other Addictions Are Not Accounted For
Another reason why adult substance misuse treatment statistics in the UK for 2020 to 2021 are skewed is that these statistics do not account for many other major addictions that are non-drug and non-alcohol related.
Addiction is beyond just opiates, crack, alcohol, and similar drugs. Addiction can also be gambling, eating disorders including binge eating, and the levels of obesity.
This means that the individuals who are stuck in the cycle of gambling are nowhere to be seen in the statistics, despite their addiction being extremely serious. Gambling can affect mental and physical health similarly to many other addictions and can lead to severe losses the same way substance misuse can.
Yet, gambling and individuals who struggle with gambling addictions have not been accounted for. The same is true for those who struggle with disordered eating. Binge-eating is a serious disorder where the individual is obsessed and addicted to eating, and sometimes the guilt from eating leads to them purging out what they ate.
Not only is this very harmful to the body, but it also affects the brain because feelings of depression, anxiety, and incompetence take over. It is also important for such illnesses to be accounted for in the government’s statistics.
Covid-19 And Increased Substance Misuse
Throughout COVID-19, most of the UK faced a lockdown. According to the University of Sheffield, data suggests that during 2020, people from Scotland and England drank more at home than usual. Besides just solitary drinking, the research shows that at-home drinking late at night also increased considerably.
According to a study published by Release, increased drug use was reported by 43% of the sample which was based on 2587 people. Cannabis products, besides hash and resin, saw the most increase in usage during the lockdown.
As such, it is logical to infer that the statistics published by GOV.UK could likely be skewed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and may not be a fair judgement.
Accepting The Problem Takes Time
Oftentimes, it can take months, if not years, for the person to accept that there is a problem to be addressed. Once that acceptance comes, it still takes a long journey to admit that help is needed to overcome this problem.
There are several reasons why this acceptance takes so long to finally be born within the mind of the individual, and these reasons are a product of the society we live in.
Feelings such as guilt and shame may be the primary root cause. Individuals may think that they might be seen as weak, or as incompetent if they accept that they have a substance misuse problem.
They may even lose their job due to this stigma, and for this reason, many individuals choose to ignore the signs and symptoms that point toward possible alcohol or drug problems.
Summary
While government statistics are widely accepted and provide rich data, they may not always be very valid.
- Statistics are skewed because receiving help is not easy and due to COVID-19 the turnaround time for getting an appointment has increased.
- The data does not count many other severe addictions.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown lead to an increase in the usage of drugs.
- Cannabis use increased the most during the lockdown.
- It takes time for individuals to accept that they have a substance misuse problem.
As such, adult substance misuse treatment statistics in the UK for 2020 to 2021 are skewed.
