Noel Kaludjak of Rankin Inlet knows a lot about battling addictions.
Kaludjak was honoured earlier this year with the Meritorious Service Decoration medal for his work over the past two decades in helping men improve their mental health and adjust their priorities to put family first in their lives.
The truth of the matter is that just about everyone has one addiction or another, he said. Some people have heavy addictions while for others it's not so all-consuming, but an addiction nonetheless.
“If someone came to me looking for help to break an addiction, I'd first ask them if they were totally ready to quit their addiction and if they were ready to accept help in overcoming it,” said Kaludjak.
“If they truly are sick of their addiction and ready to accept help, there are multiple ways of receiving that help. I would tell them about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) programs, the programs that are available down south and the few programs that are available in Nunavut.
“I would certainly tell them that I was going to refer them to an addiction program. Sometimes, a person can break their addiction on their own, but it's always better to do it in a program because it's going to take time.
“An addiction isn't something that can be beaten in a very short time. A person needs to realize why they're addicted. What happened? What makes them addicted? How did they start? What made them start? What made them keep going?
“And it's always good to ask them to go and see their doctor. The doctor and the counsellor need to work together.”
Kaludjak said the doctor needs to assess the person wanting to quit an addiction and provide support, especially if it's an addiction that comes with harsh withdrawal symptoms while trying to quit.
He said it takes a team effort to decide which way is best for a person to proceed with an addiction program.
“Each addiction requires its own kind of help. Sometimes, for example, an alcoholic will start attending an AA program while, at the same time, receiving medical support. Group sessions can help in one way and one-on-one sessions in another to help the person understand why they are addicted to alcohol.
“It's the same thing with drugs, but there's also personal addictions. Those can be harder because we don't see them. Only the person addicted knows about it. Those can be the harder ones to talk about.
“Everybody sees your addiction if you're drinking too much. You're drinking every day. The same for most drugs if you're doing them every day. But there can be other personal addictions that a person is stuck with and those are the ones that can be really hard to tell someone about.
“They almost always have to be exposed in a private setting with a doctor or a counsellor.”
Kaludjak again emphasized that no matter the addiction, a person has to be truly ready to stop. He said nobody can force a person to quit.
“No one can tell you what to do. They can encourage you and help you to find the help you need if you're willing.
“Trying to force someone into quitting an addiction can sometimes make the situation even worse.
“Finding the right help that they need and having support while fighting their addiction will greatly improve a person's chances of beating it. Everyone is different, but there are tried and true methods available out there and that is always what I would suggest if asked for help by someone.”
