Addiction as a Chronic Illness | Nzinga Harrison, MD

Oct 17, 2023

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Addiction and substance use disorders have long been mired in misconception and stigma, seen as moral failings or a lack of willpower. But the reality is far more complex and nuanced. In this episode, we are joined by Nzinga Harrison, MD, a psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist who is the co-founder of Eleanor Health, a tech-enabled provider of comprehensive and longitudinal care for substance use disorder and mental health. Dr. Harrison holds a faculty appointment at the Morehouse School of Medicine, previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and is the author of the upcoming book "Un-Addiction: Six Mind Changing Conversations That Could Save a Life". Over the course of our conversation, we discuss our rapidly evolving understanding of addiction as more akin to a chronic illness with heritable and environmentally shaped components, the omnipresence of addiction in modern society, and the centrality of finding life purpose in truly transformative health care.

In this episode, we discuss:

2:40 - Dr. Harrison’s early experiences — good and bad — with physicians and how they shaped her path to medicine

8:41 - What brought Dr. Harrison’s to a career in psychiatry

13:50 - How Dr. Harrison came to focus on the emerging subspecialty of addiction medicine

17:57 - The reckoning our society has gone through surrounding addiction in the face of the opioid epidemic

22:49 - The definition of addiction and its pervasiveness throughout our society

26:44 - How we can intervene in earlier stages of substance use disorders

31:23 - Approaches to speaking with patients about substance use without buying into the stigma

34:45 - A glimpse into Dr. Harrison’s upcoming book “Un-Addiction: Six Mind Changing Conversations That Could Save a Life”

39:17 - The most important question to address with a patient as they grapple with addiction in their lives

45:01 - The importance of valuing meaning and fullness over productivity in order to bring meaning back to medicine and to life

You can follow Dr. Harrison on Twitter @NzingaMD.

Visit Dr. Harrison’s website at: www.nzingaharrisonmd.com.

We want to take this opportunity to spotlight National Addiction Treatment Week from October 16th to the 22nd, 2023. This is a week for us all to learn more about addiction and evidence based approaches to care, and to tackle the stigma surrounding addiction within the medical community. To get involved, visit www.TreatAddictionSaveLives.org.

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