Are We Treating Addiction — or Just Medicating It?

Written By Emily Kurnell

In the addiction field, we talk a lot about “root causes.” Trauma. Stress. Disconnection. Emotional pain. Genetics. Environment. Learned coping patterns. These are the forces that shape a person’s relationship with substances long before the first drink, pill, or hit ever becomes a problem.

Yet in the broader healthcare system, addiction is often approached through a very different lens — one shaped heavily by the pharmaceutical industry. Medications can play a valuable role in stabilizing people, reducing harm, and supporting recovery. But when medication becomes the primary or only intervention, something essential gets lost.

From where I sit as an addiction specialist, the issue isn’t that pharma is “evil” or intentionally blocking recovery. It’s that the system is built to prioritize symptom management over root‑cause healing, and pharmaceutical solutions fit neatly into that model.

Let’s unpack what that means.

1. Pharma Treats the Symptoms — Not the Story

Medications for addiction can be incredibly helpful:

  • They reduce cravings

  • They stabilize withdrawal

  • They help regulate mood

  • They reduce harm and risk

But none of these medications address the deeper questions:

  • Why did this person need to numb themselves in the first place?

  • What pain were they soothing?

  • What stressors were they overwhelmed by?

  • What trauma shaped their coping patterns?

  • What emotional skills were never taught or modeled?

Addiction is rarely about the substance itself. It’s about the relationship a person has with that substance — and that relationship is shaped by unmet needs, unresolved pain, and unaddressed emotional wounds.

Medication can quiet the symptoms, but it cannot rewrite the story.

2. The System Rewards Quick Fixes

Healthcare systems are built around:

  • Short appointments

  • Billable procedures

  • Fast symptom relief

  • Standardized protocols

Pharmaceutical solutions fit perfectly into this structure.
Root‑cause work does not.

Exploring trauma, attachment wounds, emotional regulation, or chronic stress requires:

  • Time

  • Trust

  • Skilled therapy

  • Consistency

  • A safe relationship

  • A willingness to feel discomfort

These are not things you can prescribe in a 15‑minute appointment.

So the system leans toward what is fast, measurable, and profitable — even if it’s not what actually heals addiction.

3. Medication Can Become a Substitute for Coping Skills

When someone is struggling with addiction, they often lack the internal tools to manage:

  • Stress

  • Anxiety

  • Emotional overwhelm

  • Loneliness

  • Shame

  • Conflict

  • Boredom

  • Trauma triggers

If medication becomes the only intervention, the person may never learn:

  • How to regulate their nervous system

  • How to tolerate discomfort

  • How to process emotions

  • How to build healthy relationships

  • How to create meaning and purpose

  • How to live without numbing

Medication can stabilize the brain — but coping skills stabilize the life.

Without both, recovery is fragile.

4. Pharma Doesn’t Benefit From People Getting Better Without Medication

This isn’t about villainizing pharmaceutical companies. It’s simply acknowledging the reality of incentives.

Pharma profits from:

  • Long‑term medication use

  • Chronic conditions

  • Recurring prescriptions

Root‑cause healing — the kind that reduces or eliminates the need for medication — does not generate revenue.

So the system naturally gravitates toward what is profitable, not necessarily what is transformative.

5. True Recovery Requires a Bio‑Psycho‑Social Approach

Medication can be part of recovery, but it cannot be recovery.

Real healing requires addressing all three layers:

Biological

  • Stabilizing the brain

  • Healing the reward system

  • Improving sleep, nutrition, and physical health

Psychological

  • Trauma work

  • Emotional regulation

  • Cognitive restructuring

  • Mindfulness and awareness

  • Understanding triggers and patterns

Social

  • Relationships

  • Boundaries

  • Environment

  • Purpose

  • Community

  • Connection

This is the work that changes lives.
This is the work that prevents relapse.
This is the work that medication alone cannot do.

6. The Future of Addiction Treatment Must Be Integrative

The best outcomes come from combining:

  • Medication (when appropriate)

  • Therapy

  • Lifestyle restructuring

  • Trauma‑informed care

  • Mindfulness and nervous‑system regulation

  • Social support

  • Purpose‑building

Pharma has a role — but not the starring role.

Addiction is not a chemical problem with a chemical solution.
It is a human problem with a human solution.

Final Thoughts

Pharmaceutical tools can save lives. They can reduce harm. They can stabilize people long enough for deeper healing to begin.

But they cannot replace the work of understanding the person behind the addiction.

If we want to truly help people recover, we must stop treating addiction as a set of symptoms to medicate and start treating it as a story to understand, a wound to heal, and a life to rebuild.

That’s where real recovery truly lives.

Emily Kurnell
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