steve-in-kville

I am working on an essay about substance abuse and a addiction. Not sure if I will ever pursue publishing it but it is an interesting experiment so far.

Anyways, its real easy to figure out how much an addict is consuming a week/month/year and we can do the math on the money spent on alcohol. But has anyone thought further down that path, such as lost opportunities, lost days at work and perhaps the time & energy we spent in our addiction?

My opinion, I think the actual cost of the alcohol is roughly a third of the total financial strain it causes. Thoughts on this?

Offthemast

Add medical costs. No insurance here (Never felt I needed it or the bill) and I probably spent close to 7-8k on drs, ERS, scrips, accpuncture, MRIs, etc in the last year.

In the midst it cost me many deals due to me not making it out of bed. 10s of Thousands of dollars.

steve-in-kville

I often wonder what I spent on time and gas, and the energy & creativity to think up excuses to go to the grocery store just to swing by the liquor store for a bottle. If I could have funneled that energy into something worthwhile, I'd be a rich man.

BullDog777

The cost to my life span was immeasurable. During the most active time in my addiction, I would spend close to 3K a month. Rehab and the 2 weeks in ICU was also really expensive. Any way I look at it, it was never worth the cost.

spryte

I find the lifestyle that goes along with it to be very costly. I don't prepare food for myself and end up getting take out and that adds up. I'm careless about paying stuff on time and get late fees. I have things to return that I don't return on time and then can't get my money back. It all adds up.

Radix

It's hard to say with real precision, but healthcare economists agree that addiction in general is one of the most expensive health conditions out there.

That's primarily for four reasons: the cost of lost opportunity, the cost of treatment, the long-lasting nature of the illness, and the sheer number of affected people. Many people stay in treatment a long time, or cycle through rehab programs more than once. And many people find themselves unable to work for long stretches, needing expensive economic and social support.

So exact figures are hard to find, and the cost of lost opportunities will always involve speculation, but addiction is expensive no matter how you look at it.