Most doctors view addiction as a chronic disease, akin to diabetes. “When you get it, you don’t get rid of it,” Dr. Schottenfeld says. “It’s hard to recover from.” With so many Americans dependent on opioids, “hundreds of thousands of people will need ongoing treatment for prolonged periods of time,” he says.

In this article, a woman named Cristin shares her personal story of having an opioid addiction, and how she overcame that addiction.