We live in an age of total media saturation, and as a result, there are boatloads of information readily available now about addiction and its consequences. Between websites, TV reality shows and documentaries, tell-all books and interviews, and a culture in which the concept of privacy has all but disintegrated, frank discussion and the bright glare of publicity have brought the subject of addiction out from under the cloak of darkness and shame. However, there are a few myths that we will debunk in today’s post.
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First Myth
Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they are ready to change.
This may be the most well-known myth about drug and alcohol addiction. While it is certainly true that many substance abusers have only sought help after their lives have been left in complete shambles, this is hardly a universal experience for those who have put their addictions behind them. Beating a drug or alcohol addiction can be really hard and can take a very long time, and this is the main reason why some are not able to do it until they have hit rock bottom. However, when addicts have people close to them who they love and trust, they can often be persuaded to seek help and enter treatment during the early stages of their problem. In fact, the chances of conquering addiction are much better if it is tackled earlier rather than later, so getting a loved one into treatment as quickly as possible should always be the goal of family members who choose to intervene.
If someone you love has a substance abuse problem, you should know that if you wait until he or she hits rock bottom before trying to help, the only help you may actually be able to provide is to help pay for their funeral costs.
Second Myth
People who claim addiction is a disease are just making excuses for their weakness and lack of willpower.
In the immortal words of MASH’s Colonel Potter: horse hockey! The physical dependency and mental compulsions associated with addiction are incredibly powerful, and it can take many months of extreme struggle before someone in recovery is able to successfully detox their minds and bodies to the point where those symptoms will begin to noticeably subside. Whether or not addiction should be referred to as a disease is really irrelevant; what matters is that substance abuse creates its own separate reality, and those who are in its clutches are like a hiker lost in the middle of a vast desert. Escape may ultimately be possible, but only if that hiker is able to find the strength to just keep on going and o keep putting one foot in front of the other over and over again until the nearest haven or oasis finally comes into view. No addict can make their dependency disappear instantly just by willing it away, any more than that hiker could have escaped the desert wasteland by clicking his heels together three times and proclaiming, “there’s no place like home!”