Five Myths of Addiction

Source: geralt/Pixabay

Among the leading causes of premature death, addiction is unique: it is both completely preventable and highly treatable. State-of-the-art treatment programs for groups such as doctors, lawyers, pilots, and military personnel are documenting long-term recovery rates as high as 90 percent [i]. Unfortunately, these programs are not yet widely emulated or available, but over many decades I have seen hundreds of patients also recover through less comprehensive inpatient and outpatient programs as well as through attending AA or NA meetings. “Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path,” wrote the founders of AA, and my professional experience supports their optimism.

This hopeful prognosis makes it all the more distressing that uncontrollable craving is still among the least treated of chronic health problems. A mere 10 percent of addicted individuals get the help they need, and doctors fail to recognize addiction in their patients more than half the time [ii]. When someone like my co-author, James, finally looks for help, treatment is often difficult to find or afford.

This massive healthcare failure is fueled by the stigma attached to uncontrollable craving and the addicted person’s own denial. If a person has had previous treatment failures, accepting addiction as untreatable may seem easier than risking another disappointment.

Adding to these barriers are five widely held myths of addiction.

Myth 1: Addicted individuals must want help to get help. A recent study found that just 1 in 10 problem drinkers believes he is in need of treatment. “Every night I begged God to help me,” said one addicted drinker. “I asked God to get me out of trouble, to not let me die, and to help me find my next drink. The only thing I never asked was for help to stop drinking.”

However desperate they may feel, and even if they make emotional appeals for support, the primary goal for most addicted individuals is protecting their drug supply. Many like James, go to treatment to find a way to keep using—just without the downside. If they knew in advance that recovery requires abstinence, most addicted people would stay home. Meanwhile, if family members and friends wait for them to want help, the addiction progresses to less treatable stages, decreasing chances of recovery.

Myth 2: Addicted individuals must hit rock bottom before they can get better. People seek treatment because they fear losing something of value. At rock bottom, most addicted individuals have nothing to lose except their drugs, and they may reach a point from which they cannot return—permanent physical and mental impairment, derangement, institutionalization, and death.

Myth 3: Addicted individuals will quit on their own. There are addicted people who spontaneously stop drinking or using, often as part of the aging process. However, most individuals with an uncontrollable craving will die from it unless something or someone interferes with its progress.

Myth 4: Addiction is a lifestyle choice, and no one has a right to interfere. With their reward systems captured by chemicals and their internal braking systems failing, addicted individuals have little freedom of choice when it comes to uncontrollable craving. “People choose to be social drinkers,” said one recovering alcoholic. “No one chooses to become an addict.” Throwing a life preserver to an addicted person is much like hospitalizing someone threatening suicide—it is an effort to restore freedom and dignity, not take it away.

Myth 5: Trying to help might make things worse. People who live with an addicted individual often fear upsetting the status quo, however unpleasant and unpredictable it may be. Alas, addiction seldom stands still. The damaged cells and circuits of the brain reinforce one another and increasingly prevent healthy choices.

Addicted individuals are trapped in a cage they cannot open from the inside, and they can seldom interrupt their own downward spiral. The good news is that family members, friends, and colleagues can find the help they need to take charge of their own lives and maximize a loved one’s chances for recovery.