Myths About Addiction Recovery

Drug addiction, substance abuse, and addiction recovery are all topics that often become intertwined with a variety of myths and misconceptions. Addiction is a tricky subject and if you have never experienced addiction or addiction recovery it may be easy to subscribe to these common myths. Even if you have or are currently experiencing addiction or going through addiction recovery, the myths can often confuse you. Or worse, these myths can make you feel bad since they often downplay the truths of addiction. 

Entering addiction recovery is a big step that can often be deemphasized if you are listening to the wrong voices. Addiction and addiction recovery are serious subjects that should be talked about with facts, not fiction that confuse or downplay what others experience. It is good to learn the truths about treatment, not the treatment that is talked about in popular culture, but the treatment that millions of Americans experience every year. It is important to be informed and to know how treatment can truly help you.

Today, we are going to explore addiction treatment and dispel some of the common myths that surround addiction treatment. 

Myth 1: You have to hit rock bottom to need treatment.

This is often one of the most dangerous myths surrounding addiction and entering treatment. Your addiction does not have to reach a point of rock bottom for you to need treatment or for treatment to work. Treatment can be effective at any point in the addiction process. It is, in fact, better to explore and enter treatment sooner rather than later as treatment at a rock bottom point is a much more difficult process. The farther down the road of addiction one is, the harder it is for one to overcome their dependence and to fight relapses. It is best to seek help and intervention from your addiction as soon as possible to prevent a dangerous or deadly outcome from occurring.

Myth 2: You don’t need treatment, overcoming addiction is about your willpower. 

This is another dangerous myth that is commonly shared when discussing addiction and an addict entering treatment. Prolonged exposure to drug use and its effect on the brain dispels the validity of this myth. The longer one exposes their brain the more they rewire their brain in a way where it cannot understand how to avoid cravings for the feelings that drug use creates. Prolonged drug use makes it extremely difficult for one to be able to overcome their addiction due to how their brain has been rewired. 

Addiction treatment is designed to help overcome this rewiring that occurs from drug use. It creates a program that is uniquely designed to you and your situation that will help to target your addiction struggles. Addiction treatment also creates a safe and distraction-free environment that would be extremely difficult to replicate on your own. Addiction treatment provides the structure, safety and support that one simply cannot provide on their own. Seeking out help is a difficult process but is one that is extremely valuable and can often be life-altering. 

Myth 3: I already tried treatment before and it failed, why try again?

Relapse is an unfortunate, but common part of the addiction treatment process. Relapse can be an extremely discouraging and defeating part of the process, but it is a normal and expected part of overcoming addiction. Recovery is a long and arduous process that is regularly met with setbacks. Unfortunately, this is a fact of addiction treatment and recovery that is often overlooked or glazed over. There is no quick, magic potion that will fix everything immediately. Treatment is a process that takes time, hard work, and trust. It is a process that is often met with failures and setbacks, yet, is also a process that can be met with victories, both small and large. 

Relapse is a difficult part of the process, but it is one that is common and can be overcome. Relapse should not be a deterrent from exploring treatment again, in fact, it can be a reminder of why you sought help in the first place. Addiction treatment programs are designed to deal with relapses and to help you overcome these setbacks to return to the course of overcoming addiction. Programs are uniquely designed to the person, not to a general population, this allows for changes for the better to occur when a setback takes place. Treatment is designed to help with any case and any number of setbacks. It is a powerful tool that can help you to overcome and experience recovery from addiction.

Myth 4: Addiction is a disease, there is no way I can overcome it 

While addiction is a disease that affects the brain, this fact does not mean that it is a disease that can’t be treated. Treatment is designed to help treat these brain changes that addiction causes and reverse your brain to a more normal and healthy state. Addiction treatment treats addiction as the disease it is and contains programs and support systems that can effectively treat this disease. Treatment isn’t a magic pill that fixes everything, but it can be a process that can help you return to a healthy state where addiction is an afterthought. 

Addiction and addiction treatment are serious topics that should be discussed with facts, not with myths that downplay both. Treatment can be a powerful tool that can have an impact on almost any person or any stage in the addiction journey. Treatment is designed to help each case in a unique way that can help you deal with any setback or failure that may happen along the way to recovery. If you are struggling with addiction, seeking out help or treatment is a valuable tool that can help you no matter how close to rock bottom you may think you are.