Among the hundreds of myths surrounding addiction and treatment, the following are especially relevant to individuals who are beginning to question the true nature of their relationship with addictive substances and are considering the possibility of seeking treatment.
- Myth: Addiction is a bad habit the result of moral weakness and over-indulgences.
- Fact: Addiction is a chronic, life-threatening condition, like hypertension, and diabetes.
- Fact: Addiction has roots in genetic susceptibility, social circumstance, and personal behavior.
- Fact: Certain drugs are highly addictive, rapidly causing biochemical and structural changes in the brain. Others can be used for longer periods of time before they begin to cause inescapable cravings and compulsive use.
- Myth: Bad, stupid, and crazy people are most susceptible to becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs.
- Fact: Addiction is an equal opportunity disease. It does not discriminate in any way against any class of people. It strikes equally among individuals in all ethnic, socio-economic, intelligence, and emotional wellness categories.
- Myth: If an addict has enough willpower, he or she can stop abusing alcohol and using drugs.
- Fact: Few people addicted to alcohol and other drugs can simply stop using them, no matter how strong their inner resolve. Most need at least one course of structured substance abuse treatment to end their dependence on alcohol and other drugs. Some achieve sobriety through participation in community-based support organizations (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous), but relapse rates under this condition are very high. The most effective approach is one that combines residential treatment and community-based support.
- Myth: Many people relapse, so treatment obviously does not work.
- Fact: Like every other treatment, addiction treatment cannot guarantee lifelong recovery. Relapse is often a part of the recovery process; it is always possible–and treatable.
- Myth: Once sobriety is achieved, whether with or without the benefit of treatment, most individuals can eventually return to social use of alcohol and/or drugs.
- Fact: Addiction is a chronic condition that does not disappear, even after extended periods of sobriety. This is caused by neuroplasticity wherein a pathway is formed in the brain due to repeated use of a substance which is triggered everytime the substance is used. This is true regardless of the individual’s drug of choice, level of self-control, or length of abstinence.
- Myth: An individual who is addicted to one drug or family of drugs can undergo treatment for and recover from addiction to that particular drug and still use other drugs with impunity.
- Fact: Cross-addiction nearly always occurs when an addict tries to switch drugs, regardless of the reason. Cross-addiction invariably takes the form of one or the other of two possible outcomes: 1) The individual quickly becomes addicted to the second substance, or 2) The individual returns to the original drug of choice while under the influence of the second one.
- Myth: We have reached the limits of what we can do to treat addiction.
- Fact: Treatment of addiction is an ever progressive field. Today’s treatment providers are being challenged to stretch their knowledge base and find more effective approaches to prevention, intervention, and treatment.
We at Anatta Humanversity offer a Client specific, non medical, voluntary treatment process that incorporates Meditation, Counseling processes as cornerstones .
It is our experience that true recovery happens only in freedom.