Myths and Facts about Drug Addiction
There are various misconceptions about drug use among addicts as well as among those who are not taking drugs. These misconceptions can hinder treatment in various ways. Addicts don’t try to quit, even if they try they fail, they rarely seek treatment, and sometimes it gets too late when they are brought into treatment. Even their loved ones are surrounded by a lot of fallacies. Myths rotate everyone in a vicious cycle and they seldom reach to the right place for the right treatment. Here we discuss some of those misunderstandings the addicts and their loved ones carry along.
1. Alcoholics only need help when they get worse.
This is a wrong concept. Addicts believe that they don’t need help until they reach to the death bed due to poor physical health until very obvious changes alcohol brings into their physique. Whereas, the truth of the matter is, alcohol starts deteriorating your internal organs from the very first time you take it. Even the social users are not safe from the detrimental effects of alcohol. Research shows that moderate amount of alcohol can cause diseases like prostate cancer, liver damage, and breast cancer. Now you can imagine how lethal it can get up to an addictive amount. It is suggested that the sooner an alcoholic seeks treatment, there are more chances of recovery. Social users and addicts can prevent further damage to their mind and body if at any point they realize the need for treatment and get sober.
2. Addicts lack willpower and motivation that’s why can’t quit.
This is another misconception people hold about addicts. They are often criticized and stigmatized that they lack motivation and they lose their willpower that’s why they relapse and fail to maintain their sobriety. In actual, an addict, when takes the drug very first time, he never thinks that he will be addicted. He wants and tends to remain a social user. When the dose increases, the addict still doesn’t think that he has become an addict. He requires more amount of drug to maintain the previous level of buzz. Infect those who use drugs, get into a trap because their brain chemistry is changed. This is the reason why an addict requires more intensive detoxification and prolonged treatment depending upon the duration and amount of drug use. Moreover, when a recovering person relapses, it gets harder for his brain and body to get clean and maintain total abstinence. Therefore, it is not only the story of willpower once the substance enters into brain and body of an addict. Since all of his physiology, neurology, and psychology gets affected therefore all these domains need to be modified during treatment of a recovering person.
3. They remain addicted because they are immoral, foolish and unwise people.
People think that drug users are not good persons. They lack education and are crazy who get into drugs. Whereas, in actual drug addicts tend to be ordinary people. A research showed that when the life histories of addicted persons were analyzed, most of them used to be worthy and good people. For any reason, if a person gets into drugs, it becomes very difficult for them to come out of a trap. Hence, we call addiction as a brain disease. The disease concept is getting stronger in recent successful treatment modules for addiction. It is just like other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancers etc. This is because the treatment of addiction starts with detoxification process in which the addict’s body is cleaned with the help of medications and then other modes of treatment such as psychosocial approach is used to rehabilitate the client.
4. Because addicts are bad people, they should be penalized rather than providing treatment.
An addict becomes bad because the drug he is taking proceeds him/ her to the level where he doesn’t even refrain from stealing to get money. He needs money just to take the drug which is constantly needed by his internal bodily system. His intentions revolve around providing his body a chemical that is lacking, not solely the purpose is stealing. This is one of the reason, scientists call it a brain disease in which a person has no control over his craving. This is just like other disorders in which person’s psychosocial functioning gets disturbed. Therefore, if we want an addict to quit the substance, then we should provide him/ her a holistic treatment which will restructure brain chemistry (i.e. medication and detoxification), will provide psychological means of coping (i.e. craving management), and revitalize them in social circle (interpersonal skills and social skills training etc.).
5. Addict can quit on his will without the help of professional treatment.
If we consider the disease concept of addiction, it is very clear that when a substance has changed the brain structure/functioning then it’s difficult for an addict to revert back as a normal person. When an addict stops taking drug then his brain acts like a psychologically disturbed person whose brain chemicals are produced either in low or excessive quantity. Therefore, an addict uses that substance to regain the normal level of functioning. The drugs which an addict consumes, just react with natural chemicals produced by brain. When there is an extra chemical in addict's brain which is not required by the human body then it creates additional dysfunctions. How is it possible for an addict to amend all this through his will power? People expect an addict to quit upon the punishment or insistence by family and they told addicts to do so on his own will. This is not going to be the solution in long-run. Infect addicts require a long-term treatment to maintain total abstinence. Many of them relapse several times during the process of treatment and very few become totally drug-free after their first treatment for recovery.
6. Addicts can’t recover even from Addiction treatment.
People generally think that there is no treatment for addiction and those who provide treatment just do a business. This is because they have seen very few people who completely recover from drug addiction. The rest of addicts relapse because they often don’t complete their treatment. They think that after completing 6 months or shorter indoor treatment, they have recovered therefore they don’t go for follow-ups. When they face slippery occasions, they can’t cope up and thus relapse. It is not the fault of treatment provider if an addict or family members can’t stay in treatment until their brain, psyche, and physiology completely gets recovered which is actually a long process. Science has proved that a well-devised addiction treatment such as (detox, 12 step plan, life skills development etc.) can bring change in addicts. Researchers show that 40-60% usage of drugs has been reduced in those who take their treatment. Treatment has also been found to decrease the rate of illegal acts by addicts.
7. There is no hope for those who relapse even after treatment.
This is another myth. Addicts and most of other people think that they will not encounter relapse once they complete treatment. In actual when an addict is released from in-patient treatment, this is the time when he/ she is most vulnerable to drug exposure. Addict faces old friends who still take drugs. He is exposed to those places where he used to take drugs. The smell of drug may surround him somewhere. And there are many triggers in his environment which can lead him to relapse. This is the crucial time when an addict needs help from his treatment team. Since it is a chronic brain disease, if a relapse occurs in this crucial time, it doesn’t mean that addict has failed. He actually needs management of life stressors which led him to relapse.
8. Drug treatment can’t be effective for those who don’t really want it or those brought into treatment by force
People think that if an addict is unwilling, treatment wouldn’t work. Research has shown that most of the addicts have been ordered by the court or they are brought forcefully by their loved ones, but they do very well in treatment. Research has also shown that the pressure and confrontation used in treatment bring about better results even if the patient doesn’t come into treatment by his will.