Beautiful Post English Garden. I just wanted to comment on statistics. I whole heartedly agree you have to be wary, and if a person chooses to believe in statistics, we each have to decide what organizations, groups, clinics, whatever are most reliable based on our own concepts and beliefs.
I know when I was researching stats from Nationa Institute Drug Abuse; I felt comfortable with what I was getting because they are worldwide leaders in the science of drug addiction. Their summary of the brain is on point pretty much with your article also EG.
However, if you look at their stats they state clearly what they are based on; individuals who have obtained professional treatment for all of their needs including mental health issues, emotional issues, and not just drug addiction.(I agree people need the whole package for best chances of recovery). Patients are interviewed to determine if/how many times they have had professional treatment in the past, etc. I recall when I first came to SR there was a figure of 10% that seemed to float around a lot, and I was never able to find where it came from. I never put stock in it, because for me I needed something solid that I could analyze.
Also going along with what Anvil was discussing, when you look at pictures of MRI studies on meth users, the before pictures, and 6 months later – it clearly shows progress in ‘rewiring’. I find it amazing the brain can be so resilient.