Addiction - The Disease that Lies
Getting there!!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,750
Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 152
Thank you for posting LoveMeNow. I have been hearing at meetings and SR and 'intellectually' understand that addiction is a disease. My heart and spirit has been very angry at AS for using, flunking out of college and the legal trouble he is in. "Why can't he just stop!" This article (finally) helped me get it. Thank you.
Nature Girl
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: By The Lake
Posts: 60,328
Every one of these deaths is tragic. They died of a disease that lies to them. Great talent and intelligence do not protect us from any illness.
It is heartbreaking to watch our loved ones self-destruct through addiction, it is tragic when any one of them dies.
Each time someone well known dies, I pray that this will be the time, this will be the one time that "normal" people open their eyes, open their hearts and open their minds and start talking about addiction to each other, to their children and to those who still believe that it can never happen to them. It happens to "them", to "us", every day, no matter who we are or where we live.
Thanks for posting this LMN, I will be sending it to a few friends who only recently discovered that their own children were addicted to heroin and who have no idea why it happened to "good people like them".
Hugs
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,103
In late stages of addiction we can see how reward-related drives, especially those for survival, are reprioritized when people risk their families, their jobs, even their lives to continue to use drugs and alcohol. The continued use of the drug becomes the most important drive, at a subconscious level and unrecognized by the individual, undermining even life itself.
I think when we have witnessed recovery it's extremely hard wrapping our minds around them going back out and using/drinking.......the disease that we just don't fully understand YET.
Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Land of Cotton
Posts: 3,433
All of us are responsible for learning the truth about addiction, raising awareness and intervening for those who have this disease, knowing they are unlikely to be able to do so for themselves.
Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,927
Thanks for sharing this. It is a great summary of what is current in addiction medicine, and quotes straight from National Institute of Drug Abuse too as shared in our stickies.
The good news is that treatment is effective and specifically designed to help people recognize the problem within. Most people are coerced into treatment for one reason or another; they may be facing legal issues, job loss or divorce.
With good treatment their likelihood for recovery and abstinence is just as good as the minority who seek treatment of their own accord. Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of those with addiction recognize they have it and seek treatment
All of us are responsible for learning the truth about addiction, raising awareness and intervening for those who have this disease, knowing they are unlikely to be able to do so for themselves
With good treatment their likelihood for recovery and abstinence is just as good as the minority who seek treatment of their own accord. Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of those with addiction recognize they have it and seek treatment
All of us are responsible for learning the truth about addiction, raising awareness and intervening for those who have this disease, knowing they are unlikely to be able to do so for themselves
Myth No. 5: You have to hit 'rock bottom'
Here's why this is dangerous: If we wait until a person "bottoms out," it could be too late to help them.
Every person has a different "bottom." For some, it could be getting arrested or becoming homeless. For many, it's much less dramatic -- losing an important personal relationship, being confronted by family or doing poorly at work or school.
There is little evidence that the level of consequences a person accumulates before seeking help is related to their chances of succeeding in recovery. It's better to get help early than to hold out for the perfect desperate moment.
Here's why this is dangerous: If we wait until a person "bottoms out," it could be too late to help them.
Every person has a different "bottom." For some, it could be getting arrested or becoming homeless. For many, it's much less dramatic -- losing an important personal relationship, being confronted by family or doing poorly at work or school.
There is little evidence that the level of consequences a person accumulates before seeking help is related to their chances of succeeding in recovery. It's better to get help early than to hold out for the perfect desperate moment.
Myth No. 3: Addiction is for life
This simply isn't true, and it places a huge emotional and psychological burden on recovered addicts. Addiction is a spectrum disorder, like depression, and every person is different.
While there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite -- short-term users who manage to put the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 75% of alcoholics recover without treatment.
This simply isn't true, and it places a huge emotional and psychological burden on recovered addicts. Addiction is a spectrum disorder, like depression, and every person is different.
While there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite -- short-term users who manage to put the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 75% of alcoholics recover without treatment.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: WA
Posts: 124
Originally Posted by tjp613 
If only it were *that* easy......
So...are we to wait until they "hit bottom" (which, in some cases, is too late) or intervene regardless if they are "ready" or not?
It's terribly confusing, and overwhelming for us. Is it partly OUR fault then, when we don't intervene and they die? Should we step in and force them into treatment that we can't afford (already spent thousands of dollars) and the state won't supply? And how many times should we do that?
Not bashing the poster or author of the article. Seriously. I'm asking. I feel so guilt-ridden already, I don't know which way to turn. Is my 29 year old daughter expected to see the light and cure herself, or should I drag her, again, to treatment? How long do we wait before stepping in?
If that is the case - that the addict CAN'T do it for themselves, in some case, should we campaign to bring back the ability to commit someone, on our word against theirs, for their own good?
Honestly - I don't know.
Getting there!!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,750
So there are no confusions, the myth article states "The opinions expressed are solely those of Adi Jaffe." He is not with Halzeden. His website allaboutaddiction.com seems to be taken down too. ????
Getting there!!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,750
I agree, it is very confusing. Cory Monteith entered a treatment facility for substance addiction in April yet died a few months later as a result of "a mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol."
Once again, proves to me that money and rehabs do not mean recovery.
Once again, proves to me that money and rehabs do not mean recovery.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 35
Originally Posted by YouWillBe
Exactly.
So...are we to wait until they "hit bottom" (which, in some cases, is too late) or intervene regardless if they are "ready" or not?
It's terribly confusing, and overwhelming for us. Is it partly OUR fault then, when we don't intervene and they die? Should we step in and force them into treatment that we can't afford (already spent thousands of dollars) and the state won't supply? And how many times should we do that?
Not bashing the poster or author of the article. Seriously. I'm asking. I feel so guilt-ridden already, I don't know which way to turn. Is my 29 year old daughter expected to see the light and cure herself, or should I drag her, again, to treatment? How long do we wait before stepping in?
If that is the case - that the addict CAN'T do it for themselves, in some case, should we campaign to bring back the ability to commit someone, on our word against theirs, for their own good?
Honestly - I don't know.
So...are we to wait until they "hit bottom" (which, in some cases, is too late) or intervene regardless if they are "ready" or not?
It's terribly confusing, and overwhelming for us. Is it partly OUR fault then, when we don't intervene and they die? Should we step in and force them into treatment that we can't afford (already spent thousands of dollars) and the state won't supply? And how many times should we do that?
Not bashing the poster or author of the article. Seriously. I'm asking. I feel so guilt-ridden already, I don't know which way to turn. Is my 29 year old daughter expected to see the light and cure herself, or should I drag her, again, to treatment? How long do we wait before stepping in?
If that is the case - that the addict CAN'T do it for themselves, in some case, should we campaign to bring back the ability to commit someone, on our word against theirs, for their own good?
Honestly - I don't know.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
