Top Ten Myths about Alcohol & Drug Addiction Interventions-Part One

There are many inaccurate ideas today about people suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction problems.
These articles aim to set the record straight by dealing with some of the stigma associated with alcohol and drug addiction information and disproving the top ten myths about interventions.

People who are not motivated should not get treatment. 
Motivation should not be seen as a prerequisite for addiction intervention and treatment. In fact, treatment does not have to be voluntary in order to be successful. Motivation can and does, change during the time spent at a rehabilitation centre.
It’s normal for people addicted to alcohol and other drugs to not clearly see the full extent of the damage they cause, so holding someone back because they are delusional about the nature and severity of their addiction does not help their cause. Sometimes not wanting treatment is a symptom of the addiction and that’s where a trained professional can help through providing the family with an intervention.
Also, forcing someone to go for treatment should not be seen as a bad thing, as pressure from loved ones, work colleagues even law enforcement can help boost motivation!

People choose to become drug addicts. 
Although the first use of drugs is a voluntary choice, repetitive drug abuse changes the way our brains react to the drug. Eventually one becomes completely dependent on it physically, emotionally and mentally.
In addition to the stranglehold it has over you, addiction changes how we feel pleasure and reward, making us want more and more drugs and alcohol to get any satisfaction.
This is known as ‘tolerance’ and is one of the criteria to be diagnosed as addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Only weak-willed people are affected by drug addiction.
It’s possibly naïve and certainly unhelpful to think that people, who have weak self-control, are the only ones that can be addicted to alcohol and other drugs.
It’s simple: drug addiction can affect anyone who has tried drugs.
After the first use of drugs, it begins to change how the brain works. It affects how you view your world; sometimes this altered view can be quite pleasant and herein lies the problem. People that continue to actively seek intoxication run the risk of having irreversible brain changes.
Once the switched is flicked the addict’s only goal is to get more of the drug. Addiction can drive people to do almost anything to get more drugs and alcohol.

Chronic relapsers are failures.
There is a stigma attached to chronic recidivists. Thinking that they are hopeless and cannot be helped. However, this is not the case. It is easy for anyone to fall back into the habits of drug use and addiction.
This is because addiction is defined as a medical disease and chronic in its nature. Factors that cause drug addicts to relapse include simple things such as sights, smell, people and emotion.
Relapses can also occur when reasons of why they started using drugs or memories of the period in which they were previously addicted, return.
Drug addicts are at higher risk of relapse in the first weeks and months after treatment has taken place. Recovery processes are usually slow and it is common to fail a few times before succeeding.
For part two of this article, go here – Top Ten Myths about Alcohol & Drug Addiction Interventions.