A very widespread myth told by those who are inexperienced with addiction is that drug and alcohol addiction is not curable. The definition of a “cure” is to alleviate or free the individual of the detrimental issue; their illness or bad habit. With this definition in mind, to actually cure drug addiction the addicted individual would need to be restored to a healthy state and completely overcome their bad habit of using drugs and/or alcohol.
Restoring health and ending bad habits is accomplished at drug rehab centers around the country everyday. In fact, I have personally experienced this myself. I have been sober for over thirty years, thanks to completing a drug rehab program. Long ago, I was heavily addicted to drugs and now have maintained sobriety for years and have not had any health issues caused from the years I was an addict. Additionally, through the years I’ve met hundreds like myself who have fully recovered from their addictions.
Another drug addiction myth is that addiction is a choice. While drug use initially is a decision the user makes, it develops into an automatic action as the drug user begins to rely and depend on the substance. When the individual puts that bottle, pipe or cigarette to their mouth and partakes for the very first time, for whatever the reason, that decision is consciously made. When they repeat this action it is also a conscious decision they are making.
However, soon things change and their urge to use drugs or alcohol recreationally is no longer a decision, it becomes a necessity. They no longer experience any mental questioning whether they should use or not, their substance use become unthinking and automatic. At this point they no longer question if they should use, it is more a question of what they will use, where they will get it and how they will afford it. Their decision to use or not use has seemingly been stripped from them, leaving them with only the choice of whether to seek and accept help to quit their addiction problem.
Some believe that addiction is a subject of morality. Using addictive dangerous drugs is obviously not a safe choice, but is it immoral? Consider this, is choosing to do something that is deemed unsafe an immoral action? Is skydiving, or racing motorcycles immoral? No, these actions are not considered immoral but they are known to be unsafe. The difference is, when a person goes skydiving they are not breaking the law; but, if that same person were to choose to use heroin they are knowingly breaking the law and that would be considered to be immoral. It is my personal belief that using illicit drugs or abusing prescription drugs IS definitely immoral. Not because the action is risky or unsafe, but rather because inevitably it will be damaging to the user. If this were the same for skydiving, then it would be considered immoral too. But in the case of skydiving, the vast majority of all people who choose to participate in this activity do so safely and without injury. There may be some very rare case of an individual who might intentionally choose to become addicted to drugs or alcohol, but 99.9999% of the remaining addicts do not wish to be afflicted with addiction. While there are numerous drug addiction myths and false beliefs that surround the subject of addiction, there are also clear cut facts too. The best way to avoid being caught in the trap of addiction is to first become educated on the subject and to understand the mechanics of how addiction occurs.
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