Addiction; Why Willpower Has Nothing to Do With Addiction Recovery

There are a number of myths that pervade our social consciousness pertaining to addiction, and these myths are almost universally unhelpful to addicts afflicted with the disease of addiction, and contribute greatly to the stigma that even recovering alcoholics and drug addicts must endure.

Addicts don't have to hit "rock bottom" before getting help. In fact waiting this long almost always makes things far more difficult, and the necessary therapy and recovery needed that much longer. Addicts do not need to decide for themselves to get treatment either, and statistics show that addicts mandated to attend drug or alcohol treatment are just as successful as those that attend of their own accord.

But the possibly the most harmful myth related to addiction is that addicts are somehow weak, or lacking in willpower.

The impulses of addiction are beyond conscious control

It's easy for us to explain addiction and the behaviors of use out of a framework of personal strength and willpower, and for those not addicted, willpower does control how much we drink, or even use illicit drugs. But for an addict, once drugs or alcohol abuse becomes addiction, willpower becomes irrelevant.

With addiction comes a physical change in the processes of the brain, and these changes occur in the mesolimbic dopaminergic area of the brain, an area that operates outside of our conscious control. The mesolimbic creates the impulses and cravings to abuse, and these impulses are not of a conscious nature. Although the behaviors and use of an addict appears at the surface considered and deliberate, those actions are in fact controlled at a preconscious level, and are beyond the scope of willpower.


It takes strength to overcome addiction, but not willpower

Although these impulses operate at a preconscious level, there are strategies, medicines and life changes that have proven effective in minimizing the impact exerted by the preconscious impulses to use. Willpower has nothing to do with it, but it takes enormous strength, courage and will to participate fully in difficult therapies of recovery and to make the life changes required to minimize the impact of these triggers to use.

We can never control what we are not fully aware of, but we can take steps to minimize the occurrence of these impulses. We do so through medications that affect the mesolimbic, and by cognitive and behavioral strategies that reduce out exposure to situations and environments likely to trigger a preconscious impulse. It's not easy to change your life in such a way as to minimize these triggers to abuse, and those that can do so should be celebrated for their strength and determination, and never castigated for their weakness or lack of willpower.

Although addiction is medically recognized as a disease, the stigma associated with addiction recovery has a lot to do with myths and misunderstandings of the true nature of addiction. Recovering addicts deserve our support and admiration, and never the lingering stigma of personal weakness.

By Christin Shire

Don’t relapse after rehab. Sober living housing can help.

For people not ready to face the world head-on, for people without a sober place to go, and for people still struggling with addiction and a corresponding mental illness, coming out of drug or alcohol rehab and into a sober living environment can be a great way to increase the odds of long term sobriety and success.

What is sober living housing?

Sober living housing (halfway housing) is simply a residency, that may or may not offer some degree of addictions therapy, and which provides low cost accommodation to addicts in recovery in return for an agreement to accept a certain and strict code of conduct.

Residents transitioning through a sober living house must generally gain employment, may not bring drugs or alcohol in to the house, may not appear intoxicated inside the residence, and must abide by behavioral rules such as curfews and work duties. Residents are free to stay for as long as they like, and there is rarely a pre set period of residency, but most recovering addicts stay from 1-6 months.

The benefits of sober living housing

There are a number of benefits to residency in a sober living house, and one of the most obvious is simply that living in a sober house reduces the temptations of independent living, and increases the odds that recovering addicts can withstand the sometimes intense cravings during the initial months out of rehab.

But sober living housing offers more and one of the intangibles, but something that does offer great assistance to those struggling with sobriety, is simply the development of sober friendships within the house, and learning again how to have fun without drugs or alcohol.

Most people with lengthy addictions histories have spent years equating fun or recreation with intoxication, and newly sober addicts often find leisure time one of the greatest threats to sobriety. How can you have fun without intoxication?

If you're on your own, filling leisure time and dealing with loneliness can be difficult, but in a sober living house you benefit from the company and camaraderie of a group of recovering addicts in a very similar situation to yours. Sober living house friendships are the rule rather than the exception, and addicts learn together how to have fun and enjoy themselves in a healthy and safe manner.

This may seem a small thing at the surface level, but dealing with leisure time in a healthy way is crucial to long term sobrietyArticle Search, and those that cannot learn this skill have little chance at ultimate success.

Don't relapse

From
http://www.choosehelp.com/topics/drug-treatment/halfway-house-drug-treatment