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The 10 Most Common Misconceptions About Addictions

25 0
01.10.2024

Over my 50-year career as an addiction researcher, these are the most common misconceptions I've heard about people with alcohol and drug addictions.

Myth 1: Addiction is a bad choice.

Many people believe addiction results from weak willpower or lack of morals. They are wrong. Addiction is a complex condition involving specific drugs, doses, routes of entry (smoking, eating, injection, sniffing), and age of onset, with people who start substance abuse at younger ages having higher risks.

Addiction directly affects and is affected by a person’s brain chemistry, genetics, and environmental factors. Trauma and life experiences are also critical. Yale’s Joel Gelernter has identified specific genetic variants associated with vulnerability to addictions. However, genetic characteristics interact with environmental factors in the development of substance use disorders.

Myth 2: People must hit "rock bottom" to recover from addiction.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition driven by changes in brain circuitry, particularly in areas controlling reward, stress, and decision-making. While some people seek help after experiencing dire consequences, many others can and do get help from an intervention after listening to the advice of family, coworkers, and others. Waiting a longer time, however, increases damage done to the person’s relationships, job, and health and also strengthens the relationship between the drug and the person.

Roadside alcohol testing, for example, has prevented thousands of deaths and helped many with alcohol use disorders (AUD) get help. About 50 percent of those arrested for DUI have an AUD and should not delay getting help.

Myth 3: Addicts could quit anytime they wanted.

Mark Twain said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” Addiction changes the brain, making quitting difficult. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and other experts have argued that free will is lost with addiction because the addict needs drugs like others need food and water. If medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is discontinued, all bets are off unless the person has already done considerable psychological work as well.

People actively involved in AA often complain that their friends ask them why they are not cured yet, since they go to meetings all the time. However, going to treatment is a good sign, a positive step, and an active involvement in disrupting addiction.

Myth 4: Only certain types of people get addicted.

Addiction neuroscience has done a great job of........

© Psychology Today


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