Common Myths About Drug Addiction

Addiction comes with many misconceptions. Anyone who has suffered from an addiction knows this fact. Unfortunately, common myths about drug addiction are not just untrue. They can also be dangerous. 

If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction, it’s important to bust common myths about drug addiction. By debunking these myths, you will better be able to help yourself or your loved one overcome addiction and begin living a life of recovery.

8 Common Myths About Drug Addiction

Although there are many common myths about drug addiction, here are the eight most common:

Myth: Using drugs and alcohol is a choice. 

For centuries, addiction was viewed as a choice and a moral failing. Modern science has proven this myth completely wrong. 

Using drugs and alcohol and becoming addicted is not a choice. Addiction occurs from many factors, including genetics, trauma, and other environmental influences. As such, addiction is a disease, not a choice.

Myth: Addiction deserves punishment. 

Because people of the past believed addiction was a moral failing, they also thought that it deserved punishment.

Since addiction is a disease, it does not warrant punishment. Instead, addiction should be treated as a chronic disease that deserves medical intervention and care, just like any other disease.

Myth: Addiction only affects certain types of people. 

Many individuals believe that addiction only affects certain types of people, often people outside of their own circles. This is simply not true. Addiction does not discriminate, and it affects about one in eight people in the United States.

Myth: People who have a stable job and life cannot be addicted. 

Whenever many individuals think of an addict, they think of a homeless individual who is incapable of keeping their life together. Although some addicts fall into this category, addiction impacts all individuals, including those with stable jobs and successful lives.

This myth has caused many individuals to be in denial about their addiction and reject recovery as a result. Just because an individual waits until 5:00 PM to use does not mean they are not addicted.

Myth: Prescription drugs are not as dangerous as street drugs. 

Prescription drugs are just as addictive as street drugs. As a result, addiction to prescription medication is becoming more and more of a problem. If you are not using a prescribed medicine exactly how the doctor intended, you are misusing the medication. If you need the medicine compulsively, you are addicted. 

Myth: Going to treatment will fix the problem immediately. 

Most people make the mistake of thinking that attending treatment will immediately stop their problems. This is not how addiction works. Addiction is a chronic disease that requires a lifetime of effort and work that begins with treatment. 

Myth: Using medication during detox is the same as switching from one addiction to another.

The detox process is painful and sometimes dangerous, which warrants medical intervention and medications. 

Using medication during the detox is not the same as switching from one illicit substance to another. These medications not only ensure that your detox is as comfortable as possible, but they can also ensure that you are not harmed during the process and that you continue on your road to recovery.

Myth: Detoxing is enough.

Some individuals think that getting clean is the only step in breaking their addiction. Addiction involves much more than physical dependence. If you do not receive the medical intervention you need to fight the addiction from all fronts after detox, you will likely relapse.

Suffering from Addiction? Call Elysium Healthcare Today! 

If you or a loved one is suffering from drug addiction, contact Elysium Healthcare for a luxurious approach to addiction treatment in California.