Denial is one of the biggest impediments for an individual to receive the care they need when suffering from the disease of addiction and alcoholism. We often come up with a variety of reasons why we do not suffer from addiction and alcoholism. We want to think that we will one day be able to assert control over our drinking and using; that things will be different if we just had the right job, the right relationship, a better home life, more material things, etc. These delusions can be powerful and keep us from seeing that we are indeed powerless over substances and that our lives are not manageable.
The National Institute of Health defines drug addiction as “a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs.” We reach a point in our drinking and using where we lose complete control. We enter into a cycle of using, causing harm to ourselves and others, emerging remorseful and swearing we won’t do it again, then picking back up a drink or a drug. Unless we are able to have an entire change in the ideas, emotions, and attitudes that had been controlling our lives, we are unlikely to recover.
The disease of addiction and alcoholism can show its face in our lives in a number of different ways. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous explains, “We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people…” These “bedevilments” are symptomatic of the spiritual illness that drove us deeper and deeper into our addictions. Any person suffering from addiction and alcoholism can identify with the internal struggles that they could only find relief from by taking a drink or a drug. Every individual must come to the realization themselves, but one we accept that we suffer from addiction and alcoholism, we are open to accepting the necessary mental, physical, and spiritual help to recover.
Recovery is possible. You can make the decision to seek help today and begin building a future of happiness, joyousness, and freedom in sobriety. Lakehouse Recovery Center utilizes effective therapeutic techniques, such as individual and group therapy, family counseling, and workshops, to give you all the tools necessary to achieve and maintain permanent sobriety. For more information about individualized treatment options, please call today: (877) 762-3707