Addiction Treatment: Change

Change is frightening to many people, not just to those going through addiction treatment. Most addicts, though, fear change, because it means experiencing life without their drug of choice. Addiction creates an obsession with a drug that goes to the part of the brain which deals with our basic needs, so it’s almost like someone is asking the addict to twiddle their thumbs when they’re hungry, or eat broccoli when they crave sex.

King Wiitney, Jr. wrote:

Change has considerable psychological impact on the human mind,
to the fearful it is threatening because it means things may get worse.
To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better.
And to the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to
make things better.

In addiction treatment we strive to lead the client from fearful to hopeful to confident (not over-confidence, but realistic confidence based on receiving help from others when needed). Years of chemical dependence does a lot of damage to self-esteem, and most research shows that years of addiction  actually rewires the brain, so it takes a good while to change, to re-wire the brain. If the client can’t get past the fear of change, then recovery never really happens, and the person is stuck in old patterns and behaviors and ways of thinking that lead back to drug use.

When the client is presented with facts and new ideas and agrees to try recovery, the process of change begins — this process is helped along greatly by group therapy as each client in the group draws strength, hope and confidence from the others who are also wrestling with fear of change. It’s easier to change when you have support from others who’re going the same process. Also, in groups, clients can see what happens when a person is stuck and refuses to change — the group can see the conflict and consequences of fighting change and it helps them make even greater progress.

Many might say it’s no big deal, that the addict is just doing what they should’ve been doing all along, but, to those who understand addiction, making changes in recovery is a pretty big deal that takes a lot of courage.