Study Those Who Recover From Addiction

If we really want to know about addiction, we should study those who recover from addiction. There are around 20 million people in the US who meet the criteria for substance use disorder/addiction. Only 10% of these people seek treatment. That’s an incredibly low number. There’s around a 40% to 50% relapse rate. This relapse rate is consistent with other medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension or asthma. Addiction has been studied for a long, long time, but what hasn’t been studied as much is recovery from addiction.

There are cultural and psychological reasons why more people suffering from substance abuse disorder don’t seek treatment and many times relapse when they do seek treatment. There’s still a lack of knowledge about addiction. Old ideas abound, such as the belief it’s a moral weakness, irresponsibility, lack of will power, etc. You can Google “addiction” and find all kinds of information, some of it contradictory. My advice is to get a book that’s grounded in the disease concept of addiction.

But getting back to recovery, why do some recover while others struggle with relapse? I think much more study and research should go into people who’ve been in recovery for over five years. My observations through the years show me there are basic actions and attitudes common among most people in recovery from addiction. This isn’t science, just my observations since 1982. Most people I’ve known in long term recovery are grateful for their recovery and never take it for granted — they know if they take a drink or snort a line or pop a pill, they’ll be back in the same condition. These people in recovery aren’t under the illusion that one day they can drink or use drugs without consequences.

Just about all the people I know in long term term recovery are ready and willing to help others with the same problem when the opportunity arises. They mostly belong to support groups like AA or NA, because it helps to remind them where they came from, and they want to be there when someone comes into the group looking for help. I’ve witnessed many transformations since 1982, and maybe one day I’ll do the research and write a book on recovery. I believe we can learn a lot about addiction if we study those who recover from addiction.