Drug Addiction Recovery Often Starts With Coercion

Drug addiction affects millions of Americans from Fresno, Calif., to the East Coast. With millions of people addicted to alcohol and various illicit drugs, the need for drug rehab centers is more urgent than ever. But, the people who so desperately need treatment don’t seem to think they do, according to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Why Addicts Don’t Want Help

Addiction rewires the brain, often to the point where the addict can’t recognize his or her own addiction. This makes it much harder for the families of addicts to convince their loved ones to seek help from drug rehab centers. The 2013 NSDUH found that 95 percent of people suffering from substance abuse disorders in Fresno and across the country do not think they have a problem or need treatment.

This means that the friends and families of loved ones often have to push their loved ones into receiving treatment, even in Fresno. It is usually a tough decision, according to Robert L. DuPont, psychiatrist and president of the Institute for Behavior and Health. “Families faced with addiction often reluctantly, and only after many failures, use ‘tough love’ to promote treatment and recovery while insisting that their addicted loved ones be drug-free,” he said.

How to Help the Addict

By the time he sees a former addict in recovery, DuPont is always surprised by the contrast. “In the process of recovery there is a transition from near-universal denial of problems and rejection of treatment to gratitude for and acceptance of the coercion that got them on that path.”

DuPont believes former addicts are generally able to recognize their past denial. By recognizing this, they are able to gain a newfound appreciation for those family and friends who helped push them into drug rehab centers in the first place. The addict eventually recognizes the difficulty of pushing someone in the direction of recovery, but also that it could very well have saved his or her life.

Ian Carry is a health writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Miramar Drug and Alcohol Reheb Centers. Follow on Twitter