Table of Contents
It is true that breaking through the denial of addiction and recognising the problem is significant, but it is not usually enough by itself to end the addiction. Plenty of people want to escape alcoholism yet they continue to struggle. In the below paragraphs are six of the most common reasons why you or your loved one may want to be sober yet fail to turn this into a reality.
1. Failure to Access the Resources Needed to Break Away from Addiction
One of the biggest mistakes many make when trying to break away from addiction is insisting on going it alone. A minority do seem to be able to break free of addiction without much help, but this is not something that will work for everyone. Even those individuals who have never been addicted to alcohol or drugs can struggle when it comes to making major changes in their life; it can just prove too much without help. If you have already tried going it alone but failed then maybe it is time you tried a different approach.
2. Failure to Fully Commit to Recovery
It is usually easy for individuals to see why they should break away from alcohol addiction, but this does not mean they are going to have sufficient motivation to do so. The problem is that unless the person is fully committed to changing their life, they are unlikely to make it happen. If you are still holding onto the hope that you would be able to drink again in the future then it is unlikely that you would have sufficient motivation to break free of addiction.
3. Resistance to Making the Changes Needed to Secure Sobriety
Another common mistake made is that while individuals become willing give up alcohol, they do not want to make any other changes to their life. This is problematic because there would have been reasons why you fell into addiction in the first place, and these reasons are likely to still be there when you quit. This means that even if you do manage to stay sober in the short-term, you are likely to turn to new negative coping strategies to help you fare.
4. The Motivation to Quit is Short-Lived
It is common for those who are addicted to alcohol to have periods when they feel willing to quit. This can happen if they have behaved particularly badly or they are feeling ill due to a hangover. The problem is that this type of motivation tends to be short-lived. As soon as things settle down, the individual feels free to return to business as usual. This is why it is so important that when individuals develop this type of motivation, it be acted upon right away; for example, the person can go straight into rehab.
5. Agreeing to Quit Addiction for the Wrong Reasons
Sometimes people will agree to get help for their addiction as a way to escape the consequences of bad behaviour. The person says they want to quit, but they are only doing this to get others off their case. Sometimes the person may genuinely develop the motivation to quit even though they agreed to get help for the wrong reasons, but in most cases, it is only an attempt at manipulation.
6. Choosing the Wrong Resources for Addiction Recovery
The reason there are now so many different approaches to addiction recovery is that not one path works for everyone. The important thing is always going to be to find the path that will work for you. If you keep trying to break away from alcohol using the wrong resources, you are likely to continue to struggle.
