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In the past, it was common to refer to those people who seemed immune to addiction treatment as ‘hopeless cases’. If you have been struggling to break away from alcohol or drug abuse, you might be wondering whether you fall into this category as well. The good news is that you are almost certainly not a hopeless case, and there will be a reason why addiction treatments have not been working for you. In the below paragraphs are just some of the possible reasons why this is the case.
You Have Not Been Ready to Break Free of Addiction
Addiction treatment is not like some magic pill that automatically solves your problems. You don’t just show up at rehab and wait for them to cure you – if only it were that straightforward. All the different addiction recovery methodologies require you to approach them with a certain mindset. If you do not have this mindset, it will be difficult for you to benefit from them.
It may be that in your previous attempts to break away from addiction, you hadn’t been fully committed to the process; this is the most common reason why individuals fail to benefit from treatment. You need to understand that breaking away from alcohol or drugs involves a huge effort; anything less than one hundred per cent might not be enough to get you to where you need to go.
You May Have Chosen the Wrong Addiction Treatment Option
There are now many different approaches to addiction recovery. All of these various paths are required because there is not one treatment that works for everyone. It may seem like you have tried everything, but this is unlikely given the fact there are just so many options, with new ones are being developed all the time. One reason why you may be continuing to struggle is you just haven’t found something suitable for your needs and personality. If you keep on looking, you will almost certainly find something suitable.
You May be Dealing with a Dual Diagnosis
To say that you have a dual diagnosis means that you are dealing with a mental health issue alongside your addiction. This could include problems such as depression or anxiety disorder. It is common for people with a dual diagnosis to be completely unaware of this other problem. They may have initially turned to alcohol or drugs to help them deal with their symptoms without considering the underlying cause, just knowing that using these substances made them feel a bit better.
If you have an untreated dual diagnosis then it may mean that you find it very hard to deal with sober living. This is because you will have been self-medicating with alcohol and drugs and now have nothing else to help you manage your symptoms. Unless you get the condition diagnosed and treated, you may decide the real problem is that recovery is not for you and that you are better off trapped in addiction.
You Have Turned to Addiction Treatment for the Wrong Reasons
If you have tried to stop drinking or using drugs to please other people or to get out of some type of trouble, it is unlikely to have been a strong enough motivation to keep you sober long term. You need to have a clear and meaningful reason for making this choice; it needs to be a reason that gets you excited and gives you the motivation to do the necessary work.
Many try to escape addiction due to fear. This can be a great motivator in the beginning, but the problem is you are likely to forget how bad things were once you have been sober for a bit of time. In order to have the best chance of permanent sobriety you need to have a positive motivation such as the desire to be happy.
