Can Addiction Just Be A Phase?

People can sometimes interpret their addiction as a phase and not a disease.

This might result in a relapse.

Why is it a disease?

Addiction is just like any other common disease. Heart Disease is caused partially by genes and particularly by health and fitness. That goes the same with cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. Genes and your health play a big part in your addiction, too. If someone was told they had cancer, they go into recovery and try to overcome the disease. Addiction is the same way, whereas if you understand you have a problem, you need to seek recovery so you can overcome this disease.

How is addiction genetic?

Addiction works in a certain part of your brain. A study by Dr. Mohamad claims that 50% of you becoming an addict is linked to your genes. That is why it is common for a few members of your family to have this disease. “Sons of alcoholic fathers are up to nine times as likely to develop drinking problems as the general population. Babies of alcoholics adopted into non-drinking homes have almost the same odds of alcoholism as they would if they’d stayed with their birth parents.” (Dr. Mohamad)

Let’s see some stats…

50% to 90% relapse after a period of time from drugs/alcohol

The dangers of relapsing

It can be a death sentence. If you relapse one more time or for the first time, it could very well be the last, in a really heart-wrenching way. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to recover.
You could be falling into a worse hole than the hole you were in before recovery. Your life might be tougher to manage, you could be more depressed, more upset, which will make it harder to recover from.
Motivation to get clean is gone. Relapsing might make you feel you can’t recover from your addiction. And if you feel like you’re losing hope, you might lose motivation to get clean again.

Once an addict, always an addict?

This phrase gets brought up a lot. As some might think it’s true, it’s not entirely true. Growing up with an addiction is a lifetime disease that you’ll always have to maintain. But if you recover from addiction and follow the 12-steps and attend meetings, it raises the chances of you not relapsing. But it’s all about managing your self control and cravings. Cravings won’t go away after you recover. You might have them at the weirdest times through your life. But if we learned from this article, it’s that addiction is not a phase. And if you think you have control to have 1 drink years after you went through recovery, you could be in the circle of addiction again.