Self-Help Does Not Work for Addiction & Alcoholism
With the great many self-help books published and readily available for mass consumption, it is easy to believe that a person can systematically “cure” addiction and alcoholism (either their own or in a person they care for) like they would a broken relationship. It would be great if it was that simple or effective. Sadly, it is neither.
Self-help methods only really work when the person, first, recognizes he or she has a specific problem and has a willingness to approach it, but also can dedicate time and energy to working on themselves to change their way of thinking and behaving. The biggest factor though is having a logical mind in the first place to attempt any of this. Addicts and alcoholics generally suffer from chemically or cognitively impaired brains which lead to the inability to think clearly and certainly and therefore, see their problem and their actions objectively.
To understand this further, it helps to know that in recent times, addiction and alcoholism have come to be considered as diseases of the brain with issues stemming from neurology and not just poor actions or choices. In addition, continued use of alcohol and drugs further chemically alter the brain that self-care or self-preservation behaviors are replaced with unhealthy negative ones. Soon, an addict or alcoholic has such impaired judgement or control that they cannot abstain or control of his/ her behaviors, and end up suffering from dysfunctional emotional responses regardless of the consequences.
Unlike following specifically prescribed steps on how to be more organized in your home or finances, addiction and alcoholism truly require outside help to have even a chance at being effective. To safely peel back the many layers of an individual’s addiction, it takes an external team of professional and knowledgeable people to intervene. And often, it is best to do this outside of the individual’s current living environment to help create a change in perspective as well as reduce any normal or unrecognized triggers. Without the combined and empathetic assistance of therapists, and medical doctors, as well as fellow recovering people, an addict or alcoholic has a highly unlikely chance of long term recovery.
