Hope In Rehabilitation
Loving someone who is addicted to a mind-altering substance is more than frustrating. You may have watched the person lose their job, turn away their spouse, lose their home, and even give up contact with their children.
You may have witnessed the person repeatedly enter rehabilitation programs only to exit and soon turn back to using their drug of choice. Your high hopes that this time your loved one may be successful have been shattered again and again by yet another relapse. You begin to believe there is no hope.
As Long as Your Loved One is Alive, Psychologists Confirm There is Hope
No matter what you have tried to do to help, the devastating downward spiral continues. You may feel you are at the end of your rope. You think there is no hope and you are ready to give up. But professionals who work in the field urge you not to give up hope. They know of people who have spent years fighting addiction who finally participate in rehabilitation and begin the road to recovery.
Some reasons psychologists suggest you never give up hope include:
- All those who are addicted can recover if they will admit they have a problem and seek help.
- Addiction is a chronic illness that often involves relapse. Unfortunately, some people experience multiple relapses before they finally are able to heal and stay on the road to recovery. Sometimes, it takes decades for those who are addicted to release their chains of addiction.
- Addiction for some is a life-long struggle. As long as there is life, there is hope for recovery.
- No one should be considered a hopeless case or immune from recovery. Treatment programs are improving so that an individual plan may be developed specifically to meet the recovery needs of your loved one. You and your loved one may need to persevere until you find the right rehabilitation program match.
The Office of the Surgeon General Reports Remission is Possible Even After Decades of Addiction
The Office of the Surgeon General reports that “scientific evidence indicates that approximately 50 percent of adults who once met diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder—or about 25 million people—are currently in stable remission (1 year or longer).” Remission is defined as “the reduction of key symptoms below the diagnostic threshold.” Remission is more common that what is commonly thought. Even so, in order to get to that state, a person may have experienced multiple instances of rehabilitation treatment over several years.
The Surgeon General also reports that there are several paths to successful recovery. If one does not work, the person may try another one. There are more recovery support programs emerging which are key to providing the continuing care needed by the addicted person in order to help them stay in remission. There is simply never a time to give up hope that your loved one may someday go into remission and live a productive life.