Mention the word addiction and everyone has their own take on what it is, whether anyone can get it or some are just destined to be addicts, what can be done about it, and is it possible to overcome. There’s also still a great deal of stigma attached to addiction – and there shouldn’t be. It’s time to set the facts straight. Addiction isn’t an automatic death sentence, as long as the addict gets treatment and works actively to manage his or her disease. Here’s the 411 on what it takes to beat addiction.

Yes, beat addiction.

Desire to Change

The motivating factor that leads most addicts into treatment is a genuine desire to change. They are tired of the downward spiral, the rapidly accumulating negative consequences that affect not only their own lives but those whom they love and care about. For some, it may take losing everything – their family, job, health, savings, home, friends, reputation, and social standing – before they’ll wake up and realize that they need to take responsibility for what’s happened to them because of their addiction. For others, just seeing how addiction is tearing up the family is enough to jump-start the desire to change.

But change doesn’t come easily to addicts – especially hard-core, long-term addicts for whom addiction has been a way of life for many years. Still, the desire to change can motivate even these individuals whom society has formerly written off as hopeless.

Addiction treatment experts say that treatment can be effective even if it isn’t voluntary. Some individuals are forced into a treatment program as a result of a court order, or because their family gave them an ultimatum, or initiated an intervention. The end result, in this case, is that the addict may find him or herself in treatment against their will. Just because they are required to go to treatment, however, doesn’t mean they cannot discover they have the desire to change. It doesn’t mean that they can’t change. Even if they relapse following treatment, they will have learned something. It may be that they’ll need to go to treatment again, even multiple times, before they finally get it, before they realize that they can manage their disease. They can learn to live a life that’s free of alcohol or drugs or other addictive behaviors.

Somewhere along the line, the desire to change has to spring up from within. It’s absolutely necessary to want to change in order to beat addiction – not just for a short period, to get the court or the family off the addict’s back, but forever.

Going into Treatment

Some people with addiction think they can “cure” themselves. First of all, there’s no cure that’s been discovered – yet – for addiction of any kind. There are some promising vaccines in various stages of development that may one day dramatically change addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and services. There are effective maintenance drugs for various addictions, and drugs that help those with co-occurring mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and other disorders.

Despite the hype of books or treatment promising a cure for alcoholism or any other kind of addiction, the simple truth is that the addict – the person with the addiction – is not the best judge of what’s effective, or even capable of deciding on his or her own how to change behavior to overcome addiction. Why is that? When a person is addicted to alcohol or drugs, over time their brains change. Damage done by alcohol and drugs is progressive and debilitating. Some brain damage results in loss of cognitive abilities, the ability to reason and learn and remember what happened yesterday or last week. Some brain damage results in paranoia, hallucinations, or precipitates or aggravates depression, anxiety, or other psychological problems.

Changes in the brain also make it impossible for the addict to resist the cravings to use. Their brain has become rewired, in a sense, and sends signals that it has to have the alcohol or drugs in order to survive. As soon as the addict tries to cut down or quit the drug of choice, within a short period of time, withdrawal sets in. Withdrawal symptoms can be mild to moderate to severe, depending on the type of substance, how long the addict has been using, how frequent the use, and other underlying conditions or contributing factors. Some individuals have a genetic predisposition to addiction. Any and all of these reasons make it virtually impossible for the addict to quit cold turkey – and stay sober.

The solution is treatment. Going into treatment isn’t a guarantee. Not everyone will emerge from the treatment program fully capable of managing his or her addiction right off the bat. As previously mentioned, some may need more counseling or to go back into treatment one or more times. But research shows that the longer individuals remain in treatment, the greater the likelihood that they will achieve a successful recovery.

Make the Most out of Treatment

Assuming that the individual makes the choice or is forced into treatment for addiction, what’s the best way to approach it? Research shows that fully committed individuals can navigate treatment by keeping the long view in mind. Naturally, some just want to get it over with so they can get back to their lives. They may not have an inkling of what treatment actually entails, yet. But they will. It’s good to look forward to the day when treatment concludes – the active phase of treatment, that is. When an addict is in recovery, they will always be in recovery. There will always be new things to learn, new strategies to adopt or adapt.

But, let’s get back to the issue of making the most out of treatment. That’s a positive, life-affirming choice that the individual makes. It may occur gradually, sometime after detoxification (the process of getting harmful substances out of the body that’s required before active treatment can begin), possibly during the middle of active treatment. At some point, the realization begins that life just may be more worthwhile, and that there is hope, there is a future – without alcohol or drugs.

Diving into the active treatment phase, what happens next depends on how engaged the individual is. The first step is learning about the disease of addiction. The individual will be assigned a counselor and will meet with a therapist for individual as well as group therapy. There will be educational discussions, lectures, programs. There are also therapies that are designed to elicit behavioral changes – to show the person that they can manage their disease by changing their behavior. This is called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and has proven very effective in helping addicts overcome their addiction.

Learning how to identify and recognize triggers to use, and learning and practicing coping skills to overcome cravings and urges is another important aspect of treatment that is vital to long-term sobriety. So, too, is the relapse prevention portion of active treatment.

There are many different therapy modalities that may be recommended. Each patient has a treatment plan that is personalized according to his or her unique needs. Ongoing supervision and reassessment result in modifications to the treatment program according to progress made – or lack of.

Treatment is also about attaining a balance of mind-body-spirit. There are times for recreation and leisure pursuits. There are other alternative treatment modalities including meditation, yoga, massage, and acupuncture. There may be art therapy, psychodrama, and equine therapy. Some past trauma victims who also have substance abuse may undergo eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), a form of psychotherapy that was designed to help patients resolve symptoms resulting from disturbing and/or unresolved life experiences.

Beating addiction gets a serious boost when the individual makes an intense effort to get the most out of treatment. Whether the treatment program is 30 days or 60 days or longer, the more involved the individual is, the more actively engaged in learning and practicing strategies and techniques that will help him or her in recovery, the better the chances that recovery will be sustainable.

Family Involvement is Key

One of the linchpins of successful recovery involves the family. When the addict has a supportive family, his or her chances increase for long-term sobriety. This doesn’t happen by accident, however. Even with the best intentions, family members can unwittingly sabotage their loved one’s abstinence upon return home. Besides maintaining a “clean” house, free of drugs and alcohol, there are other things that need to change before the loved one returns home. Behaviors and attitudes have to change.

Family members can’t be expected to figure this out by themselves. In fact, most can’t. Addiction is a family disease. Everyone in the family is affected by one member’s addiction. Just having the addict go through treatment without other family members getting help is counter-productive and will often lead to the addict relapsing shortly after treatment. There’s just too much emotional turmoil and chaos surrounding addiction that tears families apart. They need professional help just as much as the addict.

That’s why family therapy is offered as part of many residential addiction treatment programs. While the loved one is in treatment, family members attend family therapy on an individual and group basis. They learn about the disease of addiction and how they can support and encourage their loved one in recovery. This is especially beneficial for severely dysfunctional families, but all family members with an addicted loved one learn how they can help their family member in recovery.

But beating addiction involves more than just the desire to change, getting treatment, making the most out of treatment, and family members getting help.

Support Networks

Both the recovering addict and his or her family members need ongoing support. In the best circumstances, the addict and family members will begin and regularly go to 12-step support group meetings.

For the recovering addict, this is something that begins during active treatment. Upon completion of treatment, the therapists strongly recommend that 12-step group participation continue. The most well-known of the 12-step groups is Alcoholics Anonymous. Indeed, all other 12-step groups that followed have adopted and adapted the Alcoholics Anonymous philosophy, concept and 12-step format. There are 12-step groups for many substance addictions: Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, and Marijuana Anonymous. There are 12-step groups for other addictions as well, including gambling (Gamblers Anonymous), work (Workaholics Anonymous), eating (Overeaters Anonymous, Food Addicts Anonymous), spending (Debtors Anonymous), and sex (Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous).

Family members have their own 12-step groups. Al-Anon/Alateen is the family component group of Alcoholics Anonymous. Similarly, Gam-Anon is affiliated with Gamblers Anonymous and Nar-Anon (family component of Narcotics Anonymous). There’s Families Anonymous, a group formed to help family members hurt by a loved one’s addiction. Family groups for sex addiction include S-Anon Family Group (for family members of a person with some form of sexual addiction) and Codependents of Sex Addicts (COSA), for family members whose lives have been affected by another person’s compulsive sexual behavior.

Beating addiction, for the recovering addict, requires long-term support and encouragement. Besides the family, and for those who don’t have a supportive or any family, the 12-step groups fulfill this function. Unlike the family, however, 12-step groups are comprised of members who are also in recovery. They know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night with overwhelming cravings and urges, how a crisis can trigger a relapse, how getting run-down or overstressed can be the tipping point. Through sharing of personal stories and strategies that worked for them, these fellow 12-step group members, along with the individuals sponsor, can serve as a lifeline in times of need. Beyond that, they’re always available for support and encouragement. Many long-term friendships develop as a result of participation in 12-step meetings.

The person in recovery is advised to continue his or her participation in these fellowship meetings for a period of 3 to 5 years. The first 90 days of recovery is the most critical, however. This is the time when the individual is most vulnerable. He or she is fresh out of treatment and trying to get acclimated to a new lifestyle that’s free of drugs or alcohol or other addictive behavior. Sometimes, it’s just too much. They are confused, frightened, uncertain what to do, or feel themselves ready to slip. Talking with others who’ve been in the same position and overcome such urges helps. Just having someone to listen is often enough. Getting past the 20 minutes most urges last is something that requires practice. What works for someone else may just work for the newcomer to recovery. At the very least, the recovering addict learns something invaluable in the process of attending 12-step meetings: he or she learns that it is possible to beat addiction. The sense of community, of helping others, is a big step the individual takes in the journey toward long-term sobriety.

Goal-Setting

Of course, getting clean and staying clean also means that the person in recovery has something to look forward to, including some tangible goals to achieve. The only way this can happen is if the recovering addict creates a recovery plan. This generally begins during the final phase of active treatment, shortly before the program concludes.

A recovery plan is a living document, one that’s constantly changing and evolving. It’s not just written down to satisfy an assignment with the therapist and then tossed aside and forgotten. To really beat addiction, the person in recovery needs to actively work the plan. This means revisiting the plan on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, refining what needs adjustment, eliminating goals that are no longer desirable, adding new ones as opportunities present themselves. Sometimes plans change dramatically. This often happens as one short-term goal is realized and it opens up new avenues that the individual wants to pursue. Taking a class at night school or in the pursuit of a degree may spark an interest in a new field. Spiritual enrichment may lead the person in recovery to want to travel, to help others in need, to dedicate his or her life to some cause or purpose for the greater good of mankind.

It could be that the individual has a goal of buying a house, reuniting with the family, becoming financially stable, learning how to fly, or finding love with a prospective partner. Goals can be anything the individual wants and feels motivated to achieve. It doesn’t matter what they are, only that there are goals – and a plan to work in order to achieve them.

Goal-setting has another benefit in beating addiction. When a person sets goals, and starts the hard work of achieving them, it gives the individual hope. When you can see that what you do makes a difference, and that you can set your goals and make progress toward reaching them, your horizons expand. You begin to see that anything is possible. You begin to feel the first glimmers of hope. Eventually, you just have it. When you can hope and dream and make those dreams a reality in recovery, there’s every likelihood that you’ve got what it takes to beat addiction – for good.

Now, go live.