What Is Drug Addiction?
It’s common for the uneducated to classify drug addiction as a lack of discipline, morals, or will power. These uneducated people often feel like the addict should just be able to stop if they really wanted to. We think it’s safe to say that most drug addicts, at some point in their “using careers”, wanted to quit and stay quit, but they couldn’t. This is the essence of the problem.
What is it that is driving an addict to keep using drugs, despite the compounding consequences, the hurt loved ones, and their lost sense of direction? Simply put, they are sick.
Addiction is not a moral issue. Drug addiction (substance use disorder) is a medically classified illness just like depression, anxiety disorder, multiple personality disorder and the like. We are sick people, not bad people.
Our approach to treating drug addiction as an illness rather than an issue of will power, isn’t a cop out. Once someone has learned about the true nature of their illness as an addict, it becomes their responsibility to do what is necessary to treat that illness. That’s what we do here at Discovery Place. We find out what’s wrong with us and what to do about it.
