Why Can’t People With Substance Addictions Just Quit On Their Own?

You may have noticed that you have an issue with addiction. It could be affecting certain parts of your life, such as your career and relationships. It’s gotten so bad that you would like to quit and repair your life. It’s likely that you weren’t an addict from the beginning, even though it’s a disease that’s often genetic. At the time, your addiction felt like something fun that you could quit at any time.

Now, it’s become so difficult that it’s caused chaos in your life. Most addicts are shocked at how hard it is to quit. You may be wondering why you can’t leave your life of addiction behind and if it’s even possible. This article will provide some of the reasons why it’s so hard to overcome addiction. It will also address some of the common issues you may face and strategies that can help you succeed.

Why It’s So Hard To Go It Alone

There’s a reason why it’s so hard to quit. Addiction takes place in the frontal cortex of the brain, which leads to impaired judgment and impulse decisions. It wires the brain to constantly look for ways to feed its hunger or craving for drugs or other unhealthy behaviors. Despite the negative outcomes, the brain feels that it will get a temporary fix for these experiences. This feeling alone can make it difficult to quit on your own. Thankfully, most addictions can be treated with professional help. Addiction is never cured but it becomes easier with the right treatment plan and resources. While there are so many obstacles stacked up against addicts, the right treatment plan can guide them through the process of quitting.

Common Problems With Quitting

When your addictive personality causes problems, it can cause conflict with the other parts of your life. Even if you vow to quit and experience the withdrawal phase, these problems won’t get away on their own. Plus, quitting isn’t the only solution to your problem. You should speak to a qualified counselor who can set you on the path to sobriety. Most depend on their addictions to help them cope with life stressors. When you quit, you realize that you have no other coping mechanisms. That’s why it’s so important to have a support system and healthy ways of coping before quitting. Outlets like exercise, gardening, and journaling can all help. Also, a therapist or qualified counselor can help you overcome these problems.

The Road to Tolerance

It’s going to be harder to quit if addicts don’t develop tolerance or experience withdrawal. These are the two most important factors of addiction. Tolerance is the ability to deal with something that’s difficult, painful, or unpleasant, or to continue despite the negative outcomes. For example, an addict will build up a tolerance against withdrawals. Without going through the withdrawals, they might find it harder to quit.

Tolerance and withdrawals are both emotional and physical processes that occur in the brain. The more that the addiction is repeated, the less response you have to it, and the more you will need to achieve that hit. Drugs create a psychological response on certain parts of the brain. The type of addiction depends on the type of response. For example, gambling or sexual addictions can cause an extreme high that can decrease over time. Tolerance causes you to need more of the behavior or drug to get that desired effect again. Your sober journey doesn’t start and end with quitting. Your brain needs to rewire itself and learn new coping mechanisms.

It also needs time to process the emotions and rebuild the responses that changed from when you were addicted. This time can be intense with the cravings and withdrawals you may experience. You need ongoing recovery and support by avoiding the people, places, and situations that can cause triggers and possible relapses. Ready to get started on your journey from addiction? Contact us today at 833-497-3808.