When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, he or she is often reluctant to admit to the addiction, and many offer excuse after excuse regarding use. Addicts manipulate what they say, trying to shift attention away from their addiction and drug or alcohol use, and keeping family and friends in an enabling position.
Here are seven things only addicts say when it comes to their addiction.
I Can Control It
If you talk about your drug use or drinking and told someone not to worry because you can control it, chances are you have a problem. People who aren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol have no need to control their use, because their use is not out of control, nor does it ever become out of control. If you feel like you have to manage your drinking or drug use, then most likely, you’re addicted.
I Can Stop Anytime I Want
If someone tells you this, ask, “How about right now?” and see if they’re really ready. These excuses are just a way for the addict to convince himself that his use is a choice, not a necessity. No one wants to be under the control of something, especially drugs or alcohol, so by saying they can stop, they feel like they’re in control and continue to remain in denial.
Stay Out of It, It’s My Life
When you’re addicted, you feel alone and isolated. This leads to thinking that you’re the only person impacted by your drug use, but that’s far from the truth. Addiction impacts more than just the addict, his or her friends, family, and coworkers are all hurt through the lies and manipulation that go hand in hand with addiction.
I Was Only Going to Have a Few
What separates the addict from those who use recreationally is often the ability not to stop. Once he starts drinking or using, he doesn’t stop until he can’t go any more, whether that’s when he passes out or runs out of drugs. Every time he picks up, he becomes inebriated, and can never have only a few.
Never Again
When the addict or alcoholic gets caught in a situation, they often say that they’ll never use again, but still don’t get into treatment. While people have stopped using drugs or alcohol on their own, it rarely works. To overcome addiction, you must do more than stop using. Thinking patterns need to change. Coping skills need developed. Refusal skills and recognition of triggers and warning signs are all necessary to remain sober and embrace a life of recovery.
It’s Your Fault
At the heart of addiction is manipulation, and one of the primary ways in manifests in the addict is through blame shifting. Unable to admit to addiction and take accountability, their behavior becomes someone’s responsibility, and they blame consequences on anyone but themselves.
Now’s Not the Right Time
Once an addict or alcoholic realizes she has a problem, she may create barriers to her own recovery and procrastination is one of the most common. She may want to wait until the weather’s better, until a big project is done at work, until after Christmas, or once there’s more money in the bank. But the perfect time to go into treatment is right now, not once everything is in place, because that time will never come. If you need treatment, go now.