There are almost countless statistics about addiction and its effects on people. There are statistics and charts about every drug, alcohol, treatment types, treatment effectiveness, the list just goes on and on. With all of these numbers and facts tossed around so frequently, it’s not uncommon for people to lose sight of the fact that the people who are at the root of those statistics, the people actually fighting it every day, often struggle to come out from under that weight.
When a person learns that another person in their life has an addiction, to many people, their loved one or coworker or friend is simply lumped into a group with other people struggling with the same addiction. They automatically assume that what’s true for other addicts must be true for their friend when the fact is, addiction affects people in incredibly different ways. People are extremely unique, even if they share some of the same traits or habits as others, and so it only makes sense that the way they cope with and battle the disease is unique too. Statistics are all about numbers that are the same, and grouping them together. People are different, and not everyone will do the same things during their addiction. Assuming your loved one or friend will behave in all of the same exact ways as another addict can be extremely detrimental to the relationship you have with them, because generally, if you expect someone to behave poorly, they will.
People are just that: people. Every single number attached to every statistic we’ve ever mapped out regarding drug or alcohol addiction involves someone somewhere who has either struggled with, recovered from or lost their life to addiction. It’s an addicted person family or friends who have had to deal with the aftermath. It could be your child, your parent, your spouse, or it could be you. It can be easy to lose sight of that when you’re staring down statistic after statistic, and that’s one of the dangers of addiction. It encourages us, in a way, to stop seeing these people as people and just start seeing them as a number to be filed away with all of the others.
People struggle with and recover from addiction differently. What we can learn from the various statistics we take from addiction and the people who suffer from it is extremely valuable, but it’s important to remember that there are people behind all of the numbers and information we always see. The Springboard Center has people who truly care about your well being over just adding another patient to their roster. They tailor fit both inpatient and outpatient programs to what your needs truly are, setting you up for a successful, well-rounded recovery. Make the call today: 432-620-0255.
