Fact or Fiction: Test Your Addiction IQ

Much of the medical understanding of addiction has developed in the past few decades. How well can you separate myths about addicts and addiction from the truth? Try answering the 10 questions below and check your responses with the answers at the end of the article.

1. T or F? Therapy is currently the only available treatment for addiction.

2. T or F? The children of alcoholics are less likely to marry alcoholics than the general population.

3. T or F? Treatment can be effective even when an addict does not want it.

4. T or F? Addiction continues when an addict lacks willpower.

5. T or F? If an addict really wants to get rid of an addiction, the best way to do it is by stopping “cold turkey.”

6. T or F? It takes years to become addicted to a substance.

7. T or F? Short-term treatment programs are less successful than long-term programs.

8. T or F? Anyone who tries marijuana will become addicted to it.

9. T or F? Vicodin abuse can cause deafness.

10. T or F? An addict must hit rock bottom before they will enter or appreciate treatment.

Answers

1. T or F? Therapy is currently the only available treatment for addiction.

False. While therapy is an important component of treatment for addiction, other options exist, including psychopharmacology. For example, a physician may treat dependence on opiates with Methadone or Suboxone, and many other treatments exist or are in development.

2. T or F? The children of alcoholics are less likely to marry alcoholics than the general population.

False. The children of alcoholics are actually more likely to marry alcoholics than their counterparts who were raised in a home where substance abuse was not a problem. To learn more about why this happens, read Repeating the Past: Marrying an Alcoholic.

3. T or F? Treatment can be effective even when an addict does not want it.

True. Although it definitely helps to have the addict “on board,” treatment can still be effective if the addict is resistant. As a result of the nature of the disease, many addicts do not have insight into the fact that they have a problem; in these situations, the addict’s only hope may be the loving, firm persuasion of family and friends to go through with treatment even against their personal wishes.

4. T or F? Addiction continues when an addict lacks willpower.

False. Addiction involves two medical concepts: tolerance and dependence. Dependence, in particular, is problematic because the body is no longer able to function without the presence of the substance.

5. T or F? If an addict really wants to get rid of an addiction, the best way to do it is by stopping “cold turkey.”

False. In fact, stopping “cold turkey” is an extremely dangerous way to begin a path to recovery. Withdrawal from certain substances like alcohol can lead to seizures and other serious medical conditions. The safest way to stop using a substance is to start with a medically monitored detox process.

6. T or F? It takes years to become addicted to a substance.

False. Some substances can lead to addiction very quickly – after only a few uses.

7. T or F? Short-term treatment programs are less successful than long-term programs.

True. Research indicates that short-term treatment programs do not have rates of success as high as those of long-term programs. This is especially true in the case of addiction to opiates or opioids such as heroin, Vicodin, and Oxycontin.

8. T or F? Anyone who tries marijuana will become addicted to it.

False. In the same way that many people can drink alcohol without developing alcoholism, not everyone who tries or abuses marijuana will become addicted to it. However, abuse frequently precedes addiction, so being concerned about someone who is misusing any substance is not out of place.

9. T or F? Vicodin abuse can cause deafness.

True. Although the potential side effects vary by individual, amount, and length of use, some Vicodin users have experienced mild to permanent hearing loss.

10. T or F? An addict must hit rock bottom before they will enter or appreciate treatment.

False. There is no formula for determining when addicts as a group should begin treatment. They can begin recovery at any stage of addiction. Because some individuals do not have insight into their disease and cannot be physically forced to enter treatment, they do need to reach rock bottom first. However, many addicts realize that they have a problem, and it is best for family and friends to intervene as early as possible and offer them an alternative to dependence on the substance – before the substance becomes increasingly more of a priority and replaces people and activities that they once valued.