The American Society of Addiction Medicine describes addiction as a “Primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circutry.” Yet in a society where addiction is often seen as a choice, or lack of willpower, it is fundamentally important for both loved ones and addicts to acknowledge that addiction is not the result of a choice, or a situation, problem, or health issue.
Addiction is a chronic disease in which drug seeking and use is compulsive, regardless of harmful consequences. This complex disease requires an understanding of the impact of drugs on the brain in order for addicts to truly recover from addiction.
If you are concerned about your own health, or a loved ones, it’s important to recognize the fundamental truths of addiction:
1) Addiction is progressive – it does not go away, and unaddressed, it will get worse.
2) Addiction is chronic – there is no cure, but addiction can be managed.
3) Addiction is fatal – without properly addressing drug use and seeking health, addiction is ultimately a life ending disease.
While breaking addiction is difficult – it is completely possible. RESTORE relies on the 12 Step Program, and it’s Addiction Recovery Homes to help empower addicts to break the cycle of addiction.
Training our Volunteers
RESTORE utilizes a 12 step program in training our volunteers. It’s important that each person who works alongside our team understand the nature of addiction, and how we rely upon God’s transformation to break the bondage of addiction.
Additional Resources
The decision to break addiction is not made overnight. Addicts must hit “rock bottom” in order for them to want to move forward onto the path of recovery. On their way to the bottom, their addiction brings turmoil not just to their own lives, but to the lives of those who love them most.
RESTORE has compiled the following useful resources for loved ones and addicts alike to help through the difficult seasons they walk through before recovery begins. While it may seem hopeless, take heart, hope is not lost.
“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:15-16
Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong.
By: Johann Hari
Author of two “New York Times” best-selling books
What really causes addiction — to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way. As he shares in this deeply personal talk, his questions took him around the world, and unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.
Narcotics Anonymous Resources
Narcotics Anonymous, founded in 1953, describes itself as a “nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem”. Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied substance use disorders and is the second-largest 12-step organization.
Alcoholics Anonymous Resources
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid fellowship with the stated purpose of enabling its members to “stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.” AA is nonprofessional, non-denominational, self-supporting, and apolitical. Its only membership requirement is a desire to stop drinking.
Additional Educational Resources
The following recommended books can be fantastic resources for loved ones whose family members are walking through addiction.
