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Road to Recovery

Mistaken Belief #1

Mistaken Belief #2

Mistaken Belief #3

Mistaken Belief #4

Mistaken Belief #5

Mistaken Belief #6

Mistaken Belief #7

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Mistaken Belief #17

 By: Terry Gorski with additions by: Lee Jamison

A MISTAKEN BELIEF IS SOMETHING THAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE TRUE AND ACT AS IF IT WERE TRUE WHEN, IN FACT, IT IS FALSE.

Mistaken Belief #7: Relapse can be avoided by willpower and self-discipline.

Fact: Self-discipline and willpower alone will not prevent relapse. Relapse is the process by which an addicted person returns to their problematic old behavior. This relapse process can lead to alcohol or drug use. Alcohol or drug use happens because there is something missing in the recovery program. There are problems or conditions that are not being effectively managed or treated. There is something the recovering person needs to do, or needs to learn, or needs to stop doing. Without appropriate treatment and an effective sobriety program, self-discipline and willpower will not help.

Willpower alone does not prevent relapse with chemical dependency any more than it prevents relapse for a diabetic, a heart patient, or an arthritic. Chronic diseases require behaviors that keep symptoms under control. Chemical Dependency is a chronic disease. Attempting to prevent relapse by willpower only increases stress that intensifies the pain and problems that can lead to the progression of the relapse warning signs.

Recovering persons who think relapse can be prevented by willpower will try to “tough it out” when problems hit. They will believe they need to go it alone. The tendency will be to blame themselves for being weak rather than to acknowledge that they need special help. As a result they will not get the help that they need. 

Jack grew up believing that he could accomplish anything if he tried hard enough. He was always a high achiever, making good grades in school and excelling in sports. He became a successful salesman and was able to achieve high sales in spite of his drinking. When he developed alcoholic hepatitis, his doctor told him that he had to quit drinking. With the help of AA he did and he made a firm commitment to sobriety. It was not uncommon to hear Jack say, “Now that I know that drinking could kill me, I will never drink again.”

But Jack did not know anything about sobriety-based symptoms so he did not know what was happening when he began overreacting to what was going on around him. He became so stressed that sometimes he was barely able to work. His sales performance was worse when he was drinking. Out of desperation he drank. He felt very guilty, sobered up, and resolved that it would never happen again. His resolve was sincere, but after a period of time he began experiencing the same sobriety-based symptoms and ultimately he drank again. By willpower, he was able to keep himself sober for a period of time, but relapsed so often that he was termed a binge drinker. He was really a relapse-prone alcoholic who believed that willpower could keep him sober.