When it comes to addiction, it’s unusual to hear someone wanting to get sober. For one, many are in denial or are totally unaware that they are addicted. And although there are those who would say that they want to stop their drug or drinking habit, it’s rare for one to do so and succeed in the long run, especially if they have been addicted for a long time.
Mostly, people who have been dependent on drug or alcohol can’t find it within them to be sober. In fact, they may even be scared. The idea of leaving behind the life they know is frightening.
Let’s take a look why people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol are afraid to quit and get sober for good.
1. They might hate it. People who haven’t been into rehab are afraid because they don’t know what awaits them. And it’s natural to fear the unknown. So they think of worst-case scenarios as a sort of defense mechanism just so they have an excuse to not do it. Many people already have an assumption of what awaits them in rehab or in sobriety per se long before they even try it.
2. They think life will be boring. People who use drugs and alcohol may look like sober, straight-edge people and feel pity for them so they have no motivation to quit. They automatically think that sober people are squares and have nothing fun to do with their lives. This is because all the fun they know happen because they’re drinking or high on drugs. They know nothing else. Contrary to that, a sober life can be the most fun, most rewarding experience anyone can have.
3. What if I fail? This is a common misconception of people who are afraid to get sober or go to rehab. Getting sober means changing your lifestyle and even starting from scratch. And with so much at stake, the fear of failing grown exponentially. However, the truth is this: You can’t fail at sobriety, you can only keep trying and growing.
4. What is life without drugs or alcohol? They are so used to their lifestyle of intoxication that they don’t know what to be or who to be when they are suddenly without it. They closely link their identity, their happiness, their life, to being high or drunk, because the compulsion for their drug of choice has taken over everything else.
5. They are scared to face pain. They have escaped reality and the pain that goes with it–that’s why they used drugs or alcohol in the first place. And to quit is not really an option. These substances have provided them an effective, albeit temporary, relief from conflict, problems, and stresses. They are scared of sobriety because not only will they face the troubles that they’ve been running away from all this time, the pain of withdrawal can also be physically excruciating.
6. They don’t have a problem. Another reason they don’t want to enter rehab or even try going easy on their drinking or using is that they don’t think they have a problem. They don’t think that there’s anything wrong with having “fun” or “unwinding” even if those are done on a regular basis and at the expense of their family, career, and health.
7. They don’t want to be “the only one.” These days, smoking, doing drugs, attending raves with E, and heaven-knows-what seems commonplace and normal, thanks to media. Therefore, they don’t want to be sober because if that’s the case, then they’d be the only one not drinking in a crowd, the only one now smoking or getting high among their friends–and they don’t want to be left out.
8. Rehab isn’t for them. They think that they’re different from other people, like those they see in the news. They believe that they have their lives together when in fact things are slowly falling apart but he’s just too intoxicated to notice. And so, the idea of being sober isn’t “for them.” They even believe that they can change on their own.
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