There is no way to overcome the power of addiction without doing work. Addiction is a strong force that has its way with even the strongest and most resilient type of person. In order to beat addiction, a person has to be willing to accept two things. First, that having good mental health is a skill that one must develop, and second, that it is undeveloped within them and they need to do conscious work on their thoughts and behaviors in order to attain it. Beginning a rehab program without the willingness to accept these two facts will lead to frustration and fruitless efforts.

It is a given that anyone who is addicted is mentally unhealthy. Addiction is its own type of mental disorder. Good mental health does not allow for a person to immerse themselves in compulsive behavior and escape from reality constantly. One would think this is an obvious reality to accept. However, getting an addict to accept this is difficult, for a number of reasons. Denial is very typical of addiction. Addicts do not want to be addicted, and most of them are ashamed to be addicted, so they try to conceal this fact. Sometimes, they legitimately see nothing wrong in what they are doing so they deny that they have a problem. Others do not even believe that mental health is an actual reality. This is a mindset that some have held for millenniums. Physical health matters have always been considered to be more “legitimate” conditions than mental health conditions.

Once an addict has made peace with the fact that they are an addict and they will only beat their addiction through a step by step approach to good mental health, they can begin to recover from their addiction. Whether they have checked into rehab, are going to a support group, are receiving counseling or are simply participating in self help measures, they are doing work to move themselves forward. Do not be discouraged by the work involved in addiction recovery. Work is always necessary to personal growth.