Recover Yourself.

That’s a great question. Unfortunately, there is no way to properly answer it for you.

Let me explain. First, the definition (2019) according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine:

Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. 

Prevention efforts and treatment approaches for addiction are generally as successful as those for other chronic diseases. 

Reading through the definition yourself it’s easy to see they don’t really have a mechanism or a crisp explanation either. Fundamentally, addiction is a process. If you do something over and over it can become automatic. If you stop, then the automatic loop is abandoned while you’re stopped. If someone drinks alcohol (for example) until they have a compulsion to drink, but then they stop for a long time, are they an alcoholic?

I don’t want to pick a bone with the establishment over definitions. There are a lot of research dollars riding on saying the habit of using substances is a medical problem. We’re all working toward a common goal of helping people live better lives.

For myself, I did not find helpful thinking I was powerlessness over whether or not I drank or used drugs. Sometimes after stopping, I’d have a powerful urge to take a drink or use a drug. I am in control and I am responsible for drinking or not drinking. People with most conditions we’d call a “disease” can’t simply decide not to have it.

And finally, the success rates for the overwhelming bulk of treatment are shockingly low. Sadly, they are not “generally as successful” as treatment for say, diabetes.

No. Rehab statistics are very hard to come by. Anne Fletcher’s expose, Inside Rehab, on the treatment industry will open your eyes. Most customers of rehab relapse to substance dependence within days of discharge.

One study of methadone clinic patients found they preferred spiritual-based recovery to regular addiction treatment. A Christian sobriety group called Celebrate Recovery claims over 35,000 churches worldwide use its program. This dwarfs the number of treatment facilities at around twenty thousand.

Besides treatment programs, medication assisted therapy (MAT) is widely used for opioid dependence. Most interesting though is the spontaneous quit rate. Every year around 3% of substance users, or over two million individuals in the US, simply quit. VHAB is designed for substance users to evaluate, and if they wish, to change their habits.

No. We don’t take a position on whether stopping (abstinence) is right for you. VHAB aims to provide tools (education, community and personal habit tracking) so you can decide for yourself the role you want alcohol and drugs to play in your life.

I will say this, you can only accurately make that decision if you are honest with yourself. If you tell it like it is, you’’ll get back good data upon which to base your own decision. We won’t tell you to stop because we can’t know your particular situation. We will help you see your habits – and their effects – more clearly.

VHAB is designed by Dr. Jason Giles, MD, a practicing addiction doctor who’s been sober over twenty years. With that said, VHAB is a non-medical habit change platform. As you know, tolerance and physical dependence can accompany long-term substance use. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and stopping abruptly may be risky. Risks including injury or even death. Only if you are able to stop without physical or mental problems, and if you have any concerns that have been addressed by your doctor, should you undertake the VHAB program.

General information about the typical course of stopping various habitual chemicals (substances) is provided in the educational material within VHAB. None of the contents should be construed as medical advice to you or to anyone. Nevertheless, many find themselves able to cut back or stop and they are simple seeking additional information about common withdrawal symptoms. These are discussed in the User’s Manual within VHAB.

The most important part of stopping or cutting back is the decision to do so. Without it, you can never make substantial progress. While many come to VHAB with an aim to reduce their substance intake, many also decide they don’t want drugs or alcohol in their lives at all. A decision to stop, followed through, and backed up by the formation of new habits, is remarkably effective when coupled with community support. It’s worked for me for over two decades, though your mileage may vary ????

Since I don’t know your particular situation, who could say? I will note that many who pass through a period of significant substance use, and even dependence go on to drink & use responsibly. There are no ironclad rules. For me, it is entirely possible that after all this time I could drink or even use recreational substances like marijuana.

I’d be a fool to pretend there were not risks of reactivation of my old using habit-loops. Since I like my life the way it is, and I have no overwhelming compulsion or loss of control, I’d rather not risk it. I choose not to drink because the potential upside isn’t that great (I know what buzzed & drunk feel like). The downside is potentially grave.

What I tell people in my clinical practice is to give cutting back or abstinence (if that’s their aim) a try. Try it for a month or a few months. A weekend or a day off is too short a time span. After a few months, make an honest assessment. You’ll know pretty quickly if alcohol and/or drugs is something you want to keep or drop.

It’s pretty common for us to be less than totally truthful when we use substances to manage our feelings. When I was using IV narcotics, no way I was telling anyone what I was doing. To keep the secret double life going, promises are broken and we don’t tell the whole story.

The way back to people trusting you is to have your actions match your words. It takes time for us to lose the trust and respect of others. It also takes time to recover that trust. One way to slow your return to trustworthy status is to run around begging people to trust you. Stick with the plan and do what you say and trust will return.

You can stay with us as long as you like. It’s on me and the team to keep making a platform that is helpful to you on your journey. Back when I first decided to leave substances behind, I wanted to put the whole embarrassing episode in the past and shut the door.

In time, I stopped trying to have a different history. I started to look at my experience, realizing it my ignorance and mistakes could help others. I asked the same question: “how long?”  My mentors told me, ‘you have to stay until you want to’. I was confused, but now I think I understand. For lasting change, the new habits have to become second nature. We waste a lot of time and money on short-term, intensive treatment when change happens gradually.

The short answer is you should stay until you feel like you’ve changed as much as you want to. If you want an amazing experience, stay a little longer and lead the way for others just like you.

You can do whatever you like; it’s a free country. VHAB won’t tell you to stop. We only suggest you take an honest look at the effect of substances on your quality of life.