Addiction and Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a Utopic, idealist state of mind that hopes ever for the best and best, the most perfect, the highest of the mightiest, and the striving towards something that will be considered the perfect scenario.  When addiction and perfectionism is in the mind of an addict, things can get quite ugly very quickly.  Substance abuse puts a condition on a person that is anything but perfect.  In fact, substance abuse outlines a lifestyle that is very far off from perfection and that in fact supports a very imperfect way of living that borders on death and destruction.  When someone is a perfectionist and then becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, the effect can be quite devastating.

Drug and alcohol addiction has many different effects on many different people.  Substance abuse, in general, has become a bigger problem than it ever was with devastating consequences all across the nation.  In fact, since the turn of the century, substance abuse has risen steadily in popularity and prevalence.

The effects of the increases in drug and alcohol addiction have not been pretty.  In fact, they’ve been very grim and dangerous.  As compared to the status quo prior to the turn of the century, substance abuse is on a whole new level in the United States.  True enough, the statistics alone show the nature of the beast.  Currently, there are about twenty-five million Americans who are addicted to drugs and alcohol in the United States, a number that has more than doubled in less than two decades and which increases dramatically every single year.  Roughly half a million become addicted every year to drugs and alcohol, but only about two-hundred thousand beat their addictions every year.

Currently, about eighty to one-hundred thousand Americans die from drug and alcohol abuse every single year.  This is the highest death toll ever experienced by such substances in the U.S.  Substance abuse as an activity costs the nation about six-hundred billion every year, making it one of the most expensive problems that we have.  Furthermore, substance abuse as a crisis has a terrible effect on many who are not addicted.  The family members and loved ones of an addict experience great trouble and unhappiness because of addiction.  They suffer greatly at the hands of their addicted loved one, and studies show that about one out of every three American families have an addict within the extended family, and about one out of every eight American families has an addict within the immediate family.

Substance Abuse, Addiction and Perfectionism

A perfectionist seeks to be and act perfectly in everything.  A perfectionist tries to attain the absolute of perfection, the top ability, and skill that is available.  A perfectionist really does try to make it go right in the best way imaginable.  But when addiction and perfectionism are combined, that is not exactly possible.  What ends up happening instead is the perfectionist ends up simply trying to be perfect in all of his or her endeavors while also being addicted to drugs and alcohol.  Sadly enough, the person wrongly thinks that he or she can just go on using drugs and alcohol willy-nilly with no adverse consequences or reactions.  This is a very false idea, and it will end badly too.

Approaching a Dangerous Addiction

The key for any perfectionist lies in not being perfect in life while coping with an addiction, but rather in being perfect in beating addiction.  Any such individual’s attention must be directed and changed and brought to bear on the concept that one can change, that one can get better, that positive adjustments can be made, that a better future is attainable, and that a good life can be lived for all, minus substance abuse and addiction.  This is the idea that such persons must be given, and they have to get that idea soon too before it is too late.

Anyone who is addicted to drugs and alcohol needs to make their main focus on beating their addiction habit and on coming out the other side, on the top, clean and sober, and ready to tackle life anew and with a reinforced idea that they too can be successful and happy in life and in livingness in general.  Only with the pursuance of inpatient, residential, drug and alcohol addiction and dependence treatment centers, detox facilities, rehab programs, and recovery organizations is this truly possible, though, and such individuals will not know freedom from addiction until they pursue such programs.

Why Rehabilitation is So Necessary

Anyone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol needs to go to rehab to beat their substance abuse problem. That is the long and short of it, including someone suffering from addiction and perfectionism. There’s no way of getting around it.  This is a crisis issue that will only worsen as time goes by, and if nothing is done about it then it will definitely get much, much worse long before it ever gets any better.

To better understand just how prevalent addiction is and why it is so key that people address their problems, some facts and statistics have been listed below:

• Alcohol abuse has the greatest negative impact on college-level school performance by far, whether it is in community colleges or four-year universities. Alcohol abuse is tied to lower grades, poor attendance, and truancy, and increases in college dropout rates in a big way.  In fact, college students who use alcohol are more than five times as likely as their non-drinking counterparts to drop out of college.
• The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), which is now known as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) revealed to us that as rates of alcohol use by students of the ages of 12 to 17 increase, grade point averages decrease conversely.  Additionally, middle school students whose peer groups don’t use alcohol or other drugs score much, much higher on state reading and math tests than those whose peer groups use alcohol or other drugs.
• In the year of 2015, there was an estimated 119.0 million Americans of the age of 12 or older who used and abused prescription psychotherapeutic drugs in the past year from when the survey was done, representing no less than a full 44.5 percent of the population. About 97.5 million people used pain relievers, (36.4 percent), 39.3 million used tranquilizers (14.7 percent), 17.2 million used stimulants (6.4 percent), and 18.6 million used sedatives (6.9 percent).  What we can see from this is that prescription drug use is incredibly prevalent and rampant in the nation.

Help for Addiction and Perfectionism

Perfectionism is not a bad trait to have.  In fact, some of the most productive, steadfast, hardworking, and capable individuals are perfectionists.  Their skill and their dedication show in the positive effects that they have, and their ability to make a good change in their lives and the lives of those around them is unmatched.  However, when addiction and perfectionism are combined, the situation is quite a different one.  If an addict lets his or her perfectionism prevent him or her from going to rehab, then the situation is a very dire one, to say the least, and the perfectionism is no longer beneficial, rather it is quite harmful.

No one who is addicted to drugs or alcohol has any excuse for not going to rehab.  There is simply nothing positive to say in anyone’s, “defense”, about not going to rehab.  It doesn’t work that way and it never has.  In fact, substance abuse and addiction is a highly deadly and life-threatening affliction and will probably take one’s life if he or she does not do something about it.  Perfectionism or no perfectionism, beating addiction through rehabilitation is an absolute must.

For more information on addiction and perfectionism, or just on addiction treatment in general, contact New Beginnings toll-free today.