Natural Recovery: Recovery from Addiction Without Treatment
A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP, Kaushik Misra, Ph.D., Amy K. Epner, Ph.D., and Galen Morgan Cooper, Ph.D. , edited by C. E. Zupanick, Psy.D.The most common approach to recovery is natural recovery. Natural recovery is recovery that occurs without treatment or support groups (NIAAA, 2012). When people recognize the cost of their addiction exceeds the benefits, and correct this, they become the "heroes" of addiction recovery. We don't hear about these folks too often. However, we can learn a great deal from them. Specifically, there four key ingredients in any successful recovery process. These are 1) humility, 2) motivation, 3) sustained effort and 4) the restoration of meaning and purpose. We will discuss each in more detail.
Four key ingredients to recovery from addiction
1. Humility
At the most basic level, recovery is about humility. Some people independently solve their addiction problem (natural recovery). Others ask for help. In both cases, it is a humbling experience to face the reality of addiction. This humility extends to treatment professionals as well. To quote the famous French surgeon, Ambroise Pare (c. 1510-1590), "I bandaged him and God healed him." Treatment professionals can point the way. However, each person's recovery is ultimately a personal triumph and victory.
Professional treatment for addiction is really the path of last resort. Think about it for a moment. At its most basic level, treatment involves asking for help. Ordinarily, we don't ask for help until faced with the realization we need some! An analogy might make this more sensible. Suppose you want to drive your car to an unfamiliar location. Perhaps you never visited this destination before. Do you immediately drive to a gas station and ask for directions? Or, do you first attempt to navigate there on your own?
Until we realize we are lost, we do not consider pulling over and asking for directions. Of course, different people will arrive at this conclusion more quickly than others. Some people are fiercely independent. The notion of asking for help is akin to admitting defeat. Other people are more prone to pull over and ask for directions at the first hint of trouble. The same is true with recovery from addiction. By the time people come in for treatment, they have usually attempted to recover on their own. They've reached their own individual tolerance level for "being lost" and decided they could use some "navigational" help.
Treatment is a type of navigational help. Let's continue with our previous example. When we pull over and ask for directions, we don't expect someone to jump into our car and drive us to our destination! Sure, we've asked for help. Hopefully, we received some helpful directions. Nonetheless, we still have to drive ourselves to the desired location. This is true of addictions recovery. Ultimately, everyone must drive themselves down the road to recovery. Therefore, even with "navigational help," recovery still involves natural recovery.
But wait, you say. Does natural recovery mean that people addicted to heroin or alcohol stopped on their own? Are there are more of these "natural recovery" folks than people who successfully complete addictions treatment? Yes and Yes. Heroin use is a classic example. Many Vietnam veterans were addicted to heroin when they returned home. Public health officials were quite concerned about this. What would happen to the government's financial resources if all these heroin-using veterans sought treatment? What if they didn't seek treatment? Would there be a devastating surge in heroin use? None of these outcomes occurred. Most heroin-using veterans simply quit on their own (Robins, 1973). How did they do it? The short answer is natural recovery. Of course, not all veterans fully recovered. Some developed other addictions when they gave up heroin. Others only partially gave up heroin. However, in general, natural recovery occurred for most.
Smoking is a more familiar example. If you have been around since the 1960s or 1970s, you own experience will confirm the following facts. Tens of millions of Americans have quit smoking. Very few of them sought treatment or attended a support group. How many rehabs are you aware of for quitting smoking? If quitting smoking were easy, these results would not surprise us. Most people recognize that quitting smoking is quite difficult. Yet almost everyone who quits smoking does this without specialized help or treatment. It may take a handful of serious attempts in order to finally succeed.
A similar result has been found for alcohol (NIAAA, 2012). Most individuals who stopped or reduced their alcohol use have done so on their own. Unless you are a student of addictions research, you might not know there are so many of these successful quitters and moderators. Indeed, it would be quite unusual to hear someone say, "I used to have a really bad drinking problem. You might have even called me an alcoholic. But you know, I just cleaned up my act on my own. Now I don't think about it much anymore." It's quite sensible that someone wouldn't advertise these facts about themselves. Unfortunately, this silence means most people are unaware of the ways people recover from addiction without help. Researchers became aware of this because of large-scale, federally-funded surveys.
Resources
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Articles
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What is Addiction?
- Introduction to What is An Addiction
- Definition of Addiction
- Definiton of Addiction Continued
- The Addiction Definition Compared to Other Addiction Terms
- How Do I Know if I Have An Addiction?
- Why Don't They Just Stop? Addiction and the Loss of Control
- Is Alcoholism a Disease?
- Addiction Statistics: How Big of a Problem Is It?
- A Brief History of Alcoholism
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What Causes Addiction?
- Introduction to Causes of Addiction
- The Many Causes of Addiction and Bio-Psych-Social-Spiritual Model
- Biological Causes of Addiction
- Disease Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Evolutionary Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Psychological Causes of Addiction
- Learning Theory of Addiction and Recovery Implications:
- Social Learning Theory of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Cognitive (Expectancy) Theory of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Educational Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Developmental Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Sociological Causes of Addiction and the Temperance Model
- General Systems Theory of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Sociocultural Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Public Health Model of Addiction and Recovery Implications
- Moral and Spiritual Causes of Addiction
- Addiction and Personal Responsibility: A Fundamental Conflict
- Personal Responsibility and Locus of Control
- Controversies in the Addiction Field: Change Versus Acceptance
- Conflict between 12-Step Anonymous Groups and Science: A Historical Perspective
- Conflict between 12-Step Anonymous Groups and Science Continued
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How Do You Get Addicted?
- Introduction to How Do You Get Addicted?
- The Biology of Addiction and Recovery
- How Does Addiction Affect the Brain?
- Addiction Changes the Brain's Chemistry
- Addiction Changes the Brain's Communication Pathways
- Addiction Changes Brain Structures and Their Functioning
- Impaired Decision-making, Impulsivity, and Compulsivity: Addictions' Effect on the Cerebral Cortex
- Drug Seeking and Cravings: Addictions' Effect on the Brain's Reward System
- Habit Formation, Craving, Withdrawal, and Relapse Triggers: Addictions' Effect on the Amygdala
- Stress Regulation and Withdrawal: Addictions' Effect on the Hypothalamus
- The Good News: The Brain Also Helps to Reverse Addiction
- The Psychology of Addiction and Recovery
- Learning Theory and Addiction
- Classical Conditioning and Addiction
- Operant Conditioning and Addiction
- Social Learning Theory and Addiction
- Cognitive Theory and Addiction (Thoughts, Beliefs, Expectations)
- Cognitive Theory and Addiction Continued
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Improving Coping Skills
- Addiction and Other Psychological Disorders
- Developmental Theory and Addiction
- Recovery from Addiction: The Psychology of Motivation and Change
- Addiction: Social and Cultural Influences
- Addiction and Sociological Influences: Culture and Ethnicity
- Recovery from Addiction: Becoming Aware of Cultural Influences
- Recovery from Addiction: The Powerful Influence of Families
- Recovery from Addiction: Social Support
- The Spirituality of Addiction & Recovery
- The Spirituality of Addiction & Recovery Continued
- Incorporating Spirituality into Recovery from Addiction
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Signs and Symptoms of Addiction
- How Do You Know If You Have An Addiction?
- The Diagnostic Criteria for Substance Use Disorders (Addiction)
- The Diagnostic Criteria of Substance-Induced Disorders
- Alcohol-Related Disorders
- Caffeine-Use Disorders
- Cannabis-Related Disorders (Marijuana)
- Hallucinogen-Related Disorders
- Inhalant-Related Disorders
- Opioid-Related Disorders (Heroin, Oxycontin®, Vicodin® and other pain medications)
- Sedative-, Hypnotic-, Or Anxiolytic-Related Disorders
- Stimulant Use Disorder: Amphetamine Type (e.g., methamphetamine)
- Tobacco-Related Disorders
- Other Substance-Related Diagnosis and Unspecified Other Substance-Related Disorder
- Activity Addictions (Behavioral Addictions)
- Gambling Disorder (Addiction)
- Sexual Addiction and Pornography Addiction
- Other Activity (or Behavioral) Addictions: Internet Gaming Disorder (Addiction)
- Other Activity (or Behavioral) Addictions: Food Addiction
- Addiction and Other Psychological Disorders
- Addiction and Eating Disorders
- Addiction and Personality Disorders
- Addiction with Depression, Anxiety, and Compulsive Disorders
- Summary of the Diagnostic Process
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Treatment for Addiction
- Treatment for Addiction
- Natural Recovery: Recovery from Addiction Without Treatment
- Natural Recovery Continued
- Choosing An Effective Treatment Approach: Evidenced-Based Practices
- What Makes An Addictions Treatment Effective?
- Biological Approaches to Addiction Treatment: Medications
- The Role of Medication in Addictions Treatment
- Pharmacologic Medications for Addictions Treatment
- Pharmacologic Medications for Addictions Treatment: Part II
- Psychological Approaches to Addiction Treatment
- Motivation for Change: The Stages of Change Model
- Motivation for Change Continued
- Types of Evidenced-Based (Effective) Treatments for Addiction: Motivational Interviewing
- Relapse Prevention Therapy
- Contingency Management
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- What The Pros Know: The Practical Recovery Model
- Social Approaches Addictions Recovery
- A Cultural Approach to Addictions Treatment: Harm Reduction
- Family Approaches to Addictions Treatment: CRAFT, Intervention And Al-Anon
- The Social Support Approach to Addictions Recovery: Recovery Support Groups
- Self-Empowering Support Groups for Addiction Recovery: Smart Recovery
- Moderation Management
- Women for Sobriety
- LifeRing Secular Recovery
- Summary of Self-Empowering Support Groups
- Spiritual Approaches to Addiction Recovery
- 12-Step Support Groups: Groups That End With "Anonymous"
- 12-Step Support Groups: Part II
- 12-Step Support Groups: Part III
- Expanding Addiction Treatment Choices in the United States
- Developing a Personal Action Plan for Addiction Recovery: Part I
- Developing a Personal Action Plan for Addiction Recovery: Part II
- References
- Resources
- Frequentlly Asked Questions about Addiction
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What is Addiction?
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Questions and Answers
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Tests
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Book & Media Reviews
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Self-Help Groups
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Links
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Videos
- Technology Addiction
- Why People Can Become Addicted to Opioids
- The Swiss Cheese Model of Drug Addiction
- The 7 Skills for Addiction-Free Living: Alternatives to Substance Abuse
- Teen Drug Use: 2014 Monitoring The Future Survey Results
- Sex and Gender Differences of Importance to Addiction Science
- How to Tell if a Loved One is Abusing Opioids
- Why Addiction is a “Disease” and Why Is It Important
- NIDA Emerging Drugs-Methylone and Molly
- Designed to Drink? The Genetics of Alcoholism
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39 more
- Women and Addiction: Why Gender Matters
- Designed to Drink? The Genetics of Alcoholism
- Gaming disorder: questions and answers
- ADHD & Risk of Adult Drug Use
- Energy Drink Sparking More ER Visits
- Why are Drugs So Hard To Quit
- Anyone Can Become Addicted to Drugs
- Substance Use: Addiction Theories New Treatments and the Role of Doctoring in Society
- The Impact of Changing Social Behaviors on Teen Drug Use
- Teen Substance Use
- Cannabis Effects on Driving Performance
- Epidemiology of Tobacco Use
- Addiction: Learning to Forget
- Addiction: What Can I Do About It?
- Addiction: Treat It Like a Disease
- Addiction: What Is It?
- One in 4 People Prescribed Opioids Progresses to Longer-Term Prescriptions
- NIDA’s Dr. Phil Skolnick discusses intranasal naloxone
- "Eyes On" Research in Drugged Driving
- How Will Anti-Drug Vaccines Be Used? An Interview With Dr. Thomas Kosten
- Opioid Use in Pregnancy: A Community’s Approach
- Naloxone Rescue Kits
- Living Without Fear
- What You Need to Know About Internet Addiction
- Hooked, Hacked, Hijacked: Reclaim Your Brain from Addictive Living
- The Neuroscience of Internet Addiction
- Internet Addiction: Signs You Need to Shut Down
- What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
- Addressing Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Substance Abuse Treatment
- The Reward Circuit: How the Brain Responds to Cocaine
- The Reward Circuit: How the Brain Responds to Methamphetamine
- The Reward Circuit: How the Brain Responds to Marijuana
- The Reward Circuit: How the Brain Responds to Natural Rewards and Drugs
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) for Addictions Video (vol. 1)
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictions (vol. 2)
- Prescription Opioid Misuse
- Substance Use Disorders/Addictions - Clinical Overview
- Addiction in the Elderly
- Teenagers, ADHD, and Substance Abuse
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