San Diego Sober Living - Recovery

Why Is Breaking Free from Addiction So Challenging?

During the 2022 publicity tour for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a musical biopic about the career of the famous American pop music satirist, actor Daniel Radcliffe revisited parts of his life when he was struggling to recover from alcoholism in 2010. Radcliffe began drinking heavily as a way to deal with the pressures of fame and growing up in the public eye as the actor who played the young Harry Potter. These days, he speaks candidly about his early struggles with recovery, a process he felt was very difficult until a counselor explained why alcoholism isn’t a choice anyone makes. This acquiescence is one of many that can help people who are having a hard time during recovery. Let’s review a few others.

Biological Factors of Addiction

Some psychoactive substances are more addictive than others in the sense that they cause severe chemical dependence. There are two main biological factors at play—one is neurochemical and the other physiological. The alcoholic brain, for example, adapts to ethanol molecules until they disrupt the complex neurochemical reward system. The physiological factor involves tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. At the height of alcoholism, being sober becomes an unbearable state that can only be alleviated by getting drunk or entering recovery. With severe alcoholism, patients in recovery are fighting the physiological reactions to a hijacked brain reward system, and this can understandably feel like an uphill battle.

Psychological Factors

Confusion, negative emotions, and stress drove Daniel Radcliffe to frequently show up drunk to the set of The Half-Blood Prince in 2009. He couldn’t deal with the cognitive distortions he developed while drinking to excess. When he began recovering, letting go of denial, minimization, and bizarre rationalization mechanisms was difficult. Radcliffe blamed himself too harshly for becoming an alcoholic because he thought he had made an irreversible choice. Irrational thinking is always problematic in all stages of addiction, particularly during recovery, which explains why many patients struggle with their conditions.

Social & Environmental Factors

Younger addicts tend to struggle with these factors the most. Substance abuse is normalized in many social situations. In some cases, it can be encouraged and even normalized. For Radcliffe, the life of a young Hollywood film star provided many opportunities to abuse liquor. Fellow cast member Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, was also struggling with alcoholism at the time, and he had a mutually enabling relationship with Radcliffe. Removing addicts from environments that aren’t conducive to recovery is part of a comprehensive recovery strategy that may include staying in a sober living home such as Casa Pacifica, which provides sober living housing for men in Solana Beach.

Guilt, Self-Blame, & Shame

As one of the most powerful human emotions, guilt is a disruptor for many addicts in recovery. Guilt is what Radcliffe struggled with the most during early recovery, but he later understood he hadn’t chosen to become an alcoholic. The poor rationalization of guilt results in shame and negative introspection, which can make recovery significantly difficult for most addicts. Low self-esteem is one of the most dangerous enemies of addiction recovery. It often makes patients feel as if they don’t deserve sobriety, which is an incorrect thought process. Fortunately, coping with guilt is a crucial aspect of recovery treatment plans, and it’s achieved through counseling.

If you’re newly sober and you need help with avoiding relapse, call on the compassionate team at Casa Pacifica. Along with providing Solana Beach sober living housing, we work with our individual residents to develop customized plans that integrate treatment, aftercare, and recovery support. Our services include sober companionship, coaching, and mentorship for those who are recovering from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. For more information about our sober living facilities, call us today.