According to Johann Hari, the author of New York Time’s bestselling book, “Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs,” everything we have come to know about addiction is wrong. Johann Hari is one of the many people who have been affected by their loved one’s struggles with substance abuse. Whether we like it or not, addiction is a family disease that needs to be addressed and treated as such.

From navigating arguments to managing your finances, early recovery is often a crash course in the real world. It’s often said that people with substance use disorder stop maturing at the age they were when they started using. If you were addicted to drugs or alcohol throughout your teens or young adulthood, you probably missed on out on learning essential life skills. 

Substance abuse. Recovery. Relapse. We’ve all heard these terms, but sometimes it’s hard to understand the facts behind them…unless you’ve walked a mile in those shoes. Riddled with misunderstandings and myths, chemical dependency remains a mystery to many people. Addiction does significant damage to a person’s physical health, mental health, and overall well-being, not to mention the harm it does to family and friends. With so many people impacted, it’s important to dispel any confusion surrounding this disease and its’ far-reaching consequences.