It has been said that no alcoholic has ever quit drinking because he or she wanted to. They quit because they finally reach bottom, a time of pain and consequence which results in reaching a Moment of Truth. Here the denial system breaks down, and the chemically dependent person can see reality as others see it, can see the disease for what it really is.
Chemical dependency is a Disease of Denial.
Too often the chemically dependent person is unaware that he or she may have a disease. They also don't realize that it is the substance use itself which is making them ill, destroying their families, jobs or lives, or causing them the very problems which they cope with by more use. Too often, the chemically dependent person has NO IDEA of the degree that the disease has progressed. One effective method of helping the chemically dependent person is through what is known as an Intervention. An intervention is a process of bringing a person to a point of agreeing to enter a program for an evaluation and treatment of chemical dependency as appropriate.