When it comes to addiction recovery rates, the statistics are often grim. But do not let this deter you, as the numbers are also misleading.
It takes time to break negative behaviors—think about how long it takes people to quit smoking or biting their nails. The brain doesn’t know the difference between “good” and “bad” habits, so it has a difficult time unlearning the behaviors you don’t want. In fact, it can take 30-60 days to break a habit, and 66 days to form a new habit.
In the context of substance use disorders, there’s a lot more going on than just learning and unlearning behaviors, however. Substance use hijacks the pleasure and reward circuits in the brain, causing changes to occur. These changes are what pull you in and leave you wanting more. Meanwhile, the brain becomes less sensitive to dopamine, preventing you from experiencing pleasure from normal activities like eating and socializing.
As you seek out comfort from
drugs or
alcohol, your body builds a tolerance to them, meaning that you need more to get the same effects. If you try to quit or cut back, you’re likely to experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that make you want to return to use. The first year of recovery, in particular, can be a series of ups and downs, but this does not mean that people don’t get better. They do. In fact, millions of people are living in recovery every day.
Lotus Recovery Treatment Center treats the following substance use disorders: 
