“Addiction is Incredibly Common
The medical literature suggests that somewhere around 10% of the adult population suffers from some form of addiction. That’s 24 million people, a number larger than the entire population of Florida. Addiction is everywhere.
Near as we can tell, that 10% number is consistent, too. A person’s intelligence, financial means, social class, education, or ethnicity doesn’t seem to have any bearing either. Addiction is an equal opportunity killer.
There are basically two types of addictions. The first involves substances, such as drugs and alcohol. If you’re curious, here are the top 6 substances people get addicted to, in terms of numbers of people affected:
- Tobacco: 50 million people in the US.
- Alcohol: 16 million people in the US.
- Opiates: 2 million people in the US.
- Methamphetamine: 1.5+ million people in the US.
- Sedatives/Tranquilizers: 1 million people in the US.
- Cocaine: 900,000 people in the US.
We call the second type a “process addiction.” These are behaviors such as gambling, overeating, workaholism, and self-harm, though that list is far from exhaustive. Some points worth noting:
- Over 12 million people in the US struggle with compulsive buying disorder.
- Sex-addiction affects 3-6% of the population.
- Pathological gambling affects upwards of two million adults in the US.
- Internet addiction is on the rise, too, with some estimates claiming that over 400 million people worldwide struggle with it.
Addiction is as pervasive as it is difficult to treat. Movies would have you believe that addiction looks like the hoodie-wearing thug begging for a fix, but doctors, lawyers, captains of industry and beauty queens are just as likely to be addicts as anyone else.
If you want to know how to help an addict, avoid judgmental attitudes and preconceived notions, as the disease is far more common than anyone is comfortable admitting.
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And if you love an addict, it’s important to remember that stigma has driven many of their behaviors underground, meaning that many addicts are skilled experts at deception. Never assume you know what is going on in an addict’s mind, because you don’t. Even addicts rarely know what’s going on in their own minds. Remember, addiction is like a computer virus that undermines a person’s ability to think.
While some telltale signs exist, most addicts have learned to fly well under the radar. Usually, it comes as a shock to people who know them that anything was wrong.
I’m not condoning awful behavior, but I it’s hard to overstate the degree to which stigma has become a barrier to recovery. Guilt. Shame. Fear. These are common emotions with addicts. If you want to help an addict, keep that in mind.”