Myths and Facts About Addiction

Wrong beliefs about addiction are one of the biggest reasons treatment gets delayed in India. Below are the ones we hear most often in the OPD, with what the evidence actually says.

About the nature of addiction

❌ Myth: “If a person really has willpower, addiction goes away on its own.”
✅ Fact: Addiction changes brain circuits that control decision-making and self-control. Willpower helps, but it is not a treatment — just as willpower alone does not cure diabetes. Proper medical treatment plus counselling is what works.

❌ Myth: “Addiction is a character flaw, not an illness.”
✅ Fact: WHO and every major medical body classify substance dependence as a treatable medical disorder. Treating it as a moral failure is precisely what keeps families from seeking help.

❌ Myth: “Once an addict, always an addict.”
✅ Fact: Large numbers of people quit and live ordinary lives. Recovery is common; relapse is a signal to adjust treatment, not proof of failure.

About treatment

❌ Myth: “Herbal or secret medicines cure addiction permanently.”
✅ Fact: There is no secret cure. Many such products contain undisclosed sedatives or harmful substances, and “100% guaranteed cure” advertising is illegal in India under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.

❌ Myth: “Treatment costs lakhs of rupees.”
✅ Fact: At government centres treatment is free or nominal — including medicines and, where available, admission. See free government treatment.

❌ Myth: “Admission is always necessary.”
✅ Fact: Many people are treated as outpatients while living at home. The doctor decides based on the substance, duration and overall condition.

❌ Myth: “You can just stop everything at home, suddenly.”
✅ Fact: Stopping alcohol or sleeping pills abruptly can cause seizures and can be life-threatening. Detox needs medical supervision.

About the person and the family

❌ Myth: “Only poor or uneducated people get addicted.”
✅ Fact: Dependence occurs across every income group, caste and profession — it is simply hidden more successfully in some households.

❌ Myth: “Women do not have this problem.”
✅ Fact: They do — often with prescription medicines, tobacco or alcohol — and stigma keeps them from treatment far longer. Confidential care is available.

❌ Myth: “Force is the only thing that works.”
✅ Fact: Forced confinement breaks trust and relapse after discharge is very common. Consent-based treatment plus family counselling works better. See when someone refuses treatment.

❌ Myth: “Relapse means the treatment failed.”
✅ Fact: Relapse is a known part of a long-term illness. It means the plan needs adjusting — restart treatment promptly rather than starting over from shame.

Sources: WHO, NDDTC-AIIMS, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954 · Medically reviewed by: Dr. Brij Kishor Saini, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry) · Translated from the doctor-reviewed Hindi original · Last updated: August 2026