Yes. Addiction treatment works about as well as treatments for diseases like high blood pressure or diabetes.
About half of all people who complete a full period of treatment will continue into longer term recovery. Some people may need to go through treatment on more than one occasion before achieving lasting sobriety and some people that do achieve lasting sobriety will eventually relapse and again require treatment.
Addiction and alcoholism are considered brain diseases that last a lifetime. They can be managed through treatment and treatment can induce lasting or even permanent remission - but a person may need treatment several times over a lifespan.
You can help to improve your chances by staying in treatment, as the longer a person stays involved in addiction treatment, the better their odds of lasting recovery.1
- References
page last update Aug 30, 2010
