Well that stats are low. Although if the addict has hit bottom, and they really want to get and stay clean and sober, they have a better chance. Recovery is a lifelong process, working the 12 step program, going to meetings, getting a sponsor. It's an easy program, but not a simple one. Since your addict has already been thrown out of the rehab, and he has been living with his dealer, then my answer is he is far from being ready.

it's 3%.... and you can throw all kinds of addictional crteria into that equation.... how long are they clean? the latest statistics I saw were for people staying clean for over 12 months. 50% of those went from rehab to 6 months in sober living... And 50% of those had been to rehab 5 or more times. As you can see.... it is a very small number who work the program and stay clean.

According to my therapist most people average going to rehab 3 times before they get and stay clean. My AH went numerous times and then decided recently to get clean on his own.
I don't know if you were ever heavy but those who have been. How many times did it take going on a diet, or trying all different types of diets before they manage to stay thin. You have to want to be thinner and healthier just like addiction you have to want it. Or how many times did some people try to quit smoking. It all the similar.

thanks everyone - helpful/interesting to know. bcolliesmom - i agree with you on his readiness, especially considering that since he's been kicked out, he hasn't reached out to his family, the only sober people he knows. i would think if he were serious about getting well,they would've been the first ones he'd have reached out to.

reply #4

I just read your reply and I would like to suggest that if you are going to remain involved with this on any level, allow your hopes to even rise or fall slightly, and I am not saying what you should or shouldn't do on that, is JMO that you might want to really get some more info about addiction and addictive behavior. It might help you.

Generally, reaching out to one's family, even at the beginning of sobriety, is a crushing option. It is something that people will avoid at all costs. It does not matter what happened or if you have a plan, if you only need a place to stay one night before going back and trying it again. This is the last place an addict wants to go, these are the last faces the addict wants to look in to, and the words they will say, or their silence, are that last the addict wants to deal with. And hopefully, they don't bother because it not an option if they are kicked out of rehab. At least by not bothering, they indicate that they get that boundry.

JMO, don't try to figure out why he does or does not do things or what they mean, You do not ever want to be able to truly understand the way an addict thinks. The only thing that matters is whether he has decided that he cannot live the life of an addict anymore. Addicts will crawl to find a high, and they will crawl to find help when they are ready. Don't place all your focus on the whole "rehab" idea. Different things work for different people, but nothing works for someone who chooses rehab and then gets kicked out for using. Nothing works because they have not decided to get clean.

The success rate for people who do not want help and do not ask for and do not accept help...0%.

But the more times they go back out, the more times they get slapped in the face. If they keep trying ot get away, the odds will start to change. Sometimes it is the people who have worked the hardest against recovery who finally do the best. They have been there, done that, been there, done that, been there done that, and know that if they go there and do that again, it probably will be the last time and they will just be there and be done in. So they are finally ready for the other option.

It is painful beyond belief to live this and painful to be the one living it alongside the addict. It is a road the addict has to travel, but one the others should not. JMO