Cross Addiction: An Addiction to Drugs, No Matter What Kind

Alcohol? Cocaine? Hydrocodone? There are many drugs of choice, but no matter the substance, if you are addicted to one, you are addicted to it all. If you or someone you know is recovering from an addiction to any substance, this article is for you.

It is estimated that 27 million Americans use illegal drugs or drink heavily. Of these, nearly 16 million are in need immediate treatment for their addiction or dependence, according to SAMHSA (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration www.samsa.gov). According to SAMSA's website, alcohol and drug addiction, along with the associated mental illnesses, are the most severe health problems in the United States.

Even with treatment, approximately 30% of drug or alcohol addicted patients successfully remain clean & sober. There are multiple modalities in drug and alcohol addiction treatment, but the most popular is based upon the 12-Step model. This model, made popular by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), has countless variations. Other treatment strategies include cognitive-behavioral and the strengths-perspective.

No matter the treatment model used to recover from drug and alcohol addiction, recovery is a lifelong battle. Recovering addicts must stay mindful of their past in order to maintain sobriety. One way that recovering alcoholics or drug addicts relapse is through cross addiction. Cross addiction, quite simply, is the principle that addicts can and will become addicted to any mind or mood altering substance, even if it wasn't their original drug of choice.

Cross addiction can work in a few ways. One scenario is that recovering alcoholic goes to the dentist, and the dentist prescribes Lortab (hydrocodone). The person may have been sober for years, so may think nothing of it. The recovering alcoholic takes the hydrocodone every four hours, as prescribed, and before they know it, they start taking more and more. This previous alcoholic is well on their way to an opiate addiction (the general term for drugs like hydrocodone, percocet, heroin, opium, etc.).