By Lucy Schultze

Why do people get hooked on drugs or alcohol? Because they’re just bad people.

It’s a simple enough assumption — if you can make it from a distance, sure that addiction won’t touch the people you care about. And true enough, many choices people make when they’re addicted do hurt others and themselves. It’s not the way “good” people behave.

But if you spend some time with real people who are struggling to break free from drugs or alcohol, you’ll have to think again.

“The way you think of the stereotypical addict or alcoholic is not an accurate view,” says Mark Russell, MSW, who worked with groups and individuals as a clinical therapist with Oxford Treatment Center.

“They’re your next-door neighbors, the people you go to church with,” he said. “They’re teachers and businesspeople. The clients I worked with were everyday people from all walks of life. They were just like me.”

Addiction also affects far more people than you might think.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), nearly 1 in 11 people (8.6 percent) of Americans needs treatment for a problem related to drugs or alcohol. Even so, says the NIDA, many people have the wrong idea about why and how addiction happens: “They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to.”

While people in addiction have lost the choice to simply stop drinking or using drugs, they have the benefit of ever-advancing treatment approaches. Says the NIDA: “Researchers