Dr. Keith Humphreys

The other thing is you convey optimism.

Probably surveys give something like 24 million Americans are in recovery.

We just don't notice them because someone in recovery looks like anybody else.

We notice them when they're actively addicted, but not when they're in recovery because they sort of returned and they just look like, oh, that's just a school teacher, that's an accountant, that's a police officer, whatever.

But that there's a lot of reason for rational hope.

And in the particular case you're talking about when someone's just starting to worry in its early stage, the odds that they will recover are dramatically higher.

So, you know, it's much, much easier to sort of pull out before you've burned your life down around you.

So, you know, it's tough when people come in and you say, all right, well, do you have family support?

Well, my family doesn't talk to me anymore.

Okay, do you have at least a safe place to live?

No, I'm sleeping on a couch right now.

Well, at work or you know, I lost my job, you know, that's tough for the person to rebuild everything.

But if you still have those resources, there's still people who love you in your life, you still have a meaningful role where you're contributing and you also have some accountability, that's going to help you make that behavior change, whatever it is, I would say that about any behavior change, not just one.

connected to substances.

And then what do we do when we work with people?

Well, we always think about motivation.

It's hard, this may seem strange, but someone says I want to quit smoking, a good clinician will say why would you want to do that?

You think like, well, that's dumb.

You actually would say, yeah, good, great, good.

It's like, well, if you don't want to do it, it doesn't matter what I think, right?