Why can’t addicts quit on their own?

Although there are a few exceptions, addicts can't quit on their own because they don't know how to quit. Quitting isn't as easy as "just saying no." Almost anyone can quit for an uncomfortable day or so, a week or so, or even longer. The key, however, is quitting for the long-term. Quitting without ever using again is very different from quitting for some indefinite period of time and relapsing here and there.

Quitting isn't as easy as "just saying no."

A major problem with quitting is that most addicts don't know that they don't know how to quit. They often think they can quit on their own and that it's simple -- just stop using. What they don't know is that it almost always takes change to quit and stay quit. In other words, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

When nothing changes, nothing changes.

Most addicts don't know that unless they start feeling good about themselves without their drug of choice, they will go back to it -- it's just a matter of time. What does feeling good about themselves mean?

It means having self-confidence without their drug of choice.
It means liking who they are without it.
It means having the courage to do the things they want to do without their drug of choice to bolster them up.
It means being a person of integrity.
It means keeping their word to themselves and others.
It means being responsible for themselves.
It means they stop blaming everything and everyone else for the way things have turned out.
It means taking better care of themselves by making better choices.
It means a whole new way of thinking about themselves.

Most addicts don't know that unless they are able to have fun without their drug of choice they will almost always go back to it --- it's just a matter of time. Addicts have to experience having fun without their drug of choice. Addicts don't know that their definition of fun will change as their thinking changes during recovery.

The definition of fun changes in recovery.

Most addicts don't know that unless they are able to change they way they feel by changing the way they think, they will go back to using --- it's just a matter of time. They have to know that the way they think causes them to feel the way they feel and the way they feel causes them to use. They have to know how to change the way they think in order to change the way they feel in order to stop using and stay stopped.

Addicts want to feel better.

There may not be a single person on the planet who doesn't want to feel good. That includes addicts. Addicts use their drug of choice to feel better. When addicts are able to make themselves feel better without depending upon something or someone outside themselves to feel better, they are on their way to staying quit for the long-term.

Addicts can learn how to feel better without their drug of choice by finding and participating in a supportive treatment program that teaches them

How to feel good about themselves ---
How to have fun ---
How to think thoughts that make them feel good ---

and teaches them how to do all of this without their drug of choice!