Mini Series 12 - Addiction Q&A - 5

Busting Addiction and Its Myths

Q: Will an addict get the help he needs from a psychiatrist?
A: It depends. There are two main factors involved. One is the fact that addicts will often lie to the psychiatrist if the addict is there for reasons other than having an honest desire to get clean. The active addict is an expert liar and has (he thinks) fooled everyone so far, and now he just wants some Xanax. The second factor is that the psychiatrist may not be an addictionologist, i.e., trained in addictive disorder, and therefore is not able to discern the truth or otherwise help the addict, even when the addict tells it all.
Many other symptoms disguise addiction: depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are the main symptoms and are therefore treated accordingly, without an understanding of the true causes.