It is actually rare that people with substance abuse problems recover fully and live a life without drugs if they do not have treatment or a program to live by. You may know people that are doing it or you may have heard about it but it is not a majority by a long shot. Instead, people with these issues need to have effective treatment to come off the substances and they have to continue to live a certain way.
This is why you hear of so many drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs and groups. Once the detox program is over, that is not the end of it. Many of the same patterns of behavior still exist without the drug and there is a high potential for relapse. The degree of substance abuse in Maryland alone is astonishing and you are among many others if you suffer from this problem.
It is a fact that addiction is a disease. Like with any disease, treatment is vital for continued health. Much like a diabetic needs to take medicine to keep blood sugar down, you will need to have a continued program with a group and/ or therapy in order to stay clean. You may or may not believe this now but your body is still tuned to being high, not really to being sober.
The good news is that there is a solution. With the better substance abuse treatment programs, you are given all the tools you need to cope with this problem head on. If you carry these tools into your life and follow the recommendations for aftercare, you stand a much better chance of staying sober than those who do not follow through.
If sobriety is very important to you, do what is right and seek the best long-term treatment you can find.