The answer to this question is no. A person does not have to be ready to get help. In our experience, most people suffering from addiction want freedom from it. Thinking it can be controlled is what makes addiction so cunning, baffling and powerful. Once it has taken hold, the inability to stop or stay stopped becomes very discouraging. As the dependency increases, the brain slips further and further into the confines of the disease. Ready or not, being rescued is sometimes the only way out.