There are countless residential drug treatment programs to choose from to help you to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Assuming the addict is past the physical detoxification part of the process, the next step is to stay “sober” and not to use. This is the difficult part. Getting off drugs and alcohol is uncomfortable; even painful, sometimes it is downright disgusting. No one wants to go through it, and it keeps many addicts from even attempting to get sober, but as hard as it is, “detox” is not nearly the challenge staying sober is.
Treatment can be the determining factor of success vs. failure. Treatment is a sort of sober boot camp. It is where you learn the rules; it is a sort of basic training. I had never heard of Alcoholics Anonymous before I went to treatment the first time. Once I saw something about it in a movie, but I had no idea what it was really about. Before going to treatment, I did not have a clue about therapy or counselors, and had no idea how many people were going through the same thing I was. Our lives were so similar, it did not matter what the drug was that we were addicted to, in fact, it did not even have to be a drug or alcohol, some were addicted to food, others to sex, and others were taking small razors and marking up their arms and legs. I found out that taking drugs was the symptom, just as drinking and all the others, it was not the problem. All this time I thought my problem was that I took drugs, I thought all I had to do was stop taking drugs. That probably would have worked to a certain extent, I suppose I could have stopped using drugs out of shear willpower or as I like to call it (won’t power). Unfortunately, it was not going to be that easy.
I was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous, a 12-step program used in the treatment of ever type of addiction there is. There are programs for drugs (NA); gamblers (GA); over eaters (OA); you get the idea. All of the programs for recovery are based on the same 12-step method, it works for some people and for some it doesn’t. Regardless of how you feel about the 12-step rules doesn’t matter because the real help you get from AA is from the “fellowship”. It is my opinion that the fellowship carries much more influence with the recovering addict than the 12-steps do. “Fellowship” is simply the people in the program, people who have experienced the same things you have. Have done the same things you have. No one is shocked or judgmental about what you have done to get drugs. In fact, most of them will have very similar stories of their own. Once I stopped feeling as if people were judging me, sobriety started to look a little more realistic and maybe, just maybe I could pull it off. So much about being an addict, relies on how bad you feel, the guilt, the shame, the embarrassment, it’s enough to make you do drugs (once you are in recover a sarcastic sense of humor is essential).
Learning how to live as a sober person. They have specific rules that at first seem to exist simply to irritate you. In my case, I felt, “I’m not using drugs anymore, you expect me to work now, and take care of my responsibilities, isn’t that a bit much?” That may be part of the reason I entered treatment over a dozen times and graduated from treatment exactly once.
Rules
There are rules to follow, because in life, there are rules to follow, and drug addicts have been breaking the rules for a long time. We have to learn what the rules are again. For most addicts, lying and manipulating has become a way of life, it is how we get drugs, and how we keep doing drugs. Even if an addict never spoke to another person, they would still be the biggest liars walking the earth. Why? Because they are lying to themselves. Addicts believe they need chemicals to feel the way they want to feel. Learning how to deal with feelings and how to achieve good feelings without the use of drugs is a one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult things an addict will ever do. When in recovery we do not simply stop taking drugs, but we have to stop the behavior that goes along with it, this means, no more lying, manipulating, stealing or breaking the law. To continue to live like a drug addict will prevent us from achieving any assemblence of serenity, and if we are honest with ourselves, it’s not the drugs that are our problem, but the living in misery that is ruining our lives. I can’t say that treatment got me sober, nor can I say AA was the answer, but what I can say is, once I was ready to be sober, it’s the tools I learned in treatment and AA that helped me achieve sobriety. There may be no one right answer for any addict. Early recovery is confusing and emotional; there is no easy way through it. If you really want to be sober and enjoy all that goes with sobriety, then the best thing to do is, use every opportunity you have to help you get to a place where you are comfortable with yourself. Do not fight treatment, AA, therapy or counseling; use every asset available, it is worth the effort, because your worst day sober will always be better than your best day using. Soak it all up, like a sponge, take the advice you need, and forget about the rest, not everything you hear will apply to you. Some people in the field of recovery don’t have a clue what they are talking about, but some do, so listen to all of it and use your common sense, if it applies then keep it in mind, and when the time comes for you to cross that hurdle, you will be prepared. The recovery process is just that, a process, it is not easy, but it is rewarding, you will never regret being sober. You will never feel bad about yourself because you did not use today, it is not going to happen overnight, but with due diligence, it will happen and you will succeed, and your life will be better, it may not be perfect, but it will be better, guaranteed.
