Recovery from Addiction
Recovery from addiction of any kind is a journey that can only begin once the first, but most difficult step of all has been taken. That step is the recognition, acceptance and desire to seek professional help for an addiction; either for yourself or for someone you know and care about.
As hard as to believe as it may seem, there is hope – and recovery from addiction is possible. However bad the consequences of an addiction may appear to you, from criminal activity to hurting the people to care for, you are not to blame. The addiction is to blame. You are a person with the same hopes, feelings and needs as others, and you are of equal value to others. This is not to say that you have no responsibility – of course you do, but that is not the same as blame and should not be used against you.
Be assured that, with professional support, the circumstances and influences which have resulted in addiction can be addressed, dealt with and left behind. The addict can become cleansed and return to a more fulfilling, useful and accepting life. The pain can end. The first step to recovery from addiction starts with you.
Give yourself time and space to recover from addiction
No-one is going to tell you that recovery from addiction is easy. Overcoming the denial and blame aspects are enormous steps in the right direction, but in order to get clean and continue the journey to reclaiming your rightful place in society, you are going to need caring, supportive professional help.
There are countless organizations ready to offer professional assistance to the recovering addict, so how do you choose the one that will most effectively aid your recovery from addiction?
Self-help groups and outpatient treatments are undoubtedly successful for some but they require a degree of commitment and self discipline from the recovering addict to stay the course. All of the good work and progress made towards recovery from addiction may be lost as the result of a single relapse or the desire to leave this type of treatment before it has been fully completed.
The process of recovery from addiction requires a certain amount of re-education. Habitual behaviors need to be unlearnt; methods for remaining clean, recognizing and dealing with negative situations and influences need to be learnt.
Arguably the best way to achieve this re-education is by removing the recovering addict from their familiar surroundings. This relieves them from the everyday pressures, stresses and negative influences of the life they have become accustomed to, removing the risk of relapses and giving them the freedom to concentrate on the process of recovery in a stable and supportive environment.
Attending out-patient treatment for recovery to addiction may leave the addict vulnerable to the possibility of a relapse, or expose him or her to pressures or situations that they would prefer to avoid. The chances of long-term sustained recovery are statistically much greater when an addict begins the lifelong process with a residential recovery program.
The holistic approach to recovery from addiction
An effective treatment for recovery from addiction must encompass so much more than simply addressing the outward symptoms, habits and behaviors. It is important to understand every aspect of the recovering addict’s life, at every stage of their journey.
An holistic approach to recovery from addiction not only deals with the immediate needs of detoxification, but also examines every aspect of the recovering addict’s life in order to uncover and address the underlying combination of circumstances that resulted in them succumbing to addiction.
Gaining an all-round understanding of the person that the addict has become – their beliefs, influences, pressures, stresses, social interactions and any of the other potential underlying reasons that may have lead to their addiction – is the next crucial step in the recovery process.
With this information it is possible to show, in detail, the recovering addict the ways in which their life changed and the precise reasons for those changes. Armed with an understanding and acceptance of the process which has taken them to addiction and from addiction to recovery, the recovering addict is able to take stock of their life, deal with the issues that have been exposed and move onward towards their goal.
Recovery from addiction is a challenging journey, but it is not one that needs to be travelled alone. Take the biggest step now, by seeking professional help for yourself or for someone you know that is suffering from an addiction. Become the person you were born to be. The journey starts here.
