The addiction recovery process is meant to be a comprehensive treatment, one that addresses the issues most commonly found in cases of addiction. There is no strict system to it, as that would too heavily restrict what needs to be an individual, unique approach every single time.
The addiction recovery process, just like most health issues related to mental health, cannot be “fixed” through a cookie-cutter approach. There are several specific treatment models designed to facilitate the recovery process, but they are all built to achieve the same end-goal: long-term sobriety. A state of living wherein someone who used to struggle with drugs not only completely abstains from them, but can comfortably live a contented life without major cravings or fear of relapse.
For some, getting to that point is a very long road. For others, it’s a journey, but one that may take a few months rather than a few years. However, the general structure of the journey remains the same; and it always starts with the first step.
The First Step
In the addiction recovery process, the first step to recovering is to stop. And to do that, you need to acknowledge and understand that you have an addiction to begin with. The first thing most people must fight against when starting their road towards getting better is the denial that they have a problem to begin with.
Some people insist that their behavior is normal, controllable, or based in choice rather than compulsion. There is usually a strong element of fear that must be overcome before the realization truly kicks in that a problem has been growing for quite some time.
Overcoming denial means overcoming fear, and to do that, you must dispel that fear. That’s where modern-day addiction science can take its first shot at helping you. Many people struggle with the idea of being addicted because they don’t want that label attached to themselves – there is an extreme negativity surrounding drug addiction, to the point where it is treated as a status of personal failure rather than a medical condition requiring treatment. The stigma around addiction is still alive and kicking today, and dispelling it is the most effective way of beating denial.
By telling people that getting addicted is not a matter of choice, but that they have the power to get better if they so choose to, you can empower them to see addiction not as a moral failure but as a challenge in life.
Come Out To Friends And Family
If your realization was not already fueled by a staged intervention, then it is important that you come out to your family and closest friends and explain your drug addiction. This isn’t just to have a clear conscience, rather, it’s to seek support. Without support, sobriety cannot last very long – regardless of whether you find it in your friends or your family, you need to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your ability to get better.
Coming out to your friends is also an effective way to find out just what relationships you should dearly hold onto, and what relationships you should let go. This is especially true if the people you hang out with are a contributing factor to your drug addiction. Good friends don’t let other friends get on the slippery slope to dependence, and you need as many good friends as you can get in the early recovery process.
Explore The Options
Once someone accepts that they are struggling with an addiction, it’s time to find out what to do about it. Often enough, addictions are coupled with other things, such as different substances, behavioral addictions such as sex addiction or gambling addiction, or mental health issues such as mood disorders and anxiety. It may be worth going to a psychiatrist to talk about your family history and recent history of mental health, just to ensure that you have a full understanding of what you’re dealing with.
Addiction treatment facilities exist all over the country, but to effectively treat someone, they need to understand what issues they face. A sober living community can be highly effective, but it might not be helpful to someone who experiences deep anxiety and panic attacks. Supplementing a sober environment with regular therapy can be a much more effective approach, addressing both issues without causing further detriment.
Some cases of addiction and/or mental illness require medication, while most do not. The addiction recovery process is a combination of individual and group therapy, sobriety-oriented experiences (rehab, inpatient treatment, sober communities) and a focus on developing new interests and cultivating hobbies.
Find Ways To Maintain Sobriety
The recovery process begins by getting help. Rehab facilities, inpatient/outpatient treatment, sober living homes: these treatment models are meant for early recovery, when getting back into living life without drugs requires guidance, structure, and support.
However, after a while you are expected to be able to live on your own again without the fear of a relapse. That is the second phase of the addiction recovery process, and the phase that technically lasts for the rest of your life. The goal is simple: don’t use drugs again. To be more specific, live life in a way that makes drugs unnecessary. Many people turn to drugs due to stress, and the overbearing complications of living in an abusive situation, within poverty, or in some other struggle. Others turn to drugs because they’re young and young people often make mistakes.
Either way, long-term abstinence means incentivizing yourself never to use drugs again. To that extent, people often get into new and old hobbies, dedicated themselves to their career, or turn their attention towards family, cultivating responsibilities to keep themselves accountable, and cultivating pride in their own work and ability to create or perform.
Getting Back To The Addiction Recovery Process
Relapse rates are quite high, due to the nature of addiction’s chronic effect on the brain. Until your brain has reversed the effects addiction, the potential for relapse is there. All it might take is one particularly personal tragedy.
When that happens, when you relapse in the middle of recovery, then beating yourself up about it will only make things even worse and destroy even more of your recovery process. Instead, pick yourself up and get right back to staying sober. Relapses need to be avoided, of course – and if you do relapse, then the guilt you feel may be justified. But that does not mean you should give up now.
Live Again
Ultimately, the bird’s eye view of the recovery process trails off into unseen distances after the initial recovery period, when life has achieved a post-addiction balance that doesn’t involve any drugs.
Addiction cannot be replaced by another obsession. But it can be replaced by an appetite for life.