What is this thing called recovery? (National Recovery Month)

Being in recovery from a substance use disorder (SUD) is something that is very special in and of itself.   I will talk about my own walk in recovery a little, being it is like many others in the basics of it process.     Basically, recovery means go from active use to, for many, no use......and your life changes in many ways, mostly for the better.

It is important to note that this does not mean the first attempt at recovery is going to be THE one forever.   For many, it is a process that is very individual.   It can mean multiple attempts and multiple treatments.  It could mean lowering use to the point of lowering issues attached to higher use.  It could mean using prescribed medication to discontinue use of heavy drugs or alcohol that cause many issues that the prescribed medication doesn't.    There is NO one "correct" way to begin a life in recovery.   The definition in recovery has evolved, and, at a national level, now is more holistic.  Read about it here:  https://www.ncadd.org/people-in-recovery/recovery-definition/definition-of-recovery

I started drinking and smoking pot at about 12 yrs old.  Those two were my mainstays throughout the time I drank and used drugs.   Until my first inpatient treatment at about 24/25 years old, I was fairly functional in most ways.    I say most ways because looking back I was really just surviving life in a lot of ways.  Yet, I always worked, I maintained most of my relationships, and was a functional member of society.  It wasn't all pretty, in fact sometimes, it was just ugly.  But, I had very few issues that would force me to look at my drinking and drug use.   My drinking was the kind where I drank to get drunk.....period.  I really didn't see any other reason for alcohol.   Marijuana was just like cigarettes for me, which I smoked from about 12 also.   I smoked cigarettes daily, and, I smoked marijuana daily.  Until a life in recovery I was the guy who said I would smoke pot until the day I died. 

The time came in about 1993 for me to enter into the world of recovery for the very first time.   I had started using crack cocaine and my life quickly spiraled into complete chaos.   I ended up in treatment at Olalla Recovery Center and was dropped into a whole new world.   The world of treatment and recovery was all new for me at this point in the game.   This was the first time I heard about AA or NA, or any type of support groups at all for that matter.   It was also the first time I really started looking inward, focusing on my past and learning how it all effected my daily life.   Counseling was something that was brand new for me during this time also.   Talking one on one with someone about core stuff was brand new.   Sure, I had talked to family/friends about life stuff, but, this was a whole new ball game.  Olalla will always hold a very special place in my heart:   www.olalla.org

This is what happens when someone enters treatment.   You immediately are focused on addressing the core issues that lead you to drinking/drugging.  You are forced to look inward and stop looking outward.   Group counseling is also thrust upon you in treatment.  Sitting with people who you don't know, have never known in most cases, yet, you almost immediately create bonds.   I am still friends to this day with people I sat in groups with in those very early days of my walk in recovery.   Many of the counselors in the field are in recovery themselves.   In treatment you start focusing on yourself, maybe, for the first time in your life.  I had, to that point, only survived in life.  I never really asked myself what I wanted long term.  My dreams from before the beginning of drinking/drugging had been forgotten for many years.    Now, in treatment, they were being pulled back up from my memories.

In nearly all treatment centers, upwards of 75% or more, you are also introduced to a twelve step program.   NA or AA.    In my previous blog I discussed the modality of treatment that is based on the twelve steps, and this is where you learn about them.    Previous to my first treatment I had never really heard about AA or NA.    For many, this is where a life long relationship with twelve step program happens.   For me, I was involved with a twelve step group for years.   I have great memories of my time and will always cherish the help I received.   I am a believer that each of us should do what works for us, thus, I am always encouraging those who find value with the twelve steps to keep on keeping on.   For me, it's just not my thing anymore.  Links to AA/NA websites:  www.aa.org www.na.org

The recovery community has it's own language in many ways.    I won't go through all the terms and words used in the recovery community because for myself, I decided several years ago many of them don't serve me well being many years away from active addiction.   I have, in recent years. enjoyed seeing national movements to change the language that continues to stigmatize our recovery family.   I never really understood why I would continue to label myself in a way that is seen as negative by most.    Thus, for me, I am David, a person in recovery.  You can read about the shift in language here: https://www.hazelden.org/web/public/groundbreaking-documentary-film.page

Recovery from a substance use disorder is an opportunity for someone to recreate, or, for some, create, a life that is whole.    I value ensuring that I am balancing all areas of my life.   Family, Work, Hobbies, Health, etc., etc.  For me, this IS recovery.    If I am spending mostly equal amounts of time in all the areas I have in my life the choice to return to use is minimized greatly.    If I am ensuring I have people in my life that I can talk to about issues as they come up my thought process will be steered far from returning to use.   My life today IS because of my walk in recovery. 

I am 100% in the camp of ensuring that recovery is an individual walk.  It's individual for me, and it's individual for you.  I can not dictate what is going to work for anyone other than myself.  Yes, I have had amazing success doing the things I have throughout the years of my own recovery.   Yet, my way may not be the way for you.  I always have to remember that.    Recovery from a substance use disorder is an individual thing.   I love the guiding principles put out by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) that are listed below.     They are amazing!

  1. There are many pathways to recovery.
  2. Recovery is self-directed and empowering.
  3. Recovery involves a personal recognition of the need for change and transformation.
  4. Recovery is holistic.
  5. Recovery has cultural dimensions.
  6. Recovery exists on a continuum of improved health and wellness.
  7. Recovery is supported by peers and allies.
  8. Recovery emerges from hope and gratitude.
  9. Recovery involves a process of healing and self-redefinition.
  10. Recovery involves addressing discrimination and transcending shame and stigma.
  11. Recovery involves (re)joining and (re)building a life in the community.
  12. Recovery is a reality. It can, will, and does happen

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