Posts Tagged ‘sobriety’

Professional treatment of alcohol and drug problems can start someone on the road to recovery, but a few weeks of treatment should not be mistaken for long-term recovery.

If you have severe alcohol and other drug problems, you should know that successful recovery from these problems involves significant changes over time in:

• personal identity and beliefs
• family and social relationships
• daily lifestyle

It is about where you live, how you work and play, who is included and excluded from your life, and how you cope with the stresses of daily life. Recovery is more than just not drinking or using drugs; it is about putting together a new and meaningful life in which alcohol and drugs no longer have a place. Recovery from addiction is not like getting over an infection for which we can rest and take medication for a week or two and then get back to our otherwise unchanged lives. Those who view treatment for addiction in this way make up the group for whom treatment does not work. Recovery from addiction is closer to how someone successfully manages diabetes or heart disease – conditions that require sustained decisions and actions for life.

The Good News

• The positive effects of addiction treatment are substantial, as measured by sustained sobriety (about one-third of those treated) and decreases in substance use and substance-related problems.
• Active participation in treatment aftercare meetings and recovery support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous can significantly improve your chance of permanent recovery, improve your quality of life and prolong your life expectancy.
• Combining professional treatment and attending recovery support meetings improve your chances of recovery better than either activity alone.
• Lifetime recovery rates of people with a substance use disorder approach or exceed 50%. There are millions of individuals and their families in long-term recovery from the effects of severe substance use problems.
• There are multiple pathways and styles (secular, spiritual, religious) of long-term addiction recovery
• Recovering people can go on to lead lives of significant achievement and community service

Not long after attending my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous I began to hear people using the phrase Higher Power and even talking about God.  This was one of the things that kept me skeptical about AA.  I had always had a hard time relating to God and I was petrified that I couldn’t stay off drugs and alcohol because of my aversion to organized religion.  Luckily I obtained a temporary sponsor at my very first meeting and after a few months of going to AA meetings regularly I finally told her about my dilemma.  It was explained to me that Alcoholics Anonymous was not a religious program and that I did not have to believe in anyone else’s concept of God.  That put me at ease for a while but I kept hearing people sharing in meetings about their Higher Power and I was still confused and apprehensive. 

When the time came that I began to go through the twelve steps I had been clean and sober for over three months and still felt disconnected from God.  The first step was to admit that I was powerless over drugs and alcohol and that my life had become unmanageable, which was easy for me.  However the second step was no easy feat, “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”  I went over and over the words in my head and tried to think what it meant to me and how I could relate to this concept of a power greater than myself.  My sponsor told me that she had a similar experience when she was a newcomer and that all that I needed at that time was to believe that there was something in the universe that was more powerful than me.  I had heard of people using the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous as their Higher Power because they felt that the group was more powerful than they were alone.  That idea made sense to me and for the time being it would suffice.  I was hopeful that in time my relationship to God would blossom and develop as was the experience of others in AA.

Alcoholism. What is it? What makes an alcoholic an alcoholic? Can alcohol rehab help? What does alcohol treatment really do? Is there an alcohol rehabilitation center that can help? If it is you who suspects that you are an alcoholic or if there is someone in your life that you think may be, if you are asking these questions, the answer is “yes” you or this person may be an alcoholic. Since you’re asking the questions it must mean that you have come to a point in your life that change sounds good. You might be at that point where drinking everyday isn’t helping you to get out of life what you feel you deserve, or your spouse’s alcoholism has impeded on your quality of life long enough and you are ready to live life the way you dreamt you would. It could be that you finally realized that your beginning to drink more and drinking is the very reason you aren’t living the life you thought you would. The good news is that you can get your life under control. You can live a healthier, alcohol free existence. You can be sober and you can be happy!

You don’t have to do it alone. Many alcoholics try to stop the drinking on their own. As with any addiction, some are able to stop their addiction cold turkey, their attempts turn into failures, in turn compounding their addiction. Professional, consistent, help is the key to recovery. Alcohol treatment is an effective way to reach your goal of lifelong sobriety. If alcohol rehab is in your future make sure that you take the time to find an alcohol rehabilitation center that will help you meet your goals the way you want to. Your environment will have an impact on your ultimate success, as a recovering alcoholic you are going to want to trust the people that are too take care of you.

Detoxification from alcohol can be extremely uncomfortable, and if not done with proper care and attention, the initial detox period can prove to be fatal, depending on the severity of the alcohol abuse and other health issues that have arisen because of it. Today is as good a day as any to start the journey to your new alcohol free life. Call 1-888-443-3869 and find an alcohol rehabilitation center that will help save your life or the life of someone you love.

Your life is too precious to be lost to addiction. If you or a loved one need alcohol treatment don’t waste anymore time. Your family and your friends love you, and they want you to be healthy and happy, and around for a long time. alcohol rehab will get you through the darkest days of recovery and help you see the light on the other side. Your alcoholism isn’t only destroying you; it’s also affecting the lives of the people that you love the most.

by Amit Chakraborty