Posts Tagged ‘aa alternative’
So you have decided alcohol or drugs just aren’t cutting it for you anymore and you are entertaining the idea of cutting back or quitting. You know the first step is to not use alcohol or drugs but after that what happens? Just the thought of never using alcohol or drugs again may cause you fear and anxiety. You wonder how you will ever enjoy another get together with an old college-drinking buddy. You wonder how you will make it through the holidays, weekends, or cope with all the stress in life. You feel you may miss out on some of life’s activities and pleasures because you no longer use alcohol or drugs. The doubts about quitting, and the reasons to continue alcohol or drug use start flying around in your head. These doubts are normal but they can often create major obstacles in eliminating alcohol or drugs from one’s life. The reasons and excuses above are important in the sense that they illustrate the beliefs of many who think they can’t quit. They believe their lives will be missing something if they do quit alcohol or drugs.
Below you will find a list of some common misconceptions of those with alcohol or drug addictions. I will give a brief refute to these misconceptions in an attempt to lessen the reasons why some believe they can’t quit alcohol or drugs. (For a more thorough and comprehensive look at these misconceptions see Allan Carr’s book Easy Way To Control Alcohol.) I will then list five practical solutions someone struggling with an alcohol or drug addiction can use to remain alcohol and drug free.
1) Alcohol or drugs help me escape problems.
– False, they numb your senses and mind. They do not address the originating problem or stress but rather intensify and compound it. A great example of this is if your car’s engine light came on. Would you rewire the circuit so that the light did not come on, or would you take your car to a mechanic to have your engine checked? Obviously, rewiring the circuit would do nothing to solve the problem. Likewise, alcohol and drugs only numb you to the real issues that need to be addressed and looked at.
2) Alcohol and drugs relax me.
– False, to be truly relaxed you need to address what is causing you the stress. Alcohol and drugs only deaden the senses; they do not remove the stress.
3) It takes willpower to quit and I don’t know if I have enough.
– False, there is no willpower involved here, simply a choice. Willpower is only needed if we look at how we are giving something up. There is nothing to give up when one decides to quit using alcohol or drugs for these things do nothing for you to begin with. In actuality, what you are deciding to do is choose an alternative way to handle life. This doesn’t take willpower (although it may take some practice) All it takes is an active choice. Alcohol and drugs do not demand you use them. You use them because you believe you can’t handle life without them. The choice to use or not use alcohol or drugs is always present. Anyone who has struggled with an addiction to alcohol or drugs can verify they have, at times, refrained from use. It’s a choice to use or not use, don’t complicate it. A simple illustration would go as follows: What if I said I have milk and orange juice in the fridge, and I would like the milk. Would it take willpower for you to not grab the orange juice? Of course not. It would just be a simple choice. View alcohol and drugs the same way. You can use or not use; it’s your choice. Willpower has nothing to do with it.
4) I drink to be sociable.
– False, alcohol and drug use do not make someone more sociable, but rather remove inhibitions and common sense. Alcohol and drugs give false courage and often with much embarrassment.
5) If I don’t continue using alcohol or drugs, I will be physically sick with withdrawal.
– Not necessarily, most people I have encountered experience flu like symptoms for around three days. They may be a little shaky and disoriented, but it is no worse than the common hangover or flu for most. The major battle is mental. For the hard-core alcohol or drug user I would consult a physician for your body will be going through a major adjustment. Be smart, if you are at all concerned about the physical symptoms, consult your physician.
6) I enjoy drinking.
– False, in reality you believe you cannot enjoy life without alcohol or drugs. For the alcohol users, do you remember your first taste of liquor? Did you say, “Wow, that is the best tasting liquid I have ever had?” Most of those who currently struggle with an addiction wish they weren’t drinking or using drugs while they use. Where is the enjoyment in that?
There are many reasons people will give why they drink or drug and why it is not a problem for them. If it truly was not a problem, they would not need reasons. Do I have to give a reason for drinking water or milk? No, because it is no big issue for me. So the above are some brief explanations of the reasons some may use to continue drug or alcohol use. Next I will list five things an alcohol or drug user can utilize to help them quit alcohol or drug use.
1) Get out of your head!
– You have decided to quit using alcohol or drugs after much mental debate. A day or two goes by and you start to feel better physically. You are very proud of yourself. Something happens at work that is stressful and what happens. Your head starts looking for a way to cope with the stress. The alcohol or drug debate begins again. You start rationalizing and justifying how it may not be so bad for one more drink or hit. STOP right there! You are and will achieve what you think! Get out of your head and focus on something else. It’s your negative thinking that got you into the drug and alcohol mess to begin with. But how do you do this?
2) Be selfless not selfish!
– A major reason to want to use alcohol or drugs is selfishness. The poor me syndrome. The whole world starts to revolve around you and no one has as bad as problems as you do. Well none of these problems will be remedied by using alcohol or drugs. You wont pay your bills or patch up the situation with your spouse or at work by using. You wont even find that moment of happiness you are so desperately seeking by using alcohol and drugs. Instead of going up into your head and feeling miserable about yourself or situation, help someone! Get out of your head and into someone else’s world. Kindness to others is the key here, for it does not allow you to have a pity party in your head. The greatest cure and joy in the world to combat misery and selfishness is to help someone else. Talk to someone who seems down. Volunteer at a hospital or detox center. Do anything to get out of your head and not think about yourself. It works!
3) Do something!
– Nothing will change if you sit on the couch feeling sorry for yourself. You need motion and action. All the planning and goals mean little if you don’t put some action behind them. Do something! Get a hobby, volunteer your time, go running, read a book. Whatever will help put you in motion. The concept of fear is important here for most who struggle with alcohol or drug addiction have let fear immobilize them. Remember this: fear lessons and becomes irrelevant when we are actively working toward a goal. Do something toward a goal you have.
4) Choose a goal!
– A goal is something you want to achieve that does not hurt yourself or others. It’s what you want to focus your life towards. Those who struggle with alcohol or drug addiction often lose sight of what their goals are. Find one! What do you enjoy doing? Even if it is a small goal, find one. Finding a goal and working towards it eliminates the power of alcohol or drugs in your life. Your life becomes about who you want to be not who you were.
5) Establish meaning in your life!
– If you are spiritual or religious, PRAY. Re-connect with life and that quiet but persistent voice inside you. Your emotions will tell you when your focus is wrong. Emotions are the nerves to the soul. Listen to them, and if you are having negative emotions look at where your focus is right now. Readjust it! When you were drinking or using drugs your focus was only on yourself. You weren’t happy. You can be! Who do you want to be, what do you want to value, and who do you want to care about? Focus is individual for everyone, but you know it is there. You feel it. You are not ignorant, weak, or stupid. You have just never pushed through your fear of life by getting out of your head, thinking of others first, and putting action behind your goals. You do these simple steps and you have just obtained your new focus!
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Alcohol Addiction Alternative, Drug Addiction Recovery, Alcohol Addiction Counseling, Drug Addiction Counseling, Newark Ohio Addiction Help, Licking County Ohio Alcohol & Drug Addiction Help, Alcohol Recovery, Drug abuse Recovery Help
Individual drug and alcohol counseling for the Ohio Counties: Licking County Ohio – Knox County Ohio- Fairfield County – Perry County Ohio- Muskingum County – Coshocton County
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last week and a half.
I
can’t take anymore. I am tired of being run over
and made to look like
the
fool. How come he can’t see how bad he is hurting
me and humiliating me.
I
am to the point where I want to say I hate him.
I know I can’t though.
I
am at the breaking point now. I am a basketcase
turned upside down in
every direction. I give up. I am so tired of crying.
I want it to be over
now. One lie leads to another lie and there is no
trust anymore for any
situation. I am sorry but all my emotions are out
right now along with a
migraine that I have had all day. What does he do but decides he needs to
leave for a little while with all his excuses of
what he has to do. LIAR LIAR LIAR!!! He’s a drug head turning into a THUG all over again. All I
want to do is just screammmmmmm! I want out of
this situation and fast.
What would be my first step. I am on the verge of
a fast approaching
nervous breakdown.”
..From the mail bag
The “Forgotten Five-Steps” Workbook
An empowering approach to an old problem!
So how do you like being an enabler and codependent? It is unfortunate, but your desire to continue helping someone struggling with alcohol or drugs has put you in a new category of human existence.
Who would of ever known that somewhere deep down inside you there lingered a desire to be completely miserable? You must love misery because look at all the things you put up with being a friend or spouse to an alcohol or drug user! Why?
Because you are an enabler and enabling allows you to stay in a relationship because your fear of being alone is greater than the experience of your spouse’s addictive behavior. You depend on your spouse so much that you enable him/her to continue the addiction thereby making you a codependent. Once codependent, your life is no longer yours but becomes enmeshed with the addicts. You are just as sick as they are and will probably have to attend some sort of self-help meeting, or subject yourself to years of counseling in order to regain any resemblance of a normal life. Don’t believe me? Ask a professional or self-help group member.
But I will not tell you any of this! It is just not true. In fact it is the most destructive and misguided information out there. When did it become a sickness, disorder, or disease to love!
You have tried everything!
Learn from the success of others, now!
Just because you can’t just turn your back on someone with an addiction, does not make you sick! It makes you caring! We live in the “me” generation. Individuality is emphasized and anything or anyone who hinders your personal pursuits is considered to be obsolete and to be thrown to the curb. If someone with a genuine desire to help cannot just kick their addicted spouse to the curb, they are considered to be weak with a lack of healthy self-confidence. They are what most professionals call enablers and codependents.
Don’t believe it! Of all the people I have encountered who once struggled with an addiction, but don’t anymore, none of them said it was their spouse’s fault. “If only he/she did not enable me so much” or “if only he/she wasn’t a codependent, I could of stopped drinking sooner”, are two statements I have never heard. In fact it is the complete opposite. Those who have “recovered” value and honor the strength and understanding they received from their spouses and friends.
Now does this mean you become a doormat? Absolutely not. Below you may find some helpful information on what to do. But in no way think that the answer can be found anywhere but truly in your heart. What works for one, may not work for another. What one person wants and can put up with, another may not be able to. Determine how much you are willing to take and set the boundaries. Talk to your friend or spouse and make these boundaries clear.
Sticking to your guns can be very difficult at times, but you must separate “not hurting the person’s feelings” from being able to truly help the person.
Never base your decision or boundaries on what others will think! We have been brainwashed to believe that caring is wrong. It is not. What you need to do is determine for yourself what you want your life to be about.
You are not sick, and caring is not a disease. Everyone struggles with difficult times in their lives and often these difficult times are caused by the behavior of someone close to you. No matter what you may have been told, the addict does not continue using alcohol or drugs because of something you said or did. You are not codependent and you cannot enable him/her to continue drinking or using drugs.
Sure, without money or a home to live in the addict may have to re-evaluate his/her life. But most addicts I have talked to continue using anyways even with extreme threats and consequences.
Consequences and threats may facilitate a change, but true change occurs when the addict decides it is of value to do so. It is entirely the addict’s choice and choosing. Never blame yourself!
Realize there are two aspects of change and both these aspects depend on the person using alcohol or drugs, not you!
First, the alcohol or drug user must decide that they want to change. This sounds kind of obvious, but I have found that the question “do you want to stop drinking or using drugs?” is rarely asked in a real sense. It is presumed that the addict wants to better themselves or that they are “in denial” and labeled resistant.
I’ve heard educated people talk forever on the concept of denial. It is important to mention here because it is ridiculous.
Those who abuse alcohol or drugs know exactly what they are doing, and I must say are damn good at it. They can deceive and manipulate about anyone to get their next fix.
The point here is that there is no denial, only what the addict is choosing to value. It’s difficult, but we have to put it in perspective to see the individual where they are at and where they want to be. Again, it is not you; it is what the addict is choosing to place importance on.
So the alcohol or drug user has to want to change. If they tell you they don’t have a problem, when it is completely obvious to anyone that they do, they are simply stating, “I’m not stopping”.
Second, is the alcohol or drug user has to think they can change. This can be more hairy because it takes into account the addicts perception of his/her personal life circumstances. In other words, the alcohol or drug user has to believe their life will be improved by stopping their addictive behavior.
I have to add that the model which is currently functioning in the treatment industry (disease model AA) doesn’t do a whole lot for encouraging hope. There are too many variables that can get in the way (spirituality, character defects, surrendering of will) that have more to do with ones practice of life than not drinking or drugging. How can I really change anyways if I have to be dependant on meetings, and not to mention the disease that can re-occur at any moment no matter how many spiritual awakenings I have experienced.
The following information is from a pamphlet, which is given to all patients at a leading addiction treatment center. You will probably agree that it is quite depressing and feeds into the self-fulfilling prophecy of helplessness! ….”Since the drinking of alcoholics is not a matter of choice but the symptoms of a disease, there is no use in appealing to goodwill or exhorting them to use willpower. That is like telling a tubercular patient not to cough…Alcoholics do not choose to get drunk; they get drunk in spite of intending not to. They are not morally depraved; they are sick” James Royce, SJ, Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling.
The pamphlet goes on to include… “Under the influence of the drug, the addicted person’s denial is so powerful that he or she may just resist even more…You are dealing with an insidious, progressive disease that has to be approached systematically…. You need to see the drug-affected actions as part of the sickness and your loved one as a sick person.”
Now those of you familiar with treatment programs are probably not new to this line of thinking. Where is the hope? Where is a solution? Why not continue to use drugs or alcohol if this is all there is to look forward to?
A more disturbing part explains that in helping someone with his or her drug or alcohol problem a loved one must be careful for… “If you were to lose your ability to love, you would feed the addict more reasons to use drugs or alcohol…Addiction is a family problem.” Does a tubercular patient infect his family with a disease? Does his disease depend on the love from family and friends?
The importance here is that if the person using alcohol or drugs sees no hope in abstinence improving life circumstances, no change will occur.
It is not the family’s fault or lack of love, but rather the addict’s belief that they simply cannot live or cope with life without alcohol or drugs. If the addict holds this belief, they will not see any life benefits in stopping their addiction.
1)They must decide they want to change.
–Focus on the positives of the person struggling with alcohol or drugs. Why? Because they already know their life is a mess. What they don’t know is if they have the ability to climb out of this mess.
-Low self-esteem is an issue here. Self-esteem may be confused with sobriety. One does not regain an instant positive self-image simply by becoming sober.
Self-esteem is often associated with particular actions. A belief occurs that if I do such and such then I am a good person and I will remain sober. Instead of emphasizing that personal worth is present when one believes it is.
2) They must believe they can change and that changing will improve life circumstances.
– Proper support and peer groups must be present here. Remember we all rise or fall to the expectation of our peers.
Family and friends of those who use alcohol or drugs may have a hard time determining exactly what can be done. Talking with others who have been through the process can help, but I would encourage seeking out those with diverse views and experience. There is no “one way” to deal with someone who suffers with alcohol and drug use. Determine what you want your life to be about, set goals and boundaries, and realize that you do not control the behavior and choices of the addicted person. Follow your instincts and heart. And remember, you are not sick because you care!
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Codependency – Codependent – Enabler
Newark, Ohio Alcoholism Treatment Alternative
Individual drug and alcohol counseling for the Ohio Counties: Licking County Ohio – Knox County Ohio- Fairfield County – Perry County Ohio- Muskingum County – Coshocton County
Newark Ohio Alcohol & Drug Counseling
| Dancing with the devil – Tricia
Excuse me sir, but have you seen my brother? |
….. I shook my head and that brought me back, to one more hit another drink and no more pain. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and glanced out the window….
What was this voice whispering that I had to leave? Was it more painful than here? My mind started to race again, back and forth, anywhere… but away from here…..
….. But the whisper continued. It would not leave. It kept bringing me back, reminding me, beckoning me to remember. But I did not want to remember. To remember would put me right back to where I did not want to be, back to being real, back to life, back to the truth. Back to the memory of who I was and wanted to be. That land was too scary. I was fine where I was. Or, it was at least easier to believe I was fine than face where the whispers beckoned me to go….
…. One more drink, one more hit and I will be back to my place. The place where only I can go, the place where only I belong…confident and in control…. But that damn voice, that damn whisper… I wasn’t having fun anymore. I didn’t believe my stories anymore. I kept repeating them over and over, but it was no use. No matter what I tried, how many hits, how many beers, I could not find the reason anymore. Too many broken hearts and promises. I only saw destruction… and that damn voice…. Whispering to me of a land where I once walked free….
…. I saw it in other people’s eyes, that is I saw what the whispers told me. In fact it just felt good to be around. But not too long, the whispers were too powerful and true. I had to run, I had to hide, the fear would become overwhelming…
…. But I did see it. I wanted it. I’d been there. I know I have, for I remember how I walked, I remember every hill and valley. These whispers I saw in other people and felt inside my heart. This land with vast openness I was once free to roam. But how could I get there? How could I get past the fear? How could I stop to look at myself when all I ever wanted to do was run? ….
…… I wasn’t always like this. I wasn’t always scared. I was a good kid. In fact I am pretty caring even now. I do good deeds and go to church. But how long ago was it? How many years do I have to go back to remember them with innocence? Too many? No, too few. Does it matter how it started? ……….. Damn, those whispers again…. I need a hit, I need a beer……… But those whispers……….. I want them, I do I want them, ……….I want to see the sun rise and set. I want….. It just seems so far away ………… but so very close………… Shhhh…. Listen, maybe you can hear them……………..
choosing to hide(use)in my shell, all the while resenting where I dwell
perhaps the poem I spit
keeps me caught up in this shit
’cause I can never tell
if I create or am this hell
I cant claim I’m unique
to play dead when I am weak
and If I pound the wall of loneliness
without fear of what I’ll find
can I relax and reach another’s hand
or will the coward crawl back inside?
Meshell,
by, Stephen J. Murray
In the night I have wept-
Emotions abound and have swept-
This ungodly hour of my pet-
She knows not how, how I have crept-
In the night it always seems-
The fabric my heart, it is reams-
When the sun no longer gleams-
My emotions come apart at the seams-
In the night my memories make-
Pools of disquietude in this lake-
That I lay awake-
And abate never comes to escape-
In the night there is no slack-
Again it begins with all that morbid flack-
It is here on my back-
On my back with a crack-
In the night, this is my threat-
That the busy in the day is gone to let-
Again that we have met-
And she is void of the feelings I get-
In the night years have gone by-
And I have not yet a heavy sigh-
I will never say goodbye-
Not until the day I die-
In the night with no refrain-
In the night-
In the night-
In the night
Newark, Ohio Licking County Alcoholism Treatment Alternative
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Individual drug and alcohol counseling for the Ohio Counties: Licking County Ohio – Knox County Ohio- Fairfield County – Perry County Ohio- Muskingum County – Coshocton County
Newark Ohio Alcohol & Drug Counseling
By now the term “relapse” is both widely used and engrained into the minds of most all of who are lucky enough to enter some form of treatment in the US for chemical dependency. The “treated” person is informed that with chemical dependency, relapse can occur at any time and that from moment to moment one must be alerted to the “triggers” that may cause this regrettable fall, back to the clutches of addiction. “One day at a time” and, “you are only an arms length away from your next drink” are the clichés which echo through most AA halls and treatment offices. Although well intentioned, the concept of relapse is associated with the idea that chemical dependency or addiction is a disease. Those unfortunate enough to have this biological/chemical abnormality will forever have to be conscious of their struggle to maintain sobriety. There is no escape. The disease of chemical dependency never leaves, and in fact it is waiting in the background for its chance to reclaim its victim. Relapse is viewed as something outside the realm of the person’s control. Sure, no one forces them to pick up a drink, but if they succumb to the temptation, it is blamed on the disease. It is not until the addict surrenders his will and admits complete defeat that any hope of abstinence from chemical dependency can be obtained. Or so we hope, remember the disease is powerful and no one is off the hook, ever!
I feel the above is unfortunate and that our current outlook and use of the term “relapse” needs a more honest investigation.
First of all, there is no study or medical literature that proves or has found there to be any biological disease with chemical dependency or addiction. There is none! Believe it or not, the disease idea is used purely because no one has a clue why someone would continue to destroy his or her lives through an addiction. If we believe people would not consciously choose chemical dependency or addiction as a way of life, we conclude it must be a disease.
With no scientific literature to support this, the concept of relapse is absurd. We cannot relapse if there is no disease.
Telling people addiction is a disease, and relapse is part of that disease, (when both are false) is setting them up for failure. The disease concept does not encourage the addict to choose and control what he can to improve his life. The disease concept strips the addict of free will and puts them under the control of an imaginary disease. Again, no one and nothing can force them to pick up a drink. But if they do take the drink, it is the disease, not the man. Try this; think of someone you know who doesn’t drink. Now think of them as an alcoholic. What did you just add to them? You got it, a disease. By labeling them an alcoholic, in your mind, you have just separated them as being “different” from the normal person because of some internal biological craving. They are not different. They are just choosing a form of behavior you would not.
Secondly, 80% of those who admit they once had a problem with an addiction no longer have the addiction. They “recovered” on their own. The importance here is that these people are not struggling with a day-to-day battle of the wills to abstain from drug or alcohol use. They did not need 90 meetings in 90 days, or intensive outpatient therapy with relapse plans. They simply quit. They can do this because there is no disease. Their values and focus changed and they decided drugs and alcohol no longer held the power and significance it once had. People normally change when they realize they have something to lose if they don’t change. Pain and consequences are important here for when one gets disturbed enough they will be more motivated to change. Those who continue to use alcohol or drugs have not yet been convinced that life would be better lived if they quit. Some would then ask if those who continue to use alcohol or drugs need to “hit bottom” in order to change. The answer to that is simple. No.
The addict will continue to use until he or she is convinced that they can successfully live life without the use of alcohol or drugs.
This can come at any time and for some, it is never. There is no “bottom”. It is relative, and has more to do with why people think they can’t quit than why people continue to drink or use drugs. In other words, I am not going to quit until I think I can.
So knowing that addiction is not a disease, relapse cannot exist. And, knowing that the majority of people quit on their own, personal perception and choice is important. Why?
Because it is human nature to choose what we perceive will give us the most happiness at any given moment
But what does happiness have to do with drinking or using drugs? Anyone can tell that the addict isn’t happy. That’s right, those who drink or drug aren’t happy but that doesn’t mean they can’t perceive it to bring happiness. Addicts are full of fear, like many people who live life. The only difference is that the addict consistently chooses not to productively deal with that fear. The addict hides, and with this hiding comes the illusion of control. They numb themselves to have a moment of peace, happiness. Now are they actually experiencing peace and happiness? Of course not, but if you have a splinter in your foot and you knock yourself on the head with a baseball bat, you wont be thinking about the foot!
But this still does not answer the question of why some can’t seem to quit even though they portray a real desire to do so?
The obvious answer would be because they are told they cannot.
The same people who want to help them are at the same time telling them they can never escape their addiction completely.
This is not acceptable to me. Let’s look at the process. Someone struggling with an addiction goes to counseling or AA. They are given all the above and more standard information. They buy into “One day at a time” and the disease concept and get “sober”. They are excited about this and jump into the “recovery” process full force. But something starts to happen when they are told “recovery” is a life long process and they can never escape their disease. They find only two choices; remain in AA(treatment), or fail. They remain in AA and periodic counseling for a while. But shortly they start realizing that the mistakes they have made are coming back to haunt them. Their finances are in trouble, friends are hesitant to call, family distrusts them, they still are not happy, etc. Things are a mess. What happens? Well when you take away the addiction, the person becomes like everyone else (probably with a bit more mess to clean up though). There is no more hiding or excuses and the person is hit with the realization that the position he is now in is from his own past choices. He knows he can refrain from drinking or drugging, because he is doing it now. But, he feels alone and has difficulty understanding and controlling his feelings. For the first time in a while he feels fear. What does he do?
He holds on to his “recovery”. It is his saving grace. It becomes his identity and image.
His self-esteem seems to hinder on his progress of the 12 steps and how other members view him. But this wears thin and he soon finds out that people don’t care. The world goes on. His progress in the steps do not land him a job or get his family back. His image falls. He remembers his disease. At least he has that fight. It becomes harder to deny the usefulness his old addiction could give him now. It’s a disease remember. He feels out of control and needs to regain it. He uses and the cycle starts again. Until he realizes that addiction is a choice, he cannot regain control and ownership of his life.
He must come to realize that his individual worth is not because he is “sober” but because he is alive.
If he does “relapse” it is not because he has a disease, but because he chose to deal with his fear by avoidance.
So why can’t people quit drugs or alcohol when everything they say indicates they want to? Simply, they feel they cannot live life without it. They have made the wrong choices for so long and depended on their addictions as a crutch. To stop drinking or using drugs would strip them of the only constant they know:
The ability to control their fear and helplessness in a way they perceive as most effective for their particular situation.
This is relapse, addiction. So what can we do? Lets keep this simple.
The Ebook – A Practical Guide To Quit Addiction!
– We must empower the individual struggling with alcohol or drugs. We do this by taking away all excuses they may have to why they cannot stop drinking or druging. They will have many of these excuses. But the bottom line is that they don’t believe they have the necessary personal resourses to overcome it. Find their talents and help them emphasize them. I do not believe they are weak willed or spiritually deprived. Their will’s have taken them to a place where no one else would want to go. If they wanted to drink or drug, they found a way to do it. Use this strength to re-focus them. Their spirituality is normally quite strong. They are searching for something, a meaning. Help them find this meaning. Victor Frankl wrote that if you give a person purpose and meaning, they will find a way through anything. No matter how hopeless it seems. Even atheists believe in something. Even if it is life itself.
– There is no biological or chemical disease.
If they use, it’s their choice. Relapse is a choice. Tell them this.
– For every choice to use alcohol or drugs, there is an alternative choice also available.
They may have forgotten this part. The alternative choice will most likely impact the problem more directly to resolve it and not further its existence. Fear may enter here. They have avoided responsibility like the plague. But when they finally realize that their control comes from responsible choices they are more willing to attempt it. The key is when they can see how choosing the responsible choice will positively impact their life situation. When life situations can’t be seen as improving, change will be hard fought.
– No one truely enjoys their addictive behavior.
They don’t drink or drug because they “like it”. Think back to the first few times you used. The taste was awful and it most likely made you sick. No one I have ever encountered formed their desire to use after the first drink or hit. It took some work.
– Make sure goals are clear and achievable.
The addict must develop a clear vision and plan of what they want and who they want to be. This is most important, for through their use of alcohol or drugs most have lost sight of the dreams and goals they once had. Remind them. Most healthy people look at the world as their playground. The addict looks at the world as their prison. Help them find the key.
– Avoid cleaning up their mess.
Don’t get involved with the blame game. Addicts are real good at this. They can twist any situation to support their misery. Let choices and consequences be theirs. This way there is no one to blame but themselves.
– Let them know that it is ok to feel.
Most addicts don’t know how to do this. Teach them. To them, feelings are the enemy and have to be avoided. Feelings come and go and feelings will not kill you. It’s how you respond to them that matters.
– Fear is at the root of all addictions
Get them to takle one of these fears head on and they gain some ground. Build on these small successes so they can start to see their innate abilities to change.
– Get them out of their heads!
There is no destructive force in the world greater than an addicts self centered thinking. Mental illness has been defined as perceiving without testing. We perceive according to the stories we tell ourselves in our heads. It does not matter the reality of these stories. They are how we see the world. The addict has such a selfish view (story) that if they are left in their own heads there is little chance of positive change. What works well here is to have the addict help out others. If they are thinking of someone else, they will not be thinking of themselves. There is no greater fullfillment in the world than one who truly gives to another and expects nothing in return. Teach them to give.
– Perhaps the most dangerous idea in the treatment field is the phrase “You have to do it for yourself”.
Who do you think the addict has been serving all this time? His family and friends? Get them out of their heads! Teach them to help others.
– Motives drive an addiction.
Teach them to examine the motives behind their behavior. Most of their motives will be fear based. Remember their addiction is their attempt to control an internal feeling of fear and helplessness. A good rule of thumb in checking motives to a behavior is to ask, “will this hurt or harm myself or others?” If the answer is yes, then difficulties lie ahead. Behaviors with fear as their motive will only result in self protecting behavior. They will not focus on a solution to a problem and will not satisfy.
– Fear and guilt do little to help the addict abstain from alcohol or drugs!
Most professionals focus on the negative consequences as a reason to abstain from alcohol or drugs. This is the wrong approach. The addict already knows, or has experienced the negative consequences associated with using. This has not hindered their use. They may cut down for a while after experiencing a negative consequence only to resume normal use as time goes on. This is because people do not like to live in fear. They want to escape it. Guilt is the same thing. People want to avoid it. Fear and guilt focus on the problem not the solution. Teach them to focus on the solution. Help them see that change occurs when they focus their life on something other than drinking or drugging. Don’t define them as “in recovery” or by “sober time”. This is a focus on the problem. When they realize they can handle stress in life, not because the are “sober” or “in recovery” but because they are alive and equipped with the ability to do so, drugs and alcohol will be irrelevant.
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Drug addiction and alcohol addiction is not a disease, but a choice. You do not have to be a passive bystander to an imaginary disease of drug addiction or alcohol addiction; give up your will; be labeled as an alcoholic or “in recovery”; or attend meetings and treatment for the rest of your life!
Those who struggle with alcohol addiction or drug addiction are finding that often the mainstream thinking isn’t helping them. Three or four alcohol or drug rehabs later, many counseling sessions attended, and hundreds or even thousands of dollars spent only to find out that relapse is a part of treatment and the drug or alcohol addiction “disease” is with you forever! What? Then why go? If something does not produce acceptable results, why continue in it?
Because we have been led to believe that drug addiction or alcohol addiction is a disease. We have been told that the only way to “recover” is to attend treatment and endless AA, NA meetings for the rest of our lives.
The truth is that most people who have had problems with alcohol addiction or drug addiction in the past quit on their own.
Even those currently struggling with drug addiction or alcohol addiction will tell you that they have often refrained from drug or alcohol use for a period of time.
There is no mysterious disease here, it is a matter of choice.
You are in complete control right now! No one is stopping you from cracking that beer, or sniffing that powder.
If you want to use alcohol or drugs, you will. Addicts always find a way.
So why is the alternative to using (not using) drugs or alcohol so difficult to comprehend? We can choose to pick up a beer whenever we fancy. But if we want to put that beer down, all of a sudden there are diseases, character defects, meetings, counseling treatment sessions, etc., to contend with!
Many who have had an alcohol addiction or drug addiction problem, have quit on their own and without all the drama and struggle!
There are vast amounts of information out there on the whole “recovery” process from drug addiction and alcohol addiction. With this vast information, I believe, we often lose sight of what matters most.
We may lose site of the individual differences and dignity of all who struggle with drug addiction or alcohol addiction to receive the kind of help that will be most beneficial for them to succeed in life. Diversity enhances life experiences and we should not limit ones options for success in “recovery” by presenting only one view of addiction. We are all free to choose and have every capability and tool necessary to live the life we dream without alcohol or drugs.
Read more from The Forgotten Five Steps
Drug addiction and alcohol addiction is a painful business. Because of the pain and struggle involved we may search endlessly for the one cause or cure to end the madness. We become afraid, and through this fear cling to any shred of evidence we can find to lift us from our state.
Is there one way to succeed in “recovery”? Who is right? Who is wrong?
When it is all said and done, it does not matter which path you take to end alcohol addiction or drug addiction. It’s your choice, your life. Find a way.
For whatever reason, you gave alcohol or drugs power and control. They served a purpose for you. This purpose allowed you the ability to control your fear and feelings of helplessness.
Relearning a healthy coping strategy may take time, and you will make mistakes. Don’t go to hard on yourself. Learn from your mistakes. You are more than your drug or alcohol addiction!
Those that struggle with drug addiction or alcohol addiction will continue to use until they are convinced that they can successfully live life without the use of alcohol or drugs.
Addiction as a choice does not avoid responsibility. Rather it acknowledges mistakes and enables ownership of positive change.