ADDICTION AND RECOVERY: DONE WITH TREATMENT--NOW WHAT-!?!

LET’S TALK ABOUT…COMPLETED TREATMENT PROGRAM—NOW WHAT? One of my clients called to proudly announce that he had completed his 30 day “treatment program”. I was as proud of him as he was of himself for being “clean and sober for 30 days!” His next question “Now what, MAx?”

My response “Now the work really begins.”

Being “clean and sober”, whether for 30 days or 30 years, doesn’t mean you are in total recovery. It means that you are giving your mind, body, and spirit a time-out from abuse with alcohol and/or drugs.

Being “clean and sober” means that your mind and body have started to detox enough to make a serious decision about committing to a healthier lifestyle.

Being “clean and sober” means working on putting your mind, body, and spirit in perfect healthy alignment.

One of the important recovery concepts learned in both traditional and holistic treatment programs is that you are not alone in either your addiction, or, your recovery: there will always be a convenient 12 Step program available to support your efforts. It provides an environment of people that have had similar experiences, so everyone knows your story and is prepared to share their experiences and what helped them with their success.

“Support” is crucial during the early recovery period. For many, because they burned so many bridges, 12 Step may be their only support. The lucky ones are those that have had families that have hung in through the worse of the worse: angry meltdowns, theft, homelessness, jail, and other antisocial behaviors. These are character traits learned while living and surviving in the world of addiction. 

Recognizing and changing these behaviors is where the work really begins.

Having a supportive family is like having a jump start on healing. As you continue to detox, being around your family will help you slide back into the strong foundation that is based on your family’s healthy values and beliefs. The family is the ideal deprogrammers necessary to lovingly reindoctrinate you back to familiar conventional thinking.

A healthy family and friends make up a huge factor for successful recovery.

From a holistic approach for substance abuse disorders, here are other factors that lead to a successful healthier lifestyle:

Have a regular routine that addresses the mind, body, and center.

   -Address individual nutritional needs that allows the body to heal nutrient depletion

   -Drink lots of water to allow easier physical movements and the ability to think clearer.

   -Regular moderate and high intensity aerobic exercises, as suggested by the Guidelines of          American College of Sports Medicine, that allows for a better chance of abstinence, decreases anxiety, and eases withdrawal and depression symptoms.

   -Surround yourself with healthy people that strive to be even better people, and, know that you deserve to be one of them.

   -Review, renew, and renovate your values and your beliefs—being in recovery means that you have learned a lot more about life, update based on the lessons you have learned.

   -Define your purpose and make daily steps to live it.

FAMILY MATTERS in recovery.

YOU WANTING to change is the KEY to recovery.

Glad we talked about this. Of course, it is just my opinion.

This column is reprinted from the Springfield Times (SpringfieldTimes.net) weekly column "Ask MAx". The Springfield Times is published weekly for Thursday delivery. Subscribe at 541-741-7368.

You can comment on this article and make suggestions for future columns: maxfabry@LifestyleChangesCounseling.com. Or, snail mail your topics to Lifestyle Changes, PO Box 1962, Eugene, OR  97440.!