Most current and former addicts who have been to traditional treatment programs say that they are “in recovery.” The baffling part is that some still consider themselves “recovering” even afte 20 years. We certainly don’t want to discredit their achievements - in fact, it’s just the opposite. Let’s give credit where it’s due - a person who has maintained a clean and sober lifestyle free from relapse should be considered recovered. Despite skewed research, there is still no proof that addiction is an incurable brain disease, and people can and do permantly recover every single day. You probably know people in your life right now who used to have a substance abuse problem in their past, but you never would have guessed it if they didn’t tell you.
The first thing one must do have a successful recovery is often to understand what addiction is - at least to them - so that they can make sense of the confusion and start with a stable point. Saying that relapse is a part of recovery only opens the door for failure. If you expect it to happen, then it will probably happen. If you don’t expect it to happen and truly intend on staying clean and being happy, then it is surely possible. After defining addiction, it is also important to define what a successful recovery would be for them. Then it’s a matter of mapping out point A to point B and the proper applications in life needed to get there.
For every person there are going to be difficulties in life the present themselves as barriers to long term recovery. These barriers may be common to all people - like dealing with money or relationships - or the may be uniqe to them as individuals. No matter the barrier or reason for difficulty, there is a solution and it is vital to find workable alternative solutions to those problems. Without those workable alternatives, life simply becomes too overwhelming again and the only relief in sight for the addict is to go use more drugs again.
Probably one of the biggest barriers to long term recovery is actually created by many treatment programs. This one happens to come under the guise of help, but it is actually very damaging for most people. The barrier we’re speaking of is a replacement drug, or multiple drugs, given as a prescription in an effort to merely treat the symptoms of addiction, not actually solve the problem. Aside from the heavy side effects many of these drugs have, it cannot be ignored that the individual is still wholly or partially dependent on a toxic chemical to get through the day. This is not rehabilitation and it is not recovery. It is merely a medicalized treatment of people like animals that doesn’t recognize an individual’s mental (not brain) and spiritual ability to overcome tremendous obstacles.
Once the right drug rehab is found and things are under way, then a long term recovery plan should be created as a follow-up action after completion of the program. A good rehab center will help with a discharge plan from the faiclity, which will incorporate some immediate and long-range goals to work toward. These goals are part of the recovery plan to create an optimum stable environment with proper support and sufficient productivity in life to prevent relapse and continue self betterment.
