July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Addiction recovery a long road
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month! Might not mean much to most people, but it means everything to people in recovery. Recovery is defined in the dictionary as "a return to a normal state" or "return to health" or "gaining back something lost or taken away". All these fit the alcoholic and addict who, first, abstains from the drug, then makes efforts to repair their lives and clean up the ruins of the past, and finally, maintains a new and giving lifestyle.
Addiction is widely recognized as a "three-fold disease": biological, psychological, and social. One way, the most successful way, to recover from addictions is to address all three aspects of our lives. If we view addiction as a triangle, the top left is physical compulsion to use the drug; the top right is mental or psychological obsession with the drug; and the bottom foundation is the self-centeredness that must be present for the addict to do what the addiction requires. The recovery triangle, then, is physical abstinence which must come first and be sustained over time to gain a return to health; mental freedom to make socially appropriate choices; and spirit-centered. Without all three parts of the triangle, it is like trying to balance on a three-legged stool missing a leg.
Recovery programs are commonly referred to as "Twelve Step Programs" because the programs practice living a new way of life using twelve principled steps. The twelve steps are the means to gain lifestyle changes sufficient to bring about growth, maturity, and responsibility. There are many kinds of recovery programs that use the same basic twelve steps. What the twelve steps all have in common are at least two obvious things: They are all written in plural form and they are all written in past tense. Plural form is so that the addicted person knows there are others who have been able to recover and they do not have to do it alone. Past tense is the evidence that it works; it has worked for literally millions of people from the beginnings in 1935.
People mistakenly think that recovery programs are the meetings that people are court-ordered to attend or sent to by treatment providers. The meetings themselves, though, are not the programs. The meetings are the gatherings of anonymous members who share conditions, problems, and solutions through working the twelve steps, usually with someone known as a "sponsor". A sponsor is a person who has worked the steps, has a period of time abstinent from use, and guides the newcomer through the steps. Many meetings "open", meaning anyone can attend to learn more about the programs and about whether they have a problem. If meetings are referred to as "closed", that means that only people who acknowledge their particular addiction should attend. The locations where meetings are held are not affiliated with the programs themselves, but rent space to the program groups. No one is under any surveillance or being monitored by others for attendance or participation in meetings at any time. The "anonymous" part in the titles means it is no one's business who is there or what is said. To learn more about the Twelve Steps, go on-line, check books at the library, or ask someone you know in recovery. To learn more about Recovery Month, go to www.samhsa.gov. Know that there is hope when an addict is hopeless; there is life without alcohol and drugs; there is freedom in recovery.
Becky Kovacs, Jay
County Drug
Abuse Prevention Coalition
[[In-content Ad]]
September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month! Might not mean much to most people, but it means everything to people in recovery. Recovery is defined in the dictionary as "a return to a normal state" or "return to health" or "gaining back something lost or taken away". All these fit the alcoholic and addict who, first, abstains from the drug, then makes efforts to repair their lives and clean up the ruins of the past, and finally, maintains a new and giving lifestyle.
Addiction is widely recognized as a "three-fold disease": biological, psychological, and social. One way, the most successful way, to recover from addictions is to address all three aspects of our lives. If we view addiction as a triangle, the top left is physical compulsion to use the drug; the top right is mental or psychological obsession with the drug; and the bottom foundation is the self-centeredness that must be present for the addict to do what the addiction requires. The recovery triangle, then, is physical abstinence which must come first and be sustained over time to gain a return to health; mental freedom to make socially appropriate choices; and spirit-centered. Without all three parts of the triangle, it is like trying to balance on a three-legged stool missing a leg.
Recovery programs are commonly referred to as "Twelve Step Programs" because the programs practice living a new way of life using twelve principled steps. The twelve steps are the means to gain lifestyle changes sufficient to bring about growth, maturity, and responsibility. There are many kinds of recovery programs that use the same basic twelve steps. What the twelve steps all have in common are at least two obvious things: They are all written in plural form and they are all written in past tense. Plural form is so that the addicted person knows there are others who have been able to recover and they do not have to do it alone. Past tense is the evidence that it works; it has worked for literally millions of people from the beginnings in 1935.
People mistakenly think that recovery programs are the meetings that people are court-ordered to attend or sent to by treatment providers. The meetings themselves, though, are not the programs. The meetings are the gatherings of anonymous members who share conditions, problems, and solutions through working the twelve steps, usually with someone known as a "sponsor". A sponsor is a person who has worked the steps, has a period of time abstinent from use, and guides the newcomer through the steps. Many meetings "open", meaning anyone can attend to learn more about the programs and about whether they have a problem. If meetings are referred to as "closed", that means that only people who acknowledge their particular addiction should attend. The locations where meetings are held are not affiliated with the programs themselves, but rent space to the program groups. No one is under any surveillance or being monitored by others for attendance or participation in meetings at any time. The "anonymous" part in the titles means it is no one's business who is there or what is said. To learn more about the Twelve Steps, go on-line, check books at the library, or ask someone you know in recovery. To learn more about Recovery Month, go to www.samhsa.gov. Know that there is hope when an addict is hopeless; there is life without alcohol and drugs; there is freedom in recovery.
Becky Kovacs, Jay
County Drug
Abuse Prevention Coalition
[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD