Addiction Recovery Basics » Phases Of Recovery

Drug Addiction And Alcoholism Treatment: The 4 Phases (Part 4 of 4)

Bill Urell — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:26:02 +0000

Entering and Maintaining Recovery is the fourth and final entry in this series, The 4 Phases of Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Treatment.

Entering and Maintaining Recovery:

At this point, one has worked toward maintaining abstinence, achieved a length of time of abstinence, and a stable. Sometimes this final phase of recovery is called “maintenance” or “stability” phase of drug and alcohol addiction recovery.

In this, the final phase of addiction recovery one moves toward personal growth and discovery. Having learned some skills to handle life on life’s terms, the good and the bad and not turning back to drugs and alcohol for solutions, we move toward personal growth and success. This does not mean that a person can coast along there is work to be done.

What we are aiming for in this phase of recovery is to be living a life completely based on principles, not on ‘fixing’ uncomfortable emotions. For example, sometimes is very difficult or uncomfortable to tell the truth even when we know it is the right thing to do in principle. If one is living a life based on principles decision will be made to be honest, suffer the unpleasant feeling of the moment, and noted in principle they are doing the right thing. In addiction, the easier solution is to lie about it and not suffer the uncomfortably of the present moment by sacrificing long-term principle of honesty.

Here are some tasks it may be appropriate to take on:

1. Taking personality issues examining their source, their function and usefulness and, perhaps changing them.

2. Figuring out behaviors that are sabotage life and changing them, coming up with alternatives.

3. Dealing with family of origin issues and dysfunctional behaviors learned as a child that appear in adulthood.

4. Spiritual or purpose of life questions. What is your purpose in life, what is it that makes you truly happy? What is your degree of connection to people, the world around you, and to a Higher Power

You may not find the answers to roll these questions, but the process is all about steering some education of trying to find the answers. I strongly suggest that you address purpose of life questions if you haven’t looked at it them before. I’ve known many people with 10, 20 and more of sobriety reach a point where they ask themselves “Is this all there is? I might be better off drinking or drugging.” An attitude such as this is a direct result of not achieving peace and happiness in recovery. Paying attention to long-term goals even after you have made mastered the basics is the key to success in this phase.
We hope you enjoyed this series on the phases of drug and alcohol addiction recovery, please leave a comment and tell us what you think.

For the complete series Click Below:

Part 1. – Beginning Addiction Treatment
Part 2. – Learning abstinence.
Part 3. – Maintaining abstinence.
Part 4. – Entering and maintaining recovery.

Technorati Tags: Addiction, Addiction Recovery, Addiction-Treatment, phases-of-recovery

Drug Addiction And Alcoholism Treatment: The 4 Phases (Part 3 of 4)

Bill Urell — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:56:15 +0000

In this, the third in a four-part series on the faces of drug addiction and alcoholism recovery, we’re going to speak about Phase 3, Maintaining Abstinence.

Maintaining Abstinence.

Phase 2 of addiction recovery dealt with learning how to stay abstinent. In this phase of recovery we are going to discuss maintaining abstinence.

One thing that is difficult in discussing phases of recovery is attempting to put a general time frame on things. There is not a specific plateau such as 30 days one year or five years when you move into another stage of recovery is dependent upon how much work and effort is put into acquiring recovery skills. I knew a spiritual care counselor of his favorite saying was “recovery begins when the work begins”.

Their two major areas of development occur when learning the skills to maintain abstinence:

1. Identifying and dealing with internal, external, and sensory triggers and cues. The most difficult part of this is dealing with social and emotional stresses and triggers. It is relatively easy and commonsensical to avoid negative places and things. But learning how to identify, own, and process uncomfortable emotions is a real challenge.

2. Developing life skills to handle “life on life’s terms”. Life is life, good things happen, bad things happen. Enacting recovery must face the challenge of handling life’s unpleasant moments, the addictive thinking they can trigger, the unpleasant emotions it can be generated and avoid returning to use. For many, in choosing abstinence we have voluntarily given up the ‘magic pill” that used to heal our discomfort: drugs and alcohol. Now we must learn a new way.

When a person slides deep into addiction their life skills often deteriorate, often to the point of not being able to care for oneself. Here are some examples of things that may need to be dealt with or brushed up on:

1.    Communication skills.
2.    Repair and restore relationships
3.    Managing resentments and anger
4.    Developing a positive support system
5.    Improving self-esteem and self image
6.    Repairing finances, employment
7.    Maintaining proper health and nutrition
8.    Learning how to have fun without drugs and alcohol
9.    Learning drug and alcohol refusal skills
10.    Start living a life based on principles, not emotions

A lot of people early in recovery would look at a list such as the one above and say “I can’t possibly do all that.” Well, there is an old adage in the recovery community that says “the same person will drink or drug again”. What that means is that if nothing changes, nothing changes. Is imperative start to begin again and rebuild our lives in a responsible and mature manner.

An excellent way to develop a strong social support system start to learn to live a life based on principles to participate in a 12 step program. They are not a bunch of religious fanatics were called people after your money. It is a group of people headed in the same general direction toward recovery and sobriety while learning how to deal with life.

For the complete series Click Below:

Part 1. – Beginning Addiction Treatment
Part 2. – Learning abstinence.
Part 3. – Maintaining abstinence.
Part 4. – Entering and maintaining recovery.

Technorati Tags: Addiction, Alcoholism, drug-addiction, life-skills, phases-of-recovery, substance-abuse, Twelve-step program

Drug Addiction And Alcoholism Treatment: The 4 Phases (Part 1 of 4)

Bill Urell — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:51:48 +0000

In this, the first article in a series of 4, we’re going to talk about Phase 1 of drug and alcohol addiction treatment, Beginning Treatment.

Today, we’re going to cover phase 1, beginning treatment.

The four phases are:

1. Beginning treatment.
2. Learning abstinence.
3. Maintaining abstinence.
4. Entering and maintaining recovery.

1. Beginning Treatment.

When a person has decided that they need help with drug addiction or alcoholism and start reaching out for help they actually entered phase 1, beginning treatment. That person has admitted that they have a problem and are seeking help to deal with it. They have initiated the treatment process.

When beginning treatment there are 2 obstacles that must be faced and overcome; these are the concepts of Denial and Ambivalence. We’ll start with denial first, because without thoroughly understanding this concept as it applies to addiction recovery one can be completely stalled and give up too early.

Denial

The thought process of one who wants to stay active in addiction is to maintain their addiction at all costs. Deep down, they know they are not doing themselves any good. Denial is the thought process that allows them to not believe how bad things have really gotten. It is the story and add expense to themselves to make drug use seem logical. Examples might be saying things like “I’m not really that bad, I work hard I deserve it, I don’t have a problem you have a problem, everybody does it.”

Unfortunately, the one thing that breaks through denial is one’s life circumstances or negative consequences it so bad they cannot be ignored. In other words, the attic story that drug use is not harming them is shot down by overwhelming evidence.

Ambivalence

The easiest way to describe the concept that ambivalence is to think of being stuck in two worlds. It is almost like having a discussion with yourself trying to take both sides at the same time. A person might say on the one hand I know I need to give up heroine because it will kill me, and on the other hand I’m scared of the drugs sickness from the withdrawals. An alcoholic might say on the one hand I don’t want to start drinking today, I need a drink to get out of bed.

Ambivalence might also be thought of as a stage of growth or change that needs to be moved through. It is like sitting on the fence on the one hand a person “should” stop using drugs and alcohol, but they may not believe they had the ability to do so. One way of looking ambivalence is that it is the fear of commitment, and unfortunately recovery requires complete commitment to abstinence and recovery.

In summary, there are two major goals in beginning treatment. Overcoming denial, to get a realistic picture of how bad things really are. And moving through ambivalence, or sitting on the fence, and taking positive action. One of the first things a professional in and addiction treatment setting will it be examining is denial, ambivalence, and motivation. Conquering beast will generally be the ticket to move forward into the Phase 2 of addiction treatment, learning abstinence.

For the complete series Click Below:

Part 1. – Beginning Addiction Treatment
Part 2. – Learning abstinence.
Part 3. – Maintaining abstinence.
Part 4. – Entering and maintaining recovery.

If Drugs And Alcohol Are The Solution, Then What Is The Problem?

Bill Urell — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:24:42 +0000

Drugs and alcohol have the capacity to provide short-term solutions to many of life’s problems. The difficulty of course, is that excess use of alcohol and drugs become the problem themselves.

I proposed the topic of what problems we’re trying to solve by the use of alcohol and drugs to a discussion group. We generated a list of items:

Loneliness
Reducing stress
Handling anxiety
Coping with depression
I simply like to drink in drug, no problem.
My husband/wife – dysfunctional relationships
Low self-esteem
Feeling sorry for myself
Handling pain (both physical and emotional)

The list went on and on, I’m sure you get the idea. There is a reality here to be considered. Life is life, there are good times and bad times, we become frustrated with ourselves, other people, places and things.

One thing I believe to be a commonality among people with chemical dependency, or of users of drugs and alcohol, is a tendency to not know how to deal with life’s issues in a positive, not destructive way. Perhaps somewhere long the way the skills were just never learned. Another possibility is that the skills we learned in childhood were dysfunctional and we still use them as adults with little success.

I believe that one thing that absolutely must be done in recovery is to scratch off the option of returning to drug and alcohol use as a means of solving life’s problems. How am I going to handle the death of loved one, the loss of a job, celebrating the birth of a new baby?

I really don’t know, I’ll deal with it to the best of my ability when it happens. But one thing that is absolutely certain is that the option of returning to drug and alcohol use and abuse is no longer on the menu of options in my life.

That emotional and intellectual commitment to abstinence is only so much rhetoric if it is not backed by a plan of action. The intellectual decision to stop drinking is about 2 percent of the game. The other 98 percent involves having a concrete plan of recovery in growth in place, a relapse Prevention Plan, and an absolutely huge support network.

Technorati Tags: drugs-and-alcohol

Rate Yourself On These Measurable Signs Of Progress In Addiction Recovery

Bill Urell — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:48:41 +0000

It used to drive me crazy early in addiction recovery when people would say ‘Bill you’re just not getting it’. I wanted to know how you are measuring my progress in addiction recovery, and by what standards are you judging me and saying that I’m not getting it. I’m doing just fine thank you; I would be petulant and angry. Clear as a bell to others, I was talking the game but not performing.

On the other hand, sometimes I would see no progress at all, be about to give up, and people would say ‘You’re doing great.’ or worse yet, ‘You’re doing exactly what you need to be doing at this time’. That would drive me nuts. I was so closed in my own head, you’re telling me I’ve got the answer, I don’t know what the heck the question is.

Looking for some signs of progress in addiction recovery, evidence if you will or a r yardstick that could compare myself to became a goal. Here are some concepts which I used and you may want to take a look at to measure your progress in addiction recovery:

Have you cut off relationships with using friends for good?

Have you begun to set clear and practical, attainable goals for your life?

Does the idea of relapse scare you? What are you doing about it?

Have you developed your own methods to deal with craving that work?

Have you started to work hard at improving close personal relationships?

Have you become invested in the recovery process, and are you doing what has been recommended?

Is your opinion of yourself the same as others people’s opinion of you? Is your ego right-sized, neither too big or too small.

Are you able to present yourself as you really feel without putting on masks and hiding behind defensive walls?

Have you become open to growth, self improvement in recovery, and taken action to start that process?

Technorati Tags: Addiction Recovery, in-addiction-recovery

Relapse Process: Vital Information You Should Be Aware Of +podcast

Bill Urell — Mon, 07 May 2007 02:21:21 +0000

A lot of people believe that relapse is picking up your drug of choice in starting to use it again. In the drug and alcohol treatment field we regard the actual use of alcohol or drug as the end of the relapse process. Once you pick up you are in a using phase. There are many things that occur in the time period before the actual return to use, that is the relapse process we are concerned with. Just as we teach addiction recovery is a process, so is relapse. The trick is to identify the warning signs of relapse as early in the process as possible and to interrupt them before they can turn into an actual using incident.

Relapse does not suddenly occur without warning it is a process that has certain identifiable warning signs. In the 12 steps tradition they refer to this state as being ‘restless, irritable, and discontent.’ Relapse prevention therapy teaches people how to recognize the symptoms and manage these warning signs so that they can interrupt the progression and growth before it actually turns into a using incident.

There are numerous studies of patterns of recovery and relapse processes that indicates not all patients will relapse. It is unfortunate that addicts and alcoholics often pick up the implied message that relapse is a necessary part of recovery; this is not so. Statistics from United States government involving many studies with many participants, have found that approximately one-third achieve permanent abstinence from their first serious attempt at recovery. Another third have a period of brief relapse episodes but eventually achieve long-term abstinence. The final third have chronic relapses that result in eventual death from their chemical addiction or drug dependency.

About half of all relapse prone people eventually achieve permanent abstinence from drug and alcohol use many more start to lead healthier and more stable lives despite periodic relapses.

Technorati Tags: relapse, Relapse Prevention, relapse-prevention-plan, relapse-warning-sign

A Baby Falls 300 Times Before They Learn To Walk

Bill Urell — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:45:39 +0000

I just returned from a professional conference and boy am I jazzed up! One thing I was reminded of is that it is through adversity and failure that we learn and grow. If we really learn by our mistakes, I am a certifiable genius, not just certifiable.

I entered into abstinence and moved into addiction recovery through the school of hard knocks. I had no idea what people were talking about in the recovery rooms. Though relapse was not part of my story, I moved through discomfort and pain to emerge on the other side.

How did I do it? Not through intellectual insight or study, not from getting perfect at spirituality, or saying I’m sorry but rather through pure cussedness and refusal to take no for an answer. It was like this…folks said I would fail, well nobody tells me what to do. I’ll get sober just to prove you wrong.

I accidentally did the right things for the wrong reasons. You couldn’t keep me out of meetings, it said so right in the rules, so I was going to keep coming back until you finally gave in and told me how to get sober. I would wear you all down.

The thing that saved my life was persistance, certainly not my intellect. I have learned a lot since then, but man I’ll tell you, this baby fell more than 300 times before he could walk alone. Never mind walk tall with pride, I ‘m still working on that in addiction recovery.

There is a gallery of sober living and life skill information available in the free, 89 page Recovery Rolodex, Click Here

What Is A Dry Drunk?

Bill Urell — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:23:17 +0000

What is a dry drunk, and the ‘dry drunk syndrome’ as it is sometimes called? It can best be described as someone who fits one of two conditions.

The first is someone who has given up drinking and drugging and not made any internal or emotional changes, they stay the same but the substance is gone. Or in the second case what was once someone abstinent and on a progressive path of recovery has slowly returned to chaotic and unrealistic thinking.

Being active in your addiction sets up many trains of thought, attitudes, feelings, and actions that are problematic. Simply removing the alcohol or drugs without changing these underlying factors will produce a dry drunk syndrome. The dry drunk really refers to a condition and not the person. It is important to recognize a reversion back to our old ways of thinking and acting, or lack of progress in moving forward in recovery.

The dry drunk can be a precursor to the beginnings of relapse, the AA Big Book describes this condition as being “restless, irritable, and discontented”. This set of attitudes can apply to anyone who is chemically dependent, or even those were not. Here are some of the attitudes common with the dry drunk syndrome.

Grandiosity – Grandiosity basically means a return to a self-centered, ‘the world revolves around’ me attitude. In 12 Step literatures this is the concept of being “self-centered in the extreme”. It does not have to necessarily mean that I believe I am the best; it can also be seeking attention through playing the victim or sitting on the pity pot.

Impulsivity – A common attitude or observable behavior of people with addiction problems is poor impulse control. We tend to do what we want when we want, with little regard for self harm or hurting others around us. Impulsivity can be linked with grandiosity to engage in behaviors designed to make us the center of attention.

Being judgmental – This is a very destructive attitude for people in recovery. When we judge a person as being better than or less than, we are setting up a situation where we inflate our egos feeling better than other people. On the other hand if we judge ourselves to be on the short end we can feel bitter and generate low self-esteem. Being judgmental is a low self-esteem generator.

Complacency – This is not only an attitude of somebody in dry drunk syndrome, but is a red flag warning sign of someone who is well into the relapse process. An important facet of being in active recovery is just that, being active, and moving forward. It is not how fast you are going but rather the direction in which you are headed. If you become lazy or disinterested and stop being proactive about your recovery, the natural to a tendency is to fall back into addictive behaviors. Your re-engagement in them is just a short step away.

Once you are lured into any of these attitudes, they start to affect how you think. Once your thinking is affected and you start to buy into self-centered thoughts, chances are you’ll engage in the actions stemming from these self-centered thoughts.

Here are some destructive patterns and actions that can result from dry drunk thinking:

1. We become restless and irritable and discontent.

2. We become bored, dissatisfied, and easily distracted from productive tasks.

3. Our emotions and feelings get listless and dull, nothing excites us anymore.

4. We start to the engage in the euphoric recall that is yearning for the good old days of active using and for getting the pain and shame of use.

5. We start to engage in magical thinking we get on realistic and fanciful expectations and dreams.

6. The last thing we want you is engaged in introspection to improve ourselves.

7. We start to become unfulfilled and have the feeling that nothing will ever satisfy our yearning or fill the hole in the sole.

Looking back at the list of attitudes and thought distortions listed above, it is easy to see how the dry drunk syndrome is simply nothing more then reverting back to the way it was when we were active in our use. If you are starting to notice some of the attitudes discussed creeping back into your life, is target time to start paying attention to the possibility of relapse and start turning your life in sobriety and recovery around. The dry drunk syndrome is a bright red flashing warning sign for relapse.

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Technorati Tags: dry-drunk, dry-drunk-syndrome, warning-sign-for-relapse

‘Getting Stuck’ In Recovery

Bill Urell — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:46:39 +0000

Some people believe that addiction recovery should be a smooth continuous process. For most people this is not the case, they come times of getting stuck. Progress for most people instead of a continuous smooth transition goes more like progress, progress, stuck, stuck, stuck breakthrough, progress, progress, stuck, stuck, stuck, breakthrough.

Getting stuck can occur at any point during the recovery process. This usually occurs when they’re and faced with a situation for which they do not have the coping. Or there is a lack of confidence in the ability to make the correct decisions. There are other cases when the problem, be it psychological, physical, or social somehow makes it difficult to utilize their supports that they have developed in recovery.

When people generally get stuck there are one of two outcomes the can occur. 1. They realize they have a problem and take constructive action to resolve it with the help of others or 2. They resort to that age-old problem solving scale of ‘ignore it and hope it goes away’. If you do not have the correct relapse prevention skills to identify and successfully cope with the problem anxiety and stress will increase. It starts a chain reaction as the problem remains unsolved the anxiety and stress will continue to increase we will cope more and more ineffectively and the result is relapse.

It is important to not be embarrassed about getting stuck in recovery. It happens to all of u, what is important to realize is that staying stuck is heading toward a relapse. The key is to get help and take action, and continue moving forward in an addiction recovery.

Technorati Tags: Addiction Recovery, getting-stuck, relapse, Relapse Prevention

5 Phases Of Addiction Recovery

Bill Urell — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 21:08:35 +0000

Here is another way to look at phases of recovery. Addiction recovery can be thought of as moving through these five phases:

1. Admission of a problem

This is the key starting point. If there is no problem then there certainly is no need for a solution. There is a certain logic to that. What would prevent someone from admitting they have an addiction problem? Well, how about memory distortion caused by their chemical dependency. There is a jazzy phrase called ‘euphoric recall’ which is the tendency to only remember the good times and positive experiences of using. That is half of the equation, at the same time we are suppressing or refusing to remember the far more numerous times where indulging in the addiction has caused pain and embarrassment. Another block to admitting the problem is our distorted defense mechanisms, such as minimizing, rationalizing and good old fashioned denial. If we get to the point that we acknowledge there is a problem and want to do something about it now, we can move on to the next phase of recovery which is compliance.

2. Compliance

What is meant by compliance here is going along with the most important seeing and agreeing to the concept of abstinence. This early phase of recovery usually involves little emotional insight into the whys of the addiction; the concentration is simply on ‘don’t do it’ on a daily basis. Once we accept compliance as a necessary part of Addiction Recovery, we can move toward the whys and wherefores. But it is not unusual to pass through the next phase of recovery which is defiance.

3. Defiance

Defiance can rear its head in several ways the most damaging is in the form of believing that the terms of addiction don’t apply to me. Picking and choosing what is to be done and not. done An example might be rejection of continuing care believing that is for others not me, or I have been ‘good’ for awhile I deserve to use again now that I proved I can quit. Another example of defiance can be becoming engaged in anger toward others who do not have your affliction or getting on the pity pot with the ‘poor me’s’. Defiance and anger can also be a block toward connecting and resolving with your emotions and feelings that underlie the blanketing emotion of anger.

4. Acceptance

One of my favorite philosophers was Popeye The Sailor Man, he used to say “I y’am what I y’am”. However you come to accept your addiction whether you believe it is a no fault illness, or you simple got dealt a bad hand in life, accepting your addiction allows you to move out of the problem and into the solution. People who are accepting are generally less defensive and have a greater sense of emotional and personal identity. Acceptance is the first step toward beginning to trust yourself and others, and open the possibilities of self-evaluation.

5. Surrender

We are not talking about submission but rather surrender they are very different. Submission is a temporary yielding, it tends to leave the escape hatch of returning to the addiction open. There is an implication of force being used or submitting against your will. Surrender can be thought of as wholehearted acceptance and compliance. It is a voluntary action and does not mean being defeated as does submission, but rather a conscious decision not to participate. A boxer who has been knocked out has submitted to the power of his opponent. A boxer who has retired and does not climb in the ring any more has surrendered to the idea that he no longer chooses to fight.

In summing up the points made above we can say that progress in addiction recovery can be made by admitting there is a problem and seeing the need for change. We move through negativity and emotional blocks to our recovery to arrive at a point of acceptance. Our acceptance of the need to change eventually moves through an attitude of being defeated to voluntarily seeking a better life. Stringing these concepts together can be viewed as movement through the phases of recovery.

Technorati Tags: Addiction Recovery, phases-of-recovery

The Myth Of Controlled Drinking

Bill Urell — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:25:23 +0000

The concept of controlled drinking is one that is frequently talked about in the press and people want to but into. Every two or three years it seems there is “promising research” about some sort of new theory or therapy that will allow people to drink without worries of addiction. Addicts can once again enjoy using without worries.

The idea of controlled drinking is an old one. Back in the 1930’s when the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written they refer to the concept, and I paraphrase, “The great delusion of every alcoholic is that one day he can drink again like a gentleman”. The word delusion simply means believing in something that is not true. The reason I do not believe in controlled drinking is that in my practice, I have seen that the only sure-fire method 100% guaranteed way to avoid problems with drugs alcohol is bynot using them. I cannot see how you can argue that.

There has been some research on controlled drinking that has been used to support that position. Unfortunately, much of it is flawed in method and in reporting. Results are often distorted by the popular press; I mean come on what a great story ‘research proves you can continue your drug and alcohol use.’ One study the press jumped on had only seven subjects. The fact of the matter is that long-term studies do not support the position of control drinking. It is important to remember we are talking about the realms of addiction and dependency, a person who does meet that criteria may in fact be quite capable of control drinking.

However if you have crossed the line into the Addiction and chemical dependence is not possible to go back to control use. Medical evidence now supports changes made at the neuron level in the brain make this impossible.

One phenomenon that is very sexy and alluring about control drinking is the addict who has quit for a certain amount of time just on their word and will power. The reasoning is that if I can quit for a week, I do not have a problem. Then having proved to themselves they do not have a problem, resume use and are quickly back to the levels they were at to begin with. I call this escape hatch thinking. Someone who was promised themselves that they can quit for a limited time are counting down to the day that that they can resume drinking or using.

An old saying that I have heard and that drives me crazy is that “If you’re not ready to quit, go try some control drinking then come back”. I hate that. To me as an Addiction Therapist, that would be like a doctor in the emergency room treating a suicide attempt patient who just broke their arm by saying go jump off a 20 floor building, maybe this time you will get it right.

In my mind, no matter how you slice it, controlled drinking is an exercise in futility. If you want to stop problems with drug sand alcohol, stop using drugs and alcohol.

Technorati Tags: Addiction, Alcoholism, chemical-dependence, controlled-drinking, phases-of-recovery

Dealing With A Relapse Or Slip

Bill Urell — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 06:24:30 +0000

The best way to deal with a relapse or slip is to have an effective relapse prevention plan in place to begin with so that it never occurs. Even with the best laid plans, relapses or ’slips’ due occur. A relapse contract or contingency plan is a good tool to deal with a crisis if it occurs.

This is simply a thought out plan of action. Taking a single drink or pill does not have to lead to disaster. In fact, the first thing you should tell yourself is that you can stop, after all haven’t you been proving that all along? Get rid of whatever it is you’re taking leave the situation or people your with and get some help. Give your self some positive credit for catching it and stopping early.

The worst attitude you can have is that you have screwed up completely and everything is lost. That can lead to a justification to have a full blown binge or relapse and to keep on doing so. Do not tell yourself you can handle it alone, put off calling for help, feel ashamed to call for help, or refuse to call for help.

You do not have to go all the way back to the worst of it; we just need to make some adjustments in the relapse prevention plan.

There is a relapse prevention hotline at 1-800-RELAPSE

Technorati Tags: Relapse Prevention, relapse-prevention-plan, sobriety-tools

Addiction Recovery: Answer These Five Questions ‘Yes’ For Success

Bill Urell — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 03:11:51 +0000

Addiction recovery can be broken down into five major phases of recovery that need to be addressed, processed, and moved through for success. They are sequential and though the questions may sound simple, there are hidden land mines that can derail your recovery. Here are the questions that need ‘yes’ answers:

1. Do I have a problem?

This question might at first glance seem obvious, but it really is the key. If a person does not believe that they have a problem, then certainly, there is no need for treatment and life will continue on as always. This attitude can involve that frequently over used the word ‘denial’. The problems are evident to everyone around the person, but it is not clear to them at all. The hidden landmine in answering yes to this question, is that while you may be aware of a problem, have you defined it correctly? Hint: it is not the substance or behavior, but your reaction to, and continuation of it. For example does your behavior trigger obsession and compulsion?

2. Do I want to do something about the problem?

Again, this question is not as obvious as it may first seem. Lots of people are aware that they have a problems with addiction yet continue to not do anything about them. A common attitude is that I can stop any time I want to, I’m just not ready to stop, maybe tomorrow, or next year, or after the holidays.

3. Do I want to stop now?

If you can answer yes to the questions do I have a problem, and do I want to do something about it, the next question begging to be asked is… now? Is the time right? What is it that has now moved you to action? Most people are moved to action by a crisis that affects them personally and immediately. This crisis usually cuts through barriers of procrastination and denial. Examples may be divorce, jail time, or the imminent threat of losing a job. There are some people however, who simply get sick and tired of being sick and tired.

4. Am I my willing to establish a plan that will maximize my chances for success?

If we have established that a problem exists, we want to do something about it and the time is right, doesn’t it make sense to pursue the plan that will give us the best chance for success? Here is where many people go astray. It is essential to get qualified help and input in developing a personal plan that will give you the best chance for success. The plan I hear most often, that is almost a sure-fire method for failure is ‘I know what to do let me go do it.’ Another plan that has a near zero success rate is ‘I have made up my mind to quit so that’s a done deal,’ (using willpower alone). One tricky part about establishing a successful recovery plan is that there is no standardized plan will work for everybody. Professional input will really help.

5. Having established a workable plan, will I put that plan into action on a daily basis?

You can have the most wonderful recovery plan in the world, but it does you absolutely no good unless you implement it. This generally means moving forward and doing the next right thing. It is essential to build accountability into the execution of your program. A critical piece of information is that Addiction Recovery is a process not event. If you have been in treatment, recovery is not complete with the end of formal treatment. The changes that suggested need to be implemented throughout your life on a continual basis. Addiction recovery is a life long process of change.

Though these steps are a simplification of the addiction recovery process, answering yes to all five questions, and moving through positively through them all, will ensure that you are on the right road for addiction recovery.

Technorati Tags: Addiction, Addiction Recovery, obsession-and-compulsion, phases-of-recovery

Phases Of Recovery: Chemical Dependency

Bill Urell — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:08:26 +0000

There are definite phases of recovery from chemical dependency, and several different models that have been put forward. In my never ending quest to simplify things let’s look at these three phases of recovery: early recovery, middle recovery and late stage recovery.

Each stage of recovery has certain tasks and signs of growth that are appropriate to that particular stage. Chemical dependency is a disease that causes a person to lose control over their use of mood altering drugs or alcohol. This loss of control not only affects their use of the substance, but affects the user holistically causing physical, psychological, spiritual and relationship problems. Let’s take a look at the three stages of recovery:

Early Recovery: The necessary task to be accomplished in early recovery is abstinence. It is only after we have stopped taking the substance that Sobriety is abstinence in addition to a return to a healthy physical, psychological, spiritual and social lifestyle. In early recovery we want to learn the skills needed to become comfortable abstaining, not just hanging on by our fingernails.

Middle Recovery Stage: We have become comfortable in abstinence, now our task is to continue to change our lives for the better. We want to adjust our thinking and feeling so that a return to using is simply not an option. We also want to examine and start to repair damages caused by our addiction and attain a balanced lifestyle. We want to make it a priority to get relationships with ourselves, family, spiritual and our social environment in order. If something needs to be done we admit it and take some action to make it right. Middle recovery ends when we achieve “balance”. We move on to the next stage when a good degree of stability and peace has returned.

Late Stage Recovery: Having a stable and secure recovery foundation under us here we may want to look at and resolve long standing issues or obstacles to health and happiness. These may be childhood issues such as abandonment or the development of low self esteem. Perhaps we came from a “dysfunctional” family system and got very mixed messages growing up that need to be addressed. This stage is marked by growth and challenge to become more than we had limited ourselves to previously.

Movement through these stages is not so much a function of how long you may have been abstinent, but rather what you accomplish in the phases of recovery.

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