Recovery From Drug Or Alcohol Addiction - Two Essential Stages
By Kay Vardeleon
Congratulations! You've decided to take the step towards recovery from your drug or alcohol addiction.
There are two important stages towards addiction recovery: physical recovery and emotional/mental recovery.
Physical Recovery
Addictions are physical diseases, as well as emotional, mental and spiritual diseases. Because of tolerance, the physical aspect of addictions needs to be addressed first---one must remove the abusive substance inside the body. This stage is often referred to as detoxification; a stage when the addict is not immediately, or eventually allowed to consume the substance.
The detoxification stage is very important. You cannot work on the mind and the emotions unless the drugs and alcohol have been flushed out of one's system. Nothing you will say will get across a person who is still on a "high" or has drugs in their body. To do so may even be counterproductive as some substances are psychogenic in nature, meaning they can influence mood and perception.
Emotional and Mental Recovery
The second phase of recovery is emotional and mental. Often this involves counseling/ psychotherapy and joining support groups. The goal of this stage is to identify issues that caused or maintained the addiction in order to make sure that they will not be repeated again. It is also the time to arm the recovering addict with coping styles he should use to prevent a relapse.
Processing Our Personal Issues
Self-reflection and self-assessment is an integral part of the recovery process. This step involves getting in touch with our feeling about ourselves and our lives and facing the things we have avoided before. This is commonly done through a counseling session, with the help of a trained mental health professional. But it may also be done on our own.
Commonly, the struggle of drug and alcohol dependents is loneliness. Not a loneliness in the traditional sense of the word; it is not about being physically away from other people. Rather it is loneliness within the presence of others. It is loneliness that is defined as (1) not having our emotional needs met even by those we currently have in our lives and (2) not being able to provide for these needs ourselves.
It is sadly difficult to feel loved these days that make us more and more lonely. Ironically, in an age when technology has made us more connected—we can send an sms message in seconds—we are never more alienated from one another. We have become a culture driven to produce but not to relate. Everything that happens around therefore is mere business transaction, efficient and automated. And everything is quick and impersonal. With families getting broken left and right, how else can we learn to develop a healthy sense of self? Where would we learn that we are people deserving of love and people who have loved ones to fall back on?
Joining Support Groups
Support groups are also another way towards emotional and mental recovery. One of the most accessible support groups are those which offer 12-step programs. There is the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) composed of alcoholics who want to stop drinking, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) for drug dependents. These programs are completely voluntary.
Self-help groups work because addictions thrive in secrecy and denial. At the onset, self-help groups require you to admit to a roomful of people that you are an addict. The more people who know about what you are going through the better. It makes you more accountable for your behavior.
But the good thing about support groups is that you are in an atmosphere of a support and acceptance. The people who are with you in a group are also people who experience the same thing that you do and thus would listen to your story without judgment. There is also comfort in knowing that you are understood and that you are not alone.
Best of luck on your journey towards sobriety!
Kay Vardeleon.
Counseling Psychologist
For more information about addictions, as well as other mental health concerns, please visit http://www.clarityandwellness.blogspot.com