Lovato, who gained fame in part through her former role on Disney’s "Sonny With a Chance," is also posting about her visits to the drug rehab treatment center on her social media accounts, explaining that she wants the others in the center to know that they are amazing and that they are strong.

Reflecting on the days surrounding her voluntary entrance several months ago to drug rehab and treatment for other issues, Lovato calls it a very bleak period and repeatedly thanks her followers and fans for their encouragement.

Drug rehab outpatient treatment may combine service from licensed addiction counselors, psychiatrists and medical doctors with a goal of helping participants learn to make the changes that will enable continued recovery. For many patients, substance abuse is linked closely with underlying or undiagnosed mental illness, which can also be demonstrated in self-harming behaviors or disordered eating.

Recovery from co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse requires a comprehensive approach and the assistance of a team of professionals. Sharing stories of personal success with others is also an approach to maintaining recovery that is recognized by many national addiction-based groups.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), many medical specialists suggest that stress is the leading cause of relapse into drug abuse and smoking. Research shows that previous drug abusers have a hypersensitivity to chemical-induced stress that may prompt them to relieve their stress by returning to drugs.

The Impact of Stress

Humans all feel stress from the same hormonal process. When a body is stressed, the peptide corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) increases in the brain and sends signals throughout the body, stimulating other hormones, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol. These hormones return to the brain and either inhibit the release of more stress hormones if the stress has subsided or cycle the hormones back through if the stressful situation is still present.

Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek and a team of researchers have found evidence that the nervous system of a substance abuser may react more quickly to stress and therefore make them more sensitive to stressful situations.

Researchers suggest that CRF and ACTH serve as not only hormones, but as neurotransmitters that may assist in producing emotional responses to stress. Cortisol is but one chemical that helps inhibit the release of more CRF and ACTH hormones. Dr. Kreek of Rockefeller University in New York City found evidence that natural opioid peptides also may stop the stress hormone cycle. The link here is that substance abusers can stop their stress hormone cycle with drugs like heroin and morphine.

Abusing Drugs to Combat Stress

When people rely on drugs to alleviate their stress, they are adding more inhibitors to stress on top of the opioid peptides. This relaxation and escape from stress drives them to crave the drug even more; however, when the drug wears off and they go into withdrawal, the natural stress cycle starts up again. Dr. Kreek found that the stress systems of substance abusers in withdrawal were continually being activated.

Those who suffer with PTSD are also using these substances to alleviate memories of war, rape, terrorism, national disasters or other traumatic events in their lives. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that people with PTSD abuse drugs more than those without PTSD: 34.5 percent of men with PTSD versus 15.1 percent without and 26.9 percent of women with PTSD and 7.6 percent without the disorder.

In a group of combat veterans who had PTSD, 75 percent were found to abuse drugs or alcohol. NIDA’s research suggests that combat veterans and civilians did not begin abusing substances until after feeling the stressful symptoms of PTSD. NIDA continues to assist in alleviating the effects of stress by helping drug addicts learn how to deal with stress, investigating PTSD and substance abuse throughout the life of Vietnam veterans, and offering grants to researchers in New York City, post 9-11.

One stressful situation could take a rehabilitated drug abuser back to a life of addiction and drug abuse. Researchers are searching for ways to help people get out from underneath the shadow of stress.

When we were children, we all loved hearing the fairy tales and stories of heroes overcoming great challenges, fighting off the bad guys and winning the day. There was always an element of wonder at how they managed to do the impossible. We were ceaselessly surprised and delighted that they did. Somehow, just knowing that our childhood heroes could succeed in any challenging situation, could overcome any obstacle, no matter how tough, gave us hope. We wanted to be just like them.

Somewhere along the way, we lost that spark. As we drifted or plummeted headlong into our addictive ways, we found that our light had dimmed, that we didn’t much want to exert any effort in the face of an obstacle. All we really wanted was just to keep on doing what we’d been doing: drinking, doing drugs, gambling, overwork, overeating, compulsive sex, and so on. We found escape in such behavior, and it became the only goal we found we were really good at achieving.

Until we weren’t. Until our lives imploded and our world came crashing down. Until we decided that enough was enough and now we were going to get past this addiction and change direction in our lives.

Guess what? The first thing that happened is that we came smack up against obstacles. First, there was the obstacle of detox, of getting clean and sober – maybe for the first time in many months or years. Somehow, we managed to get through that ordeal, with a lot of professional help. Then, there was the treatment process to go through, and that entailed a great many challenges and, yes, obstacles. Chief among them was our own stubborn insistence that we could really handle things on our own, that we weren’t really that bad, that we somehow knew better than the therapists we sat and talked with.

But as we learned about the disease of addiction and opened our minds to the possibility that we could, indeed, not only overcome addiction but go on to live a happy and productive life in sobriety, things began to change. A little bit of that hope and spark we once had in childhood began to bubble up. We started first tackling little assignments, working to achieve small goals. If something got in our way that we looked at as an obstacle, we talked about it with our counselor, discussed it with our 12-step sponsor, maybe brought it up in group. We learned that what we perceived as an obstacle wasn’t really that powerful. We decided we would stand up to it and keep on toward our goal. In so doing, the obstacle lost its power and we gained in confidence. It didn’t stop us. The more we became practiced in analyzing roadblocks and creating a plan to go around them or through them, the more we realized that we have what it takes to succeed in our recovery journey.

It’s worth reminding ourselves of this when we face new obstacles. Look upon them as opportunities to learn and grow. Recognize that we have within us what we need to keep moving forward in recovery.

Definition of Work

Work is variously defined as a paid job, paid employment, part of one’s occupation or duties, place of employment, or any purposeful activity whether or not there is remuneration.

Work can, therefore, be an activity that a person in recovery volunteers to do. It doesn’t require that the individual be paid money to qualify as work. In the sense we use work in recovery, however, it usually involves performing duties or assignments in return for a paycheck. In the event that a paid job isn’t available, performing voluntary services is a good interim alternative until a regular job can be secured.

Employment is a Pillar of Recovery

One of the sustaining components of a successful recovery, according to experts in the field, is gainful employment. In addition to two critical support networks of family and 12-step groups, work offers the individual in recovery the opportunity to continue to make progress toward realization of goals, improvement of familial and social relationships, rebuilding financial stability, and restoration of self-confidence, among many other benefits.

Effective recovery, then, almost always involves an individual having gainful employment, finding and keeping a job, and making a contribution to society through his or her efforts.

Advantages of Work

While it’s all well and good to look at work as an important part of long-term recovery in the abstract sense, it’s even more practical to look at the advantages of work. In this way, it’s easier to see how working assists the individual in healing post-treatment for substance abuse, dependence, or addiction – or in recovery from process addictions, substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders.

1. Steady income – There’s no question that having a job to go to that you get paid for is important to bring in a steady income. Without a regular paycheck, it’s not only impossible to take care of family and personal obligations, it’s much harder to live independently. Just knowing that you’ll get paid once a week, twice monthly, or on a per-job basis (for those who may be freelancers or contractors), is a big boost to ongoing recovery efforts. A steady income is something you can count on.

2. Stability – One of the things that’s been lacking during your time of substance abuse is stability. The up and down, back and forth cycle of substance abuse is not conducive to stability. Just the opposite is true. When you are employed, and go to your job daily, this contributes to your overall stability. It’s something you do day in and day out. That, in itself, is a measure of stability. You know what you need to do and you do it, knowing that being employed is going to benefit you today and tomorrow in recovery.

3. Ability to take care of financial responsibilities – When you are gainfully employed, you’ll have the ability to taker care of your financial responsibilities – something you may have been unable to do while you were in treatment or were suffering from substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. Society expects individuals to make responsible choices and to be able to manage their financial affairs. Having and keeping a job is an indication of normalcy, of fitting in, of being part of community.

4. Ability to take care of household responsibilities – Whether you are the spouse or parent, sibling or adult child, there are household responsibilities that probably were neglected when you were in treatment or during the period when you were abusing substances. Getting back on track to resume your ability to tend to household responsibilities is aided by having a job that you go to and get paid to do.

5. Constructive use of time – There’s are several old sayings that are similar to the following: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” The words may be somewhat different, but they all mean the same thing. When a person sits idle, bad things can happen. This has nothing to do with the concept of sin, but the fact that if you sit around and do nothing (for example, don’t look for a job), the hours that go by will undoubtedly cause you to start thinking about your previous behavior – perhaps even spur you to use again. Having a job, on the other hand, is a constructive use of your time. While you are at your place of employment, you are responsible for carrying out certain duties and responsibilities, all of which take time – and help pass the hours in a more beneficial manner than being unemployed and idle.

6. Opportunity to enter new fields – Let’s say that you’ve always wanted to go into the field of engineering, or catering, or start your own business. When you’re in recovery, this may be just the right time to look into what it would take to pursue your dream. This may mean going back to school to get or finish a degree, or take specialized training, go into an apprenticeship, or just take some night classes to gain a skill or perfect your abilities in something like computer science. Look at this time as an opportunity to enter new fields – even if you are currently employed. In fact, receiving training or additional education while you already have a job is another constructive use of your time – and will help in your pursuit of long-term recovery goals.

7. Expand horizons – During the grip of addiction or substance abuse, it’s virtually impossible to see beyond the need for the next fix, crafting and planning how to get the money to use, using, and beginning the cycle all over again. The future is limited at best, and ignored totally, at worst. But now that you’re in recovery, going to work on a regular basis allows you to begin to expand your horizons. You will be able to see more possibilities ahead of you as a result of your hard work today. Doing a good job may lead to additional opportunities for advancement – in your current job or in another one, either at the same company or with a new employer.

8. Build self-confidence – The more that you apply yourself at work, the more you add to your store of self-confidence. It seems axiomatic that hard work equals reward, but the rewards are not always quickly visible. In terms of self-confidence, however, the rewards may be seen in your readiness to smile, to accept new challenges, to take on tougher assignments. When you feel that you are well-equipped to tackle new things, just doing so boosts your self-confidence. The more you do that you feel happy with, the greater your reserve of self-confidence. It’s all in the doing. Do a good job, and your self-confidence will increase.

9. Restore self-esteem – One of the earliest casualties of substance abuse, addiction, and addictive behavior is a loss of self-esteem. When you’re in early recovery, your emotional state is still fragile. You feel vulnerable and, in a very real sense, you are. Some in early recovery report feeling worthless, unable to make a contribution, that their months and years of addiction have left them helpless. But there’s an antidote to those feelings: work. When you go to your job and do the best you can, you begin to feel that you’re doing something good, something that’s right for you. This helps restore your self-esteem or, in the case that you didn’t have any to begin with, to build it.

10. Pride of accomplishment – Work involves many and varied tasks, from large to small. Some work-related responsibilities require collaborating with others, participating in group meeting, while others mean working alone. But there’s always a goal, a deadline, a project outline to adhere to. When you successfully complete the steps to achieve a particular assignment, task, or project, you gain a sense of pride in your accomplishment. And you deserve to feel proud of your achievements. This is an important aspect of the benefit of work in long-term recovery.

11. Self-Sufficiency – Everyone wants to be able to stand on his or her own two feet. When you’re in recovery, this may seem at first to be an illusive goal. So much is undetermined. You feel uncertain which direction to take in any number of circumstances. When you have a job that you look forward to going to each day, you are asserting your intentions to re-establish your self-sufficiency. You will, day by day, gain strength in your ability to be able to take care of yourself in the manner that you wish. Even if you are still dependent on others for financial or other support (in the case of a teen still at home under the parents’ roof, for example), working can help in the transition to becoming self-sufficient.

12. Responsibility – If you want people to trust you, it’s necessary to show that you are responsible. Your word has to mean something, and others need to feel that they can rely on you to fulfill your responsibilities. Going to work and doing what is expected of you shows that you are capable of taking care of responsibilities. It also helps you by reasserting your belief in your own sense of responsibility. If something is important to you, if you feel that you can and should own part of the effort toward its completion, and take steps to do so, then you are demonstrating your responsibility.

13. Community – Unless you’re independently wealthy, working is part of the fabric of American life. And even multimillionaires work, in one sense of the word or another. They may serve on the boards of charitable organizations, or perform duties in other philanthropic, social, political or other organizations. But for most Americans, and especially those in recovery, work brings with it a sense of being part of the community. You have co-workers and liaisons with individuals in other departments, perhaps other companies. You may interface with the general public, or with suppliers. Every person with whom you come into contact during the course of your job is another example of the community that is important to you – and can help in your efforts to maintain a successful long-term recovery.

14. Sense of wholeness – Everyone who is in recovery wants to feel whole again, to feel healed, to feel completel. Work helps to bring about this sense of wholeness, not on its own, but as part of the overall recovery plan that you’ve created for yourself. One thing you know is that long-term recovery doesn’t occur in a vacuum. You have to actively work it every day – including going to work, seeing your doctor or counselor, going to 12-step meetings, taking care of yourself and your family.

Potential Work Disadvantages – and How to Overcome Them

Certainly there are some disadvantages associated with work, but these can be overcome. It may take some effort on your part – and most likely will – but the reward will be worth it.

1. No jobs available – Perhaps the biggest disadvantage about trying to get a job is when there are no jobs available. In the current economic climate, unemployment rates are at a historic high. What can you do if you can’t get a job? There are some things to consider, including going back for some education, getting additional training in a field that is hiring, working for a relative or friend, taking a job with a temporary agency. Consider the lack of available jobs as a temporary thing, and don’t let it get you down. Put together a plan, talk with your 12-step sponsor, family members, and trusted advisors, and set about doing what you can so that you are ready to take advantage of an opportunity to work when it becomes available.

2. Coming back at lower pay – While you were away at treatment, many things could have changed in your workplace. It’s happened to millions of Americans already who’ve been out of the work environment for many different reasons. Employers have had to cut back, lay off people, trim operations, cut costs. If you are able to go back to work but your pay has been cut, you’re not being discriminated against, most likely. It’s happening to a lot of people. What you can do: work as efficiently and diligently as you can to prove your worth. Offer to take on additional assignments – but don’t overextend yourself too soon. When the economy picks up, your employer will recognize your efforts and you’ll be more likely to get a raise – if anyone’s getting one.

3. Being reassigned – Suppose your old job is gone, or you’ve been replaced by someone else in your absence? Again, the realities of the workplace are that tasks must be handled. If you’re not there to take care of your duties, your employer has to put someone in the job who can. It’s a business necessity. If you’ve been reassigned, don’t complain that it’s unfair and threaten to quit. That would be shortsighted and perhaps the worst thing you could do. There may not be another job so readily available. Instead, say that you will do the very best that you can in your reassignments, and you would appreciate being considered to return to your previous assignment should the opportunity present itself. You can also state that your intent is to prove to your employer how much you can contribute to the company, and want to move up when he or she feels you are ready. This shows initiatitve and an understanding of the business climate. Your employer will remember that you have a practical grasp of what’s important at the company.

4. Working too much to make up for lost time – Treatment takes time. For some, it takes longer than others. And time is something that can weigh heavily on those who are returning to work. The feeling of needing to make up for all that lost time can be a trap. Don’t fall into it. If you put in too many hours in the frantic attempt to regain the time you’ve lost, you’re setting yourself up for frustration, exhaustion, and potential mistakes or failures. Take it easy and take it slow. Gradually increase your pace over the weeks and months following your return. This will ensure that you only tackle what you are ready to.

5. Trying to prove yourself – Another pitfall many in recovery experience is trying to prove themselves to others when they go back to work. You may feel that everyone is watching you, expecting you to make a mistake or start using again. You may try so hard to prove that you’re better that you actually defeat your efforts. You could start spinning your wheels, taking on too many projects at once and not paying enough attention to any of them. Rather than proving you’re back up to speed, the result may very well be that you appear scattered, unfocused, and unprepared to handle assignments. Pace yourself. Do one thing to the best of your ability at a time. Schedule projects. Ask for help. You’ll gradually get back in the groove.

6. Taking work home – While it’s really dangerous for those in recovery for workaholism, taking work home is a no-no for everyone in recovery. You need to clearly separate your time at work from your time at home and away from work. Overlap is not healthy for the simple reason that the tendency will be to choose one over the other. If you bring work home on a regular basis, you’ll eventually be ignoring your responsibilities and involvement with your family, stop taking care of yourself, and begin to feel overworked, overburdened, unable to catch up. It’s symptomatic of another vicious cycle you’re all too familiar with. Simple solution: do your work at work, and don’t take it home.

7. Burning out – Too much focus on work is a clear recipe for burning yourself out. There’s no upside to burn-out. When you collapse from physical or mental exhaustion, or feel so frustrated and unable to keep up, your coping mechanisms are likely to be so depleted that you’ll being to thing again about using. You never want to be hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (the H.A.L.T. acronym of Alcoholics Anonymous). That’s when you’re likely to slip. Avoid burning out by pacing yourself at work.

8. Refusing to take vacation – This is similar to the danger associated with taking work home and burning out. By refusing to take a vacation, you are setting yourself up for eventual exhaustion, frustration, and possible failure. Everyone needs time off from work – especially those who intend to be successful in long-term recovery. Vacation time doesn’t need to be elaborate, long, or expensive. Even if it’s only a week-end with the family doing something you all enjoy, it’s a valuable use of your non-work time that you need for effective long-term recovery.

9. Sensitivity to other’s reactions – It’s hard to return to work after being in treatment and not feel sensitive to the reactions of your co-workers and supervisor. It’s human nature to react to others’ opinions. One way to deal with this is to have a private conversation with your supervisor and close co-workers. Let your boss know that you learned a lot in treatment and are committed to doing all you can to remain sober. Ask for understanding as you gradually ramp up your responsibilities and say that you will be attending regular 12-step meetings. With your close co-workers, repeat the part about learning a lot in treatment and you’re better now. Tell them you’re glad to be back and ready to work. Enough said. Don’t go into details about treatment. That’s private and not related to work. If you set the stage with upfront discussions, you should be able to regard some reactions as just normal curiosity. After all, addiction and recovery aren’t familiar to everyone. It may just take some getting used to. Be yourself, do your job, help others when you can, and give it time.

10. Feeling stuck – You may have a lot of bills that you need to take care of and going back to work may lead to a feeling of being stuck. Maybe you don’t like your job, dislike your supervisor, or have a feeling that you’re wasting your talents and time. If you do feel stuck, take some positive steps to do something about it. Look for another job, one that you’ve long been interested in or one that now looks more attractive. If you need additional training or referrals or an apprenticeship to be qualified for it, find out how to get what you need, make a plan, and start taking the steps required. The only way to get over feeling stuck is to do something about it.

Bottom line: Work is an important part of long-term recovery. Recognize this, make a plan, and get back to work as soon as you can in recovery. If you don’t enjoy what you do, take steps to find work that you do find meaningful. Recovery is an ongoing process. You have time to make changes in your choice of jobs. Do what you can, each and every day. Recovery is worth making the effort to find a job you truly enjoy, one that you’re good at, and one that provides commensurate rewards.

Over the next six to twelve months, the organization will continue to release updated versions of the current iPromises app for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, as well as a Droid version. Additionally, the development of mobile applications for process-related addictions (namely sex addiction and eating disorders), will offer virtual recovery assistance for individuals seeking free, easy-to-use, accountability tools on their smart phones and other mobile devices.

"Since the launch of our iPromises Recovery Companion in June, we’ve reached over 3,000 individuals in over twenty countries, received positive reviews on Top Ten iPhone Apps, iPhone App Review, AppScout, and Yahoo Health’s ‘Appolicious,’ and received hundreds of user remarks touting the app as a true accountability and support tool," remarked David Sack, CEO of Elements Behavioral Health.

"We understand the importance of keeping up with trends, and our company is dedicated to supporting the recovery community both online and offline."

Added Vera Appleyard, VP of Internet Marketing for Elements Behavioral Health: "The mobile application market boom is an opportunity to have global reach with our tools for recovery, and this is extremely exciting for us. As a leader in leveraging technology to support the recovery process, it only makes sense that we allocate resources toward this endeavor."

To date, Elements Behavioral Health has released the iPromises Recovery Companion version 1.1 and version 1.2, with version 1.3 to hit by late 2010. The application is currently available for free on iTunes.

About Elements Behavioral Health

Elements Behavioral Health (www.ElementsBehavioralHealth.com) is a leading U.S.-based behavioral healthcare organization that currently owns and operates Promises Treatment Centers (Los Angeles, California; Malibu, California) and The Ranch (Nunnelly, Tennessee). The company serves to fill the gaps in mental health treatment between inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services; in co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; and between traditional and alternative settings to help clients that are underweight or overweight due to eating related and other issues.

Researchers are now linking fish oil as a possible remedy for another major ailment: drug addiction. Based on the idea that drug addicts become addicted because of a nutritional deficiency, advocates believe that a balanced diet, including fish oil, may be essential for overcoming the problem.

One of the nutrition experts leading the campaign to use fish oil as a treatment for substance abuse disorder is Carolyn Reuben, the executive director of the Community Addiction Recovery Association (CARA), based in Sacramento, California. She believes that the human body reacts to certain dietary deficiencies in ways that can lead to psychological disorders, including addiction, according to an article posted on Speaking of Vitamins, a website dedicated to nutrition.

Reuben advocates analyzing the addict’s particular ailment or substance of choice as the starting point for determining which amino acids, vitamins and nutrients are lacking. Individuals struggling with a drug addiction aren’t typically focused on a commitment to a healthy diet, and as they continue using the drug, it depletes their body of important vitamins and nutrients. Replacing those nutrients can be an important part of attaining a full recovery.

The thinking is based on research conducted by Stephen Schoenthaler, Ph.D., who examined prison inmates who were given a nutritionally superior diet than the one they had been used to consuming. The inmates experienced a 43 percent drop in hostility, leading the professor to establish links between sugar intake, lessened vitamin consumption and hostility.

Reuben says that these results can be generalized to the treatment of drug addicts. For instance, when a person begins using a substance and finds that instead of feeling high they feel balanced and normal, it may indicate a dietary deficiency. Reuben believes that there is a profound connection between behavior and nutrition.

It may be beneficial for further research to test the theory using a diet rich in fish oil among drug addicts to determine whether they experienced a lessening of cravings for the drug. It may also be beneficial to conduct a study to examine the nutritional composition of a large sample of drug addicts to see if there is a pattern between deficiencies and drug of choice. Fish oil as a part of nutrition-based drug therapy may open doors for a new frontier for drug addiction treatment.
 

Yes, beat addiction.

Desire to Change

The motivating factor that leads most addicts into treatment is a genuine desire to change. They are tired of the downward spiral, the rapidly accumulating negative consequences that affect not only their own lives but those whom they love and care about. For some, it may take losing everything – their family, job, health, savings, home, friends, reputation, and social standing – before they’ll wake up and realize that they need to take responsibility for what’s happened to them because of their addiction. For others, just seeing how addiction is tearing up the family is enough to jump-start the desire to change.

But change doesn’t come easily to addicts – especially hard-core, long-term addicts for whom addiction has been a way of life for many years. Still, the desire to change can motivate even these individuals whom society has formerly written off as hopeless.

Addiction treatment experts say that treatment can be effective even if it isn’t voluntary. Some individuals are forced into a treatment program as a result of a court order, or because their family gave them an ultimatum, or initiated an intervention. The end result, in this case, is that the addict may find him or herself in treatment against their will. Just because they are required to go to treatment, however, doesn’t mean they cannot discover they have the desire to change. It doesn’t mean that they can’t change. Even if they relapse following treatment, they will have learned something. It may be that they’ll need to go to treatment again, even multiple times, before they finally get it, before they realize that they can manage their disease. They can learn to live a life that’s free of alcohol or drugs or other addictive behaviors.

Somewhere along the line, the desire to change has to spring up from within. It’s absolutely necessary to want to change in order to beat addiction – not just for a short period, to get the court or the family off the addict’s back, but forever.

Going into Treatment

Some people with addiction think they can “cure” themselves. First of all, there’s no cure that’s been discovered – yet – for addiction of any kind. There are some promising vaccines in various stages of development that may one day dramatically change addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and services. There are effective maintenance drugs for various addictions, and drugs that help those with co-occurring mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and other disorders.

Despite the hype of books or treatment promising a cure for alcoholism or any other kind of addiction, the simple truth is that the addict – the person with the addiction – is not the best judge of what’s effective, or even capable of deciding on his or her own how to change behavior to overcome addiction. Why is that? When a person is addicted to alcohol or drugs, over time their brains change. Damage done by alcohol and drugs is progressive and debilitating. Some brain damage results in loss of cognitive abilities, the ability to reason and learn and remember what happened yesterday or last week. Some brain damage results in paranoia, hallucinations, or precipitates or aggravates depression, anxiety, or other psychological problems.

Changes in the brain also make it impossible for the addict to resist the cravings to use. Their brain has become rewired, in a sense, and sends signals that it has to have the alcohol or drugs in order to survive. As soon as the addict tries to cut down or quit the drug of choice, within a short period of time, withdrawal sets in. Withdrawal symptoms can be mild to moderate to severe, depending on the type of substance, how long the addict has been using, how frequent the use, and other underlying conditions or contributing factors. Some individuals have a genetic predisposition to addiction. Any and all of these reasons make it virtually impossible for the addict to quit cold turkey – and stay sober.

The solution is treatment. Going into treatment isn’t a guarantee. Not everyone will emerge from the treatment program fully capable of managing his or her addiction right off the bat. As previously mentioned, some may need more counseling or to go back into treatment one or more times. But research shows that the longer individuals remain in treatment, the greater the likelihood that they will achieve a successful recovery.

Make the Most out of Treatment

Assuming that the individual makes the choice or is forced into treatment for addiction, what’s the best way to approach it? Research shows that fully committed individuals can navigate treatment by keeping the long view in mind. Naturally, some just want to get it over with so they can get back to their lives. They may not have an inkling of what treatment actually entails, yet. But they will. It’s good to look forward to the day when treatment concludes – the active phase of treatment, that is. When an addict is in recovery, they will always be in recovery. There will always be new things to learn, new strategies to adopt or adapt.

But, let’s get back to the issue of making the most out of treatment. That’s a positive, life-affirming choice that the individual makes. It may occur gradually, sometime after detoxification (the process of getting harmful substances out of the body that’s required before active treatment can begin), possibly during the middle of active treatment. At some point, the realization begins that life just may be more worthwhile, and that there is hope, there is a future – without alcohol or drugs.

Diving into the active treatment phase, what happens next depends on how engaged the individual is. The first step is learning about the disease of addiction. The individual will be assigned a counselor and will meet with a therapist for individual as well as group therapy. There will be educational discussions, lectures, programs. There are also therapies that are designed to elicit behavioral changes – to show the person that they can manage their disease by changing their behavior. This is called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and has proven very effective in helping addicts overcome their addiction.

Learning how to identify and recognize triggers to use, and learning and practicing coping skills to overcome cravings and urges is another important aspect of treatment that is vital to long-term sobriety. So, too, is the relapse prevention portion of active treatment.

There are many different therapy modalities that may be recommended. Each patient has a treatment plan that is personalized according to his or her unique needs. Ongoing supervision and reassessment result in modifications to the treatment program according to progress made – or lack of.

Treatment is also about attaining a balance of mind-body-spirit. There are times for recreation and leisure pursuits. There are other alternative treatment modalities including meditation, yoga, massage, and acupuncture. There may be art therapy, psychodrama, and equine therapy. Some past trauma victims who also have substance abuse may undergo eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), a form of psychotherapy that was designed to help patients resolve symptoms resulting from disturbing and/or unresolved life experiences.

Beating addiction gets a serious boost when the individual makes an intense effort to get the most out of treatment. Whether the treatment program is 30 days or 60 days or longer, the more involved the individual is, the more actively engaged in learning and practicing strategies and techniques that will help him or her in recovery, the better the chances that recovery will be sustainable.

Family Involvement is Key

One of the linchpins of successful recovery involves the family. When the addict has a supportive family, his or her chances increase for long-term sobriety. This doesn’t happen by accident, however. Even with the best intentions, family members can unwittingly sabotage their loved one’s abstinence upon return home. Besides maintaining a “clean” house, free of drugs and alcohol, there are other things that need to change before the loved one returns home. Behaviors and attitudes have to change.

Family members can’t be expected to figure this out by themselves. In fact, most can’t. Addiction is a family disease. Everyone in the family is affected by one member’s addiction. Just having the addict go through treatment without other family members getting help is counter-productive and will often lead to the addict relapsing shortly after treatment. There’s just too much emotional turmoil and chaos surrounding addiction that tears families apart. They need professional help just as much as the addict.

That’s why family therapy is offered as part of many residential addiction treatment programs. While the loved one is in treatment, family members attend family therapy on an individual and group basis. They learn about the disease of addiction and how they can support and encourage their loved one in recovery. This is especially beneficial for severely dysfunctional families, but all family members with an addicted loved one learn how they can help their family member in recovery.

But beating addiction involves more than just the desire to change, getting treatment, making the most out of treatment, and family members getting help.

Support Networks

Both the recovering addict and his or her family members need ongoing support. In the best circumstances, the addict and family members will begin and regularly go to 12-step support group meetings.

For the recovering addict, this is something that begins during active treatment. Upon completion of treatment, the therapists strongly recommend that 12-step group participation continue. The most well-known of the 12-step groups is Alcoholics Anonymous. Indeed, all other 12-step groups that followed have adopted and adapted the Alcoholics Anonymous philosophy, concept and 12-step format. There are 12-step groups for many substance addictions: Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, and Marijuana Anonymous. There are 12-step groups for other addictions as well, including gambling (Gamblers Anonymous), work (Workaholics Anonymous), eating (Overeaters Anonymous, Food Addicts Anonymous), spending (Debtors Anonymous), and sex (Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous).

Family members have their own 12-step groups. Al-Anon/Alateen is the family component group of Alcoholics Anonymous. Similarly, Gam-Anon is affiliated with Gamblers Anonymous and Nar-Anon (family component of Narcotics Anonymous). There’s Families Anonymous, a group formed to help family members hurt by a loved one’s addiction. Family groups for sex addiction include S-Anon Family Group (for family members of a person with some form of sexual addiction) and Codependents of Sex Addicts (COSA), for family members whose lives have been affected by another person’s compulsive sexual behavior.

Beating addiction, for the recovering addict, requires long-term support and encouragement. Besides the family, and for those who don’t have a supportive or any family, the 12-step groups fulfill this function. Unlike the family, however, 12-step groups are comprised of members who are also in recovery. They know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night with overwhelming cravings and urges, how a crisis can trigger a relapse, how getting run-down or overstressed can be the tipping point. Through sharing of personal stories and strategies that worked for them, these fellow 12-step group members, along with the individuals sponsor, can serve as a lifeline in times of need. Beyond that, they’re always available for support and encouragement. Many long-term friendships develop as a result of participation in 12-step meetings.

The person in recovery is advised to continue his or her participation in these fellowship meetings for a period of 3 to 5 years. The first 90 days of recovery is the most critical, however. This is the time when the individual is most vulnerable. He or she is fresh out of treatment and trying to get acclimated to a new lifestyle that’s free of drugs or alcohol or other addictive behavior. Sometimes, it’s just too much. They are confused, frightened, uncertain what to do, or feel themselves ready to slip. Talking with others who’ve been in the same position and overcome such urges helps. Just having someone to listen is often enough. Getting past the 20 minutes most urges last is something that requires practice. What works for someone else may just work for the newcomer to recovery. At the very least, the recovering addict learns something invaluable in the process of attending 12-step meetings: he or she learns that it is possible to beat addiction. The sense of community, of helping others, is a big step the individual takes in the journey toward long-term sobriety.

Goal-Setting

Of course, getting clean and staying clean also means that the person in recovery has something to look forward to, including some tangible goals to achieve. The only way this can happen is if the recovering addict creates a recovery plan. This generally begins during the final phase of active treatment, shortly before the program concludes.

A recovery plan is a living document, one that’s constantly changing and evolving. It’s not just written down to satisfy an assignment with the therapist and then tossed aside and forgotten. To really beat addiction, the person in recovery needs to actively work the plan. This means revisiting the plan on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, refining what needs adjustment, eliminating goals that are no longer desirable, adding new ones as opportunities present themselves. Sometimes plans change dramatically. This often happens as one short-term goal is realized and it opens up new avenues that the individual wants to pursue. Taking a class at night school or in the pursuit of a degree may spark an interest in a new field. Spiritual enrichment may lead the person in recovery to want to travel, to help others in need, to dedicate his or her life to some cause or purpose for the greater good of mankind.

It could be that the individual has a goal of buying a house, reuniting with the family, becoming financially stable, learning how to fly, or finding love with a prospective partner. Goals can be anything the individual wants and feels motivated to achieve. It doesn’t matter what they are, only that there are goals – and a plan to work in order to achieve them.

Goal-setting has another benefit in beating addiction. When a person sets goals, and starts the hard work of achieving them, it gives the individual hope. When you can see that what you do makes a difference, and that you can set your goals and make progress toward reaching them, your horizons expand. You begin to see that anything is possible. You begin to feel the first glimmers of hope. Eventually, you just have it. When you can hope and dream and make those dreams a reality in recovery, there’s every likelihood that you’ve got what it takes to beat addiction – for good.

Now, go live.

Pick Your Moment

While impromptu celebrations can and do occur – and they’re very welcome – most of the time you’ll need to do a little advance preparation for your celebrate-sobriety occasion. So, it’s important to pick your moment. Anticipation is three-quarters of the rush, as addicts know, getting back to the basic physiology of addiction. Turn anticipation toward a positive outcome – your sobriety – by choosing a particular milestone you’d like to celebrate.

For those new to recovery, every day sober is a milestone, as it should be. Each day you’re clean and sober is one day more where you’re taking control of your life, banishing your demons, and becoming stronger in your commitment to sobriety. Be grateful every morning and acknowledge your efforts. This is self-congratulation – and you deserve it. Then, the first week, the first month – these are your next sobriety milestones. In your 12-step groups, you’ll undoubtedly receive recognition of such an achievement at the 30-day mark, as well as subsequent milestones. This is great reinforcement of your tremendous achievement. But you need more.

Family and friends can and should assist you in this endeavor. Perhaps there’s a special occasion that is coming up that you’d like to commemorate. It could be your 6-month milestone, or your first year, or 18-month sober mark. With the help of others, plan a celebration that heralds this achievement.

Public or Private

It’s up to you whether you want to call it out as an overt celebration of your sobriety or combine it with another family celebration such as the birthday of a spouse, child, sibling, or parent. This is a decision that’s truly personal. Some who are new to recovery are reluctant to let the world in yet. They may feel too vulnerable and not confident enough in their coping abilities. But you do need the reinforcement that comes from celebrating your sobriety milestone, whatever it is. One solution is to have a small and very private celebration, perhaps just with your spouse or significant other, perhaps with your 12-step sponsor or group members with whom you’ve become close. Perhaps you just reward yourself with something special. But, do celebrate the moment.

There will come a time when you are more confident in your ability to maintain your sobriety. You will have considerable practice at overcoming cravings and urges, and will have successfully navigated stress and minor (maybe even major) challenges that come your way. For some, this is around the 6-month mark, or their first-year anniversary of being clean and sober. Whenever you feel you’re ready, go for the more public celebration. The more reinforcement, encouragement and support you receive from others about your sobriety, the more solid your achievement will be in your own mind.

Types of Sobriety Celebrations

Unlike Christmas or Thanksgiving or Valentine’s Day, a sobriety celebration isn’t characterized by specific dates on the calendar, practices such as gift giving, carving turkeys or exchanging candy and flowers. In addition, there really isn’t a single type of sobriety celebration. That’s what makes the idea of celebrating sobriety so liberating – it can be anything that you want it to be.

Where can you find ideas for celebrating your sobriety? Your 12-step A.A. group is a good place to start. You could also search the Internet for ideas on how other 12-step groups, local and international, have celebrated members’ sobriety. Once you get going, you’ll come up with your own ideas. Here are just a few, gleaned from past group celebrations that were promoted or publicized on the Internet.

• Students for Recovery – While not a specific, single event per se, the Students for Recovery group at the University of Michigan (http://studentsforrecovery.com/) is an association of students (in recovery or supporters of those in recovery) that provides information, encouragement, support and sober events for its members. The Students for Recovery encourage interested individuals to attend their weekly on-campus meetings. The group recognizes the pressures of students trying to overcome internal challenges (maintaining sobriety) while they work to achieve external goals (academic success). This, in a campus atmosphere where students are constantly bombarded by flyers and promos for pub crawls, beer busts, keggers and more. With structured events, the Students for Recovery provide a supportive environment for empowering students to protect their recovery during their studies at the university.

• Annual Sobriety Celebrations – Certain local Alcoholics Anonymous groups, with Al-Anon participation, plan annual sobriety celebrations. Often, these annual events are heavily promoted throughout the area, with flyers posted at A.A. and Al-Anon groups. The annual event may have several years under its belt and carry a theme that helps encourage participation. Usually, there will be a guest speaker or speakers, maybe even a big name. This also helps boost attendance. There are dances, games, barbeques, conferences, workshops, meals and entertainment. Each celebration is different, but they all have one thing in common: to help members and their families celebrate sobriety. If your A.A. group doesn’t have an annual event, why not suggest a special celebratory day and volunteer to be on the committee to make it happen? And, if it does hold such an event, get involved in the preparations. You’ll be that much more energized when you’re part of the process. Finding ways to celebrate society is a way of bringing joy into your environment. And bringing joy to others means you also bring joy to yourself.

• National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month – Go straight to the source for promoting the national Recovery Month event (http://www.recoverymonth.gov/). This year’s event, Recovery Month 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of Recovery Month. Presented by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this year’s campaign is expanding to reach today’s online world. This is heavily promoted on the Recovery Month 2010 website, which also includes resources for event planners (how to become an event planner, post and event or activity), how to order a 2010 Recovery kit, and recovery resources (how to find help or treatment, searching for recovery services, etc.). Although September is the national Recovery Month, you can celebrate recovery (sobriety) anytime of the year. Other information on the site includes learning more about Recovery Month, resources throughout the year, and finding out how you can participate. Each September, thousands of treatment programs around the country celebrate their successes and share them with neighbors, friends, and colleagues in an effort to educate the public about treatment, how it works, for whom, and why. Download the brochure, Promotional Event Ideas and Publicity Tips (http://www.recoverymonth.gov/Recovery-Month-Kit/Media-Outreach/~/media/Files/Kit/2009/508_pdfs/media_section/PromotionalEvents1.ashx), to help jumpstart your brainstorming to hold your own group event.

Recovery Month Ideas – Recovery Month 2010 publicity promotion ideas include the following:

• Schedule a conference or forum to discuss methods for combating addiction in your community

• Host a sporting event such as a Recovery Month run or walk

• Hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony or open house to celebrate the opening of a new treatment facility in your area

• Have the mayor sign a Recovery Month proclamation in a public place

Find Resources Throughout the Year – Promoting the benefits of recovery can help individuals and the public. Events can be large or small, and just getting involved in putting one together can be very rewarding. Find events that are already planned in your area or submit an event (http://www.recoverymonth.gov/Community-Events.aspx).

Sober Celebrations – Planning Meals without Alcohol

Any celebratory meal you can think of can be created, prepared and consumed without any alcohol. Even if you have guests who do drink, they can be politely asked to abstain during the celebration. Anyone who is a true friend probably knows about your addiction and recovery and will be happy to oblige. After all, true friends want you to succeed in your recovery as much as you do.

Check out Sober Celebrations: Lively Entertainment Without the Spirits (http://www.electricpressrelease.com/releases/2007/july-august/sober_celebrations.htm), by Liz Scott, published by Cleveland Clinic Press, 2007. Promoted as the “must-have” guide to holiday and special-occasion entertaining for chooses to celebrate alcohol-free, this cookbook contains more than 150 easy-to-follow recipes and 25 diverse menus. Included in the cookbook are substitution suggestions for recipes that call for alcohol, tips on using purchased ingredients to simplify cooking and entertaining, ideas for adding excitement and pizzazz to your celebration without alcohol, “mocktail” recipes and alcohol-free beverages, and information on health- and alcohol-related issues. Buy the book at (http://www.sober-celebrations.com/book/). Ms. Scott, a graduate of New York’s Culinary Institute and Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy, was honored by the Johnson Institute in 2005, one of 8 American pioneers and innovators in the field of addiction recovery. Her first book, The Sober Kitchen: Recipes and Ideas for a Lifetime of Sobriety, won numerous awards.

How About a Sober Celebrations Trip?

Clean and sober is a way of life for many individuals who have embraced sobriety as their core principle. Naturally, there are cottage industries that have sprung up seeking to capitalize on this ready audience. And, that’s not a bad thing. It’s better to have programs and merchandise tailored for and in recognition of sobriety than not. Why? For years, alcohol and substance abuse have been regarded as a stigma – and one that has only recently begun to abate. With the stigma being relegated to the past (for the most part, since there are still some who regard alcoholics and drug abusers – even those in recovery – in an extremely negative light), letting the light in and educating the public about treatment and recovery is a very good thing indeed.
One case in point is the travel industry. There are sober celebrations cruises, backpacking trips, wilderness trips, whitewater rafting trips, and so on. Sober Celebrations is one such outfit (http://www.sobercelebrations.com/) worth a look. Their mission statement tells a lot about the organization:

“Celebrate sobriety and fellowship while on fabulous vacations. Provide daily 12-step infrastructure for the length of the vacation. Create trips as cost effective and luxurious as possible. We have suffered enough. Operate anonymously and in the general vacation population.”

According to the site’s promotional message, sober trips are ones that you plan for. This strikes a chord, since we’ve already mentioned planning ahead for your sober celebration. Since your trip is in celebration of your recovery, planning is exciting and completed well ahead of time. Your sober celebration trip – whether a cruise or some other type of getaway – is one that you will remember for a long time. You should, however, consult your 12-step advisor prior to booking a sober celebration trip (say the website’s promoters). This organization is not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous. It is not a treatment center or a recovery convention. It is a so-designated “sober vacation for those who are spiritually fit enough to be in the general population.”

You don’t have to go to any particularly designated sober celebrations organization to plan your sober celebrations trip. You can organize one through your local 12-step group and plan it through a reputable travel company. Add guest speakers and special events and you’ve got a winning combination – a perfect way to celebrate your sobriety without alcohol.

Other Ways to Celebrate Your Sobriety Alcohol-Free

The preceding ideas hopefully will serve as a kick-start for your own creative suggestions on how to celebrate your sobriety without alcohol. Here are a few others you may wish to consider:

• Take the family away for a week-long adventure – Spending quality time with your family – the ones who are closest to you and will benefit the most from your continuing recovery – is a great way to celebrate your sobriety. Go on a wilderness trip or stay at a modestly-priced motel/hotel in or adjacent a national park. While you’re there, go on daily hiking adventures, horseback riding, canoeing or kayaking, whatever the park offers. The peacefulness of the setting, the communal nature of appreciating nature’s natural wonders with your family, and the ability to get away from life’s everyday stresses will be memorable for all concerned.

• Arrange a special meal – Your celebration of your sobriety can be as simple as a special meal you arrange for you and your spouse, special friend, or another. It can be a romantic, candle-lit celebration or a banquet for friends and family.

• Celebrate by helping others in need – What better way to celebrate and acknowledge your own sobriety milestone than to help others who may be in need? This doesn’t have to be a fellow friend in recovery – maybe you’re not ready for that yet. It could be that you help a neighbor who’s been confined to bed due to an illness, or the widow down the street that’s been having a difficult time since her husband’s death, or giving your time to help with your child’s Cub Scout or Girl Scout outing or school activity. While you are helping others, you are also helping yourself, getting stronger every day in your sobriety.

• Write in your journal – Capture your thoughts on this day of celebrating your sobriety by writing in a journal. You don’t have to be an author to write what you feel. It’s a personal journal, meant only for your eyes. So, feel free to include whatever comes to mind. Over the months and years to come, you will be able to look back and see the progress of your recovery. This is your gift to yourself that will pay you back in countless ways. You will be able to see how you’ve become stronger and better able to withstand the minor and then major challenges that have come your way, how you dealt with cravings and urges, how you emerged from hopelessness and despair and gained hope, self-confidence and purpose.

Make Plans to Celebrate Now

With what you now know – that anytime’s a good time for you to celebrate your sobriety – why not start now to make plans for your special celebration? Enlist the help of your family, close friends, and 12-step sponsor or group members as appropriate. But do begin thinking about and implementing your plans to celebrate your sobriety without alcohol.

Above all, congratulate yourself on a job well done. Every day sober is a day of great celebration. Add up the months and years of sobriety and you really have many reasons to celebrate.

It’s Your Story

In a book, who do readers care about most? It should be the hero or heroine, the main character, the one whose story the book is about. In a screenplay, which is the film version of a novel, albeit condensed to a shorter time period, it is the protagonist (which is really just another name for the main character). There are many characters in a book and in a screenplay, of course, but they are mostly incidental players, or have brief parts or impact in the main character’s life. The exception to this is the antagonist – the person (or circumstance or society, among others) that most stands in the way of the main character.
In the book and movie, the hero or heroine has goals. He or she may or may not achieve them by the story’s end. But it is the journey that readers (and audiences) care about. Will the main character achieve his or her goals? If not, what is standing in the way?

Drawing a parallel to your own life’s journey, where you are now is the beginning of the story. And, make no mistake about it, this is your story. Sure, there are other people (characters) in your life, but it’s your story that you should be focused on. You already know that your chief adversary, your opponent, if you will, is your addiction. Some of the people in your life may aid and abet your addiction, but nobody forces you to engage in the addictive behavior. You do that all by yourself.

So, think of recovery as your story. You’ve just made the decision to get help for your addiction, or you’ve completed treatment and are now embarking on an equally confusing and often paradoxical period of early recovery. Here’s where your story takes off.

Who Said It Would Be Easy?

It’s necessary here to make the point that your journey will be filled with ups and downs. Sometimes it will feel as if you’ve undertaken an impossible task. You may very well want to give up, thinking the task too difficult or that you’re not up to it. In the book and screenplay version, this might be referred to as refusing the call to action. You may have thought or said to yourself or others that you’re too busy to go for treatment, or that treatment isn’t working for you, or recovery is too hard, or your life is miserable absent your addictive behavior.

Well, who said it would be easy? Nothing worthwhile – and living in sobriety certainly ranks way up there – is ever trouble- or challenge-free.

Let’s get back to the beginning of your story – wherever you are right now in your journey. You’ve made a conscious decision to do something: to get treatment, or to work diligently to change your behavior to live a healthier lifestyle in recovery. Everything that happens from this time forward is in pursuit of your overall goal, which is sustained recovery.

Expect Twists and Turns

What happens in an engrossing and compelling story? You find yourself wanting to skip ahead, to learn what’s going to happen, to try to predict the future. If everything goes smoothly and nothing ever challenges the main character, you quickly lose interest and move on to other things. In your own story, you need to condition yourself to expect these twists and turns – not because you’ll lose interest – but because if you don’t see progress toward your goal by the simple fact of achieving smaller goals by overcoming obstacles, you may very well give up and relapse.

Addiction recovery experts say that the first six months to a year of early recovery are the toughest. It all depends on the individual, of course, and how long they were addicted, the type of addiction, frequency of use, whether or not there are multiple substances involved or a co-occurring disorder (substance abuse and mental health disorder), genetic predispositions, and family history, among other factors. In general, the longer you’ve been addicted, the greater the frequency and amount of the abused substance, multiple addictions, and genetic or familial factors combine to make closing the substance abuse chapter of your life more difficult. It may be difficult, but it is not impossible.

The key is to anticipate that you will experience twists and turns, hurdles that you will need to overcome, and many changes that you will need to figure out how to make.

Work Toward the Desired Outcome

Some addicts in early recovery aren’t mentally attuned to the long haul. They either haven’t fully absorbed the lessons they learned during treatment, or don’t feel skilled or practiced enough in utilizing the coping mechanisms necessary to get them through the tough times ahead.

One suggestion that may prove helpful is to keep focused on the long-term goal, and to work toward this desired outcome. You wouldn’t expect to nail an advanced degree by only taking a couple of courses, or some very tough ones, at that. In the book version, the main character needs to have a substantial and meaningful long-term goal. If not, the story and the character lack interest and motivation.

Speaking of goals, there is the overarching goal – sustained recovery – and there are also many short- and long-term goals. You should develop strategies for how you’ll go about achieving these goals, and get any necessary training, education, financial assistance, and support you need so that you are able to work toward those desired outcomes.

Don’t Let Pitfalls Derail You

Remember those twists and turns? In your story, while you’re solidifying your intention to close the substance abusing chapter of your life, you will encounter some minor, and, quite possibly major, pitfalls. The difference between a protagonist that’s successful in achieving his or her goal and one who gives up and never achieves it is determination and persistence. You simply can’t let obstacles and challenges deter you or derail your pursuit of your ultimate goal.

One way to marshal your resources is to list all the possible pitfalls that could occur – along with strategies for how you’ll cope with them. Enlist the help of your 12-step sponsor (from Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and so on), or your counselor, to fully flesh out your list and arrive at creative and workable strategies and coping mechanisms.
In a story, if the main character just caves whenever there’s a slight problem, he or she is considered weak and unworthy of success. In your story, you can guard against the temptation to capitulate by being prepared – so that you don’t allow pitfalls to derail you.

Enlist Allies and Build Your Support Network

No main character goes it alone. That would make for a singularly uninteresting story. In your own journey, you also don’t go it alone – nor should you. In fact, without adequate support and encouragement from those who love and care about you (your family and friends and fellow 12-step members), your recovery is made much more difficult. Some individuals in recovery, lacking family or other support, relapse quickly. Some relapse several times before they realize the value and necessity of ongoing and non-judgmental support.

In fact, the addict in recovery who insists on going it alone makes the journey even more arduous than it ever should be. That’s like deliberately sabotaging his or her efforts at achieving a stated goal. And, we all know that, as human beings, we’re great at self-sabotage. The more important the goal, the more we seem determined to undermine our efforts.

Your support network can help you regain your sense of direction, solidify your conviction, and stick to your plan. If you feel that you’re about to slip, they can offer an understanding ear, suggestions on how to get back on track, and lift your spirits in the process.

Begin to build your support network early in your recovery. If you haven’t participated in 12-step meetings since completing treatment, it’s very important to start now. Go to regular meetings, several times a week if you need it, especially during the first six months. If you need help and it’s the middle of the night, call your sponsor or go online. There are meetings all over the United States and many foreign countries. Surely you can find one that’s “open” when you need to talk with others in your position. Remember that the only real requirement for 12-step members is a genuine commitment to sobriety and to helping others achieve a sober lifestyle as well.

Of course, you need sober friends as well. These can be old friends who didn’t abuse substances. Likely, though, they will be new ones, as you’ll need to steer clear of your former drinking and using pals. Where can you find new friends? Join a club, or get involved in learning a new skill, or taking classes toward getting or finishing a degree. Get outside and immerse yourself in recreational activities. You’ll undoubtedly meet new people who may become acquaintances, and then, good friends.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Everyone in recovery feels down now and then. Sometimes you’ll feel down for extended periods of time, particularly if you encounter a major setback (emotional, financial, legal, work-related, social, and so on). While it’s certainly easier said than done, strive to maintain a positive attitude at all times. Even in the midst of a crisis, adopt the mindset that whatever is going on is only temporary. If you can make it through the next 24 hours, whatever it is will look different. Call on your support network to help you make it through particularly tough times.

Maintaining a positive attitude isn’t being a Pollyanna. It’s recognizing that you are in charge of your story. You are the one who can make the difference between whether or not you achieve your goals. With a positive and forward-looking attitude, you are helping to shape your future actions. If you see possibilities, you are more likely to welcome opportunities than to fear them. Rather than stagnating, you will be more open to change and willing to accept it – and move on.

Get Help When You Need It

Let’s say that you slip and relapse. The first thing you need to do is accept that it happened. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Get help immediately. Call your sponsor (anytime of the day or night). Seek the counsel of your therapist (if you still have one in continuing care or aftercare as part of your overall treatment program). Talk with a member of the clergy, a trusted friend, or understanding family member – who won’t enable you and can help gently redirect you back on the road to recovery.

In any compelling story, when something bad happens to the main character, we want him or her to succeed. To the extent that the main character actively pursues his or her goals – instead of merely living passively (and, thus, never really experiencing life) – we expect that the main character will seek the help of allies and experts when necessary. That’s the way to overcome formidable opponents and obstacles. Drawing the analogy to your own story, get help when you need it – and don’t be shy about it. After all, this is your story. You want to achieve your goals.

Add Fresh Goals

What happens when you achieve all the short- and many of the long-term goals on your list? Don’t give up and sit back thinking you’ve exhausted all your possibilities. That will only tend to numb you, make you lethargic, lacking motivation or drive. Pretty soon, you’ll be bored and seek stimulation in unhealthy behavior – perhaps even using again. The antidote to this is to always add fresh goals. That’s why it’s good to have a hierarchy, of sorts, of goals that are ever more challenging.

Make goals to encompass six months, 1 to 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years, and so on. Jot down what you’ll need to do in order to achieve those goals. Take steps to secure or amass those needs (knowledge, finances, endorsements, rebuilding relationships, etc.).

Sometimes, you’ll look over your list of accomplishments and see that what you have listed as future goals are no longer as desirable. Your overall prospects may have changed (and likely will) as new opportunities become available. You will want to avail yourself of these and not box yourself into goals that no longer are viable. Eliminate those goals that no longer work for you (and not ones that require you to exert effort), and change goals that require slightly different approach, strategies to accomplish, or time. The secret is to always keep your list of goals readily available so that you can make the necessary changes.

After all, isn’t this your story? You are creating your future.

Live In The Now – With an Eye Toward the Future

Dwelling on the past will get any main character in trouble. Since we’re talking about your story, why think about what happened when you hit bottom or the devastation your addiction caused? The only time this matters is when you are devising ways to rebuild your life, to fashion it according to the clean and sober lifestyle you’ve committed to achieve and maintain. And, it’s not a matter of rehashing old failures and actions. Rather, it’s more about living a life of principles and commitment, of righting old wrongs (making amends), and looking toward the future.

To that end, live every day in the present. Do the best you can with each waking moment. Also, keep your eye on the future, on where and what you want to achieve in the short- and long-term period.

As Confucius once said, “The longest journey begins with the first step.” This is your journey, your story. Begin today by taking the first step on your road to recovery. And remember that this is a lifelong journey. Your story will never be finished. It is an ongoing – and very compelling – saga.

Prepare for Changes Ahead

Before your emotions and fears get the better of you, stop and take a moment to reflect on what’s happened to you up to this point. You’ve likely gone through detoxification, active treatment with therapists involving individual and group counseling, possibly medication to ease withdrawal symptoms, 12-step meetings, and coping skills and relapse prevention training – the whole works.

Part of your overall treatment program probably included creating a personalized recovery plan just before you finished your active treatment. This is a very important document. It serves as a roadmap for your future, but it is certainly not set in stone. In fact, it is meant to be a flexible, constantly changing guideline that you alter as you achieve milestones you’ve set for yourself, or as new opportunities arise that you’d like to investigate. Some goals that you thought you wanted while you were in treatment may prove to be no longer viable – or you may have moved past them and on to even more challenging goals.

The truth is that it’s hard to see very far ahead when you’re deep in the midst of treatment. Part of the reason addiction treatment programs are effective is the fact that it is structured. While you are learning about the disease of addiction and how environmental, genetic and other factors played into you becoming addicted, how to recognize cues and triggers, what to do to avoid falling into relapse, and other important aspects of treatment, you followed a schedule. You always knew what was on the agenda for the day ahead.

Now that you’re either out of treatment or are close to it, you won’t have the benefit of that daily structured regimen. You will need to create your own plan for how you’ll move forward. But before you do that, it’s important that you adopt a mindset that embraces change. You need to see that change is good. Look at the tremendous changes you’ve already made in your life. You overcame your addiction by your determination, genuine commitment to becoming clean and sober, and your desire to live life to the fullest.

Will you always know what tomorrow will bring? No, of course you won’t. Actually, that’s to your benefit. Some of the greatest discoveries of a person’s potential are surprises. When you open yourself up to the possibilities of whatever is out there for you, those opportunities to change will appear. So, for now, your first step on the other side of treatment is to prepare for changes ahead – lots of changes.

Refine Your Recovery Plan

Next, take another look at your recovery plan. Now that you’re no longer in a structured treatment environment, you have a great deal of freedom. That’s the good news and the bad news. There’s more time to do what you want – and time to get into trouble if you neglect to follow the advice and recommendations of your counselors.

Put yourself to work by refining your recovery plan. There should be some immediate things that you need to do to accomplish some short-term (2 to 4 week, 6 months) goals. This may involve signing up for a class, enrolling in or going back to college, perfecting skills (computer, carpentry, etc.), finding a job, working on repairing relationships, fixing up the house – only you know what you’ve identified as your first priorities.

Take a look at your list. Have you forgotten anything? Are there more things that you can add? Think about short-term goals as ingredients in a recipe. The end goal is to achieve the most reasonable representation and realization of those ingredients. The more short-term goals you have, the better? Not necessarily. Be sure not to overload yourself with tasks and things to do this week and next week. You also need time to begin to address some of your longer term goals. In other words, in order to start to move forward on things you want to achieve in 1 to 5 years – like finishing your degree, buying a house, getting married or having children – you may need to lay the groundwork now.

When you are in early recovery – the first 6 months to a year – it’s a good idea to revisit your recovery plan once a week. Make notes on where you stand with your various goals and definitely note when you have accomplished each one. This should be cause for celebration. Every milestone you reach and can mark off as a successful endeavor is like money in the bank. In this case, it’s an investment in you and your future. As you proceed in your recovery, looking back over your list of accomplishments will build your self-esteem and self-confidence. It’s a great way to keep on track in your recovery.

Take Care of Yourself

With so many things on your agenda, it’s easy to neglect one very important item: taking care of yourself. While you were in treatment, you had three meals a day prepared for you, there were times set aside for exercise and leisure activities, and you went to bed at regular hours. Now that you’re on your own again, it’s vital that you pay attention to proper nutrition, exercise and getting enough sleep. In fact, this is a necessary part of the overall mind-body-spirit balance you should strive to achieve.
Maybe you don’t fancy yourself as a great cook, but you don’t have to be a gourmet chef to prepare nutritious meals. Think of mealtime as a chance to experiment with new ideas, colors, tastes and arrangement on the plate. You’ve heard the recommendation to eat 5 fruits and 5 vegetables a day. While that’s good advice, many people curl up their nose at the thought of piling all that stuff on a plate. You know it’s good for you, but you have no idea how to pull it off.

Here’s a tip. Make a big salad each day. This can be for lunch or dinner – or make a large enough one that you have some for both meals. In the salad, use several types of lettuce: romaine, mesclun, baby lettuces, Bibb. Maybe add in endive or escarole on occasion. Other items that you can choose to incorporate include radicchio (reddish, somewhat bitter but great flavor), carrots, onion (red, sweet, or green onions), and chopped red, yellow, orange or green peppers, radishes, jicama (crunchy and sweet like an apple), cucumber, and tomato. The beauty about salads is that you can create an endless combination and never get bored. Use different salad dressings or make your own. You’ll easily come away with 5 vegetables right off the bat. And, with tomato (a fruit), you’re already on your way to taking care of the fruit requirement.

Fresh fruit during the day makes a great snack. Buy what’s in season and take advantage of local farmers markets. You can
also eat a half grapefruit for breakfast. And, speaking of breakfast, all nutritionists recommend that you eat breakfast every day. Don’t skip it because you think you don’t have time. There’s always time for some yogurt or cereal, if not the full-scale eggs and breakfast meat or pancakes. You need fuel to get your body nourished for the day’s activities. Never, ever just have a coffee or a latte or cappuccino from the local coffee place and think you’ve got it covered. You’re only shortchanging yourself.

What about meat? You need protein, so meat is a good choice. Select lean meat if you’re going for red meat – and eat it sparingly. Buy fresh fish (don’t worry – you can broil them, sauté them or grill them) and especially become familiar with salmon. It’s a great source of Omega 3 oils which are great for every organ of your body. Poultry is great as well, such as turkey, chicken, Cornish hens. Just go easy on eating the skin (it contains a lot of fat).

Steer clear of too many carbohydrates or starchy foods. Avoid greasy foods and those with empty calories. That means, stay away from bags of greasy and salty potato chips, mounds of mashed potatoes – you get the idea. Another no-no is too much sugar. This throws your body off-kilter and can lead to spikes in blood sugar that could be dangerous. A little cake and ice cream now and then is fine. Just eat it in moderation.

One way to figure out nutritious meals is to watch some of the cooking shows on cable. Or buy a good cookbook. Or ask a friend to give you some easy-to-make recipes. You could even take a cooking class. The key is to use variety, lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, and use ingredients that are as fresh as possible.

Regarding sleep, make sure you get a good 7 to 8 hours each night. Although some people swear they can get by on 5 hours or less, they’re doing their bodies a tremendous injustice. The human body requires adequate rest in order to replenish, to revitalize, and to work through things in the subconscious that the conscious state is too busy to attend to. Be sure to go to bed at the same time every night and don’t watch TV in bed. Also, don’t eat anything for the last 2 hours before you retire. Avoid late consumption of soft drinks or caffeine as these tend to keep you awake. If you toss and turn, get up and go to another room and read until you feel sleepy. Then return to bed.

You also need adequate physical exercise to keep yourself healthy. Start out slow. You don’t want to overdo it and lose your enthusiasm. Go for a 20- to 30-minute walk a few days a week. You can vary your route or go to parks, beaches, the mountains or a nature trail so you don’t get bored. The idea is to do it regularly. You need to make time for this at first, but after a while it will become part of your routine and something that you look forward to. You can always add more strenuous exercise when you’re more physically fit – or find something you really want to do, such as mountain biking, cross-country or downhill skiing, racquetball, basketball, softball, etc.

Broaden Your Circle of Friends

While you’re looking at your new life in recovery, make sure that you arrange to be in the company of others. The last thing you want to do is sit at home and stew about your troubles, lack of money, stresses at work, wondering how you’ll do this or that. You need to be with people, period.

If you have a supportive family, that’s a great place to start. No doubt your family will welcome seeing you back at get-togethers (Sunday dinner, watching a sports game, barbeques, etc.). Even if you have been estranged from them, however, it’s important that you make the effort to repair your relationships. Take it one day at a time, and keep at it. Sometimes this takes a lot more time that you realize. After all, you may have been at odds with them for many months or years. This doesn’t get repaired overnight.

There are other ways to be in the company of others. Some of the friends you used to associate with you may now know weren’t really your friends at all. They were enablers or your drinking buddies or those you used to do drugs with. You already know you need to steer clear of them, but where do you go to find new friends?

If your treatment program included participation in 12-step group meetings, one way to find people who have gone through the same type of situation is to find a 12-step meeting near you and continue to attend regularly. This is a safe environment where no one will criticize or look down on you. There are no judgments or expectations. Everyone is there to help themselves and other group members succeed in recovery. If you find someone that you like, cultivate a personal friendship. Use this as a stepping stone to broadening your circle of friends.

You could also consider joining a club. Start with what interests you. It could be sports, reading, going to movies, travel, even an adventure club. When you are with others pursuing a common interest, there’s always opportunity for conversation – and, perhaps friendship. You’ll also have something to look forward to in your free time – something you can add to your agenda.

What If You Get Down?

Of course, not every day will be a perfect one. There will be challenges and obstacles to overcome. You know that. But don’t let yourself become discouraged, either from lack of progress toward your goals or the gnawing feeling that you could be doing better. These are traps that are basically remnants from your past come to haunt you. When you find that things are piling up or you feel uncertain what to do or just need someone to talk to, contact your counselor or 12-step sponsor. Don’t stew over it. Do something about it.

Remember that you are human. You aren’t perfect. If you find yourself slipping, reach out right away and get help. And, help is always there for you. Being able to recognize and accept it is another important part of finding your way on the other side of treatment.