Addiction is expensive but recovery is free
Addiction is expensive
We all pay a very high price to get into addiction recovery. Addiction is an expensive illness and I have heard many people say that their addiction has cost them millions of pounds. The financial costs are incurred from the actual costs of the alcohol or drugs; the costs from marital breakup and divorce settlements; lost jobs or career opportunities; lost homes – and for those of us lucky enough to have had the opportunity, the cost of rehab treatment itself. I have even known addicts who have had over a million pounds spent on their various spells in rehab! And that is just the financial side. The cost in terms of heartache, upset, broken families and even chronic illness and death is often even higher. It is a club that no one joins through choice but many of us are happy to be members of it once in it.
Recovery is free
Once in recovery, though, everything becomes free! Attending Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings does not attract a charge (although there is usually the opportunity to put a donation in to pay for the coffee and hall hire etc as the meetings are self-supporting). A sponsor of your choosing will take you through the 12 Step Programme and give freely of his or her time and experience to do this. And everyone in the meetings will give you all the help and support they can without expecting or wanting any reward other than to help you get and stay well.
There is no class system in the fellowship. We all have one major issue in common – a desire to stop drinking or using and to stay clean and sober one day at a time. It does not matter if we are wealthy or have nothing materially; it does not matter how old we are; or what race or creed we are; or whether we have a good job or are without work.
Suddenly we have the gift of life, freely given – and we have the freedom to enjoy it.
We have freedom from the following things:
Obsession of using or drinking – the self-imposed prison we had placed ourselves in.
No longer bound by our guilt and shame.
Identified our character defects and are learning to address them.
Go to bed at night fulfilled at a day well spent.
Wake up the next morning without having to remember the things we regret doing the day before (or don’t remember but have to pick up clues or be told about by disgruntled and embarrassed family and friends).
A new energy to face the new day ahead.
Sometimes in recovery, we have to be reminded of what we now have and what life used to be like. That is why we need to keep going to meetings – so we can be reminded by the newcomer of how difficult our life was – and we can give our support to them to help them to get what we now have.
The Haynes Clinic is an alcohol and drug rehab clinic which offers detox and counselling for people with addictions.
Call 01462 851414 for free and confidential advice.
