Once you have admitted that you have a problem the question is what do you do about it? There are many avenues to explore, with no one path to recovery suiting every individual. However every avenue that you go down will have one thing in common – that you need to put action in to venture down the path of recovery.
GP
For some of us we have avoided going to the doctors for years for the fear of being found out and for others we are there every week trying to get some new medication to fix us. Once you open up to your doctor and you are honest and open, they may explore a few options with you. They may refer you to counselling, AA meetings, Smart recovery or straight to rehab. All these options, if you are willing to try them, can get you on the path to recovery.
Counselling
A lot of people when they enter rehab will say that they have tried counselling and it did not work for them. Counselling can work but only if you have already stopped your addictive behaviour. A lot of people find that after a counselling session that their addiction became worse than before as it has bought up all the issues that their addictive behaviour had been supressing. They are not ready to face these issues ‘clean’! However, if you have been to rehab/AA, or are heavily addicted, counselling should bring additional benefit to your recovery.
Local Recovery Programs
Many local areas have their own recovery programs. However there are those that say that you need to cut down your addictive behaviour and to write up a diary. Well the problem is that you can’t cut down and that’s exactly why you are seeking help, so that’s not going to work, also a diary – who is going to be truthful in that! This aside there are some great programs like SMART recovery which helps the individual on the path to recovery.
AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), NA (Narcotics Anonymous) ,CA (Cocaine Anonymous), GA (Gamblers Anonymous )
These free meetings are globally active and help anyone with an alcohol or drug problem. They give you the tools for living your life free from your addiction, the designs for living. These groups work on being abstinent based and working the 12 steps of recovery. Addiction is a very isolating illness. These meetings bring people together who suffer from the same illness as you, who understand you, and help you.
Treatment Centres
Addiction Treatment Centres are becoming ever more popular and most follow AA’s 12 steps to recovery, are abstinence based and offer programs of 28 days. Treatment centres will provide safe, medically supervised detoxes from your addicted substance. They will give you group therapy sessions, teach you all about the 12-step program, introduce you to AA/CA/NA meetings and educate you on your illness. Sobriety is a way of life and treatment centres teach you what you need to do to live this new sober life. However you yourself have to put the action in to maintain it. If your treatment centre is 12 step based then upon leaving they will advise you to get a sponsor right away, attend at least 3 meetings a week and do the 12 steps.
Aftercare
Recovery doesn’t come in the form of a quick fix, there is no magic pill to cure you from your addiction. In the early days of recovery, it is very easy to go back to your old behaviours without recognising it. This is why most treatment centres offer aftercare which is an afternoon or day once a week where you can come in and receive additional support, help newcomers and meet up with those that you took your first steps to recovery with. This extra supporting hand will really benefit you in your early stages of recovery. You support each other and avoid making the same mistakes others have done. It also causes issues to not build up inside of you, so you don’t have to reach for the prop of your addiction when something goes wrong.
The first stage of recovery
The first stage is admitting that you have a problem, so if you have reached this stage well done. However there’s a difference to admitting and doing something about it. This is the next stage. As this blog shows there are many different paths that you can go down. I wish you well on your journey to recovery. Remember nothing changes if nothing changes!
If you or a loved one is struggling to stop an addiction we can help you stay stopped! To find out more or speak to an addiction’s specialist click here to request a free assessment or alternatively you can call us on 01462851414.