Thinking about getting clean and sober? Here are a number of solutions for you to consider. Some will work better for you than others…that is the beauty of having choices in recovery. With drug addiction, you don’t have a choice. You have to pursue your drinking and drug use, each and every day. In recovery, you are granted a reprieve from that cycle of addiction. The question is how to get there. Don’t listen to those who say there is only one path to recovery. Here are some solutions:

1) Long Term Treatment

After going into residential treatment programs twice before and failing miserably, I decided to give long term treatment a try. This is what finally worked for me. Long term treatment gave me the structure that I needed in order to make it in early recovery. The level of support that you receive in long term treatment is awesome. I can’t recommend it enough. It saved my life.

2) Medication

It might seem like a bit of a contradiction to fight an addiction to substances by using more substances, but a lot of progress has been made in this area recently. For example, consider Campral to help you quit drinking or Chantix to help you quit smoking. There are other medications out there for treating other specific addictions, and this is an area that is bound to see a lot of growth. Just another avenue to consider that might give you some hope.

3) Alcoholics Anonymous / Narcotics Anonymous

These programs offer a solution through working the 12 steps, which will lead you to a spiritual experience. This also worked for me, and has played a major role in the path of my recovery. There is a lot of strength to be gained by involving yourself in these fellowships, because the amount of support that they offer is unparalleled. You can get support elsewhere, but not as much, and it will not be as concentrated. Strongly consider these programs as a recovery solution.

4) Private Counseling

When I was involved with private counseling, I wasn’t ready to quit drinking yet, so it didn’t seem to do me much good. However, I know several individuals who have had great success by seeing a therapist each week, without doing much else other than working on their own personal growth. Probably a good solution for self-motivated individuals. Another option to consider.

5) Spiritual Experience

This is the only thing that finally worked for me, and it probably took the combination of complete and total surrender, the framework provided by long term treatment, and working the 12 steps with a sponsor in order to bring about this total change in personality. I went from having self-centered drug seeking obsessions all day long to a much healthier, more balanced, drug-free life. I should also point out that working with other addicts in recovery has proven to be a critical part of my recovery, and is part of what defines “the spiritual experience” for me. I don’t know if I could make it, say, on private counseling alone–because you don’t get that opportunity to connect with other struggling addicts and alcoholics. For me, that is a vital part of the spiritual experience.