Comments on: Help for Addiction – The Real Truth about Recovery http://www.spiritualriver.com/the-real-truth-about-recovery-from-addiction-and-alcoholism/ Non-traditional recovery from addiction Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:35:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: G.T. Dubya http://www.spiritualriver.com/the-real-truth-about-recovery-from-addiction-and-alcoholism/comment-page-2/#comment-55199 G.T. Dubya Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:51:43 +0000 http://www.spiritualriver.com/?p=443#comment-55199 Patrick, How are you, my friend? Sorry about the extended diatribe a couple nights ago. Sorta got carried away I did. I guess. An excellent breakdown concerning many of the mistaken beliefs about the recovery process and the too many different tactics that some treatment facilities might try to stress the importance of. For an addict to enter treatment and be bombarded with a jillion different things that would be presented to them and be expected to sort out and apply what would work for them is borderline preposterous. Without a doubt we need to be exposed to something positive and progressive in the formative stages of recovery, if we're going to get anything out of it at all. But at 6 days...or 19...or 27? Wow man, I haven't even detoxed proper yet, and they're trying to teach me coping skills and relapse prevention and healthy boundaries and who knows what else anger management. You understand what I'm saying, I'm sure. The way things are structured nowadays with 30-90 day treatment as the norm and new clients arriving on a daily basis it's difficult to institute any sort of curriculum. So we incorporate a particular approach into what we're doing and it's up to the individual to get what they can from it. Each and every article of yours that I've read always seems to have this common thread running through it. And what would this little bitty piece of string be? ACTION!!! Do something. But do something different than you've ever done before. We know what the foundational stuff is. 12 step meetings and all the trappings of that system. Sober support wherever it is you can find it. Even just those two little things can be all that's necessary to hold someone in the early stages of recovery. But what happens after say 10 months or 18 months, and the person feels somewhat vacant? Applying "massive action" as you so aptly call it is the key to the highway. I don't know how I got off-track of what I wanted to say, but this is why I posted; #36. I too am a firm believer in thinking that trying to teach someone in early recovery coping skills is a poor approach to treatment. To stress that their life needs to be restructured is a much more effective method. Coping skills almost presupposes that the individual is not going to make that radical of a change in their life so they're going to need to know how to cope with or handle all those stressors that will undoubtedly still be in their lives. If you make a paradigm shift in your entire way of doing things the chances of needing this toolbox full of coping skills will be dramatically reduced. It can't help but be. The old AA saying..."nothing changes if nothing changes". We would only have the same old kind of stuff to look forward to, but we'd have our sack full of coping skills to weather the storm. Poor prospect. I'm out. Peace and prosperity Patrick. Patrick,
How are you, my friend? Sorry about the extended diatribe a couple nights ago. Sorta got carried away I did. I guess.
An excellent breakdown concerning many of the mistaken beliefs about the recovery process and the too many different tactics that some treatment facilities might try to stress the importance of. For an addict to enter treatment and be bombarded with a jillion different things that would be presented to them and be expected to sort out and apply what would work for them is borderline preposterous. Without a doubt we need to be exposed to something positive and progressive in the formative stages of recovery, if we’re going to get anything out of it at all. But at 6 days…or 19…or 27? Wow man, I haven’t even detoxed proper yet, and they’re trying to teach me coping skills and relapse prevention and healthy boundaries and who knows what else anger management. You understand what I’m saying, I’m sure. The way things are structured nowadays with 30-90 day treatment as the norm and new clients arriving on a daily basis it’s difficult to institute any sort of curriculum. So we incorporate a particular approach into what we’re doing and it’s up to the individual to get what they can from it.
Each and every article of yours that I’ve read always seems to have this common thread running through it. And what would this little bitty piece of string be? ACTION!!! Do something. But do something different than you’ve ever done before. We know what the foundational stuff is. 12 step meetings and all the trappings of that system. Sober support wherever it is you can find it. Even just those two little things can be all that’s necessary to hold someone in the early stages of recovery. But what happens after say 10 months or 18 months, and the person feels somewhat vacant? Applying “massive action” as you so aptly call it is the key to the highway.
I don’t know how I got off-track of what I wanted to say, but this is why I posted; #36. I too am a firm believer in thinking that trying to teach someone in early recovery coping skills is a poor approach to treatment. To stress that their life needs to be restructured is a much more effective method. Coping skills almost presupposes that the individual is not going to make that radical of a change in their life so they’re going to need to know how to cope with or handle all those stressors that will undoubtedly still be in their lives. If you make a paradigm shift in your entire way of doing things the chances of needing this toolbox full of coping skills will be dramatically reduced. It can’t help but be. The old AA saying…”nothing changes if nothing changes”. We would only have the same old kind of stuff to look forward to, but we’d have our sack full of coping skills to weather the storm. Poor prospect.
I’m out. Peace and prosperity Patrick.

]]> By: Jen http://www.spiritualriver.com/the-real-truth-about-recovery-from-addiction-and-alcoholism/comment-page-2/#comment-49480 Jen Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:27:17 +0000 http://www.spiritualriver.com/?p=443#comment-49480 You will have no idea how much this advice means to me. I found your site while searching on how to surrender my ego and deal with my addiction. Your wisdom rings true for me. I will be saving this and reading it everyday. You don't how much it means to see that someone finally understands what I am feeling inside--not just about addiction but recovery, recovery theories, and honestly, just the general bs involved in this whole addiction and recovery situation. For me, addiction is difficult because I am the greatest enemy of myself. Wherever I go, I can't out scheme my ego. She is relentless. I am the master at manipulating myself. I need someone who can see through my charade at every turn. Someone who knows what is coming up before I do. Someone who knows my thoughts before I do. And then when I finally reach this point, the point where I have to surrender and find someone to help me conquer my inner demon, I have found the help to very insubstantial. In a WWII scenario, it's like sending a preschool teacher to Germany to conquer Adolf Hitler. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. If you have any further advice, please email me. I need all the help I can get. You will have no idea how much this advice means to me. I found your site while searching on how to surrender my ego and deal with my addiction.

Your wisdom rings true for me. I will be saving this and reading it everyday. You don’t how much it means to see that someone finally understands what I am feeling inside–not just about addiction but recovery, recovery theories, and honestly, just the general bs involved in this whole addiction and recovery situation.

For me, addiction is difficult because I am the greatest enemy of myself. Wherever I go, I can’t out scheme my ego. She is relentless. I am the master at manipulating myself.

I need someone who can see through my charade at every turn. Someone who knows what is coming up before I do. Someone who knows my thoughts before I do.

And then when I finally reach this point, the point where I have to surrender and find someone to help me conquer my inner demon, I have found the help to very insubstantial. In a WWII scenario, it’s like sending a preschool teacher to Germany to conquer Adolf Hitler.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you. If you have any further advice, please email me. I need all the help I can get.

]]> By: Muwgli http://www.spiritualriver.com/the-real-truth-about-recovery-from-addiction-and-alcoholism/comment-page-2/#comment-47956 Muwgli Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:35:47 +0000 http://www.spiritualriver.com/?p=443#comment-47956 Thanks Patrick Thanks Patrick

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