Those people who make it to long-term addiction recovery are inspiring. This is particularly true if these people have managed to build a successful life. Hearing about how these individuals have managed to turn their lives around completely can spur on those who are still struggling, but it is also possible to learn a great deal from these winners. By understanding how these people have managed to achieve decades of recovery, it can mean that other individuals will be able to replicate this success.
Finding What Works in Recovery
One of most important things to say about long-term addiction recovery is that there is more than one path to this destination. The message here then, is not that the person needs to follow a certain prescribed recipe for success, but that they find out what works for them. Some people will manage to achieve long-term recovery by regularly attending 12 Step fellowship meetings, but other people will achieve success in recovery without ever going to this type of meeting. It does seem to be a case of different strokes for different folks, but there are certain commonalities that these winners do share.
In order to learn from the success of long-term sustainers, it may not be so important that we follow their path exactly. It seems to be more important that we take from them what works and add this to our own life. Another way to learn from these successful people in recovery is to learn from their mistakes. This means that we will be able to avoid some of the pain associated with going off track.
The Secrets of Long Term Addiction Recovery
Here are just some of the secrets of long-term addiction recovery:
- One of the most important reasons for why people managed to make it into long-term recovery is that they are 100% committed to this new life. The individual does not hold onto the hope that they will ever be able to drink or use drugs safely again, but they have instead fully embraced this new way of living. One of the most common reasons for why people relapse is that they are ambivalent about recovery, and this means that they will be easily blown off course.
- Those individuals who make it to long-term recover will make staying sober a priority in their life. This does not mean that the person is battling to stay sober, or that they spend much time thinking about abstinence, but it does mean that they will never allow anything to get in the way of their sobriety.
- In order to make it to long-term recovery the person never forgets where they have come from. They can easily remember the pain of addiction, and this means that they never fall into the trap of romancing the drink or drug.
- One of the most important reasons for why people can remain sober long term is that they have a good life in sobriety. In many instances, the individual will have found a way of living that is similar to what they were looking for when they began abusing alcohol or drugs. Those who are committed to long-term recovery can get to enjoy great serenity, and they feel able to deal with anything that comes their way in life.
- Those who make it into long-term recovery know how to have fun. They do not treat their sobriety as some type of prison sentence, and they will very rarely, if ever, have to deal with boredom. A common complaint of people in recover is that there will not be enough hours in the day to do all the things that they want to do. When life is this much fun, the individual is unlikely to consider ever giving it up for substance abuse.
- Another commonality among people who manage to achieve long-term recovery is that they have a network of sober friends. In many cases, this network will occur because of belonging to some type of fellowship programme like AA or NA, but the network can also just be made up of friends that the person makes without the help of these fellowships. When people are doing well in recovery, they will tend to attract like-minded people.
- In order to achieve long-term sobriety the individual will need to have meaning and purpose in their life. When the person is drinking or using drugs this meaning will come from the substance abuse, but when they become sober, it will need to be something more constructive. The individual can find the meaning they need from things like spirituality, hobbies, work, health, or just good friendships.
- Another key to success in sobriety is that the people who achieve this goal will have balanced lives. This means that they have avoided moving into other addictive behaviours. A real trap for people in recovery is addiction substitution. This can occur if the person turns to things like exercise addiction or workaholism.
- It is common for people who are sober many years to devote some of their time to helping other people. This help is often given to those who are still struggling with addiction problems, but it does not have to be this group. There are many advantages to helping other people, but one of the important ones is that it means that the person is not always just thinking about him or herself. It is common for those who have addiction problems to be completely self obsessed, and this will often follow them into recovery.
- Probably the number one reason for why people achieve long-term recovery is that they are grateful for their new life. It may be true that so long as the individual remains grateful for their sobriety they will never be able to relapse.
So there you have just some of the secrets that help people achieve long term recover. Maybe each of us has to walk our own path, but we can learn a great deal from the paths of other people.
