Recovery, synonymous of change
- Amaranta Penate-Marty
- May 10, 2012
- 2 min read
Nowadays, we are all too familiar with the word “rehab” someone we know is or has been in rehab, even if that person is our favorite movie star. Thanks to the media, we can see how famous people go in and out of it and this not only makes the process confusing but most of you might think that rehab doesn’t really help much.
Rehab, short for rehabilitation, is a long process that starts only when the person realizes that he has a problem and that he needs help to change; only people able to accept the existence of the problem would be able to begin the actual stage of recovery where the desire to change becomes an action toward maintaining sobriety and preventing future relapses.
First days at a rehab institution are used to detoxify the person’s body; this can take days or weeks depending on the substance and years of consumption. After detox, the healing process starts and the goal of maintain the body clean of the substance is established.
People do not get out of rehab recovered; instead, they just get out with a plan and the will to follow it. Recovery lasts a lifetime and as the action of change, recovery is also a personal choice; no one but the person with the addiction has the power to change and recover.
Out of rehab everyone faces a different reality and each person would also have to adapt their desire to change to their individual environment, their own support system and their personal beliefs in order to maintain sobriety. Maintenance is also hard work, learn how to manage the need to relapse is not an easy task and requires the person to develop a completely new life style by restructuring routines and in many cases, changing social circles.
A good way to prevent relapses after rehab is to enroll in a 12 Step program; without a support program in the form of a Self-Help group such as Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), Dual Recovery Anonymous (DRA)and Narcotics Anonymous (NA)maintenance is almost impossible to achieve. People get out of rehabilitation centers thinking the hard work is over; they do not acknowledge that without a complete positive support system, they will end up going back to rehab over and over again.
Self-Help groups would assist people in accepting their problem and their own responsibilities in how their addiction affects everyone around them; overcoming denial of the impact their problem has in the life of others is also an important part of the person’s recovery process.
Addictions are a burden and people can only survive rehabilitation and achieve recovery by the acceptance of themselves, acceptance of the damage caused to others and acceptance of the need of help in the form of a higher power that would give them a sense of hope toward recovery as well as courage and perseverance to develop a new meaning of life with a sense of purpose.
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