Many people think that when a recovering addict has been discharged out of an addiction treatment centre, they are now fully recovered. Unfortunately, the reality is that completing addiction treatment is only the beginning of a long recovery path, which will continue for the rest of the addict’s life. The biggest danger faced by those who completed addiction treatment are relapses, which effectively happens when recovering addicts start using drugs and alcohol again.
Relapses are a common occurrence, in fact, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) state that ““There is evidence that approximately 90 percent of alcoholics are likely to experience at least one relapse over the 4-year period following treatment”. While this statistic may be worrying, it doesn’t mean that recovering addicts are resigned to the fate of a relapse. It can be prevented and joining a support group is one of the most effective ways to do this. There are lots of support groups available for almost every addiction – Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and even Gamblers Anonymous (GA).
There are even support groups for families of addicts and two of the most popular ones are Al-Anon and Nar-Anon. These support groups help recovering addicts understand that they are not in this alone, that there are people in similar positions as themselves. They also teach their members how to avoid using drugs or alcohol in the future and are extremely effective in helping them achieve lifelong sobriety. For families, support groups offer what their name suggests: support. While it may seem obvious, the importance of it shouldn’t be underestimated.
Addiction is often considered as a family disease, as it doesn’t just affect the health and wellbeing of their addicted loved one but also their own welfare. Support groups like Al-Anon and Nar-Anon offer understanding, help and support to these families. While no formal medical treatment will be done in support groups, addiction treatment centres often recommend that their patients attend these meetings to assist their recovery efforts. Support groups often use the 12-Step program, which are a set of principles to live by and a plan of action for those in addiction recovery.
The 12-Steps were first originally used by Alcoholics Anonymous alone; however it has since been adapted for use by many support groups around the world for almost every addiction.
Here are the original 12 Steps, first used by the AA:
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
For more information about the 12 Steps, click here:
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