I’ve known of plenty of people in recovery from alcohol and drugs over the years who’ve thought they had it made, that remaining sober was a piece of cake, and rarely had any concerns about relapsing. Except those very same people also hadn’t experienced any serious trials, tribulations, or sufferings during any of their recovery yet either, but when they did, many of them relapsed. So why is this?
The answer’s pretty simple.
When life is going well and everything seems to be going one’s way in recovery, there’s often no need, want, or desire to drink or drug. But when something painful happens to those very same people, one of the most common things to emerge is a desire to numb that pain somehow. At first, maybe not so much. But when those painful experiences begin to pile up, one after another, the ego starts screaming louder and louder by saying “I NEED SOMETHING TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER DAMMIT AND I NEED IT NOW!”
For those who’ve lived a smooth recovery with no problems up to this point, suddenly, they’re thrust into a reality that recovery from alcohol and drugs maybe isn’t so easy. And sadly, for many of them, relapse and even death have occurred, even after having a good number of years of sobriety.
That’s why I tell people all the time in the recovery meetings I go to that the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction is always waiting around the corner doing pushups, ready for us to engage back into it. What often keeps it at bay though for those who do remain clean and sober the rest of their lives is staying humble and holding a belief that their disease is very much still alive and not gone forever.
Look, I got cocky once with my own recovery back in 2010-11. I spoke like I knew everything. I stopped helping others and backed off of meetings. And I became close-minded when it came to my sobriety. I honestly believed I had it all together. But I didn’t and because of it, I came far too close to relapsing and instead, attempted suicide.
So if you happen to be someone who’s been sober for any length of time and think that sobriety is a piece of cake, think again. Just because life may be smooth-sailing right now, for you doesn’t mean it always will be. I encourage you to never allow your ego to convince you that you’re never going to relapse. Because it’s having that type of attitude that will drive you right back to a drink or a drug, especially when those life storms come-a-blowing…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson