When I volunteer at the detoxes that I do here in Toledo, I’m always amazed at how hardly any of the clients there ever seem to have any type of game plan on how they’re going to handle their addiction once they get discharged and instead often just wing it.
Many addicts and alcoholics tend to look for a miracle cure to their issues, hoping some medication will quickly fix all their problems. I lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people introduce themselves to me at the detoxes I attend who state they are only there for medication and that they either don’t have any alcohol or drug problems, or that they do, but it’s well under control. Yet, after getting them to open up a little more, I generally discover how much their alcohol and drug use has been a major catalyst to why they need medication in the first place. Why they never seem to understand that alcohol and drugs affects one’s brain chemistry, often causing the very reasons why they are there, including anxiety, depression, and plenty of other mental health disorders, is beyond me? Regardless, even if medication gets prescribed to them there, that alone is never the sole solution or a good game plan.
So, what is a good game plan for someone coming into the world of sobriety from alcohol or drugs, especially if they’re emerging from a detox? Depending on one’s life situation, there are truly two paths that one can take for help.
For those who are homeless or have no real responsibilities in life, I tend to recommend that their best course of action is one where they go into an in-patient alcohol and drug treatment program. Here, in Toledo, there are many of them now. One of my favorites is Midwest. At places like Midwest, structure gets created for the person new to the world of sobriety, or someone coming back to it after a relapse. Having structure is so critical to the alcoholic and addict, as those without structure, frequently just relapse back into their disease, especially if they’re homeless or have no responsibilities in life. At in-patient treatment programs like Midwest, a client gets exposed to communal living, the 12 Steps, meetings, and learns how to function again in the world starting with a controlled environment without alcohol or drugs. And after completing a program of 30 days at places like this, they can move into halfway houses or other sober living type situations, where the structure becomes less for the individual, yet enough still remains to help guide them sober in the real world.
The other path is for those who have a full set of life requirements already, such as those with an important job, a family, someone they’re taking care of, etc., where they can’t necessarily go into some in-patient treatment program without having serious repercussions because of it. For them, the recommendation is usually to find a therapist to talk to, a home 12 Step group to attend, a sponsor to do the 12 Steps with, and going to other 12 Step recovery meetings daily. Having structure like this is crucial for the person who returns to living in the real world immediately upon getting sober. Without this type of structure, an individual like this often tries to build their recovery into their life, rather than the other way around, where most often doing so leads them straight back into their addiction.
I’ve worked with individuals throughout my recovery life who have followed each of these paths and have seen great success for those who stuck to it. But coming out of detox and having no game plan, trying to just wing it in life, rarely ends well for any alcoholic or addict. Even, I, myself, continue to have a game plan all these years deep into my life of recovery from addiction. I’m glad I do, because the last time I tried to live life without one, well that didn’t end so well, as I landed in a mental ward and had a suicide attempt during that period of my life.
The bottom line for any alcoholic or addict is that once the alcohol and drugs are out of their system, whether that occurs in a detox or at home, there NEEDS to be some sort of a game plan in life for their recovery from addiction. One that keeps them connected to other sober individuals, one that helps them learn how to function in a world without using alcohol or drugs for survival, and one where ultimately, they find a Higher Power who will keep them clean and sober through anything. Without this, trying to just wing their recovery and hoping that things like a medication will fix it all, usually results in nothing more than constantly living in a vicious cycle of addiction and temporary stints of sobriety…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
