Addiction Recovery is a Path, Not a Destination

Addiction is unique to each person. Though there exist some similarities among the addicted persons, the time of recovery varies from person to person. Studies suggest that recovery is an ongoing process and needs dedication and commitment to achieve. In short, we mean to say that addiction recovery is a journey and not a destination. And it doesn’t happen overnight.

There are different stages on the path to recovery. Recovery is completely subjective. Some people can heal themselves with medication alone, some people need in-patient care and some need after care also. Each case is unique and is a result of various factors such as, psychological, and social factors such as age, biological, gender, history of drug use, the type of substance being abused, and family history. Addiction either holds quickly, or could be a result of long-term substance abuse.

Even with myriad types of addictions and symptoms, and with varied treatment plans, most addicts recover through similar phases of de-addiction. Right from the stage of detoxification, dealing with insomnia to becoming a fully recovered healthy individual, every addict faces similar challenges at different stages of recovery path. During the recovery process, abstinence from the substance is as important as life blood to a person. Promise of permanent abstinence is the only solution.

Recovery is a life time process in the sense, once relapse occurs, all the effort to attain freedom goes in vain. Recovery builds from the addict’s mental strength and the support from his/her family and peers. It is challenging for both the recovered addict and his/her loved ones too to keep the abstinence sustained. The recovered addict needs to be accepted and given enough love and hope from the peers and family members to be able to resume normalcy. For example, if a recovered addict is under stress for some reason and develops cravings for substance or alcohol, a loved one should be readily available to remind him of his struggle as an addict and ensure that the stress he is going through is just a passing cloud. This way he/she can easily escape from a relapse.

Recovering from substance use and alcoholism takes a toll on the addict’s mind because of the loss of dopamine that they are addicted to. Apart from withdrawal symptoms that include aggressiveness, anxiety, psychosis and insomnia that may stay for longer periods, the trauma of disconnecting socially form social circles (circles that have been a company in substance abuse) of long time makes them feel lonelier. Apart, from all these feelings of idleness and emptiness creep up because they might have already been jobless for a long time. Self-criticism and insult also are emotions that they feel dueto the realization of the havoc they had wreaked on the loved ones during the past times.

All these put together, the new awakening of a recovered addict might not feel much of delight to him. This is where a well-equipped rehab comes handy. The psychiatrists at the well- equipped rehabs make sure to educate the recovered addict that life past addiction recovery is going to be really tough. But abstinence and persistence, despite of temptations and cravings, can help an addict successfully sail through the seas of tough times and help him arrive at a place where he no- more craves or remembers his past and gears himself/herself up to walk into the sunshine of health and well-being and actively stay there forever.