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Recovery in the News
September is Recovery Month for Addicts
Karen Casey
Press Register
September 24, 2009
Addiction wears many faces. They might be homeless alcoholics or millionaire doctors hooked on opiates; housewives eating themselves into oblivion or teenagers starving, exercising and cutting; or the rich and poor who have gambled their lives away.
"As technology has spread throughout the world, many have found themselves addicted," says Barbara Joy, author of Easy Does It, Mom. All forms of addiction - including texting, cell phones, email, eBay, online pornography, online gambling, and blogging - are equally serious. It can be more difficult for those with seemingly "healthy" addictions such as working, cleaning, and exercising to separate the benefits from the problems causedby their obsessive behavior. However, any time the behavior is causing life problems, and the person can't stop doing it, that person has crossed into addiction.
Addiction can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone regardless of age, gender, ethnic group, or financial status. "Given the right set of circumstances, I believe any person can become addicted to one thing or another," offers Barb Rogers, author of 12 Steps That Can Save Your Life. Unfortunately, most people don't seek help for their addictions until the consequences have stripped them of families, jobs, self-respect, and all hope.
Perhaps 20 percent of the population are addicts, and it's said that each addict affects at least 6 other people, many of whom are codependents, or enablers. In a nutshell, co-dependency means a loss of self. If you care for rather than about an addict, you might well be a codependent, and your main job is to accept is that you simply cannot control the behavior of any one else, even if that person is a child or spouse. "The best-case scenario fora codependent is that he or she will learn enough self-love to stop believing it is necessary or possible to save another person from addiction or trouble of any kind," asserts Rachael Brownell, author of Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore. Just as addicts need help in recovery, those who care for them may also be in need of a program and a support system such as al-anon.
Codependents may be clear about the fact that a loved one is an addict, but
how can we tell if we, ourselves, are addicts? If we question our own behavior, and we feel anxiety or panic when we try to give it up, then we probably do have an addiction problem.
September is a key month for addicts and their loved ones, because it has been designated Recovery Month which is an annual observance that highlights and celebrates the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment. It promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse, in all its forms, is possible, and it provides a platform to celebrate those in recovery as well as those who serve them. Joy says, "It also serves to inform and educate the public on substance abuse as a national health crisis. As more people become educated, the stigma associated with addiction and treatment is reduced. When we have an accurate understanding of the disease, we are better able to support treatment programs, those who serve in the field, and those in need of treatment."
Media coverage given to celebrity addicts, such as Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, and Anna Nicole Smith, may exacerbate the problem. When addicts don't want to give up their addictions, they will grab onto any excuse or justification to continue. It's easy for addicts to feel that, if the best personal doctors and private clinics in the world can't help celebrity addicts, then there's no hope. The truth is that recovery from addiction doesn't require a celebrity's wealth or status. "It's an inside job, and nothing - not celebrity or money - can do it for us," says Rogers.
Recovery means 'to recover one's life,' and there's no single method that works for everyone. "Addicts in recovery believe that whatever works for them is the best program. For many people, recovery involves a 12-step program, but there are alternatives: behavior modification programs,one-on-one treatment programs, holistic addiction treatment centers, and the like," Joy points out.
"You can get clean and sober without a 12-steps program, but you will be doing it alone. Why would you want to, when you could have a community to help you?" wonders Bucky Sinister, author of Get Up: A 12-Step Guide toRecovery for Misfits, Freaks & Weirdos.
One thing that most addicts are not seeking is a magic cure for their addictions. "If there were a pill, or new therapy innovation, that the doctors promised me would cure my addictions so that I'd never have to attend meetings, or work steps again, I'd have to say, 'no, thank you.' This 12-step journey is something I wouldn't have missed for the world. Working the steps has taken me to places within, and outside, myself where I never imagined I would go. It's brought me together with others whom I would otherwise never have met. It's helped me resolve my past issues, and shown me a well-worn path that led me to a life beyond my wildest dreams. It was the most difficult thing I've ever done," concludes Rogers, "and I would do it all over again."
Karen Casey is the author of "Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow."
Visit her online at www.womens-spirituality.com.
Copyright © 2009 Clarksdale Press Register.