Introduction to Recovery:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why are alcoholism and drug addiction called a disease?
- Answer:
- By the time someone needs to ask for help for their alcoholism or drug problem, they have already made an effort and failed at trying to stop using the drugs and alcohol on their own. It is scientifically known that there are real, physical changes in the brain that affect this problem. So, once a person has to seek help, the problem has already become a biological or a physical one. At this point trying hard or using willpower just doesn’t work. Real changes have occurred in the brain and in the rest of the body that render the person out of control.
Like other diseases, there are characteristic problems, predictable outcomes, and certain treatments that can help. Physical problems aren’t controlled or overcome by willpower. The next time you have diarrhea try to “will” yourself not to have it. The disease of alcoholism and drug dependence is not a willpower problem, morality problem or intelligence problem. The disease badly affects these areas of your life, but perfectly good, smart and willful people get this disease, just like any other.
It’s important to realize that this is a real physical problem or disease, but this doesn’t mean you are not responsible for your behavior. You are the only one that can be responsible for your behavior. You are responsible for your recovery, especially now that you know you have a disease.
(Chemical dependence=Alcoholism=Drug dependence=Addiction)
- What kind of disease is this?
- Answer:
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a. It’s been called a biopsychosocial disease because it has affects on your biology, psychology and social functions.
b. It’s a self-induced central nervous system disorder. The major component of the central nervous system is the brain and you have to ingest or give yourself a certain drug that has particular effects on the brain. When the problem becomes a disease the “self-induced” part is really way out of your control.
c. It’s a chronic disease. That means there’s no cure but there is a way to manage it very effectively so that it doesn’t harm you. You can never safely use addictive drugs or alcohol again. Once you have this disease it never goes away. “Once a pickle never a cucumber.”
d. It’s a serious and potentially fatal disease. This disease is very serious and can kill you. It is also progressive and it is very important that you deal with it as soon as possible. Before it kills you dead, it kills you socially, kills off your relationships, kills your self-esteem, kills off your potential and kills you in other cruel ways. It takes some work and inconvenience to manage this disease but you will find it very satisfying and rewarding to do so. You have to expect to go through some trouble to manage this serious and potentially fatal illness. You will have to work at your treatment and make significant changes in your life, but it is worth it. As you recover, your self-esteem returns and your life becomes less chaotic and more manageable.
- Why is the brain so important in this disease?
- Answer:
- Drugs that stimulate a certain part of your brain get you high or change the way you feel. These drugs, including alcohol, have unwanted effects on other parts of your brain. These unwanted effects include impaired judgment, impaired social functioning, decreased balance, abnormal speech, low motivation, decrease in concentration, decrease in reaction time, mood swings, possible delusions and hallucinations, disinhibition (being unable to control/inhibit impulses such as anger), etc. The brain is where the action is. You have stimulated your brain with a certain type of chemical to get the wanted feeling or high but you can’t do this without affecting other important parts of you brain. This leads to out of control behavior. You can’t get the feeling you are hoping for without getting these unwanted and side effects too.
- What is the difference between detoxification (detox) and recovery?
- Answer:
- Detox, or withdrawal, is the medical management of the brain’s reactions to having an addictive or habit-forming substance taken away from it. The brain reacts with the opposite effect of the drug when you have abruptly stopped using that drug. For example, when cocaine is abruptly stopped people feel tired, depressed, and hungry. Or, when people abruptly stop the tranquilizer Valium they feel agitated, anxious, and the opposite of tranquil. When alcohol is stopped tremors, seizures, or D.T.’s can occur. Medications are temporarily used to take a person off alcohol safely and gradually. Withdrawal is like bringing an airplane in for a smooth landing.
The initial withdrawal phase or acute phase is over in about a week, give or take two days. There’s another phase, though, called post acute withdrawal, or or protracted abstinence syndrome that refers to the next few weeks or months that is takes the brain to get all its systems working again and its chemistry all back into balance. In ths phase your emotions may be up and down and your ability to concentrate and remember things may be impaired. Most people get through this phase in three months but for some people it may take up to a year until they feel like they are “firing on all their cylinders.”
Recovery refers to learning to manage this serious and chronic disease. It’s what you do every time you change your life so you can live in a satisfying way without drugs or alcohol. Everyone needs a plan of recovery and needs to follow their plan. If you follow a well worked out plan of recovery you will never have to go through detox again and you will keep the illness from harming you anymore.
- What’s the difference between sobriety and abstinence?
- Answer:
- Abstinence means giving up the drugs and alcohol. Yes, you need to do this to manage this disease, but if this is all you do you will just feel depressed and irritable. You will feel deprived and be miserable. Some people call this a “dry drunk” or ‘white knuckling.” Sobriety is a positive thing and not deprivation. Sobriety is giving up the drugs and alcohol, but putting some positive and healthy things in the place of drugs and alcohol. It is replacing what drugs and alcohol did for you with healthy and functional activities and attitudes. Sobriety includes forming a healthy support group, using natural highs to give yourself pleasure and finding healthy ways to manage stress and cope with uncomfortable feelings. Managing this disease is best done by seeking sobriety.
- What is the difference between a willing attitude and a willful attitude?
- Answer:
- A willful person is someone who must do things their way. They tend to be stubborn and feel like they “know it all.” They have a closed mind. They are going to use their own “self will” and they are not open to any suggestions. Remember, by the time you reach the need for treatment you’ve already tried your way and it has not worked.
In recovery it is important to have a “willing” attitude and accept suggestions, try new approaches, or have a new attitude. Being open minded is the key. You really can’t get sober on your old information so it is important for you to be willing to listen to the new information given to you about the disease of chemical dependency and alcoholism. It is also important for you to be willing to try some new approaches and steps to reach sobriety. These suggestions and tips given to you by your nurses, sponsors, counselors and doctors are ones that have proved to be effective over the years and if you follow these approaches with a willing attitude you are bound to be successful.
- Why do all the good programs emphasize using AA or NA?
- Answer:
- The twelve-step approach of AA or NA began a little over 60 years ago. These groups and this approach have helped millions of people since they were started. The approach started with Alcoholics Anonymous which never had a CEO, a president, a marketing director or a director of missionary services. No one has ever made money from the AA or twelve-step approach and yet, meetings have spread over the whole country and over the whole world. In Austin alone, there are more than 50 meeting sites not to mention meeting times. This approach to recovery has flourished and spread only because it’s effective. You don’t have to like everything about this approach, but its important for you to tap into it as it has proven the most effective approach to managing this disease and achieving sobriety. It helps to look at the twelve-step program as being a valuable tool for you to use to become sober. Remember, you are not the tool of AA or NA; they are tools for you to use to reach your goal.
- Why do I need a sponsor?
- Answer:
- It’s difficult to make changes to become straight and sober and it really helps to have a support group that can understand you. AA and NA provide this support. This is an important function of AA and NA, but there is more to it than that. It is important to get a sponsor. A sponsor is basically a guide to help you through the stages of sobriety. A sponsor is a person who has more experience than you and knows how to work the twelve steps. You are not just sponging off the sponsor; in fact, you are really helping the sponsor to progress in their later stages of sobriety by allowing them to sponsor you. They say, “You have to give it away to keep it.” It is very important to work through the twelve steps of recovery and the sponsor can help you to do this. The twelve steps help you through the various stages of recovery. It helps you reach gratifying sobriety and helps you with the new method of coping with stressors in your life.
You can look at AA or NA as having two basic parts. The first part is the support group, the second part is the sponsor plus the step work. You need both parts of the program.
- Does recovery or treatment work?
- Answer:
- Yes, it really does work and it is guaranteed to work or, “your misery will be refunded.” There are many people who have reached their goal of sobriety and managed the disease of chemical dependency effectively and happily. You can do this too. The disease of alcoholism or chemical dependency does not do a halfway job on you; it does a “hundred percent’ job on you. If you put in a half-hearted effort for treatment you can expect to lose and fail at recovery. It is important to include AA/NA and the twelve steps in your plan. Treatment staff can help you come up with your own recovery plan. The next step is for you to follow your plan. You have to be willing to try some new approaches and new things, but they will pay off.
Imagine you did not know how to bake but wanted to make a good cake to eat. First you would have to find out what ingredients are needed and get a recipe from someone that had experience baking cakes. In baking, all the ingredients are important, it wouldn’t taste very good if you left out the sugar, eggs or the flour. After gathering the ingredients you would need to follow the recipe in detail to produce a cake that is tasty. A recovery plan is very much like this. Yu need certain fundamental ingredients and you need to follow instructions. If you do this you will reach your goal and be successful in reaching sobriety. It is very common for people to foul up their recovery by leaving out important ingredients such as a sponsor or step work or meetings.
If you have a psychiatric illness such as anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar illness or other psychiatric problem it is important to have this illness treated and stabilized or it will be very difficult for you to recover from your drug and alcohol problem. This also very possible and you just have to work with your psychiatrist to have your psychiatric problem stabilized so you can reach sobriety and work your plan of recovery.
- How does the family figure into this disease and recovery?
- Answer:
- In your recovery you will make some significant changes in your life that go way beyond just giving up drugs and alcohol. You will also learn some new information about the disease. It is important that your family understands some of this new information and also understands why you are making some of the changes you are making. It’s not enough just to give up drugs and alcohol. As we discussed earlier, abstinence, or giving up things, is not enough; the goal is sobriety, living a full and enjoyable life without substances.
Alanon is a part of the twelve step program designed to help families with the adjustments needed for sobriety. Sobriety is a family matter. Families suffer from your disease of chemical dependency and, in some respects, they become sick as well. This is referred to as co-dependency and it is important for the family to get help for their own sakes; help for the damage that was done to them. Being involved family recovery will also help your family be supportive of you as you go through your recovery. Sometimes its important for the family to receive some counseling and therapy. It is very possible for the family to heal and recover along with you.