The Alcoholic Addict and Our Initial Desperation

“If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it – then you are ready to take certain steps.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 58

When we are in a state of pure, unadulterated desperation, we easily agree to the idea of being “willing to go to any length”.  We are desperate in such a wholly and complete way that we may be inclined to think our dedication will last without fail.  If we can hold onto this sense of desperation, then, more than likely, we will, in fact, do whatever we have to do in order to get sober.

As we begin to rebuild our lives, we may, in fact, lose a sense of the driving pain that initially propelled us forward in our pursuit of relief.  The Recovery that we’ve been shown is legitimately possible by others has been constructed upon a very concrete foundation of misery.  When we are new, that agonizing despair is so close to and riding on the nerves of the very surface of our soul, it easy to access and overwhelming to feel.  All of this lends itself to being willing to do anything to return to a state of sanity.

What happens when our lives kick back in and begin to expand with newly-discovered opportunities?  Perhaps we go back to work, reacquire items we had lost, begin authentic friendships which differ from the lower companions and fair-weather company we may have kept.  What happens to that sense of desperation?  We may lose our grip on those feelings which firmly tethered us to our start in a Program and as we become more involved in life, we may become less and less overtly desperate.

This potentially eventual side-winding can be thwarted by working with newcomers and in seeing their fight to find a way to stay alive; we can be reinvigorated with the spirit of our desperation.  This gives us the resolve to continue living in Recovery as opposed to slowly sliding away, which becomes a slippery slope no true alcoholic and/or addict can afford.

Alcohol Drug Rehab Twelve Step Lingo

Drug addiction detox often includes Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The Twelve Steps make up the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous, which was founded in 1935 and now has over 2 million members. Utilizing the twelve steps of spiritual and character development  helps people in recovery stay sober. (Narcotics Anonymous groups also use these same twelve steps.) Aside from the Twelve Steps themselves, many AA and NA meetings might also make use of some or all  of the following terms or phrases listed below:

Birthday

When someone involved in AA says, “Today is my birthday,” they are referring to the anniversary of the day they became sober. At California rehab centers, this date is also called an “anniversary.”

Old-Timer

It’s length of sobriety time, not age that people are referring to when they call someone an “old-timer.” In some drug addiction rehab treatment groups, one qualifies as an old-timer 10 years; in others many more. Young people can be old-timers, and elderly people can be newcomers.

Time

At Los Angeles treatment centers, when someone talks about  their “time,” they’re not referring to time spent in rehab or jail, but are referring to the length of time they have been continuously sober.

Out

When a member of  AA says they “went out,” they’re talking about having a relapse into drinking or drug use after time spent sober. If you know someone who’s gone out, and is looking for help, contact us for drug rehab in California.

Think (Think, Think)

A common AA slogan, “Think, think think” is a reminder to take a pause before making a rash move such as using drugs or drinking.

Drug of Choice

“Drug of choice” is the primary way addicts chose to get high.

Last Drunk

This phrase refers to an alcoholic’s final binge, and most likely the one that caused them to hit rock bottom and seek drug addiction rehab treatment either in a rehab center or through attending 12 Step meetings.

Acceptance

In the 12 Step program, acceptance is realizing that alcoholism or addiction is a disease and a permanent part of one’s life. Finding an affordable drug treatment center is a way to accept the truth of an inability to stop drinking or using drugs without help.

The Need for the Newcomer

As you begin to attending AA/NA meetings, you may hear the statement “The newcomer is the most important person in the room.”

Perhaps you wonder how that could possibly be the case?  When was the last time you were welcome with open arms anywhere?

Upon your arrival to this Los Angeles drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, the staff will welcome you and will treat you accordingly.  Maybe it’s the first time in a long, long time we are being welcome anywhere.  It can be a foreign feeling, perhaps one that even elicits a suspicion of sorts.  It’s as if it’s in the staff doing that for us, it opens the door to others who may approach us with phone numbers, offering rides to meetings, sit down & extend themselves accordingly.  We may not feel so put off by those people and may even, depending, take them up on their generous offers.

Here’s why the response to their offerings may shed some light on the first idea.  When someone new presents themselves to us, we may need to forgo some of our upcoming plans.  In order for us to keep what we have so freely been given, we must extend ourselves to others.  As we do that, we are given the chance to reinforce our sober time.  We need the newcomer in order to survive.  With said newcomer, we get to go through the steps again ourselves while we are guiding them.  With that connection, they have the ability to inadvertently ground us in the reality of what happens when we are on a run or are coming into the program for the first time. They reinforce for us how that unmanageability exists and/or returns ever-so-shortly and what the state of their internal life is like, which, more often that not, reeks of misery & discomfort.

The connection we forge while working together is like no other and the gratitude that emerges from that very sharing with one another solidifies our spiritual connection.   Without the newcomer, we may not be able to treat our spiritual malady.  If we can’t do that, we may default to the physical craving.  After introducing the first drug or drink into the body, we may then be caught by the mental obsession keeping us bound to the prison of our minds and the substance(s).  In that, it leads us right back to that spiritual malady.  Subsequently the unmanageability that returns internally gets reflected externally and we reach for whatever’s going to, we hope, wipe away the pain and shame from our actions..  Working with one another acknowledges our need for the connections of our human spirit, whether we like it or not.  That newcomer’s desperation is our fuel by which we light the lamps of the roadway of sobriety, guiding us toward serenity.

The Alcoholic and the First Step – Part Two

“Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:

  1. … that our lives had become unmanageable.”  The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 59

Lets look at the other half of the First Step, “…that our lives had become unmanageable.”  What, exactly, is that unmanageability to which that line refers?  We can look at all the external aspects of our lives and nothing seems to be going right, everything’s askew, from finances to relationships to employment, etc.  Maybe, as we are at this alcohol and drug rehabilitation center in Los Angeles, it seems obvious that everything we have touched or are/have been involved with/in is less than manageable.  That may be, in and of itself, more than enough of a description and proof of our inability to handle anything in our lives.

With that said, the unmanageability that plainly shows itself in the day-to-day of our existence is no match for the unmanageability that is churning and roiling within us.  The drive to numb ourselves because of how we feel about the things we may have or have not done comes from the place of being so unsettled in the very core of our being.  That is true unmanageability; everything else outside of us is simply a vague reflection of where we are internally.

Coupled together with the first half of the First Step, it sums up our torturous misery and insanity regarding alcohol and/or drugs.  Fear not, the staff can help guide you into truly understanding this.  In assisting us toward our necessary and thorough First Step experience, it allows us the opportunity to move forward, out of our prison built on alcohol and drugs.  It no longer causes us to reside in that empty yet sick feeling in the place of our soul which leads us back again and again, no matter how much of our lives or the lives of those around us have disintegrated into sorrow and poverty, be it of the financial and/or spiritual kind.  There is a way out of that cycle however we must be open to learning new actions and the true meaning of the words by which we begin our new lives.

The Addict Alcoholic and the First Part of Step One

“Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:

  1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol… ”  The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 59

There are moments when we can look at our lives, and there’s no question to us that everything seems completely and utterly amiss.    It’s easy to think, “Of course my life is unmanageable; here I am in a California rehab for alcohol and drugs.  It doesn’t get much more unmanageable than that.”   What might be missing in this thought process is the understanding of the first half of the First Step.  If we take a moment to really read the Step, it’s broken up into two distinct parts, both requiring a complete understanding and subsequently an experience beyond words solidifying their respective definitions.

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol…”  What does that really mean?  Alcohol and drugs became our master and insidiously insured that we would do whatever we could, whenever we could, however we could have those items to imbibe at any cost.  Perhaps there were times when we wanted to stop drinking and/or taking drugs but no matter how hard we tried to marshal our very will to not to smoke that pipe or pop that pill or stick the needle in our veins or drink that fifth, we could not stop.  What’s more powerless than being sucked back into taking actions we don’t want to take and yet continuing them as if there is no tomorrow?  Where, suddenly, as life is taking a turn for the better, or for the worse, or having very little change at all, we find ourselves drinking and/or drugging with complete abandon, all the while thinking, “I want to stop.  Please help me stop.” and we simply just cannot.

This is a sense of Powerlessness that surpasses anything tangible.  It is a deep set, intrinsic understanding that reinforces the concept and feeling that there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, we can do to control this.  In effect, we are at its full mercy, beholden to its wicked, strangling grasp.  An essence of Powerlessness that surpasses anything we could have ever imagined.

The Alcoholic Addict and Being of Service

“Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 77

What does that mean?  How can we be “of maximum service”?

When we embark on our new boulevard of sobriety, we may feel lost and confused.  Our proverbial, internal GPS may not have a way to register the new direction in which we are traveling.

What do we do?  Where do we go?  What’s our purpose?  Our instructions for living a sober, healthy, productive life is summed up in that very sentence on page 77.  Our purpose is to ask how and then subsequently serve all instead of expecting the world and the people in it to serve us.

Serving others can be as simple as smiling at a stranger and being patient in line at the bank.  The way we treat people, whether we feel like being nice or not, is one of the ways that we are of service.  Our moment of being kind can assist in completely shifting someone’s day, just as our being rude can affect a person’s outlook and how they then treat the people around them.

The main way we can be of service is by sponsoring and working with the newly sober as we guide them through the Twelve Steps outlined in the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous.  As we work with others, and give away what has so freely been given to us, we begin to understand the true idea of service.  As we extend our sober hand to those who may be currently downtrodden, we lift up not only the person but the entire world.

Flat Tires and Sobriety

When we are initially embarking on our sobriety, there may be incidents that come up which could easily unsettle us; a flat tire might be an example of such.  Perhaps when we were drinking and/or using, the flat tire might anger us, causing us to vehemently react to the world and our surroundings.  Maybe we felt overwhelmed by something, something that is frustrating and time consuming however our reaction to it wasn’t parallel with the scope of whatever happened.  Our reaction was angrily overblown, coloring our day and the way we engaged with others henceforth, dampening spirits wherever we went.

Now, in sobriety, there will be the inevitable “flat tire”, an incident or occurrence which is frustrating and time consuming, however, as we learn what it’s like to live a sober life, our reaction to those incidents may very well be different.  We may no longer spin angrily out of control.  We may get annoyed, frustrated, even angry, however, with this new way of living, courtesy of the instruction from this Los Angeles drug rehabilitation center, we learn that our feelings don’t need to be taken out on others nor do we need to let it dictate the remainder of our day.

In sobriety, we learn new tools and ways to live within the world as decent human beings.  Human beings with valid feelings and the understanding that our lives don’t need to be dictated by those feelings; we can acknowledge them, feel them, accept them and then, as time has shown us with others, let us not be caged by them.  Being sober lets us live freely in the world, as opposed to living as prisoners chained to our respective emotional walls.

Tips for a Sober Halloween from a Los Angeles Rehab Center

California rehab centers know that one of the scariest things about Halloween is the number of drunk or drugged drivers hitting the roads this night. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that Halloween is one of the most dangerous nights of the year for alcohol and drug-related traffic deaths. About 44 percent of all traffic deaths on Halloween occur are the direct result of intoxicated driver getting behind the wheel. Compared to other holiday periods, Halloween night has one of the highest proportions of substance-related traffic deaths, ahead of both Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Substance abuse takes lives the entire year through, but Halloween is an especially dangerous day. For some, this Halloween may be a wake-up call, a time to seek an affordable rehab center, while others who have already found peace and joy in sobriety may find temptation in this holiday. Here are some tips to help you stay sober during the Halloween festivities:

1. If you’re not sure there will be non-alcoholic beverages available to you during the celebrations,  bring your own.

2. Avoid areas in which alcoholic drinks are being served, or people are using.

3. Stay busy! Chat, dance, keep moving. Don’t think about the fact you’re not using or drinking.

4. Be sure to eat before leaving the house, so that you’re not hungry.

5. If you feel the temptation to use drugs or alcohol is becoming too much, just make a speedy exit.

6. Chances are, there’s at least one other person at the party who is also sober. Find them and stick together!

8. Why not spend Halloween at a 12-Step meeting? Many groups plan special events for this night.

9. Keep your sponsor’s number handy, and don’t hesitate to use it.

Many people who need alcohol drug rehab, have not yet found their way into drug addiction rehab treatment. Although we empathize with them, and hope they find the help they need, that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying this festive time of year. Think of Halloweens past, spent in a drug or alcohol-induced haze; the blackouts and depression and sadness. This year, follow our tips to celebrate sober and enjoy all that the holiday has to offer.

Yes, Virginia – There Really is Affordable Drug Treatment

“I can’t get clean and sober, because I can’t find affordable drug treatment.” In many cases, those struggling with alcohol and drug addiction do not receive the help they need, because they believe they can’t afford the cost of treatment. Actually, that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s true that many of the high-profile and high-dollar rehabs centers favored by Hollywood A-listers can cost well into five-figures for a one-month stay. According to TheFix, an addiction website, one well-known Malibu clinic charges about $80,000 for a month of treatment. While that’s a number well out of reach of most average Americans, with a bit of research it is possible to find effective and affordable drug treatment.

Most large urban areas offer not-for-profit and publicly-funded treatment centers which offer low-cost, or subsidized treatment programs. For those suffering addictions not requiring medically-monitored detox, outpatient clinics can also be an affordable option. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous are  both free of charge, and meetings are held at a variety of times and locations to fit just about any schedule. For those with deeply-rooted, life-threatening addictions that require doctor-supervised detox, local hospitals can also be a good resource – especially those with health insurance coverage or Medicaid/Medicare. Some private facilities will offer payment plans or sliding scale fees to cash-strapped clients. Often, the family of the person seeking treatment will gladly contribute resources in hopes of seeing their loved one freed from the slavery of addiction.

Those seeking an affordable, effective option might consider our Los Angeles rehab. Licensed by the State of California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs, we treat a variety of addictions and related disorders using a variety of evidenced-based treatment modalities. Our experienced licensed and credentialed staff includes LCSW, MFT, CADC and RADS Counselors, nurses, psychiatrists and physicians. We offer medically-monitored detox along with around the clock availability and support via group and individual therapy utilizing 12-Step principles and practices. Other offerings include stress and anger management counseling, relapse-prevention education and even organized outside activities many local activities such as visits to the Antique Wooden Boat Show, the Annual Art Festival and The Summer Concert Series.

High cost is no guarantee of great care. Pricey treatment centers may boast high thread-count sheets, gourmet meals and sunrise yoga classes, but they don’t necessarily yield better results. For those seeking alcohol drug rehab, the incalculable costs of continued addiction to health and relationships far outweigh the costs of treatment, regardless of price.

 

Alcoholism and Addiction as an Illness

“An illness of this sort – and we have come to believe it an illness – involves those about us in a way no other human sickness can.  If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and no on is angry or hurt.  But not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation of all the things worth while in life.  It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer’s.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 18

Many times, when we are drinking and/or using, our behavior does not inspire empathy and compassion though we are, without question, sick.  Our illness does not resemble the diseases we are aware of, the ones that allow us to feel sympathy for the one who is ill.  Our illness, the illness of alcoholism and addiction, has a tendency to inspire frustration, anger, hurt feelings and, more often that not, disappointment by anyone with whom we come in contact.  Our close friends and family, our loved ones, our partners, our children, may not feel sorry for us; they may, in fact, be angry and have had experience after experience that leaves them feeling let down once again.

So, what has to be done to treat this illness?  Essentially, it is a sickness of spirit.  What must we do to medicate our condition and invigorate our spiritual health?

This drug rehabilitation center just outside of Los Angeles, is surrounded by an abundance of beauty.  What might this have to do with our spirits you ask?  When we are immersed in sunshine, fresh air, mountains, beautiful views, sunsets and starry nights, the beauty of the world, we are given the opportunity to reconnect with nature.  In and through nature is one way to reconnect with the spirit of the world, which in turn helps us connect to the essence of our own spirits and then we are able to connect to the spirits of others.  And, it is in this last connection, the one between us and others, which is where we really begin to move away from sickness and disease and move toward living a healthy life, recovering from the illness of alcoholism and addiction.