Discovering Spirituality in Recovery

“… the Realm of the Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek.  It is open, we believe, to all…” The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg 46.

Even previous to entering a California drug rehabilitation facility, we may have dropped to our literal or figurative knees, begging for a Power of Universal Origin to help us get out of this mortifying cycle; to, in effect, save us from ourselves.  In that moment we become willing to believe there must be a Power greater than ourselves which will bring us to sanity which may have otherwise been long since buried, if not unknown entirely.

As that moment of desperation floods the very essence of our being, causing us to cry out in the blackest part of the night, we realize we must have help and cannot do this alone.  We barely begin to acknowledge there might be this Power Over All.  With that said, we are now at a place where we are willing to believe, even if we don’t actually do so quite yet.  We know not what this new Power might be called.  Under what name do we address this Guiding Force of Life?  During this time, we learn that our name for a Creative Intelligence may differ from someone else’s however, as Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name?”

We may all have a different way to refer to this Spirit yet we learn the path on which we are starting, it is not the name that is of import.  What’s important is that this highway of Recovery isn’t one of labels and judgment but of actions and behaviors.

The staff at this Los Angeles rehab comes from many backgrounds, as does each person we meet, both active in Recovery and those who are not.  The important aspect is that this well-traversed Spiritual boulevard is made of many names and excludes none who actively, honestly wish to grow.

It is the action behind the name that allows us to include all.

Resentment: The Quiet Killer

“Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics.  It mattered little whether our resentments were justified or not.  A burst of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably ineffective.  Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger.  As we saw it, our wrath was always justified.  Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely.  These “dry benders” often led straight to the bottle.”  From the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve & Twelve, pg. 90.

When anger and resentment are the foundation on which a life is built, it is a life most futile.  There is nothing sturdy or sound about that platform.  We seethe, wrapping ourselves in a cloak of what we believe to be justified ire.  However, that is not the plush coat which keeps us safe and warm; instead it is actually a threadbare sheet which lets the wind rip through the fabric of our flesh, tearing at our very soul.

While angry, there is no chance of being present for those around us.  We cannot be accessible and of service to others in that all-consuming state.  This compounding fury, which may have been a minor transgression on the part of someone who wasn’t even aware of doing or saying something wrong in the first place, can lead us to the drink.  As opposed to recognizing a feeling of being wronged yet continuing to work toward the greater good, the potential to get trapped in and obsess about said incident is prevalent.

How does that lead us to drink?  As we run through that moment in our mind, over and over again, the pull toward needing a release, coupled with the desire for a sense of ease and comfort brought to us by the needed release, grows exponentially.  If we are not staying connected to the world by working with others, we supplant being spiritually grounded and opt for this inflated dissension in the rhythm of our world.  As we continue to dodge being of service then we are not available for anything other than our own self-seeking schemes.  We relive the moment, staying in the past while pretending what we would have said or done actually happened.  Maybe we are fantasizing about the future with what we will say and do next time; our motive of getting even grows larger and larger until it’s the only focal point in our lives.  Where is the relief in that?

California rehab centers teach us that there may be moments where we are uncomfortable yet those feelings are not facts on which to base a life.  We learn that our anger justified or otherwise, isn’t going to serve anyone else.  It doesn’t even serve us.  It keeps us selfish, on that carousel of self-righteous misery, which can only, eventually, be abated by our old behaviors in the search for ease and comfort.  Los Angeles rehab centers show us that even while being uncomfortable the cure for that discomfort isn’t found by putting our lips to the bottle but by extending ourselves to another person.  In these actions of being available for another, we learn to cement our sobriety.

New Vision for A New Life: Seeing Things Differently in Recovery

We recognize that during the period of time we were mired in our addiction, there have been moments we have put ourselves in extremely unsafe positions.  In the pursuit of our driving thirst, the tendency to behave in ways and engage in acts that under other circumstances may never have been enacted, are immediately done without regard or measure of the dangers that have lain in wait.  Those very dangers are similar to a coiled cobra ready to strike at the foolhardy throat of the blind snake handler.

Now, at the start of Recovery, it is necessary to re-learn how to evaluate a variety of situations around us.  There may be the need to use a proverbial new pair of glasses to see what’s really what.  In donning the new 20/20 eyewear, we may save our respective skins from an unnecessary branding with that hot, fiery poker of potential pain.  Our initial inclination might still be to react to environments or engage in certain behaviors as we used to, falling back on what’s been practiced at the depths of our addiction.  We need to assess scenarios in our new way of living which, previously, we would have merely barreled into without regard for our own well being.  There may have even been, at times, an inertia of agony so great that we have also included the propulsion of our nearest and dearest toward health-jeopardizing situations.

This opportunity to step back and determine what now might be dangerous for us can be learned at a drug and alcohol rehab.  Many of us who are new to embark on this well-worn path of sobriety have still thrown themselves down the well of danger and misery, even after collecting days without imbibing our previous substance of no-choice.  Thankfully the staff is well informed as to what the current instinct might be versus what the safer course of action is and they gently guide us toward a new path, one that encourages self-care as opposed to our inclination to dash headlong into disaster.

“We are people who normally would not mix…”

“We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.”  … “The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 17

Throughout the time of drinking and using, the relationships with others in life suffer; be it with loved ones; employers and coworkers; even those we encounter during the course of routine, day-to-day activities.  The inability to maintaining anything like healthy communication with those close to our lives is near-impossible.  Many times, while under the skeletal umbrella of addiction, we seek out those who are like us, unhealthy, hurting, and hiding or, conversely, we shun all, favoring isolation.

In recovery, we encounter people with whom, at first glance, we may seem to have nothing in common.  Slowly there is the realization that the connection between alcoholics and addicts goes far deeper than race, religion, socio-economic status, sexual preference, et al.  There exists an understanding that while there is separation on the outside, the same disease resides within and forms a bond which can rival those to whom we are closest.  One of the first places this is realized is in rehab, among others who are adrift in the same boat.  There we find the shared life preserver which contributes to keeping drowning at bay.

It is with others’ experiences, strength and hope, in whose footsteps we follow.  As they guide with a lit torch, which earned its fire from those who went before them, they help find the way through what seems like a path buried beneath the earth, where no light is thought to live.  The beacon of sobriety shines and as it burns brighter the further we travel along the path, its illumination shows the way toward a compassion for our fellows coupled with peace and serenity.

Fresh Starts and New Surroundings in a California Rehab

“We were having trouble with our personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other…”  Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 52

When suffering from these things, exacerbated by abusing drugs and alcohol, the addict seems unable to cope with life and continues that damning cycle, forever increasing the feeling of no way out.

When the person can go on no longer, desperately ready to make a major life change, where do they go?  Treatment is sought but where?  The need to be separated from drugs and alcohol, both physically and psychologically, is imperative but how?  Checking into a drug rehab in California can give a person the chance to break free from those shackles of endless despair.  While under the watchful eye of understanding medical professionals, they detox and then the possibility of embarking on treatment for the addiction can really begin.  Many times that also includes treatment for depression and anxiety.  These two seemingly separated problems are found to actually be inextricably linked.

Where better to dig into the truth about these problems than in a place where serenity is the natural order of the day.  A chance to learn to take a step back, breathe in fresh mountain air all the while cradled by beautiful surroundings, leads one toward a sense of peace.  A California drug rehab center can be the opportunity to get away from life’s usual distractions which lend themselves to keeping that person in the same place, all the while suffering that ceaselessly painful existence causing a perpetual repeat from which they wish to escape.

Creating space from wherever one may have been to seek treatment at a drug rehab in California can be the stepping stone from which to build that better life.

Find New Surroundings in a California Alcohol Rehab to Start Your New Life

Checking yourself in to a California alcohol rehab will be a completely different world than you now know. When you leave the area where your substance abuse was enabled, you may be able to see things in a new light. This change in environment may be the exact reason that you should go as far as possible in order to get the treatment you deserve. People travel from around the world to receive the best in rehabilitation therapy, and many of them travel great distances from the place where their addiction thrived.

Enabling is as much a part of addiction as the drugs and alcohol are, and getting the addict as far away from the people and places that allow them to use, as well as the substances that they abuse, allows your loved one a clean slate on which to write their new life. A California alcohol rehab is not only going to provide a scenic destination for them to relax and reflect upon their prior decisions and how to better themselves for the future, but it will also provide medically trained staff who are very well versed in the ways to manage substance abuse, detoxification, rehabilitation, and recovery.

No matter where they are from within the fifty United States, or even from other regions around the globe, going to a California alcohol rehab will provide the addict an opportunity to begin a new life. Being in the mountain air with the pristine lakes and wildlife right out of the back door is enough to calm anyone and give them the serenity to absorb new teachings and reflect upon old habits while giving them the distance they need in order to not be enabled and resorting back to old people and places where they use.

Being an alcohol or drug abuser is a solitary lifestyle most of the time. Alcoholics and addicts are usually only around people who are also substance abusers, in places where they can commiserate and feel accepted, or around their friends and family who enable them and allow their addiction to flourish yet still judge and try to get them the help they don’t feel they need yet. However, in a recovery facility, the addict is surrounded not only by other people recovering from the same affliction, but by habit and healthcare professionals that can not only monitor their physical needs, but also their mental capacity to process and move forward in a happy and healthy manner.

A California drug rehab center is one of the best ways to help your loved one get past the past and tackle the issues that need addressing in order to become a productive and sober citizen of their community. Taking them out of their community and having them placed in a California drug rehabilitation as far away from what they have been exposed to and relied upon is going to give them the highest chance for success that not only they deserve, but everyone in their circle of friends and family ought to have as well.

Relearning Communication in Recovery

When an alcoholic or addict gets sober, nearly every aspect of their life will change. Old behaviors will be done away with and new skills will be learned. One of the most important of these skills is communication.

Many people who enter drug and alcohol rehab facilities arrive with communication skills that are, at best, unhealthy and ineffective. Usually, this is the result of already lacking skills that have been further hampered by years of drug and alcohol abuse.  Most addicts and alcoholics have many issues at play in their disease; the drinking and using are but symptoms. When one enters treatment and receives help from a group of professionals, the other contributing elements become more readily apparent.

Once an alcoholic or addict make a choice to enter treatment and begins to uncover the deeper reasons why they began and continued using, they are able to see where they used drugs and alcohol to help us communicate by lowering our inhibitions or to prevent us from communicating by medicating our feelings.  By discarding old behaviors investing time and focus to learning new ones, alcoholics and addicts are able to learn to communicate in ways that are loving and kind, healthy and effective. After spending time in a drug rehab focusing on learning new skills, when the addict or alcoholic returns home, the family is often amazed that they are even talking to the same person who left them to seek treatment.  It is not a change that happens overnight but it is a change that begins once a choice is made to seek help.