Upon entering treatment for my drug addiction in Jacksonville, Florida my first instinct was to talk to some of the other clients.  To my surprise for the majority of clients it was not there first attempt at getting clean and sober.  The more I talked with the other clients the more I started to think that relapse was a necessity.  Not true!!!! I entered the Lakeview Health treatment center four years ago and have been clean ever since.

Lakeview taught me that staying sober is not rocket science.  Not wanting to relapse I always listened intensely to the individual stories to try to figure out why that particular person experienced a relapse.  I would talk to the counselors and therapist about relapse who were always more then willing to listen and lend me their thoughts.

I found that individuals who would relapse did not do one or more of three specific things.  They would stop going to meetings, stop calling their sponsor and stop working on the steps.  This made me decide in early recovery that no matter what life situations I was presented with I would continue to go to meetings, talk to my sponsor and work my way through the twelve steps no matter how difficult it may become.  Thus far this has proven to be a full proof plan.

While relapse does occur and in many cases is part of recovery it doesn’t have to be.  My advice to those in early recovery is to not expect to relapse.  Do not pay attention to the statistics that you will hear on the number of individuals who will relapse.  My thought process is “what should it matter what the statistics are,  I only have to go one for one”.

Go to a Christian drug rehabilitation program was all I heard for weeks on end. I went to sleep and woke up hearing go to a Christian drug rehabilitation rehab program. I screamed enough already and told my family I would go when I was good and ready. Well I should have been ready years before but I had more research to do.

Then the day came when I awoke from a three day blackout in a jail cell arrested for a DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. When I appeared in front of the judge all I could think of were the words Christian drug rehab. So I asked the judge if I could go. He was clear, if I send you to a Christian rehab and you don’t complete it or ever show up in front of me again, I will throw the book at you. He scared me to death because I knew he would.

Today after completing the Christian drug rehabilitation program I visit the judge on occassion to speak to the people before they are entenced because of their alcoholism.  

Finding balance in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction can be a difficult process.  I believe that there is such a thing as having a recovery burnout.  Being in the rooms for a while I can’t help but notice that the people who are just starting their recovery process and are overly enthusiastic do not fair well in the long run.  My opinion is that there is such a thing as overkill or burnout from recovery.

Recovery from addiction is a slow process.  It is said that it’s easy to get sober but staying sober is difficult.  While I went to meetings on a daily basis in my early recovery I took my time with every thing else.  My early recovery consisted of going to meetings, talking with my sponsor on a daily basis and doing some step work here and there.  I felt that in my early sobriety as long as I could get through each day, one at a time, without “picking up” then I was successful.

For me it was necessary to balance my time in early recovery.  I had to do some physical activities as well as enjoy some down time whether it be watching television or reading a book.  It was beneficial for me to once again start enjoying some of the activities that I used to before drugs and alcohol consumed my life.

No one is going to be able to get sober all at once.  It is slow process that should be done methodically.  My personal experience was that as long as I kept plugging away at my recovery the different stages that I went through happened naturally.

For many people completing substance abuse treatment centers in Florida, Connecticut, Texas or any state in the country the holidays are “perfect” times for an individual to relapse. Substance abuse treatment centers do their best when formulating an aftercare plan to take into account any and all situations that could cause a person to relapse.  This takes place in the relapse prevention program within the substance abuse treatment facility.

A relapse prevention program is generally considered one of the most significant elements of the clinical services provided in a substance abuse treatment facility. Trained professionals go over the triggers associated with relapse and the thoughts and behaviors the patient will need to overcome relapse. These triggers could be hanging out with old people, doing old things or hanging out in places that remind you of drug or alcohol use.

It is not easy to locate a relapse prevention program as many of the substance abuse treatment centers do not offer full relapse prevention programs. Recovery Connection is available to help you find a substance abuse treatment facility which has an excellent relapse prevention program.