Here’s a look at four key pillars of recovery, each a focus of National Recovery Month.
Read the news, and you might get the idea that recovery from addiction is rare. Overdose statistics dominate the headlines, eclipsing a more hopeful story that also happens to be true: Plenty of people with substance use disorder (SUD) are able to recover and thrive.
At Ideal Option, we work with thousands of patients who return to healthy, meaningful, happy lives, including many who felt they could never make their way back.
In observance of National Recovery Month, we celebrate their determination and urge those considering treatment to have hope.
“Nobody has sunk into a hole that’s too deep to climb out of,” says Brian Dawson, M.D., chief medical officer of Ideal Option and a specialist in both addiction and emergency medicine. “With the right kind of support, anyone can turn their life around.”
Even if you have struggled with SUD for decades, if you’re estranged from your family, if you feel you’ve burned all your bridges, you can still rebuild and recover.
What does it take to succeed? Here’s a look at four key pillars of recovery, each a focus of National Recovery Month.
1: Attending to Your Health
For many, addiction is rooted in an attempt to self-medicate for mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, or schizophrenia.
Some patients began using opioid pills to relieve anxiety; others turned to meth to address ADHD. Before long, their illicit drug use spiraled out of control, creating multitudes of new problems. But their health issues were never treated.
“To get off substances and sustain your recovery, it’s important to address underlying mental health conditions that have gone undiagnosed or untreated,” says Dr. Dawson.
Ideal Option helps patients connect with mental health providers for evaluation and treatment.
Often, patients find that treatment for their mental health, in conjunction with treatment for SUD, relieves them from the compulsion to use illegal and dangerous substances.
In other cases, sustained drug use has created mental-health conditions the patient did not experience before, such as psychosis and paranoia, and proper treatment can reverse course.
A thorough evaluation will distinguish one scenario from another, allowing patients to receive appropriate treatment. Stopping drug use can even trigger new mental-health conditions, but the right medication can prevent that scenario.
For example, prescription anti-depressant medication can prevent meth patients from plunging into depression. For patients with opioid use disorder, Suboxone will suppress cravings and withdrawal, allowing patients to “feel normal again” while they work to rebuild their lives.
Substance use disorder has such a profound effect on brain chemistry, Dr. Dawson says, “that it takes several months for your brain to remodel and rewire and get back to baseline.”
In the meantime, it’s also helpful for patients to be evaluated and treated for any unrecognized or neglected physical health conditions, such as hepatitis C, diabetes, HIV, or chronic fatigue.
“Getting underlying diseases treated improves patients’ energy and wellbeing in recovery,” says Dr. Dawson.
Addressing seemingly minor health issues, such as dental or skin care, can have a “cascading effect,” says Dr. Dawson. “Finally doing things that are good for you, as opposed to doing things that are destructive, will improve your outlook in recovery.”
2: Finding a Safe Place to Call Home
It’s near impossible to maintain recovery when you’re couch surfing or sleeping on the streets or living out of a car, especially if you’re surrounded by others who are deep into addiction.
“Patients who have stable housing are much more likely to stay in treatment,” notes Dr. Dawson.
A bed in a sober house, a room in a family member’s home, or a place of your own not only provides peace of mind but also a safe place to store medications.
When you wake up in the same place every day, you’re better able to maintain a schedule, whether it’s a work schedule, counseling appointments, or a regimen of medication that must be taken at the same time each day.
At Ideal Option, we work with our partners in the community to help patients find access to stable housing.
3: Finding a Sense of Purpose
For many folks, recovery begins after hitting rock bottom. Maybe they overdosed and nearly died, or they’ve lost custody of their kids, or they’ve run out of money, or they’re just plain exhausted from chasing drugs.
But while a feeling of desperation may bring people into treatment, despair usually isn’t enough to keep patients in recovery. Rebuilding a life takes hard work, and the motivation to do that work ultimately requires a sense of purpose, a drive to achieve something positive.
“Helping others in recovery, reconnecting with your family, being a role model for your kids, going back to school — those are all reasons to stay sober,” says Dr. Dawson. “You don’t have to join the Peace Corps. Maybe your purpose is to get up every morning, go to a job, and support yourself.”
If you can’t yet see a purpose, don’t sweat it. For many new patients, figuring out what matters to them can take a good while.
You might ask yourself: What do I want from life? What do I care about? What is fulfilling to me?
Don’t underestimate the wisdom you’ve gained in your addiction. Many folks in recovery make great use of the hard road they’ve traveled, accomplishing more than they ever thought possible.
4: Finding Community
It’s the rare person who can sustain recovery alone. Most people thrive on interaction with and support from others.
“If you feel alone, you’re not necessarily going to feel a reason to take care of yourself,” says Dr. Dawson. “But having people in your life who are counting on you to stay sober and healthy and be a positive influence will motivate you to sustain your own personal recovery.”
You might find a sense of belonging at a 12-step group or a church or by reconnecting with an old friend or a couple of family members.
What matters is finding people you care about and who care about you — people you check in with on a regular basis.
Just as some people turn to drugs to “treat” mental health conditions, others use drugs out of loneliness or a lack of confidence. Finding community is the way to counteract those negative feelings and help buffer you against the temptation to use drugs again.
“You can learn to develop those same positive rewards, in a much healthier way, through connection with others,” says Dr. Dawson. “After all, the purpose of being human is to interact with other human beings.”
To find out more about Ideal Option or to make an appointment, visit www.idealoption.com, call 1-877-522-1275, or email hello@idealoption.net.
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