Lasting Recovery

Forward Many, who struggle with addiction, have gotten clean but later relapsed without understanding what went wrong. People often think their relapse was due to one or two things, not attending enough meetings, not being serious or ready, or having too much stress. While all these factors likely contributed, the reason behind addiction and relapse are complex and require a more comprehensive explanation to be helpful in understanding what went wrong. Getting clean is only the first step in the recovery process. Understanding what preceded and maintained addiction is essential for long lasting sobriety. In order to achieve sustainable recovery and health, it is important to understand underlying issues and emotional pain obscured by alcohol or drug use. No matter how many good intentions and warm feelings you have from completing a treatment program, without true insight into the core reasons for addiction, recovery is unlikely to last. A very important factor often overlooked by the medical and recovery communities, is the powerful connection between addiction and mental health. In many ways, addiction is a symptom or indicator of underlying emotional pain and mental health issues. The failure to understand this entangled relationship is the primary reason treating addiction without simultaneously addressing pre-existing mental health symptoms is unlikely to achieve lasting success. The danger of not addressing root causes of addiction is that every relapse has a profoundly negative impact on morale and can pull an individual deeper into a state of despair. People suffering from depression or anxiety discover drugs or alcohol provide temporary pleasure, and an immediate escape from painful aspects of their reality. Over time however, any relief or satisfaction provided by drugs or alcohol diminishes, replaced by psychological and physical withdrawals and a never-ending obsession with the next drink or fix. Addiction is a direct result of the brain's plasticity and natural capacity to adapt in an effort to maintain homeostasis or balance, taken hostage and corrupted by the introduction of toxic substances into the brain. In this way, addiction is never intentional but is a natural consequence of repeatedly using drugs and alcohol to relieve emotional pain: Addiction has no socioeconomic boundaries - it can happen to anyone. In early recovery, the brain is still healing, emotions are unstable, and it does not take much for someone to become overwhelmed. Understanding the physiological and emotional aspects underlying addiction and recovery is instrumental to navigate successfully through the firestorm of early recovery. For people suffering from addiction, using drugs or alcohol becomes a deeply programmed and compulsive response during times of stress. This book lays out essential components in the recovery process. Addiction involves more than hanging out with the wrong crowd, making "bad" choices or a chemical "imbalance" in your brain. Research has demonstrated that addiction is the transformation of your brain and unintended corruption of its natural processes: how you think, feel and behave. Lasting recovery requires a more integrated and combined approach than learning yoga, attending a support group or talking to a counselor. Recovery requires time for the mind and the body to heal; taking care of your body is as important in recovery as changing the way you think and feel. A strong motivation to stay clean is important, but is only the first step. Learning new approaches to living without drugs and alcohol, acquiring new skills and cognitive strategies are all important building blocks to achieve lasting recovery. Lasting Recovery provides knowledge, guidance, strategies, and coping skills to help you navigate through unexpected and difficult obstacles and live your life to the fullest potential! This book is a MUST READ for everyone new to recovery or making a second or third attempt to stay clean. It is also for anyone with a family member or loved one who has been struggling with addiction and relapse, as well as for medical and mental health professionals who want to learn more about addiction and recovery to help others be more successful in conquering addiction and staying in recovery!