Through Addiction Treatment

How to Find Your Identy Through Addiction Treatment

By Dr.Fourkan Ali

These four Steps will help you discover who you are without drugs and alcohol.

Pam Jones is a loving wife, mother of two and member of the PTA. She serves as the snack mom for her daughter's soccer team and takes care of her family's house. Pam runs a tight ship at home, flowing through her daily task lists with ease; there is no bed unmade and no child without a brown bag lunch.

But Pam, a composite of many people I've treated over the years, has a shameful secret: She is addicted to alcohol. She passes out nearly every night with a bottle of wine in her lap, watching "The Real Housewives of Orange County" reruns so that she feels better about the state of her life.

Her husband believes she may have a problem with overconsumption of alcohol. When he asks Pam about her habits, she responds with an excuse: "There's nothing wrong with drinking wine at night to unwind!" How can he argue? Her drinking does not seem to interfere with how she treats their children, nor how she treats him.

Only Pam knows about the small bottles of liquor hidden around the house, in the car and stashed in her purse. Without these secret aids, Pam would never make it through a typical day of the withdrawal shakes and the guilt of her alcohol obsession.

Pam is known as "Super Mom" to her family, friends and acquaintances. With pressure so severe, how can she admit to anyone that she has a fault as shameful as alcohol addiction? Pam has no idea who she is without alcohol; can she still be "Super Mom" if she gives it up? This thought is overwhelming, so she drinks more to mask the pain.

Alcohol and drugs take on a life of their own in the midst of an addiction; they become a friend, lover and trusted confidant, isolating the addict and alcoholic from reality. Society further promotes this reliance on drugs and alcohol with labels like "just a junkie" or "full-blown alcoholic." It's no surprise that, in the depth of emotional turmoil, addicts or alcoholics truly believe that drugs and alcohol are their present and future.

Years of drinking and using drugs leave alcoholics and addicts with a sense of hopelessness and utter exhaustion; they're convinced that they will never connect with the person they once were before alcohol and drugs entered the picture.

The key question substance abuse counselors aim to address in addiction recovery is, "Who are you without drugs and alcohol?" Though this question seems overwhelming and terrifying, with the help of a seasoned therapist, a positive sober community and unlimited recovery resources provided by a treatment center, people with drug and alcohol problems can reconnect with their identity.

 If you're considering seeking help for addiction, take heart: The process is not as scary as you might think. Though the steps are much more in depth during a 30- or 60-day inpatient treatment program, they can be briefly summarized in these four steps:

1. Clear your body of mind-altering substances.

Alcohol and drugs erase the line between reality and fallacy. Addicts and alcoholics generally enter treatment with the belief that drugs and alcohol are helping them cope with the anxiety of daily life. But by removing mind-altering substances from the body, they observe that addiction is actually hindering them from objectivity.

That's why, in my clinic, we guide patients through a medical detox – or a detoxification that incorporates medical supervision in order to ensure patients' safety. That process provides them with clear minds and bodies, which serve as the perfect starting point to get to work.

2. Make note of people, places or things that bring you joy.

With this newfound clear mind and body, people's emotions are heightened as their bodies work to attain a proper chemical balance. The help of a therapist, counselor and community of people who empathize with the process provides a positive environment for growth.

At this point, we encourage clients to participate in a wide range of therapeutic methods including surf therapy, art therapy, yoga, nature therapy, equine therapy and more. These activities expose them to a wide variety of people, places and things that may bring them a childlike peace and joy reminiscent of life before drugs and alcohol.

During my time as a substance abuse counselor, I have seen endless examples of clients falling back in love with art, meditation, exercise or equestrianism as a result of these therapeutic methods. Establishing new passions – or awakening dormant ones – opens up the part of the brain that feels connected to the self, world and surrounding community.

We suggest our clients make a handwritten list of things that make them happy. This action sets them up for the next step.

3. Do more of what brings you joy.

As this list starts to grow indefinitely, a life without drugs and alcohol becomes less daunting and more exciting. We then suggest to our clients to pursue more of what brings them joy, especially when the daily struggles of life weigh them down.

This strategy allows recovering alcoholics and addicts to move away from establishing identity in negativity, anxiety and the pain of their past, and move toward a positive identity of self-love.

If you pursue more of what makes you happy, you will find happiness. This may seem like such a simple concept, but far too often we get caught up in our ego, pushing happiness into a dark corner of our minds.

4. Accept that identity is how you feel, not what you do.

When we ask our clients, "Who are you without drugs and alcohol?" we are not asking about their daily responsibilities or their connections with people, but rather how they feel as a human on this planet. Pam Jones' identity is not a mother, loving wife, member of the PTA or snack mom. Her identity is rooted in how she feels in her soul.

When Pam found sobriety, she realized that her identity was as a loving, spiritual, happy, caring, sincere and thoughtful person. She exemplified all of these characteristics on a daily basis – even as she reached the depths of her alcoholism. Pam didn't have the clarity of mind to see that her identity was always with her in every PTA meeting, brown bag lunch and kiss for her husband.

We never lose our identity; it is written in our soul. We just need to put down the drugs and alcohol to find it once again.

Source: world Health care