I Don’t Want to Go to Rehab Again. Got Any Other Options?

I’ve been through Rehab once. Addicted to alcohol and prescription meds. I know what it’s about and the whole routine that gets covered so would rather look at trying something different.

I know about the steps and so it seems pointless doing something again that didn’t yield great results the first time around. Obviously the cost factor of going through rehab again also plays a role. Sure, maybe I haven’t done everything I should have as well as I could, but so far nothing has really resonated with me, and so I haven’t stuck with it.

I guess you could describe me as a functional addict. I get by and manage to hold down a job, stay out of debt and all that, but I know I can’t keep going like this or else my life may still end up falling apart. I just want to find a way or program I can relate to and feel comfortable with, not necessarily your typical 12-step treatment and recovery programs. Can you recommend anything?

Answer

There is a big difference between knowing and doing. Knowing something is pointless unless you take action on what you know because only taking action brings results. And I think you get that. But you need to realize that sometimes we do things we know that are good for us (e.g. working the 12 steps) even though we don’t particularly like it, because it brings us the results we’re after. A bit like eating your vegetables even though you might not like them because you know they’re good for you and will keep you healthy. Because that’s the bottom line in all this – you getting results and learning to live a meaningful new life in sobriety.

And sometimes you need to give something time before you feel comfortable with anything, and it doesn’t really sound like you’ve done that in your drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery attempt so far. So writing a method off before you’ve given it a fair go means you actually haven’t experienced how effective working a formal recovery program like the 12 steps can be.

Okay, enough of the lecture, because I do understand that traditional 12 step methodologies are not necessarily for everyone. I just don’t want you falling into the trap of someone who is great at accumulating a bunch of knowledge about all sorts of ways to get clean and stay that way, but never actually commits to choosing one and so end up staying trapped in the cycle of addiction.

So getting back to your question, to beat your addiction long-term means you need to find a new meaning or purpose to your life and create a new lifestyle around that. Many people find that in spirituality, whether it be organized religion, or more esoteric philosophies. Having a strong spiritual foundation that you continuously work at and develop is extremely powerful and the key I believe in successfully overcoming an addiction long-term. Beating an addiction successfully is ultimately an inside job – you need to work at the ‘inner you’ to experience a new outer reality.

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Many people have had success with this faith-based homestudy program called Addiction Free Forever, that really gets to the heart of the matter as to what addiction is and what you need to do to beat it – permanently. So as an alternative to mainstream methods and considering the low cost, it is definitely worth checking out.

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So find something that you feel comfortable with and are prepared to work at, that holistically helps create change for you in the key areas of your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical states. The key word in that sentence being work, because knowing won’t change anything for you unless you work at it.

Whatever you decide to do though, the secret for me in achieving success in sobriety lies not so much in what you do, but having these two critical attitudes. Desire and Humility. Having the desire means you’ll put in the effort and do whatever it takes to achieve and maintain sobriety. And the humility means you know you don’t know it all and are open and teachable to receiving new information and putting it into practice.

This has turned out to be a longer answer that I planned, but I hope you get the message that ultimately what you do is less important that having the right attitude in whatever it is you do. So good luck and all the best.

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