Understanding Drug Addiction Recovery.

I got various answers:

"I needed it to keep going"
"I liked the energy it gave me"
"I liked the high"
"All my friends used"

When I also asked what made them successful with drug addiction recovery, I got as many different answers.

"I was losing my family"
"I lost my job"
"I hated myself and what I was doing to my body"
"I was in the gutter - literally"
"I had no self respect left and did things I never thought I would do"
"I got sick and nearly died"

Notice that I was never told

"I was court ordered to rehab"

So the first thing that must happen is that the USER THEMSELVES must have a desire to get off drugs. Drug addiction recovery is possible, but without the desire, it will not happen. They may stop for a while but sooner or later they will go back to the same life.

Another thing that I have learned is that addiction is not just about the substance used, but is also about the ritual which accompanies the use.

Rituals are a part of our everyday life and we participate in them without thinking. Also our rituals are usually based on some reward for ourselves.

For example, brewing our morning coffee involves the ritual of measuring the water and the coffee, switching it on, smelling the coffee aroma and getting our favorite mug and maybe the morning paper.

All this is a ritual which we do automatically and never really think about.
It is the same for a drug user.
The ritual of getting out the spoon and the hypodermic, the water measuring and the heating, drawing up the dose and finding a vein.... All this is a ritual which is part of the drug experience.

Now to get away from an addiction we have to not only get away from the effects of the actual drug, but also get away from the ritual which accompanies it. This is best done by substituting another ritual and I call this The Drug Abandonment Ritual or DAR.

Whether you are a family member or a current user, understanding the part that the ritual plays in drug use and drug addiction recovery, will help you understand why it is hard to break the habit.

Along with understanding the Drug Abandonment Ritual process, I have a number of other tools to help you get free.

• First, check out my suggestions for taking the first steps.
• Then it is a good idea to make a recovery plan.
• Follow this up with reading about how to get help and support.
• If you have trouble finding anyone to help you, consider my coaching service.