Drug Treatment Rehab

Drug Treatment Rehab

I tried 12-Step. It didn’t work.

Either 12-Step does not work, or the person did not allow it to work. Most often when I hear the statement; “12-Step doesn’t work,” it is delivered with a rather negative verbal affect. The message that I receive is more “I dare you to help me” than it is a cry for help. “Sure, come on down and fix me. Here I am.”

Some don’t like 12 Steps

There are many ways to approach alcohol and drug abuse, 12-Step may not be the desired course for everyone. The idea that addiction is a disease that requires a spiritual awakening to overcome is not appealing to those to oppose any form of spirituality.

There are programs for everyone, so forget the spiritual side and enroll in a program that appeals to your sensibilities.

Many other self-help groups use the 12-step program.

12-Step has been used by over 250 self-help groups since first coming on the American scene in the late 1930’s. Many people believe that 12-Step is strictly a “Christian” program, but many of those 250 self-help groups that use 12-step are by no means Christian.

There are groups designed to help people of all faiths. Millati Islami, for example, reaches out to Muslims suffering from addiction.

Before dismissing 12-step recovery, maybe it’s better to do a little internet research on 12-step recoveryand programs. You will be surprised at how many different kinds of groups are using the program to help millions of people. A person needs to find the right setting.

God as YOU understand him!

That’s why Bill W’s friend told him to come up with his own understanding of God (The Big Book, Chapter 1 “Bill’s Story”). On the other hand, the Christian would immediately understand that Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the God referred to in the third step.

The steps discuss a trusting relationship with a power greater than ourselves. People of faith attribute this power to God.

In secular terms, that power greater than yourself must be defined in another way. Is it the love and support of friends, family and therapists? Is it having a sponsor or mentor to help you through the rough times? Addiction is a lonely disease and that loneliness must be overcome to move into recovery.

If a person is alone and cannot overcome addiction unless he himself pulls himself up out of the clutches of that addiction, then the 12-step makes no sense.

If there is no power greater than one’s self, the 12-step will not work. If you try to do it alone or by yourself it won’t work.

If you close your mind and heart and refuse to surrender to it, 12 step won’t work.

But if there is a power out there that a person can trust and submit to, then there is hope. You can pick and chose which steps make sense, and that might yield some benefit, as there is wisdom in each step.

If the 12-step doesn’t work, chose another path. The important point is to get help with your addiction. If people have given up on 12-step, the chances are very high that they have also given up on God.

A person who had been in and out of recovery for many years, told me that it wasn’t that the 12-steps didn’t work, but that they had trouble allowing that power greater than themselves to gain any significant place in their heart and mind.

Pride get’s in the way!

I believe the lack of success, in many cases, is attributed to pride and stubbornness more than any other factor.

Whether agnostic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian, the 12-step program has helped countless addicts overcome their disease. It has staying power because it does work.

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Summary of Drug Treatment Rehab:

A good Drug Treatment Rehab can be very effective for helping the addict to stop using if the treatment takes the unique features of the person into consideration. On size does not fit all when it come to effective addiction treatment.