ADDICTION AND SUCCESS: What are the Odds?
I'd like to give you what may be startling information about recovery and success. There's new research about repeat attempts at recovery and how it leads to achieving success. There's also good evidence to suggest that those who achieve long term recovery go on to find great contentment and success in achieving their goals.
I got some interesting feedback on my last blog which will prompt the next few posts. One person suggested I had enough content for four posts. Another questioned the validity of people with dual diagnoses achieving any viable success. Another asked about the disease itself and the brain chemistry. Let's unravel the questions by posting some of the facts.
PEOPLE RECOVER FROM ADDICTION!
In 2019, John Kelly, et al, reported the results of an extensive survey of users of alcohol and drug, perhaps the most extensive ever, in the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Dependence (Vol. 181, 1 Dec. 2017). It was called: "Prevalence and pathways of recovery from drug and alcohol problems in the United States population: Implications for practice, research, and policy." Kelly's group made a probability-based study of the US population and determined that in the sample, 11.1% reported having a drug or alcohol problem, translating to roughly 27.5 million adult citizens. What was unique to this study, however, was the second survey question, which asked people whether they considered themselves in recovery. To this, 74.8 per cent of the people replying responded that they were in recovery. This translates to 20.5 million American adults in 2019.
What's notable about this, from my perspective, is that at this point in history, we were mostly focusing on the loss of lives and the opiate crisis. It seems important to balance those frightening figures with some notation of what is happening in the recovery world. People are recovering! I'm not in any way suggesting that the problems aren't happening. I do, however, want to draw attention to what works and build upon it. This study and others related to it suggested a few things:
While it may take several attempts to gain recovery, the more a person tries, the more likely they will gain and achieve lasting recovery.
Recovery may not look the same for everyone.
The study reported most utilized support was mutual help (45.1%, SE=1.6), followed by treatment (27.6%, SE=1.4), and emerging recovery support services (21.8%, SE=1.4), including recovery community centers (6.2%, SE=0.9). They did not weigh any form of recovery as more valuable than another.
WHAT COUNTS AS SUCCESS?
From this coach's point of view, success must be measured not by some external measure, but by the individual's ability to set goals of their own and achieve them. This is a multi-faceted achievement. Many of us in recovery will be quick to tell you that in addition to putting down the drug or the drink, we faced major lifestyle changes and the adoption of life skills we never learned because our addiction was the center of our lives. For many, the skills of communication, knowing and utilizing feelings, goal setting, as well as identification and achievement of life and job skills are foreign territory. Before a person in early recovery can know what goals they want to achieve and how to measure their own success, they have a lot to do to master primitive life skills.
Treatment often bridges the gaps for many, offering the opportunity to catch up on these basic skills, practicing with their peers before having to venture out into the world. Self-help groups like the 12-step programs, Smart Recovery and Recovery Dharma also offer practical places to learn more. Hopefully, the individual's work environment will be supportive, and they will feel able to be open.
From this coach's point of view, success must be measured not by some external measure, but by the individual's ability to set goals of their own and achieve them. This is a multi-faceted achievement. Many of us in recovery will be quick to tell you that in addition to putting down the drug or the drink, we faced major lifestyle changes and the adoption of life skills we never learned because our addiction was the center of our lives. For many, the skills of communication, knowing and utilizing feelings, goal setting, as well as identification and achievement of life and job skills are foreign territory. Before a person in early recovery can know what goals, they want to achieve and how to measure their own success, they have a lot to do to master primitive life skills. They may find that their drug of choice was the glue that held them together in these situations, and without it, they don't feel they can survive!