Mini Series 5 - Is commitment to recovery a make-or-break deal after leaving treatment?

10/06/23 • 3 min

In this podcast, we answer the question... Is commitment to recovery a make-or-break deal after leaving treatment?
By all means, yes.
Those of us who have been practitioners of the principles of recovery pay attention to the wisdom expressed in the literature and read at the AA and NA meetings.
A good example:
"Some of us tried to hold onto our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely".
The "old ideas" that this passage refers to is the absurd notion that an alcoholic can get and stay sober on their own willpower. What happens when the addict or alcoholic decides that they do not need NA or AA to stay sober?
They abandon the commitment they made a while ago in treatment to go all the way. Every day. Including becoming a part of the Fellowship.
This disease is so cunning, baffling, and powerful that it requires a higher power and the "we" fellowship to gain “a daily reprieve (that is) contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition".
A full commitment means action, not lip service. A full commitment means that we go "all in", that we surrender our old ways of thinking and acting and adopt a new way of living.
This is an all-or-nothing game. We get nothing unless we give everything.
That is why AA meetings start with this promise:
"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path".
If that is not about commitment, then what is?

Previous Episode

Mini Series 5 - How important are Anonymous meetings?

In this podcast, we answer the question... How important are Anonymous meetings?

One of the myths about the AA or NA programs is that they are just about staying clean and sober. The programs are built around the 12-Steps, and only the first step mentions alcohol or drugs.

The rest of the steps are all about character development that will make us better people. To quote an AA speaker: "We came in as spiritually bankrupt people. We had violated virtually every norm that guides our society to think and act in an honest and compassionate way".

Addicts and alcoholics deep into their disease are extremely self-centred. They sincerely believe that the rules do not apply to them. They have become infantile personalities who do not want to be held accountable for anything they say or do, or don't do.

What the Anonymous programs do is teach addicts and alcoholics how to grow up, how to hold themselves accountable, and to make direct amends to the people they have harmed.

The program does not demand that the individual find a higher power defined a certain way; it suggests, however, that the sure path to liberation is to surrender to the idea that they are no longer the centre of the universe.

Helping others to get and stay clean and sober is at the heart of AA and all other 12-step programs. That is how we learn to become selfless, compassionate human beings.

Next Episode

Mini Series 5 - Be honest, do rehabs genuinely offer an aftercare service?

In this podcast, we answer the question... Be honest, do rehabs genuinely offer an aftercare service?
There is a big difference between offering an aftercare service and actually having one in place that fully supports the person who has gone back home and is now faced with the challenge of dealing with the "real world".

There isn't a single rehab that doesn't mention "aftercare" in their narrative.
Some simply say something like: "And we offer the best aftercare program to help clients stay clean and sober" , without giving away any details as to what their program entails.
A few others will promise "24/7 access to counsellors" and other types of support.
Clearly, these types of "programs" are well-meant, but they are incomplete.
At SafeHouse Rehab, we don't kid ourselves into pretending that our job is done once a client goes back to his own hometown. We bring a measure of humility to our work when we say that our rehab is just the very first step on the path of recovery.
We also bring an unwavering sense of responsibility to our clients to give them all the tools they need to stay clean and sober, to allow them to re-integrate into society as productive and positive citizens.
We designed our We CareTM program to be the most robust and complete aftercare program anywhere. We reviewed what was out there and saw what was missing: a truly comprehensive approach to aftercare.
That is why we created the We CareTM aftercare toolkit and contact resources that gives clients all they could possibly need to feel supported and cared for.
It's what we owe our clients who seek a lifetime of clean and sober living.