[nandm]

My thoughts

I equate recovery from alcohol/drugs/sex/gambling (what ever the addiction) to recovery from cancer. Here is why

When one finds out they have cancer they have choices.

• then can do nothing about it and eventually it will kill them
• They can go through the work and pain of treating it
• With treatment they can find it goes into remission
• With treatment they can find they are cured of it
• With treatment they can still find that they die from it

Now compare that to addiction/alcoholism

• The person can do nothing about it and eventually it will kill them
• They can go through the work and pain of working at sobriety
• With treatment they may find it goes into a remission (still there but dormant unless they pick up again)
• With treatment they may find they are cured (some people see recovery as this since while working a program of recovery the disease is not present in the real sense
• With treatment they can still find they die from it (this occurs when the addict/alcoholic continue to relapse over and over until ultimately there body can't take anymore)

So to me recovery can mean many things but the ultimate goal of recovery is to have the problem removed or at least put into remission as the other options lead to death and heartache.