Mistaken Beliefs Part 3
Mistaken Beliefs About Relapse
A MISTAKEN BELIEF IS SOMETHING THAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE TRUE AND ACT AS IF IT WERE TRUE WHEN, IN FACT, IT IS FALSE.
Mistaken Belief #3: As long as you do not use alcohol or drugs you are recovering.
Fact: Abstinence is only a prerequisite to recovery. It is not recovery. Recovery requires the appropriate treatment of long and short-term withdrawal symptoms, and the physical, psychological, and social problems caused by the addiction. It is switching from a lifestyle centered around using, to a lifestyle centered around healthy living.
Sometimes people recognize that they are addicted and sincerely attempt abstinence but do not understand that they need help from others and a recovery program to maintain abstinence. They just quit. They are surprised when they begin using again, not realizing that sobriety requires more than just not using.
Bill was an alcoholic who was also a diabetic. His doctors told him if he did not stop drinking he would die. So he quit. For a year he did not have a drink. However, he did not change anything else in his life. He continued to associate with people who drank heavily; he attended social functions where drinking was the focus of the “fun.” Bill did not find other ways to have a good time or relax, neither did he learn to manage the sobriety based symptoms or the resulting stress. He was abstinent, but he was miserable. After a year Bill said, “If this is what I have to do to stay alive, it is not worth it.” He began to drink again, and after a few years, Bill died.
Many alcoholics who never use alcohol or drugs are not in recovery. They have nervous breakdowns, become psychotic, attempt suicide, or become sick with stress-related illnesses. All of this happens because of what we call the “relapse syndrome.”
If you believe that not using is recovery and that using is the only sign of failure to recover, you will minimize other problems with your recovery and you will switch from a focus on using to a focus on not using. You will not focus on a sobriety-centered lifestyle. Focusing upon not using becomes an excuse for not looking at other life areas. Not using is not recovery; it is just not using.