John is forty-six years old and served in the military for twenty seven and a half years, and he drank too much during every one of them. But it wasn’t until the last five years of drinking that he recognized he had a serious problem. “In the Army, you are never off duty. The line between your public and private life is very blurry.” Thus, John explains, many men who struggle with drug or alcohol addiction are hesitant to get into drug or alcohol rehab so they can come to terms with their problem for fear of admitting weakness and compromising their place amongst the ranks.
For John, checking himself into alcohol rehab was not something he considered an option: He had watched his wife, a chronic alcoholic, relapse after entering and leaving several treatment programs without completing any of them. The seeming futility of her actions soured him on the notion of supervised recovery. He admits that she was simply not ready to get sober; she never wanted to not drink. But he didn’t want to fall into a similar pattern.
But, he had a problem. “For me, drinking was like having a permanent one-year-old directing my life. I needed that to end.” John needed a solution that worked for him.
Finding the method of recovery that’s best for you can be an extremely daunting task. For many, drug or alcohol rehab provides the essential tools necessary to begin the process. Very few people are able to do it on their own.
Whatever method you choose, what it comes down to, in John’s opinion, is whether you are ready to stop. “Sobriety is an individual decision. Until you say to yourself in the mirror that it is time to stop, it will not happen.”
John did find something that worked for him, and he’s now been sober for a year.
September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month – it’s time to find a successful alcohol rehab program for a friend, a family member, or someone in your community that needs help. If John can change after nearly three decades, anyone can.
Matt Hull’s work has appeared in print, on the web, and on television. His work in recovery has inspired him to recount the stories of recovering addicts who have found success in sobriety.
mhull@addictionhelpservices.com
http://www.drugrehabreferral.com
http://www.addictionhelpservices.com
Tags: alcohol addiction, alcohol rehab, drug addiction
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