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Had a great comment on my article “The Disease Model of Addiction” recently. Thanks for your time and thoughts, Hockley.
The comment started:
‘First of all, I quit on my own. No group, or steps, or sponsor. I read books, articles, etc. And, simply, not drinking.’
and ended:
‘I doubt that there is anything odd about quitting on my own.’
You’re right Hockley, there is nothing odd about what you have done. You join millions of others who have stopped on their own.
Some people manage to do this on their own, whilst others need the support and help of others. In some cases, this is professional help (called treatment) and sometimes this is the help of the Fellowship (AA, NA, etc), and sometimes both.
The important thing is that people have lots of options that they can choose, and that they have the opportunity to understand what these options are and how they can be accessed.
[Strangely, some practitioners in the treatment field seem to think that everyone needs treatment to have a chance of overcoming a substance use problem. This is not the case, although some people most certainly do need a lot of help from the treatment system and/or the Fellowship].
Hockley also says:
‘Alcohol abuse is a real problem. I see two important variables: severity of the problem. And, the state of mind of the individual. The state of mind includes all the varieties of ‘mental illness’/problems in living.’
Some people talk about the key factors being ‘severity of problem’ and ‘recovery capital’. The second factor is a little wider than what you stated, Hockley. [It includes your factor].
Recovery capital can be defined as, “the quantity and quality of both internal and external resources that a person can bring to bear on the initiation and maintenance of recovery recovery”.
Recovery capital includes access to understanding and caring people in the community, which of course is influenced by prejudice in society (it is not something the person with the problem normally influences).
Many people with serious substance use problems entering treatment have never had much recovery capital or have dramatically depleted such capital by the time they seek help.
Hockely also says,
‘This, to me, means that the individual concerned is the driver. The ‘program’ — whatever it may be – is not the driver.’
Absolutely!! The person is the driver. Recovery comes from the person, not from the practitioner, programme or treatment agency.
People with substance use problems must be empowered, as Hockley seems to have been. Books and articles seem to have played a role. Key information helped, but Hockley did the work.
The practitioner in the treatment system can be viewed as a coach, collaborator and teacher who frees up the client’s ability to make positive changes. They can also help enhance the client’s internal and external resources (recovery capital), so they are better able to focus their efforts on the processes and events needed to find recovery.
I love this part of Hockley’s comment:
‘There are reasons why I quit drinking destructively — which no one needs to know – let us say that the drinking was ‘useful’. It stopped being useful [fair is foul; foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not]. Logic dictated that I draw a line under it. I made it so.
I’ve met other people who started their path to recovery with this view. Others, through a multitude of factors, cannot think as clearly and decisively as this. But they can be helped to get there, and this is one role of treatment.
You are an inspiration, Hockley. Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks for bringing this comment to our attention Dave!
Hockley – you are truly an inspiration and it is great to hear your self-understanding and determination. It’s so important that people see the MANY different ways to overcome addiction and you have shown people the way that worked for you, and given others hope that they too can tackle their problems and gain control of their lives. Thank you!
There are many ways to recover though there is also much overlap between the ways. Most of us have experiences and processes in common that we went through as part of our recoveries.
I could not have stopped on my own any more than I could have breathed underwater. I had every reason to stop and plenty of ‘recovery capital’ (loving partner and family, good job, well respected, not daft etc) but bizarrely I found myself time and time again in a groundhog day existence. Not just for days or weeks, but for years!
My catalysts for recovery were:
Someone else who knew what addiction was and what to do about it. A treatment centre where the staff knew the same thing.
The fellowships of CA, NA and AA
I rather think I’d be stuck in my groundhog day now had it not been for these elements. Many addicts and alcoholics are not getting this kind of help today and I am so glad to see a growing recovery movement which is aware of the value and nature of recovery tools, like those above and more.
Well, people do quit on their own. I did. And, I am far from unique. It is pretty common. There are personal reasons for why I did. There are personal reasons why people say that they can’t. If you think that something is impossible — it is impossible. What many groups really do is to give permission for people to quit. They need someone to tell them that they can.
If you want a group, and that is a choice, there many available for people to choose. I see that people have mentioned SMART here. And, of course, AA. Which is everywhere. The point is to find a group which fits you. If you want faith based, AA may be useful to you. SMART is secular and psychological. SMART may be useful to you.
But, many abusers have or should have, a mental health diagnosis. Which will need professional attention.
The key word is useful. At the end of the day, everyone always quits on their own. There are limits to what a group or other people can do.
Best, I think, to determine what needs to be done and get on with it.
