Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health Center Counselor Rennie Grant (Roc) and Psychiatrist Dr. Tony Massey (Doc) answer your questions about addiction and recovery.
This episode deals with a question from Fred L: “I just finished my 28-day inpatient and chose to return to work and not to join an aftercare program. I feel great, I don’t want to use, and I just want to return to a normal life. Why are my sober network friends telling me I need to ‘get into recovery’? What does that even mean?”
Getting clean and/or sober is just the very beginning of recovery. Those who embrace recovery begin to embrace it as an ongoing lifestyle. It’s not merely a box to be checked or a rite of passage back into the acceptance of your loved ones or a job. Recovery, for those who embrace it, is a lifestyle. And it’s a lifestyle that involves the support of others in recovery. People who embrace recovery as a lifestyle do not see the ongoingness of recovery as a burden. They see it as a meaningful journey.
Moreover, it is commonly held that there is ongoing “work” that needs to be done that goes beyond issues related to active addiction. It’s about growing in the knowledge of self — and the very real possibility that active addiction could, in fact, one day return if there are no ongoing proactive measures against it.
Recovery: An Ongoing Journey (Summary):
- Getting clean and/or sober is just the beginning.
- It’s one thing to not use when you’re in rehab. But when you leave and go back home, usual stresses return. A lifestyle of recovery helps you deal with stresses in new ways.
- In recovery, you’re putting yourself around others who are experienced in recovery. Recovery happens in community
- Recovery takes ongoing work
Roc & Doc talk more about it in this latest episode.
See more episodes of Roc & Doc on their page here.