Drug Rehab and Recovery

Drug Rehab and Recovery.

There is help, there is hope, and there is a way to recover.

In the beginning, there was light but what precedes light, is darkness. Point being, everything has a beginning. Drug rehab and recovery may seem like the beginning but the true beginning is mixed in a cauldron of hopelessness, despair, disease, disgust, shame and guilt. This is the point every addict must face before they can face drug rehab and recovery.

Drug rehab and recovery is definitely the light, the beginning of a course correction. A new path out of the darkness.

Working with countless addicts in drug rehab and recovery, over the years, primarily at a drug rehab for women, I’ve seen every addict and even their families lost in hopelessness. This is a very trying time. It causes greif, anxiety, and panic, just to name a few mental, emotional reactions.

What I’d like to convey to the reader today is, this is exactly where you are supposed to be. George Chakiris said it best; No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.

I repeat; Love and hope are always possible!

Many addicts sitting in hopelessness look at drug rehab and recovery as a destination but it is not. Drug rehab and recovery are both steps on the ladder. The ladder of enlightenment.

When I speak of enlightenment, i’m not speaking necessarily from a Buddhist Monk’s perspective but rather one’s own unravelling story.

Each step up the ladder, we have lessons, and we must learn those lessons before we move on.

I say this today because too many addicts facing that first spark of light put all their stock in drug rehab. Like that is the end.

As if, once a child completes Elementary, they are prepared for the workforce. Every step towards recovery has phases, and every great journey is based in solid foundation.

This is what drug rehab is. It is, if done correctly, a solid foundation. The bedrock of which a person’s recovery can flourish and prosper.

Everyone in recovery needs a solid foundation, and no better place to intensively establish it, than through a solid drug rehab program.

Selecting a drug rehab program, can be a daunting task itself. So how does one choose? Call around. You will be faced with a few options.

1. Co-ed or not co-ed?
2. Private or Government Funded?
3. 12 step or non-12step?
4. Cost consideration.

That’s about it. Search online. Call a few drug rehab centre’s, speak with the admissions department and get a vibe for what feels right for you or your loved one.

It might seem like an insurmountable task at the beginning, but just chip away at it. Short list three different drug rehab centre’s, then call those three. It will take you maybe the better part of an hour. Then review their literature or curriculum online, study their credentials, and make a decisions.

The only time drug rehab is a bad place, is when the person really doesn’t want to change or they are kicking and screaming every step of the way, however mind you, I have seen many addict’s start with complete resistance and then miraculously change in the end. Sometimes, these are the greatest drug rehab stories I could ever tell you.

Just remember, if you are desperate and hopelessness, this is good. This is the starting point. Without it, there is no drug rehab or recovery to begin, and once again remember; no matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.

Hopelessness can lead to hope and drug rehab leads to recovery. It’s not always pretty. It doesn’t always manifests the way we expect, but if the foundation is laid properly, the recovery will happen, it’s just a matter of time.

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About the Author: Norma-Jean Pettersson

Norma-Jean Petterson opened the doors to West Coast Wellness Centre for Women in 2006, due to the lack of private, discreet, non co-ed addiction treatment services across Canada. She provides inpatient counselling and interventions for the treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse addictions. She is also the Executive Director of West Coast Wellness Centre for Women.