If you’re reading this, you’re undoubtedly contemplating a change this new year. You may have embarked on Dry January without making it all the way through. Too often, endeavors like these are classified as successes or failures, rather than mile markers along the road. But that’s not how sobriety — or much of anything — really works. It’s a journey. Are you ready to start?
It’s common knowledge that many people today are extremely hard on themselves — harder than they need to be. If they embark on a diet and eat a cookie, they may call themselves weak, disgraceful, or worse, and give up. Not only is this not helpful, it’s counterproductive. Everyone makes mistakes. The key to success is to keep trying.
Often when people beat themselves up over mistakes or perceived weaknesses, they begin to see themselves as damaged goods, lost causes, hopeless cases. But this is not true of anyone — not one single person. Everyone is capable of change, as long as they want to change. It’s true your resolve may wax and wane through the process, but the same is true of all journeys to change.
Statistics show that most people who find themselves addicted to alcohol or drugs eventually recover. The key word here is “eventually.” Recovery takes some longer than others, and one of the main reasons is because many people wait a long time (years) to start. You know the old adage about the journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step — you’ll never reach your goal if you don’t get started.
Some people’s motivation to enter an inpatient drug or alcohol rehab center is rooted in an unfortunate event in their lives. Maybe their partner left them, they got a DUI, they were incarcerated, they got fired, they lost their home, or all these misfortunes. If any one of these circumstances befalls you, it can bring about big feelings of remorse, regret, and sadness.
Many deep thinkers — including philosophers, theologians, clergy, gurus, and others — encourage everyone to count their blessings and to remember that what may seem like a tragedy today can reveal itself as a blessing tomorrow. Such is the case with the “wakeup calls” you may get if you are addicted to drugs and alcohol. As bad as going to jail or losing your relationship is, if it is the thing that motivates you to get well and lead a long, healthy, productive life, then it’s actually a positive, though it can certainly be hard to see it that way when it happens.
Many times, it seems easier to take another drink than to call a residential rehab facility for help. It takes some of the pain away faster. But then it comes back. At some point, people addicted to drugs and alcohol realize that it’s always going to be that way. The pain will never go away forever until you do the work necessary to get rid of it.
Doing that work often seems like an impossibly hard uphill battle. But that’s why residential rehab is known as the key to achieving sobriety — because you are removed from your environment and put into a place where you have no access to intoxicants, and where you have the best-trained, most-knowledgeable help available. That includes therapists, counselors, nurses, and in the case of Alpine Recovery Lodge, even a doctor. These professionals care about you, and they’re here to see you through your journey until you get to the end and reclaim your life as your own.
It has been said that getting someone who is addicted to drugs and alcohol into rehab is like taking a dying plant out of a dark corner and putting it in a sunny window, where it is able to recover and eventually thrive. As hard as you tried to free yourself of the chains of addiction over the years, the circumstances made it too difficult. Maybe your friends and family use, and people in recovery can’t be around users. Maybe you’re dealing with trauma — whether it’s due to abuse, neglect, crime, war, or another tragedy — and it’s too hard to stop using until you have effectively dealt with this trauma. Maybe you are suffering from an undiagnosed mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, and would benefit from a dual diagnosis. We hope you are beginning to see how much your environment and circumstances have to do with the situation you are in right now.
At Alpine Recovery Lodge, we provide the precise environment you need to detox and break free of your addiction. Our inpatient rehab facility is located in a remote, bucolic area, where you will be surrounded by the beauty of nature rather than the temptations you face at home. Here, you will be among others who are struggling with the very same demons you are, with people who can understand, sympathize, and empathize with your challenges. You will also have the support of our staff, 24/7, to get you through the longest nights of detox and the days without drugs or alcohol. You’ll grow accustomed to being sober, and it will start to feel normal instead of scary.
Returning to your home environment is always a challenge, but at Alpine Recovery Lodge, we work hard to prepare you for this challenge. You will move from inpatient rehab to day treatment to intensive outpatient treatment, slowly learning how to adjust to your new sober life. You’ll learn how to act — and react — in tough situations, such as when others are drinking around you. You’ll work on gaining the strength to say no and to walk away. And after you’ve done it enough times, it will become easier. You will form new, healthy habits to replace your old, destructive habits.
Call us at Alpine Recovery Lodge today, and take that first step.
Alpine Recovery Lodge
